On This Day - What happened 20 December

Ottoman sultan Selim I captured Cairo on January 20, the center of power transferred then to Constantinople.

The election of Lincoln provoked the legislature of South Carolina to call a state convention to consider secession. Before the war, South Carolina did more than any other Southern state to advance the notion that a state had the right to nullify federal laws, and even to secede from the United States. The convention unanimously voted to secede on December 20, 1860, and adopted a secession declaration.

There, he received friendly treatment from the guards, and was allowed mail from supporters and regular visits by party comrades. Pardoned by the Bavarian Supreme Court, he was released from jail on 20 December 1924, against the state prosecutor's objections. Including time on remand, Hitler served just over one year in prison.

The trial attracted widespread press coverage and gave Hitler a platform for propaganda. Hitler was sentenced to five years in prison but was released on 20 December 1924, after serving just over a year.

In recognition of his senior position in the Allied command, on December 20, 1944, he was promoted to General of the Army, equivalent to the rank of Field Marshal in most European armies. In this and the previous high commands he held, Eisenhower showed his great talents for leadership and diplomacy. Although he had never seen action himself, he won the respect of front-line commanders. He interacted adeptly with allies such as Winston Churchill, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, and General Charles de Gaulle. He had serious disagreements with Churchill and Montgomery over questions of strategy, but these rarely upset his relationships with them. He dealt with Soviet Marshal Zhukov, his Russian counterpart, and they became good friends.

In 1946, Lansky called a meeting of the heads of the major crime families in Havana that December, dubbed the Havana Conference. The ostensible reason was to see singer Frank Sinatra perform. However, the real reason was to discuss mob business with Luciano in attendance. The three topics under discussion were: the heroin trade, Cuban gambling, and what to do about Siegel and his floundering Flamingo Hotel project in Las Vegas.

The official U.S. justification for the invasion was articulated by President George H. W. Bush on the morning of 20 December 1989, a few hours after the start of the operation.

The Raid at Renacer Prison was an attack on the El Renacer prison in Gamboa, Panama, by units of the 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army on 20 December 1989, during the United States invasion of Panama. During the raid the U.S. military was able to free the sixty-four prisoners held in the detention facility.

Elements of 1st and 3rd Bn, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) conducted air assault and secured Pacora River Bridge preventing PDF reinforcements from reaching Omar Torrijos Airport and Panama City.

3d Bde, 7th Infantry Division (L) (4/17th Inf) began operations in Colon City, the Canal Zone, and Panama City.

Operation Nifty Package was an operation launched by Navy SEALs to prevent Noriega's escape. They sank Noriega's boat and destroyed his jet, at a cost of four killed and nine wounded.

Article I charged that Clinton lied to the grand jury concerning: - the nature and details of his relationship with Lewinsky - prior false statements he made in the Jones deposition - prior false statements he allowed his lawyer to make characterizing Lewinsky's affidavit - his attempts to tamper with witnesses

Article II charged Clinton with attempting to obstruct justice in the Jones case by: 1- encouraging Lewinsky to file a false affidavit 2- encouraging Lewinsky to give false testimony if and when she was called to testify 3- concealing gifts he had given to Lewinsky that had been subpoenaed 4- attempting to secure a job for Lewinsky to influence her testimony 5- permitting his lawyer to make false statements characterizing Lewinsky's affidavit 6- attempting to tamper with the possible testimony of his secretary Betty Currie 7- making false and misleading statements to potential grand jury witnesses

Near the end of 2000, investigators discovered illegal stock manipulation by Paul and corporate officer Stephan Gordon. Stan Lee Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2001. Paul was extradited to the U.S. from Brazil and pleaded guilty to violating SEC Rule 10b-5 in connection with trading his stock in Stan Lee Media. Lee was never implicated in the scheme.

The last fires at the World Trade Center site were extinguished on December 20, exactly 100 days after the attacks.

Ronaldinho won his first league title in 2004–05, and was named FIFA World Player of the Year for the first time on 20 December 2004.

The 2005–06 season marked a crossroads in Bryant's basketball career. Despite past differences with Bryant, Jackson returned to coach the Lakers. Bryant endorsed the move, and by all appearances, the two men worked together well the second time around, leading the Lakers back into the playoffs. Bryant's individual scoring accomplishments posted resulted in the finest statistical season of his career. On December 20, 2005, Bryant scored 62 points in three quarters against the Dallas Mavericks. Entering the fourth quarter, Bryant outscored the entire Mavericks team 62–61, the only time a player has done this through three quarters since the introduction of the shot clock.

Shaquille O'Neal conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra at the Boston Symphony Hall on December 20, 2010.

In 2014, he ran for election to the Senate as a Congress for Democratic Change candidate in Montserrado County. He was overwhelmingly elected to the Liberian Senate on 20 December 2014. Weah defeated Robert Sirleaf, the son of President Sirleaf, becoming the first Liberian international athlete elected to represent a county in the Legislature. He won a landslide victory, receiving 99,226 votes, which represented 78.0% of the total votes from the 141 polling centers.

They were available at Apple Stores, Apple Authorized Resellers, and select carriers on December 20, 2016.

It was found out that the AirPods contain a proprietary Apple W1 SoC processor which helps optimize battery use as well as the Bluetooth 4.2 and audio connections. The advanced connectivity functions of the W1 requires devices running iOS 10, macOS Sierra, watchOS 3, or later. They can also function as standard Bluetooth headphones when connected to any device that supports Bluetooth 4.0 or higher, including Windows laptops and Android devices. There are two microphones inside each AirPod, one facing outward at ear level and another at the bottom of the stem. Each AirPod weighs 0.14 oz (4 g), and its charging case weighs 1.34 oz (38 g). The AirPods are capable of holding a charge of around five hours. Charging them for fifteen minutes in the case gives three hours of listening time. The charging case provides 24 hours of total usage time. During a complete dismantling, each AirPod was found to contain a 93 milliwatt hour battery in its stem, while the charging case contains a 1.52-watt-hour or 398 mAh at 3.81 V battery. The model numbers for the 1st generation AirPods are A1523 and A1722.

Another notable franchise starring Johnson is the Jumanji franchise, as he has starred in the successful films, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.

From 20 to 24 December 2019, Philip stayed at King Edward VII's Hospital and received treatment for a "pre-existing condition", in a visit described by Buckingham Palace as a "precautionary measure".

Subsequently, the government introduced a bill to ratify the withdrawal agreement. It passed its second reading in the House of Commons in a 358–234 vote on 20 December, and became law on 23 January as the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020.

The Peace of Pressburg was signed by the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and Prince of Transylvania Gabor Bethlen.

Paulus was born in Mellrichstadt, Germany, in 1539.

Oronce Finé was born in Brianon, France.