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20 December| 20 December 1046 | Holy Roman Empire [political events] | In the synod of Sutri held by Emperor Henry III, Sylvester III and Gregory VI are formally deposed from the papacy for simony and other uncanonical practices. Benedict IX is also summoned to appear but he fails to turn up. | | 20 December 1334 | Italy [administration] | The French Benedict monk Jacques Fournier is elected Pope Benedict XII following the death of Pope John XXII. | | 20 December 1822 | UK [newspapers] | The Sunday Times is founded in London, England, by its parent organization The Times, but with an independent editorial policy. | | 20 December 1830 | UK, France, Austrian Empire, Prussia, Russian Empire, Belgium, Netherlands [political events] | At the London Conference, Britain, France, the Austrian Empire, Prussia, and Russia support Belgium's decision to separate from the Netherlands. | | 20 December 1860 | USA [political events] | The state of South Carolina secedes from the Union, in protest at the election of the Republican Abraham Lincoln as president of the USA. | | 20 December 1941 | USA [legislation] | President Roosevelt signs the Draft Act, which calls for all men 18 to 64 to register and all men 20 to 44 to be eligible for active duty. | | 20 December 1968 | USA [births and deaths] | John Steinbeck, US novelist who wrote The Grapes of Wrath, dies in New York City (66). | | 20 December 1975 | UK [popular music] | The British pop group Queen promotes its song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, from the album A Night at the Opera, with the first pop video. The video, produced by Bruce Gowers on a £4,500 budget, debuts on the television programme Top of the Pops. | | 20 December 1983 | Middle East [political events] | The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Yassir Arafat is forced to evacuate his forces from Lebanon after talks between Lebanon and Israel. | | 20 December 2007 | UK [political events] | Queen Elizabeth II reaches a new milestone as she becomes the oldest-ever British monarch. |
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