What happened on December 20 ?

1537 - King John III of Sweden (d. 1592)

1566 - Edward Wightman, English Baptist preacher (d. 1612)

1579 - (baptized) John Fletcher, English playwright (d. 1625)

1626 - Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff, German statesman (d. 1692)

1629 - Pieter de Hooch, Dutch painter (d. 1684)

1717 - Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, French statesman and diplomat (d. 1787)

1786 - Pietro Raimondi, Italian composer (d. 1853)

1792 - Nicolas Charlet, French painter (d. 1845)

1833 - Samuel Mudd, American physician (d. 1883)

1838 - Edwin Abbott Abbott, English schoolmaster, theologian, and author (d. 1926)

1841 - Ferdinand Buisson, French pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1932)

1860 - Dan Leno, English entertainer (d. 1904)

1861 - Ivana Kobilca, Slovenian painter (d. 1926)

1865 - Elsie De Wolfe, American socialite and interior decorator (d. 1950)

1868 - Harvey Firestone, American automobile pioneer (d. 1938)

1881 - Branch Rickey, baseball executive (d. 1965)

1886 - Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman, American tennis player (d. 1974)

1890 - Yvonne Arnaud, French-born actress (d. 1958)

1890 - Jaroslav Heyrovský, Czech chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)

1894 - Sir Robert Menzies, twelfth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1978)

1898 - Irene Dunne, American actress (d. 1990)

1901 - Robert Van de Graaff, American physicist and inventor (d. 1967)

1902 - Sidney Hook, American philosopher (d. 1989)

1902 - George Edward Alexander Windsor, Duke of Kent (d. 1942)

1917 - David Bohm, American-born physicist, philosopher, and neuropsychologist (d. 1992)

1922 - George Roy Hill, American film director (d. 2002)

1926 - Sir Geoffrey Howe, British politician

1926 - Otto Graf Lambsdorff, German politician

1927 - Kim Young-sam, President of South Korea

1933 - Jean Carnahan, U.S. Senator

1938 - John Harbison, American composer

1944 - Bobby Colomby, American musician (Blood, Sweat & Tears)

1945 - Peter George Criscoula, American drummer and singer (KISS)

1946 - Uri Geller, Israeli psychic

1946 - John Spencer, American actor (d. 2005)

1946 - Dick Wolf, American television series creator

1947 - Gigliola Cinquetti, Italian singer

1949 - Soumaïla Cissé, Malian politician

1952 - Jenny Agutter, English actress

1954 - Michael Badalucco, American actor

1957 - Billy Bragg, English singer and songwriter

1957 - Mike Watt, American bassist

1957 - Joyce Hyser, American actress

1957 - Anna Vissi, Greek singer

1960 - Nalo Hopkinson, Canadian writer

1963 - Infanta Elena of Spain, Duchess of Lugo

1965 - Rich Gannon, American football player

1966 - Chris Robinson, American singer (Black Crowes)

1970 - Nicole DeBoer, Canadian actress

1975 - Bartosz Bosacki, Polish footballer

1976 - Aubrey Huff, baseball player

1978 - Njitap Geremi, Cameroon footballer

1980 - Ashley Cole, English footballer

1982 - David Wright, baseball player

1983 - Lucy Pinder, British model

1990 - JoJo, American singer