What Happened on April 20?

April 20 is National Look-Alike Day — and the date Apollo 16 astronauts landed on the Moon in 1972, Edgar Allan Poe published the first modern detective story, and communities remember the importance of safe, supportive schools.

• 1841 — Edgar Allan Poe publishes The Murders in the Rue Morgue

  On April 20, 1841, Poe's story The Murders in the Rue Morgue appeared in Graham's Magazine — introducing detective C. Auguste Dupin and launching the modern mystery genre. Read the full story →

• 1871 — Congress passes the Third Force Act to fight the Ku Klux Klan

  On April 20, 1871, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Third Force Act — giving federal power to prosecute Klan violence against African Americans during Reconstruction. Read the full story →

• 1902 — Marie and Pierre Curie isolate radium in their Paris laboratory

  On April 20, 1902, Marie and Pierre Curie announced they had isolated radium chloride — a breakthrough after years processing tons of pitchblende ore by hand. Read the full story →

• 1968 — Pierre Trudeau becomes leader of Canada's Liberal Party

  On April 20, 1968, Pierre Elliott Trudeau won the Liberal leadership convention — soon becoming prime minister and shaping modern Canadian identity for fifteen years. Read the full story →

• 1972 — Apollo 16 astronauts land in the Moon's Descartes Highlands

  On April 20, 1972, Commander John Young and lunar module pilot Charles Duke touched down in the Descartes Highlands — the only Apollo mission to explore highland terrain. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Jessica Lange (1949) · Luther Vandross (1951–2005) · Miranda Kerr (1983) · George Takei (1937)

Days & observances

National Look-Alike Day · National Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Day · National Volcano Awareness Day · Chinese Language Day