This Day in History is DUE’s daily dose of trivia for all the history buffs out there. So sit back and take a ride of all the fascinating things that happened on 20th April!
People are trapped in history and history is trapped in people, and hence, every day has been a significant one in the foibles of history. Now, let’s take a tour of “This Day in History – 20th April”.
1862: First pasteurization test is completed
On this day in 1862, Frenchmen Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard successfully completed the first pasteurization test. Today the process is widely used in the food industry. Through pasteurisation, product, such as milk or wine, is partially sterilized to make it safe for consumption and improve its keeping quality.
1889: Adolf Hitler is born
Adolf Hitler, an Austrian-born German politician and the dictator of Germany was born on 20th April 1889. He was an anti-Semitic Nazi leader who believed that Jews were an inferior race, an alien threat to German racial purity and community. He was responsible for the murder of some 6 million Jews, along with other victims of the Holocaust.
1950: N. Chandrababu Naidu is born
Nara Chandrababu Naidu, an Indian politician of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), was born on this day in 1950. He served two terms as the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh state from 1995–2004 and 2014–19. He is the current leader of opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
2013: Lushan earthquake
The Lushan earthquake occurred on April 20, 2013, in China. The epicenter of the earthquake was Lushan County, Ya’an, Sichuan. The magnitude of the earthquake was placed at Ms 7.0 by China Earthquake Data Center and Mw 6.6 by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The earthquake resulted in the death of 196 people leaving 24 missing and at least 11,826 injured.
2020: Price of US oil turns negative for the 1st time in history
On this day in 2020, the price of US oil turned negative for the first time in history. The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark for US oil, fell as low as minus $37.63 a barrel. This severe drop was because of the drop in demand for oil due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown which restricted movement across the world.
