Important Events From This day in History – 20th November

Today in History

• 1998 First module of the International Space Station launched

  Zarya is a Russian-built and American-owned module. The International Space Station (ISS) is a manned artificial satellite built and operated by five space agencies: the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, NASA in the United States, Roscosmos in Russia, and JAEA in Japan. The brightest man-made object visible from Earth, the International Space Station (ISS), orbits the Earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour (28,000 kilometers per hour) at an average distance of 248 miles (400 kilometers).

• 1985 Windows 1.0 released

  Microsoft released its first graphical operating system nearly two years after it was announced. The operating system made it easier for users to navigate their computer screens. It came with Paint, Notepad, Calculator, and Reversi.

• 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child

  The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution outlining children’s rights around the world. The day is also observed annually as Universal Children’s Day.

• 1945 Nuremberg trials begin

  The International Military Tribunal presided over the trials, which were held to prosecute high-ranking members of the Nazi party for war crimes committed during WWII. 14 of the 23 defendants were sentenced to death.

• 1923 Traffic signal patented

  Garret Morgan, an American, was granted an automated traffic signal patent. Morgan’s traffic light was not the first of its kind, but unlike other traffic lights, which only had stop-and-go signals, it had a third signal that alerted drivers to changes in the stop-and-go lights. This signal foreshadowed today’s yellow light.