1561
Sep 20, Queen Elizabeth of England signed a treaty at Hamptan Court with French Huguenot leader Louis de Bourbon, the Prince of Conde. The English would occupy Le Harve in return for aiding Bourbon against the Catholics of France.

1951
Sep 20, Swiss males voted against female suffrage.
1974
Sep 20, Gail A. Cobb (24), a member of the Metropolitan Police Force of Washington, D.C., became the first female police officer to be killed in the line of duty. Cobb was murdered by a robbery suspect in an underground garage in downtown Washington.

1999
Sep 20, In Russia Raisa Gorbachev, wife of last Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, died at age 67 after a battle with leukemia.

2000
Sep 20, A report by the UN Population Fund said the discrimination and violence against women "remain firmly rooted in cultures around the world."
2001
Sep 20, An Israeli woman, Sarit Amrani (25), was killed in a drive-by shooting by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. A Palestinian man was killed in Gaza following a grenade assault. Another Palestinian police officer was killed, possibly by militants he was trying to restrain near Hebron. The violence threatened the recent truce.

2002
Sep 20, President Bush appealed to a reluctant Russian President Vladimir Putin to back a new U.N. resolution that would threaten Iraq with war if it did not disarm; Russian officials indicated there might be room for compromise.


2005
Sep 20, Carla Del Ponte, chief prosecutor of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), told the Daily Telegraph that she believed General Ante Gotovina was being sheltered in a Franciscan monastery in Croatia. The Vatican denied any knowledge.

2006
Sep 20, Henri Jayer (84), a master of balanced pinot noir, died in Dijon, France. He was viewed by many connoisseurs to be the finest Burgundy winemaker of his generation.

2008
Sep 20, In Washington state Shawn Roe (36) killed police officer Kristine Fairbanks (51) during a traffic stop. He has also killed Richard Ziegler (59), a retired California corrections employee, whose pickup he was driving. Roe was killed in a shootout with sheriff’s deputies.

2010
Sep 20, In Zimbabwe 83 members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) were arrested after marching to highlight concerns around community safety and police behavior. They were freed after 2 days in jail.

2014
Sep 20, J. California Cooper (82), author and playwright, died in Seattle. Her 1991 novel “Family" told a multigenerational story that began with a woman born as a slave. Her 1978 play “Stranger" earned her the Black Playwright of the Year award.