TodayOn this dayDecember 20
On this day
Good news on December 20.
Positive things that happened on December 20, with 2 verified milestones. Each milestone links to the source it was checked against.
Verified milestones
Scientific firsts, civil-rights wins, conservation, medicine, kindness, and other good news. Checked against the linked source.
1790
On December 20, 1790, a water-powered cotton mill began operating on the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Samuel Slater built it from English spinning designs.
For a read-aloud. A water-powered cotton mill started spinning thread in Rhode Island.
1812
On December 20, 1812, brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first volume of the stories now called Grimm's Fairy Tales. The tales include Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty.
For a read-aloud. The Grimm brothers published a book of fairy tales that children still know.
For the classroom
Two questions a teacher can use as a warm-up. This page is for an adult to read with a class.
- Which fairy tale would you retell for a younger class?
- What machine would you invent to help people make something useful?
From the archive
Stories published on December 20 will show up here. The archive is still young.
No archive story for this date yet.
When a story is published on December 20, it will be listed here with the milestones above.