20 November

Across recorded history, 1,563 notable lives are recorded as having ended on 20 November. Below are the 24 most widely documented — ranked by how many language editions of Wikipedia carry an article about them.

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Francisco Franco

1892–1975

Spanish general and dictator

Francisco Franco was a Spanish military leader who served as the dictator of Spain.

Benedetto Croce

1866–1952

Italian philosopher

Benedetto Croce was an Italian philosopher who wrote extensively on history, art, and literary criticism.

Francis William Aston

1877–1945

British chemist

Francis William Aston was a chemist who developed the mass spectrograph to identify isotopes.

Robert Altman

1925–2006

American filmmaker

Robert Altman was an American filmmaker known for his work as a director.

Aaron Klug

1926–2018

British chemist and biophysicist

Aaron Klug was a chemist and biophysicist who conducted research in the field of molecular biology.

Alexandra of Denmark

1844–1925

Queen consort of the United Kingdom from 1901 to 1910

Alexandra of Denmark was the queen consort of the United Kingdom.

Casimir Funk

1884–1967

Jewish-Polish biochemist

Casimir Funk was a biochemist who conducted research on vitamins.

Amintore Fanfani

1908–1999

Italian politician statesman

Amintore Fanfani was an Italian politician who served as a statesman.

José Antonio Primo de Rivera

1903–1936

Spanish politician and founder of Falange Española

José Antonio Primo de Rivera was a Spanish politician who founded the Falange Española.

Ian Douglas Smith

1919–2007

Prime Minister of Rhodesia

Ian Douglas Smith was the Prime Minister of Rhodesia who served as the head of government.

Maud of Wales

1869–1938

British princess (1869-1938), Queen consort of Norway from 1905 to 1938

Maud of Wales was a British princess who served as the Queen consort of Norway.

Trofim Lysenko

1898–1976

Soviet agronomist and biologist

Trofim Lysenko was a Soviet agronomist who promoted agricultural theories that rejected Mendelian genetics.

Konstantinos Stephanopoulos

1926–2016

Greek politician, former president of the Hellenic Republic

Konstantinos Stephanopoulos was a Greek politician who served as the president of the Hellenic Republic.

Willem de Sitter

1872–1934

Dutch cosmologist (*1872 – †1934)

Willem de Sitter was a Dutch astronomer who contributed to the development of relativistic cosmology.

Stefan Żeromski

1864–1925

Polish writer

Stefan Żeromski was a Polish writer known for his contributions to literature as a novelist, playwright, and journalist.

John Bauer

1882–1918

Swedish painter and illustrator

John Bauer was a Swedish illustrator and painter known for his depictions of folklore and mythology.

David Dacko

1930–2003

former President of the Central African Republic (1960–1966) and (1979-1981), lived

David Dacko was a politician who served as the President of the Central African Republic.

Henry Draper

1837–1882

American physician and astronomer

Henry Draper was an astronomer who pioneered the use of astrophotography to capture the spectra of stars.

Leonardo Sciascia

1921–1989

Italian writer

Leonardo Sciascia was an Italian writer known for his novels and essays exploring themes of justice and politics.

Peder Severin Krøyer

1851–1909

Danish painter

Peder Severin Krøyer was a Danish painter known for his contributions to the Skagen Painters artist colony.

Wolfgang Borchert

1921–1947

German playwright, and short story writer

Wolfgang Borchert was a German playwright and short story writer known for his literary contributions.

John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe

1859–1935

Royal Navy officer

John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe was a Royal Navy admiral who commanded the British Grand Fleet during the First World War.

Faiz Ahmad Faiz

1911–1984

Pakistani Urdu poet and author

Faiz Ahmad Faiz was a Pakistani poet and author known for his contributions to Urdu literature.

Irinej

1930–2020

Serbian patriarch

Irinej was a Serbian patriarch who served as the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Source: Wikidata, released into the public domain under CC0. Snapshot: 2026-07. Names, dates and roles come from Wikidata; summaries are condensed from it. Nothing here is generated to fill a gap.