November 20 Birthday
On November 20, 1945, the Nuremberg Trials began. Twenty-four Nazi leaders were tried for crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The trial lasted ten months. Twelve were sentenced to death, seven to prison, and three were acquitted. The concept of "crimes against humanity" was created for this trial. Hermann Göring, the highest-ranking defendant, cheated the hangman by swallowing cyanide the night before his execution. The chief prosecutor, US Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, said: "The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so calculated, so malignant, and so devastating, that civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored." Robert F. Kennedy, born this day in 1925, was JFK's brother and attorney general. After John's assassination, he was elected Senator from New York. He ran for president in 1968 on an antiwar platform. He was shot on June 5, 1968, after winning the California primary. People born on November 20 fall under the zodiac sign of Scorpio. The birthstone is Topaz and the birth flower is Chrysanthemum. Historical events on November 20 include 1945: Nuremberg Trials begin — 24 Nazi leaders indicted, 1910: Mexican Revolution begins with Francisco Madero's call to arms, 1947: Princess Elizabeth marries Philip Mountbatten at Westminster Abbey. Famous people born on November 20 include Edwin Hubble (1889), Robert F. Kennedy (1925), Joe Biden (1942).