Dashed left edge = started before December 2020 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond December 2020
Events in December 2020 16
1923 – 2020Chuck Yeager (1923-2020)Died 7 December 2020, aged 97Chuck Yeager was a US Air Force test pilot who became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound, breaking the sound barrier in 1947. He died on 7 December 2020.
1926 – 2020Valery Giscard d'Estaing (1926-2020)Died 2 December 2020, aged 94Valery Giscard d'Estaing served as President of France from 1974 to 1981, liberalizing social laws and later chairing the convention that drafted a proposed European Union constitution. He died on 2 December 2020 from COVID-19 complications.
1934 – 2020Charley Pride (1934-2020)Died 12 December 2020, aged 86Charley Pride was one of the first Black country music stars, scoring dozens of hits including "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" and becoming a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. He died of complications from COVID-19 on 12 December 2020.
2000 – 2020Later French NovelsContinued writing novels in French including Ignorance (2000) and The Festival of Insignificance (2015), while fiercely guarding his privacy.
2019 – 2020Supermodel ReunionsReunited with fellow supermodels for retrospectives celebrating the era they defined, including features marking the 30th anniversary of the iconic 1990 British Vogue cover.
202014 Peaks: Nothing Is ImpossibleThe Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible was released, bringing his story and Nepali-led mountaineering to a global audience of millions.
20202020: Lewis HamiltonMercedesHamilton won his seventh title in a COVID-shortened season, equalling Schumacher's record of seven World Championships.
2020Virtual Rocky Horror ReunionAppeared in a virtual reunion of The Rocky Horror Picture Show cast during the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing joy to fans worldwide. His warmth and humour despite his physical limitations inspired an outpouring of love on social media.
2020Zoom usage explodesVideo calling becomes essentialZoom went from 10 million daily meeting participants in December 2019 to 300 million in April 2020, becoming essential infrastructure for remote work, education and socialising during COVID-19.
2020Belarusian protests erupt after disputed electionMass demonstrations challenge Lukashenko's re-electionHundreds of thousands of Belarusians took to the streets after the 9 August 2020 presidential election, which official results gave to incumbent Alexander Lukashenko amid widespread allegations of fraud. Security forces responded with mass arrests and violence as protests continued for months.
2020Chang'e 5 returns lunar samples to EarthChina's mission brings back first new Moon rocks since 1976China's Chang'e 5 probe launched on 23 November 2020 and returned to Earth on 16 December 2020 carrying nearly two kilograms of lunar samples, the first fresh Moon rocks retrieved since the Soviet Luna 24 mission in 1976. The mission made China only the third country to achieve a lunar sample return.
2020Bob Dylan sells his songwriting catalogueTo Universal MusicSells the rights to his entire song catalogue to Universal Music Publishing.
2020First COVID vaccine givenMargaret Keenan, 90, first in worldMargaret Keenan, aged 90, became the first person in the world to receive a fully approved COVID-19 vaccine outside a clinical trial, receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech jab in Coventry, England on December 8, 2020.
2020Airbnb IPOHome-sharing company goes public after pandemic-battered yearAirbnb listed on the Nasdaq on 10 December 2020, with shares more than doubling on debut despite the pandemic having devastated its travel business earlier in the year. The listing valued the company at roughly $100 billion.
2020Paul McCartney releases McCartney IIILockdown albumMade alone in lockdown, playing every instrument.
2020Tesla joins the S&P 500Automaker enters index as one of its largest membersTesla was added to the S&P 500 index on 21 December 2020, entering as one of the largest companies in the index after its market value soared during the year. The inclusion followed Tesla posting several consecutive profitable quarters.