Today
Friday March 20 2026
- Day of the year
- 79/ 365
- Week
- 122,026
- Days left
- 28622%
- Moon
- 3%Waxing crescent
Today is Friday, March 20, 2026. It is day 79 of 2026, a year of 365 days: 286 remain, and 22% of the year has gone. Under ISO 8601 this date falls in week 12.
What's celebrated on this date
International Day of Happiness
WorldwideUnited Nations — International Days
Saints and name days
Saints whose feast falls on this date, most widely known first.
- John of NepomukCatholic saint (1340-1393)
- ArchippusAncient Roman saint in Colossians 4:17 and Philemon 1:2
- Cuthbert7th-century Anglo-Saxon bishop, monk, hermit and saint (635–687)
- Martin of Bragabishop of Dumium
- Józef BilczewskiPolish Roman Catholic archbishop, professor of theology and blessed (1850-1923)
Sources : Wikidata (P841) · CC0 1.0
Astronomy
New York
- Sunrise
- 06:59
- Sunset
- 19:08
- Length of day
- 12h 9m+3 min vs yesterday
- Solar noon
- 13:03
Times shown for America/New_York
Season
Spring
began on March 20, 2026
Next season
Summer — 93 days, June 21, 2026 (June solstice)
Public holidays — United States
Not a public holiday in the United States.
Next public holiday : Memorial Day — May 25, 2026
National holidays only. Regions, provinces and Länder add their own.
Moon
Waxing crescent
Illumination : 3%
Moon age : 1.6 days
- Next full moon
- April 2, 2026
- Next new moon
- April 17, 2026
Astrology
Today's zodiac sign
Pisces
until March 21, 2026 — Aries
Zodiac dates are an astrological convention, not the Sun's actual position among the constellations. The astronomy above is measured; this is not.
On this day in history
1602
The Dutch East India Company is established. Wikipedia
1815
After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his "Hundred Days" rule. Wikipedia
1848
German revolutions of 1848–49: King Ludwig I of Bavaria abdicates. Wikipedia
1852
Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin is published. Wikipedia
1861
An earthquake destroys Mendoza, Argentina. Wikipedia
1942
World War II: General Douglas MacArthur, at Terowie, South Australia, makes his famous speech regarding the fall of the Philippines, in which he says: "I came out of Bataan and I shall return". Wikipedia
Show more (4)
1964
The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organisation) is established per an agreement signed on June 14, 1962. Wikipedia
1995
The Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo carries out a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, killing 14 and wounding over 6,200 people. Wikipedia
2003
Iraq War: The United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Poland begin an invasion of Iraq. Wikipedia
2010
Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland begins eruptions that would last for three months, heavily disrupting air travel in Europe. Wikipedia
Sources : Wikipedia (en) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Data imported on 2026-08-26
Births and deaths
Born on this day March 20
- 1725Abdul Hamid I, Ottoman sultan (died 1789)
- 1737Rama I, Thai king (died 1809)
- 1811Napoleon II, French emperor (died 1832)
- 1882René Coty, French lawyer and politician, 17th President of France (died 1962)
- 1911Alfonso García Robles, Mexican lawyer and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1991)
- 1916Pierre Messmer, French lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of France (died 2007)
- 1939Brian Mulroney, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Canada (died 2024)
- 1956Catherine Ashton, English politician, Vice-President of the European Commissionturns 70 years
Died on this day March 20
- 1239Hermann von Salza, German knight and diplomat (born 1179)aged 69 years
- 1413Henry IV of England (born 1367)aged 46 years
- 1619Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (born 1557)aged 62 years
- 1878Julius Robert von Mayer, German physician and physicist (born 1814)aged 64 years
- 1929Ferdinand Foch, French field marshal (born 1851)aged 78 years
- 1931Hermann Müller, German journalist and politician, 12th Chancellor of Germany (born 1876)aged 55 years
- 1993Polykarp Kusch, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1911)aged 82 years
- 2015Malcolm Fraser, Australian politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia (born 1930)aged 85 years
Sources : Wikipedia (en) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Data imported on 2026-08-26
The day in words
In New York the sun rises at 06:59 and sets at 19:08, giving 12h 9m of daylight — 3 minutes more than yesterday. It has been spring since March 20, 2026; summer opens in 93 days, on June 21, 2026 (June solstice).
The moon is a waxing crescent, 3% illuminated. The next full moon falls on April 2, 2026 and the next new moon on April 17, 2026.
The saints' calendar attaches March 20 to John of Nepomuk, Archippus and Cuthbert.
March 20 is International Day of Happiness, designated by the United Nations or one of its agencies.
It is not a public holiday in the United States.
On this day in history: The Dutch East India Company is established (1602); After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his "Hundred Days" rule (1815). English Wikipedia records 10 events for this date.
Abdul Hamid I was born on March 20, 1725; Hermann von Salza died on March 20, 1239.
280 days remain until Christmas and 287 until New Year's Day.
In astrology — kept separate from the measured astronomy above, deliberately — March 20 falls under the sign of Pisces.
Calendar
By the numbers
- 22%
- of the year elapsed
- 280
- until Christmas
- 287
- until New Year
- 711
- until the next 29 February
2026 — Common year (365 days)
Work with dates
Sources
Every block on this page names where its data comes from. Nothing here is generated when the source is silent.
- United Nations — International Days— What's celebrated today
- Wikidata (P841)— Saints and name days · CC0 1.0
- Wikipedia (en)— On this day in history · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Data imported on 2026-08-26