Dashed left edge = started before November 2020 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond November 2020
Events in November 2020 19
1935 – 2020David Prowse (1935-2020)Died 28 November 2020, aged 85David Prowse was an English bodybuilder and actor who physically portrayed Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, though James Earl Jones supplied the character's voice. He died on 28 November 2020.
1940 – 2020Alex Trebek (1940-2020)Died 8 November 2020, aged 80Alex Trebek hosted the American quiz show Jeopardy! for 37 seasons, becoming one of the most familiar faces on US television. He died of pancreatic cancer on 8 November 2020, having continued hosting the show after his 2019 diagnosis.
1947 – 2020Jerry Rawlings (1947-2020)Died 12 November 2020, aged 73Jerry Rawlings led Ghana as head of state following two coups and later as elected president from 1993 to 2001, shaping the country's transition to multiparty democracy. He died on 12 November 2020 after a short illness.
1960 – 2020Diego MaradonaFootballer, manager, 1960-2020Diego Armando Maradona (1960-2020) — widely regarded as the greatest footballer who ever lived. The Hand of God and the Goal of the Century in a single match; two World Cup finals; two Serie A titles with Napoli; a life of extraordinary brilliance, devastating addiction, improbable comebacks and unconditional love from the people of Argentina and Naples. He died aged 60 on 25 November 2020.
2020Second Nagorno-Karabakh WarArmenia and Azerbaijan fight over disputed enclaveAzerbaijan launched a major offensive against Armenian-backed forces in Nagorno-Karabakh on 27 September 2020, reigniting a decades-old conflict. A Russian-brokered ceasefire on 10 November 2020 saw Azerbaijan retake significant territory it had lost in the 1990s.
2020Album "Disco" released, tops UK charts amid pandemicDisco-themed album becomes a pandemic-era hitDisco, released in November 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, embraced glittering dancefloor-ready production and debuted at number one in the UK. It gave Minogue an eighth UK number-one album, further extending her chart records.
2020Apple M1 — Apple abandons IntelApple announces at WWDC 2020 that it will abandon Intel processors for its own Apple Silicon chips, manufactured by TSMC. The first M1-powered Macs launch in November 2020 and stun the industry: the M1 delivers dramatically better performance per watt than Intel's equivalent chips. The M1 MacBook Air has longer battery life and better performance than Intel-powered MacBook Pros costing more. Apple completes the Intel transition in June 2023. Losing Apple — whose Macs represented a significant Intel revenue stream and enormous reputational value — is Intel's most public competitive humiliation.
2020Emergency brain surgery for blood clotOn 2 November 2020, Maradona is admitted to hospital after complaining of fatigue and depression. Doctors discover a blood clot on the brain. He undergoes emergency surgery on 4 November, appears to recover, and is discharged on 12 November to recuperate at home under medical supervision.
2020PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X — AMD wins consoles againBoth the PlayStation 5 (November 2020) and Xbox Series X (November 2020) use custom AMD processors combining Zen 2 CPU cores with RDNA 2 GPU cores. AMD sweeps both major gaming console platforms for the second consecutive console generation — providing the computing heart of essentially the entire gaming console industry. The PlayStation 5's semi-custom AMD chip, with its extremely fast custom SSD controller, is designed in close collaboration between AMD and Sony engineers.
2020Zen 3 — AMD takes IPC lead over IntelAMD introduces Zen 3 processors (Ryzen 5000 series) in November 2020, achieving the highest instructions-per-clock of any x86 processor. The Ryzen 9 5950X is the fastest consumer CPU in the world across most workloads — the first time AMD has held the absolute performance crown since the Athlon 64 era. Intel's flagship i9-10900K, despite running at higher clock speeds, cannot match AMD's per-core performance. AMD's gaming performance, previously Intel's last advantage, falls to AMD as well. The reversal is complete.
2020Ant Group IPO suspendedChinese regulators halt world's largest planned listingChinese regulators abruptly suspended Ant Group's dual Shanghai-Hong Kong listing on 3 November 2020, days before what would have been the largest IPO in history. The move followed criticism of the financial industry by founder Jack Ma and marked the start of a broader regulatory crackdown on Chinese tech.
2020Biden wins US electionTrump defeated after one termJoe Biden defeated President Donald Trump in the US presidential election on November 3, 2020, winning 306 electoral votes. Trump refused to concede.
2020PlayStation 5 launch — supply crisisThe PlayStation 5 launches on 12 November 2020 — the most powerful gaming console ever made, with an ultra-high-speed SSD, ray tracing support and the revolutionary DualSense controller with haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. Demand vastly exceeds supply: global chip shortages mean Sony cannot produce enough PS5 consoles for two years. Scalpers resell PS5s at double their retail price. Despite the supply crisis, PS5 reaches 50 million units sold by mid-2024.
2020Star Trek: Lower Decks — Season 1The franchise's first animated adult comedy series, created by Mike McMahan (formerly of Rick and Morty). Set aboard the USS Cerritos, one of Starfleet's least important ships. Irreverent, fan-service-rich and surprisingly emotionally sophisticated. A genuine creative departure for the franchise.
2020SpaceX Crew Dragon operationalPrivate spaceflight for NASA astronautsSpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on November 16, 2020, marking the start of regular commercial crew missions by a private company.
2020Boeing 737 MAX ungroundedFAA clears jet to fly after 20-month groundingThe US Federal Aviation Administration cleared the Boeing 737 MAX to resume flights on 18 November 2020, ending a nearly 20-month grounding imposed after two fatal crashes killed 346 people. Boeing had redesigned the plane's flight-control software and retrained pilots.
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.
2020Diego Maradona dies of heart attack aged 60Maradona dies of acute pulmonary oedema secondary to chronic heart failure at his home in Dique Luján, a suburb of Buenos Aires, on 25 November 2020. He is 60 years old. Within hours, millions of fans gather across Argentina and the world's greatest footballers, managers and heads of state pay tribute.
2020State funeral — hundreds of thousands mournMaradona's body lies in state at the Casa Rosada — Argentina's presidential palace — for 24 hours. Hundreds of thousands queue through the night. Riots break out as the crowds surge. He is buried at the Jardín Bella Vista cemetery alongside his parents. Argentina declares three days of national mourning.