On 20th April 1602, Robert Watkinson of Hemingbrough, aged 23, was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, London, as a Catholic priest; he was arrested almost immediately on returning to England after ordination at Arras, France.
On 20th April 1803, a sloop was ‘burnt to the water’s edge’ in Hedon harbour.
On 20th April 1808, Thomas Wilbe, 31, of Hull, was hanged at York Castle for raping a girl under 10 years old.
On 20th April 1892, former pupil of Hull Trinity House School, and Chief Officer of the Elliot of Caernarvon, William Henry Ansell, 29, died of yellow fever at Santos.
On 20th April 1976, Rev Wm Whitehead, on the 190thanniversary of the first recorded measurement of distance from Mappleton church to the sea, recorded the distance to the cliff edge. At 898 ft 10”, it was almost exactly 1,000 feet less than in 1786, an average of 5ft 3” p.a. Film clip: https://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/z8jfb9q
Hull & East Yorkshire History Calendar 