1920 births

William Merritt Steger (August 22, 1920 – June 4, 2006) was an American politician and United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Martin Perry Knowlton (July 30, 1920 – March 12, 2009) was the American co-founder of Elderhostel, a non-profit organization established in 1975 that allows senior citizens to travel and take educational programs in the United States and around the world.

Dorothy Dow (8 October 1920 – 26 February 2005) was an American classical dramatic soprano who had an active international career in concerts, operas, and recitals during the 1940s through the 1960s. After retiring from the stage in 1968, she embarked on a second career as an academic.

Willie Hans Karsten Hoel (16 June 1920 – 15 June 1986) was a Norwegian actor and comedian.
He is best known for on-stage performances and for numerous roles, mainly comedic, in Norwegian movies, including the Olsenbanden movies.

Rolf Kirkvaag (20 September 1920 – 24 January 2003) was a Norwegian journalist, and a radio- and TV personality. He worked for NRK, the Norwegian state broadcasting network, between 1947 and 1959, and 1969 and 1990. From 1972 to 1985 he was entertainment director.Already a popular public persona, his fame grew enormously after an incident in 1956. Kirkvaag was among the passengers on a Braathens SAFE plane that crashed by Hommelfjell, the Hummelfjell Accident. Two people were dead and ten still alive. Kirkvaag – with a broken bone in his foot – and another passenger had to walk 18 km (11 mi) for help. The incident made Kirkvaag a national hero, and he has since been referred to as Norway's first celebrity.Among the shows he hosted were the children's show Titten Tei and the radio quiz show 20 spørsmål (20 Questions). He was also a commentator for numerous sporting events, like the 1952 Winter Olympics. Rolf Kirkvaag's son, Trond Kirkvaag, was a well-known television comedian. Trond, who died in 2007, wrote a controversial biography of his father shortly before his own death. Here he described Rolf's darker side, and alleged that he had been an emotionally distant and occasionally violent father.

Ivo Caprino (17 February 1920 – 8 February 2001) was a Norwegian film director and writer, best known for his puppet films. His most noted film, Flåklypa Grand Prix (Pinchcliffe Grand Prix), was made in 1975.

José Trías Monge (May 5, 1920 – June 24, 2003) was a lawyer and judge in Puerto Rico. He served as the 11th chief justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico from 1974 to 1985.Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he was appointed Chief Justice in 1974, without any prior court service, by Gov. Rafael Hernández Colón, who, as President of the Senate of Puerto Rico between 1969 and 1972, had espoused that Chief Justices should be selected from among current Associate Justices.
In 1940, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Puerto Rico and, in 1943, obtained a master of Arts degree from Harvard University. The following year, he graduated with a law degree, also from Harvard Law School. In 1947 he completed doctoral studies in law at Yale Law School. From 1947 to 1949, he was a professor at the University of Puerto Rico.
Prior to his service as Chief Justice, Trías Monge was one of the top delegates to Puerto Rico's Constitutional Assembly between 1951 and 1952. Along with Muñoz Marín and Dr. Antonio Fernós Isern, he is considered one of the chief architects of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico's Constitution. He then served as deputy Secretary of Justice of Puerto Rico under Gov. Luis Muñoz Marín from 1949 to 1953 and as Secretary of Justice from 1953 to 1957.As Chief Justice, he chaired the 1980 Constitutional Board for Electoral Reapportionment. He held the office of Chief Justice until his retirement on October 20, 1985.
Trias Monge is the author of several books on the judicial history and political status of Puerto Rico, in both Spanish and English.
Several years prior to his death, despite his own contribution to the drafting and approval of the 1952 Commonwealth Constitution, he began writing and speaking publicly that Puerto Rico remained a territory or colony of the United States. He died June 24, 2003, in Boston, Massachusetts at age 83.

María de Jesús Vásquez Vásquez (December 20, 1920 – April 3, 2010), known by the pseudonym La Reina y Señora de la Canción Criolla, was a virtuoso Peruvian singer.
She was daughter of Pedro Vásquez Chávez and María Jesús Vásquez Vásquez. Her particular singing style captivated listeners, as her intensity had the feel of Peruvian creole taste.
She appeared in some Peruvian films of the 1930s, such as Gallo de mi Galpón (1938).
Jesús Vásquez died in Maison de Sante, Lima. Peruvian President Alan García declared one day of national mourning.

Adolphe-Maria Gustave Hardy (23 July 1920 – 9 August 2011) was a French prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop
of the Diocese of Beauvais, France from 1985 to 1995.

Charles-Amarin Brand (27 June 1920 – 31 March 2013) was a French prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.