On This Day in History — July 20

Highlights of July 20

• 2015 — A suicide attack (aftermath pictured) in Suruç, Turkey, for which Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility, killed 34 people and injured 104 others. Read more
• 2012 — A gunman carried out a mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others. Read more
• 2001 — Twenty-three-year-old Italian anti-globalist Carlo Giuliani was shot dead by a police officer while protesting outside the 27th G8 summit held in Genoa, Italy. Read more
• 1997 — USS Constitution, one of the United States Navy's original six frigates, sailed for the first time in 116 years after a full restoration. Read more
• 1982 — Members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated two bombs in Hyde Park and Regent's Park in London, killing eleven British Army personnel and seven horses. Read more
• 1977 — Rain from a stalled thunderstorm caused six dams to fail, flooding Johnstown, Pennsylvania, resulting in 84 deaths and $340 in damages. Read more
• 1976 — The Viking 1 lander became the first spacecraft to successfully land on Mars and perform its mission. Read more
• 1969 — The Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle landed on the Sea of Tranquillity, where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later (bootprint pictured). Read more
• 1968 — The first games of the Special Olympics (athletes pictured), for athletes with intellectual disabilities, were held at Soldier Field in Chicago. Read more
• 1951 — Abdullah I of Jordan was assassinated while visiting the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Read more
• 1950 — Korean War: After a month-long campaign, much of the North Korean air force was destroyed by United Nations forces. Read more
• 1936 — The July 1936 military uprising in Barcelona is defeated by anarchist militias and Republican loyalists, beginning the Spanish Revolution of 1936. Read more
• 1917 — Serbian prime minister Nikola Pašić and Yugoslav Committee president Ante Trumbić signed the Corfu Declaration, agreeing to seek the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. Read more
• 1914 — George V reviewed more than 200 Royal Navy vessels at Spithead, England. Read more
• 1867 — The United States Congress established the Indian Peace Commission to seek peace treaties with a number of Native American tribes. Read more
• 1807 — French brothers Claude and Nicéphore Niépce received a patent for their Pyréolophore, one of the world's first internal combustion engines. Read more
• 1793 — Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie reached the Pacific coast at Bella Coola, British Columbia, completing the first recorded transcontinental crossing of North America north of Mexico. Read more
• 1651 — Wars of the Three Kingdoms: After crossing the Firth of Forth, English Commonwealth forces defeated a Scottish army at the Battle of Inverkeithing, opening the rest of the country to occupation. Read more
• 1333 — Second War of Scottish Inde­pen­dence: The Scottish-held town of Berwick-upon-Tweed surrendered to English forces, ending a siege led by King Edward III. Read more

Events

• 2021 — American businessman Jeff Bezos flies to space aboard New Shepard NS-16 operated by his private spaceflight company Blue Origin. Read more
• 2019 — Soyuz MS-13 is launched to the International Space Station on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Read more
• 2017 — O. J. Simpson is granted parole to be released from prison after serving nine years of a 33-year sentence after being convicted of armed robbery in Las Vegas. Read more
• 2015 — A huge explosion in the mostly Kurdish border town of Suruç, Turkey, targeting the Socialist Youth Associations Federation, kills at least 31 people and injures over 100. Read more
• 2015 — The United States and Cuba resume full diplomatic relations after five decades. Read more
• 2013 — Seventeen government soldiers are killed in an attack by FARC revolutionaries in the Colombian department of Arauca. Read more
• 2013 — Syrian civil war: The Battle of Ras al-Ayn ends with the expulsion of Islamist forces from the city by the People's Protection Units (YPG). Read more
• 2012 — James Holmes opened fire at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 and injuring 70 others. Read more
• 2012 — Syrian civil war: The People's Protection Units (YPG) capture the cities of Amuda and Efrîn without resistance. Read more
• 2005 — The Civil Marriage Act legalizes same-sex marriage in Canada. Read more
• 1999 — The Chinese Communist Party begins a persecution campaign against Falun Gong, arresting thousands nationwide. Read more
• 1997 — The fully restored USS Constitution (a.k.a. Old Ironsides) celebrates its 200th birthday by setting sail for the first time in 116 years. Read more
• 1992 — Václav Havel resigns as president of Czechoslovakia. Read more
• 1992 — A Tupolev Tu-154 crashes during takeoff from Tbilisi International Airport, killing all 24 aboard and four more people on the ground. Read more
• 1989 — Burma's ruling junta puts opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest. Read more
• 1985 — The government of Aruba passes legislation to secede from the Netherlands Antilles. Read more
• 1982 — Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings: The Provisional IRA detonates two bombs in Hyde Park and Regent's Park in central London, killing eight soldiers, wounding forty-seven people, and leading to the deaths of seven horses. Read more
• 1981 — Somali Airlines Flight 40 crashes in Balad, Somalia, killing 50 people. Read more
• 1977 — The Central Intelligence Agency releases documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind-control experiments. Read more
• 1977 — The Johnstown flood of 1977 kills 84 people and causes millions of dollars in damages. Read more
• 1977 — Aeroflot Flight B-2 crashes after takeoff from Vitim Airport in the Sakha Republic, killing 39. Read more
• 1976 — The American Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars. Read more
• 1974 — Turkish invasion of Cyprus: Forces from Turkey invade Cyprus after a coup d'état, organized by the dictator of Greece, against president Makarios. Read more
• 1969 — Apollo program: Apollo 11's crew successfully makes the first human landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later. Read more
• 1969 — A cease fire is announced between Honduras and El Salvador, six days after the beginning of the "Football War". Read more
• 1968 — The first International Special Olympics Summer Games are held at Soldier Field in Chicago, with about 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities. Read more
• 1964 — Vietnam War: Viet Cong forces attack the capital of Định Tường Province, Cái Bè, killing 11 South Vietnamese military personnel and 40 civilians (30 of whom are children). Read more
• 1961 — French military forces break the Tunisian siege of Bizerte. Read more
• 1960 — The Polaris missile is successfully launched from a submarine, the USS George Washington, for the first time. Read more
• 1954 — Germany: Otto John, head of West Germany's secret service, defects to East Germany. Read more
• 1951 — King Abdullah I of Jordan is assassinated by a Palestinian while attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem. Read more
• 1950 — Cold War: In Philadelphia, Harry Gold pleads guilty to spying for the Soviet Union by passing secrets from atomic scientist Klaus Fuchs. Read more
• 1950 — After a month-long campaign, the majority of North Korea's Air Force was destroyed by anti-communist forces. Read more
• 1949 — The Israel–Syria Mixed Armistice Commission brokers the last of four ceasefire agreements to end the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Read more
• 1944 — World War II: Adolf Hitler survives an assassination attempt led by German Army Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg. Read more
• 1941 — Soviet leader Joseph Stalin consolidates the Commissariats of Home Affairs and National Security to form the NKVD and names Lavrentiy Beria its chief. Read more
• 1940 — Denmark leaves the League of Nations. Read more
• 1940 — California opens its first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway. Read more
• 1938 — The United States Department of Justice files suit in New York City against the motion picture industry charging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act in regards to the studio system. The case would eventually result in a break-up of the industry in 1948. Read more
• 1936 — The Montreux Convention is signed in Switzerland, authorizing Turkey to fortify the Dardanelles and Bosphorus but guaranteeing free passage to ships of all nations in peacetime. Read more
• 1935 — Switzerland: A Royal Dutch Airlines plane en route from Milan to Frankfurt crashes into a Swiss mountain, killing thirteen. Read more
• 1934 — Labor unrest in the U.S.: Police in Minneapolis fire upon striking truck drivers, during the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934, killing two and wounding sixty-seven. Read more
• 1934 — West Coast waterfront strike: In Seattle, police fire tear gas on and club 2,000 striking longshoremen. The governor of Oregon calls out the National Guard to break a strike on the Portland docks. Read more
• 1932 — In the Preußenschlag, German President Hindenburg places Prussia directly under the rule of the national government. Read more
• 1922 — The League of Nations awards mandates of Togoland to France and Tanganyika to the United Kingdom. Read more
• 1920 — The Greek Army takes control of Silivri after Greece is awarded the city by the Paris Peace Conference; by 1923 Greece effectively lost control to the Turks. Read more
• 1917 — World War I: The Corfu Declaration, which leads to the creation of the post-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia, is signed by the Yugoslav Committee and Kingdom of Serbia. Read more
• 1906 — In Finland, a new electoral law is ratified, guaranteeing the country the first and equal right to vote in the world. Finnish women are the first in Europe to receive the right to vote. Read more
• 1903 — The Ford Motor Company ships its first automobile. Read more
• 1885 — The Football Association legalizes professionalism in association football under pressure from the British Football Association. Read more
• 1871 — British Columbia joins the Canadian Confederation. Read more
• 1866 — Austro-Prussian War: Battle of Lissa: The Austrian Navy, led by Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, defeats the Italian Navy near the island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea. Read more
• 1864 — American Civil War: Battle of Peachtree Creek: Near Atlanta, Georgia, Confederate forces led by General John Bell Hood unsuccessfully attack Union troops under General William T. Sherman. Read more
• 1848 — The first Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, a two-day event, concludes. Read more
• 1831 — Seneca and Shawnee people agree to relinquish their land in western Ohio for 60,000 acres west of the Mississippi River. Read more
• 1810 — Citizens of Bogotá, New Granada declare independence from Spain. Read more
• 1807 — Nicéphore Niépce is awarded a patent by Napoleon for the Pyréolophore, the world's first internal combustion engine, after it successfully powered a boat upstream on the river Saône in France. Read more
• 1799 — Tekle Giyorgis I begins his first of six reigns as Emperor of Ethiopia. Read more
• 1738 — Canadian explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye reaches the western shore of Lake Michigan. Read more
• 1715 — Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War: The Ottoman Empire captures Nauplia, the capital of the Republic of Venice's "Kingdom of the Morea", thereby opening the way to the swift Ottoman reconquest of the Morea. Read more

Born on July 20

• 2001 — Álex Baena, Spanish footballer Read more
• 1999 — Pop Smoke, American rapper and singer (died 2020) Read more
• 1999 — Goga Bitadze, Georgian basketball player Read more
• 1998 — Morgan Geekie, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
• 1996 — Ben Simmons, Australian basketball player Read more
• 1995 — Moses Leota, New Zealand rugby league player Read more
• 1994 — Maia Shibutani, American ice dancer Read more
• 1993 — Steven Adams, New Zealand basketball player Read more
• 1993 — Nick Cousins, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
• 1993 — Alycia Debnam-Carey, Australian actress Read more
• 1991 — Chiyoshōma Fujio, Mongolian sumo wrestler Read more
• 1991 — Ryan James, Australian rugby league player Read more
• 1991 — Kira Kazantsev, Miss America 2015 Read more
• 1991 — Philipp Reiter, German mountaineer and runner Read more
• 1991 — Tawan Vihokratana, Thai actor, host, and model Read more
• 1991 — Andrew Shaw, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
• 1991 — Alec Burks, American basketball player Read more
• 1991 — Dwight Powell, Canadian basketball player Read more
• 1990 — Lars Unnerstall, German footballer Read more
• 1989 — Javier Cortés, Mexican footballer Read more
• 1989 — Cristian Pasquato, Italian footballer Read more
• 1988 — Julianne Hough, American singer-songwriter, actress, and dancer Read more
• 1988 — Stephen Strasburg, American baseball player Read more
• 1988 — Shahram Mahmoudi, Iranian volleyball player Read more
• 1988 — Sami Whitcomb, American-Australian basketball player Read more
• 1987 — Nicola Benedetti, Scottish violinist Read more
• 1987 — Niall McGinn, Irish footballer Read more
• 1986 — Osric Chau, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Read more
• 1985 — John Francis Daley, American actor and screenwriter Read more
• 1985 — Harley Morenstein, Canadian actor and YouTube personality Read more
• 1985 — David Mundy, Australian footballer Read more
• 1984 — Alexi Casilla, Dominican baseball player Read more
• 1984 — Matt Gilroy, American ice hockey player Read more
• 1982 — Antoine Vermette, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
• 1981 — Viktoria Ladõnskaja, Estonian journalist and politician Read more
• 1980 — Tesfaye Bramble, English-Montserratian footballer Read more
• 1980 — Gisele Bündchen, Brazilian model, fashionista, and businesswoman Read more
• 1979 — Miklós Fehér, Hungarian footballer (died 2004) Read more
• 1979 — Charlotte Hatherley, English singer-songwriter and guitarist Read more
• 1979 — David Ortega, Spanish swimmer Read more

Died on July 20

• 2025 — Malcolm-Jamal Warner, American actor (born 1970) Read more
• 2024 — Jerry Miller, American songwriter, guitarist and vocalist (born 1943) Read more
• 2024 — Jill Schary Robinson, American novelist (born 1936) Read more
• 2020 — Michael Brooks, political commentator (born 1983) Read more
• 2017 — Chester Bennington, American singer (born 1976) Read more
• 2016 — Radu Beligan, Romanian actor, director, and essayist (born 1918) Read more
• 2015 — Wayne Carson, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1943) Read more
• 2015 — Fred Else, English footballer and manager (born 1933) Read more
• 2015 — Dieter Moebius, Swiss-German keyboard player and producer (born 1944) Read more
• 2014 — Victor G. Atiyeh, American businessman and politician, 32nd Governor of Oregon (born 1923) Read more
• 2014 — Constantin Lucaci, Romanian sculptor and educator (born 1923) Read more
• 2014 — Bob McNamara, American football player (born 1931) Read more
• 2014 — Klaus Schmidt, German archaeologist and academic (born 1953) Read more
• 2013 — Pierre Fabre, French pharmacist and businessman, founded Laboratoires Pierre Fabre (born 1926) Read more
• 2013 — Khurshed Alam Khan, Indian politician, 2nd Governor of Goa (born 1919) Read more
• 2013 — Augustus Rowe, Canadian physician and politician (born 1920) Read more
• 2013 — Helen Thomas, American journalist and author (born 1920) Read more
• 2012 — Alastair Burnet, English journalist (born 1928) Read more
• 2012 — Jack Davis, American hurdler (born 1930) Read more
• 2012 — José Hermano Saraiva, Portuguese historian, jurist, and politician, Portuguese Minister of Education (born 1919) Read more
• 2011 — Lucian Freud, German-English painter and illustrator (born 1922) Read more
• 2009 — Vedat Okyar, Turkish footballer (born 1945) Read more
• 2009 — Mark Rosenzweig, American psychologist and academic (born 1922) Read more
• 2008 — Artie Traum, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (born 1943) Read more
• 2008 — Dinko Šakić, Croatian concentration camp commander (born 1921) Read more
• 2007 — Tammy Faye Messner, American Christian evangelist and talk show host (born 1942) Read more
• 2006 — Ted Grant, South African-English theorist and activist (born 1913) Read more
• 2006 — Gérard Oury, French actor, director, and producer (born 1919) Read more
• 2005 — James Doohan, Canadian-American actor (born 1920) Read more
• 2005 — Finn Gustavsen, Norwegian journalist and politician (born 1926) Read more
• 2005 — Kayo Hatta, American director and cinematographer (born 1958) Read more
• 2004 — Lala Mara, Fijian politician (born 1931) Read more
• 2004 — Valdemaras Martinkėnas, Lithuanian footballer and coach (born 1965) Read more
• 2003 — Nicolas Freeling, English author (born 1927) Read more
• 2002 — Michalis Kritikopoulos, Greek footballer (born 1946) Read more
• 1999 — Sandra Gould, American actress (born 1916) Read more
• 1998 — June Byers, American wrestler (born 1922) Read more
• 1997 — M. E. H. Maharoof, Sri Lankan politician (born 1939) Read more
• 1994 — Paul Delvaux, Belgian painter (born 1897) Read more
• 1993 — Vince Foster, American lawyer and political figure (born 1945) Read more

Holidays & observances

Birthday of Crown Prince Haakon Magnus (Norway); Christian feast day: Ansegisus; Christian feast day: Apollinaris of Ravenna; Christian feast day: Aurelius of Carthage; Christian feast day: Elijah; Christian feast day: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Bloomer, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Ross Tubman (Episcopal Church (USA)); Christian feast day: Frumentius; Christian feast day: Giuseppe Beotti; Christian feast day: John Baptist Yi (one of The Korean Martyrs); Christian feast day: Margaret the Virgin; Christian feast day: Rita Josefa Pujalte Sánchez; Christian feast day: Thorlac (relic translation); Christian feast day: Wilgefortis; Christian feast day: July 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Día del Amigo (Argentina, Brazil); Engineer's Day (Costa Rica); Independence Day, celebrates the independence declaration of Colombia from Spain in 1810.; International Chess Day; Lempira Day (Honduras)

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