July 20 July 20 is the 201st day of the year (202nd in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 164 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
Up to 1900
70 – Siege of Jerusalem : Titus , son of Vespasian , storms the fortress of Antonia north of the Temple Mount . The Roman army is drawn into street fights with the Zealots .1189 – Richard I of England is invested as Duke of Normandy .1304 – Wars of Scottish Independence : King Edward I of England takes control of Stirling Castle .1402 – Ottoman-Timurid Wars : Battle of Ankara – Timur , ruler of the Timurid Empire , defeats the forces of Ottoman Empire Sultan , Bayezid I .1592 – Japanese forces under Toyotomi Hideyoshi capture Pyongyang during their invasion of Korea , but ultimately fail to hold on to it.1738 – Canadian explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye reaches the western shore of Lake Michigan .1799 – Tekle Giyorgis I starts the first of his five reigns as Emperor of Ethiopia .1807 – Nicéphore Niépce is given a patent by Napoleon Bonaparte for the Pyreolophore , the first internal combustion engine .1810 – Citizens of Bogota, New Granada (in present–day Colombia ), declare independence from Spain .1864 – American Civil War : Battle of Peachtree Creek .1866 – Austro-Prussian War : Battle of Lissa – The Austrian Navy , led by Wilhelm von Tegetthof , defeats the Italian Navy near the island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea .1871 – British Columbia joins the Confederation of Canada .1885 – The English Football Association allows professionalism in association football .1898 – Spanish-American War : A boiler explodes on the USS Iowa , off the coast of Santiago de Cuba .– 20001903 – The Ford Motor company ships its first car.1906 – Finland gives women the right to vote .1917 – World War I : The Corfu Declaration , which leads to the creation of the postwar Kingdom of Yugoslavia , is signed by the Yugoslav committee and the Kingdom of Serbia .1922 – The League of Nations awards mandates of Togoland to France and Tanganyika to the United Kingdom .1924 – FIDE, the worldwide governing body of chess , is founded in Paris .1935 – Switzerland : A Royal Dutch Airlines plane en route from Milan to Frankfurt crashes into a Swiss mountain , killing 13 people.1940 – Denmark leaves the League of Nations .1940 – California opens its first freeway .1944 – The 20 July plot to kill Adolf Hitler fails.1949 – Israel and Syria sign a truce to end their 19–month war.1951 – King Abdullah I of Jordan is murdered by a Palestinian while attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem .1954 – Otto John , head of West Germany 's secret service, defects to East Germany .1960 – In Ceylon (present–day Sri Lanka ), Sirimavo Bandaranaike is elected as the world's first female Prime Minister .1961 – The French military breaks the Tunisian siege of Bizerte .1968 – The Special Olympics are founded.1969 – A ceasefire ends the 6–day Football War between Honduras and El Salvador .1969 – Eddy Merckx wins his first Tour de France .1969 – Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the Moon , becoming the first–ever humans to do so.1974 – Cyprus dispute : The Turkish occupation of Cyprus begins.1976 – The American Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars .1977 – Johnstown , Pennsylvania is hit by a flash flood that kills 80 people.1982 – In London , the Hyde Park and Regents Park bombings are carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army , killing 8 people and 7 horses . 47 people are injured.1985 – The government of Aruba passes legislation to separate from the Netherlands Antilles .1989 – Aung San Suu Kyi is put under house arrest by the Burmese military junta for the first time.2000 – Leaders of Salt Lake City 's bid to host the Winter Olympics , are indicted by a federal grand jury for bribery , fraud and racketeering .Births
Up to 1900
356 BC – Alexander the Great , Macedonian king and conqueror of Persia (d. 323 BC )810 – Muhammad al-Bukhari , Muslim scholar (d. 870 )1304 – Petrarch , Italian poet and scholar (d. 1374 )1519 – Pope Innocent IX (d. 1591 )1620 – Nikolaes Heinsius , Dutch scholar (d. 1681 )1757 – Garsevan Chavchavadze , Georgian diplomat and politician (d. 1811 )1762 – Jakob Haibel , Austrian composer, tenor and choirmaster (d. 1826 )1766 – Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin , British peer , diplomat and art thief (d. 1841 )1785 – Mahmud II , Ottoman sultan (d. 1839 )1797 – Pawel Edmund Strzelecki , Polish explorer and geologist (d. 1873 )1804 – Richard Owen , British scientist (d. 1892 )1811 – James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin , British colonial officer and diplomat (d. 1863 )1822 – Gregor Mendel , Austrian priest and geneticist (d. 1884 )1830 – Clements Markham , British explorer, writer and geographer (d. 1916 )1836 – Thomas Clifford Allbutt , English physician (d. 1925 )1838 – Augustin Daly , American playwright (d. 1899 )1838 – George Otto Trevelyan , English statesman and biographer (d. 1928 )1847 – Max Liebermann , German painter (d. 1935 )1849 – Robert Anderson Van Wyck , 91st Mayor of New York City (d. 1918 )1852 – Theo Heemskerk , Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1932 )1859 – Otto Warburg , German botanist (d. 1938 )1864 – Erik Axel Karlfeldt , Swedish writer (d. 1931 )1868 – Miron Cristea , Patriarch of Romania (d. 1939 )1868 – José Félix Uriburu , President of Argentina (d. 1932 )1873 – Alberto Santos-Dumont , Brazilian aviator (d. 1923 )1876 – Otto Blumenthal , German mathematician (d. 1944 )1889 – John Reith, 1st Baron Reith , British broadcaster (d. 1971 )1890 – Verna Felton , American actress (d. 1966 )1890 – Julie Vinter Hansen , Danish astronomer (d. 1960 )1890 – Giorgio Morandi , Italian painter and graphic artist (d. 1964 )1894 – Stefán Jóhann Stefánsson , Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1980 )1895 – László Moholy-Nagy , Hungarian artist (d. 1946 )1896 – Eunice Sanborn , American supercentenarian , officially the second–oldest person in the world (d. 2011 )1897 – Camillo Berneri , Italian writer, philosopher and anarchist (d. 1937 )1897 – Tadeusz Reichstein , Polish–born chemist (d. 1996 )1900 – Maurice Leyland , English cricketer (d. 1967 )– 19501910 – Mohamed Amin Didi , first President of the Maldives (d. 1954 )1914 – Dobri Dobrev , Bulgarian philanthropist (d. 2018 )1914 – Magda Frank , Hungarian–Argentinian sculptor (d. 2010 )1914 – Ersilio Tonini , Italian cardinal (d. 2013 )1919 – Edmund Hillary , New Zealand mountaineer and explorer (d. 2008 )1920 – Elliot Richardson , American politician (d. 1999 )1922 – Alan Stephenson Boyd , American attorney and politician (d. 2020 )1924 – Tatyana Lioznova , Russian movie director (d. 2011 )1925 – Jacques Delors , French politician1925 – Frantz Fanon , Afro–Caribbean psychiatrist , philosopher , revolutionary and writer (d. 1961 )1925 – Lola Albright , American actress (d. 2017 )1927 – Lyudmila Alexeyeva , Russian historian and activist (d. 2018 )1928 – Pavel Kohout , Austrian–Bohemian writer1929 – Rajendra Kumar , Indian actor (d. 1999 )1930 – Chuck Daly , American basketball coach (d. 2009 )1930 – Heinz Kubsch , German footballer (d. 1993 )1932 – Nam June Paik , Korean video artist (d. 2006 )1932 – Otto Schily , German politician1932 – Dick Giordano , American comic book artist and editor (d. 2010 )1933 – Cormac McCarthy , American writer1933 – Rex Williams , English snooker player1934 – Uwe Johnson , German writer (d. 1984 )1935 – Sleepy LaBeef , American musician1936 – Alistair MacLeod , Canadian writer (d. 2014 )1937 – Ken Ogata , Japanese actor (d. 2008 )1938 – Roger Hunt , English footballer 1938 – Dame Diana Rigg , British actress1938 – Heinz Strehl , German footballer (d. 1986 )1938 – Natalie Wood , American actress (d. 1981 )1939 – Judy Chicago , American artist1943 – Chris Amon , New Zealand Formula One driver (d. 2016 )1943 – Willie Mathieson , Scottish footballer1943 – Wendy Richard , English actress (d. 2009 )1944 – Mel Daniels , American basketball player (d. 2015 )1945 – Larry Craig , American politician1946 – Htin Kyaw , former President of Myanmar 1947 – Gerd Binnig , German–born physicist 1947 – Carlos Santana , Mexican–American musician1948 – Muse Watson , American actor1950 – Edward Leigh , British politician– 19751951 – Larry Black , American athlete (d. 2006 )1953 – Dave Evans , Welsh–Australian singer (AC/DC )1953 – Marcia Hines , American–Australian singer, actress and television personality1953 – Dan Shaughnessy , American writer1954 – Keith Scott , Canadian guitarist 1956 – Paul Cook , English musician (The Sex Pistols )1956 – Julio César Falcioni , Argentine footballer 1958 – Billy Mays , American advertising figure (d. 2009 )1958 – Mick MacNeil , Scottish musician (Simple Minds )1960 – Pedro Zerolo , Spanish lawyer and politician (d. 2014 )1962 – Carlos Alazraqui , American actor , producer and screenwriter 1963 – Paula Ivan , Romanian athlete1963 – Alexander Zhulin , Russian ice dancer1963 – John Simmit, British actor and stand–up comedian1964 – Dean Winters , American actor1964 – Terri Irwin , American naturalist1964 – Chris Cornell , American singer and musician (d. 2017 )1965 – Abdourahman Waberi , Djiboutian writer1966 – Anton du Beke , British ballroom dancer1966 – Enrique Peña Nieto , President of Mexico 1966 – Stone Gossard , American musician1967 – Courtney Taylor-Taylor , American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Dandy Warhols )1967 – Reed Diamond , American actor1968 – Carlos Saldanha , Brazilian director 1969 – Josh Holloway , American actor1969 – Tobi Vail , American musician1971 – Sandra Oh , Canadian actress1971 – DJ Screw , American DJ (d. 2000 )1973 – Peter Forsberg , Swedish ice hockey player1973 – Haakon Magnus, Crown Prince of Norway 1973 – Claudio Reyna , American footballer1973 – Roberto Orci , Mexican–American screenwriter and producer 1975 – Erik Hagen , Norwegian footballer1975 – Rodolfo Arruabarrena , Argentine footballer1975 – Birgitta Ohlsson , Swedish politicianFrom 1976
1977 – Alessandro Santos , Brazilian–Japanese footballer1978 – Will Solomon , American basketball player1978 – Nigel Quashie , British footballer1979 – Miklos Feher , Hungarian footballer (d. 2004 )1980 – Gisele Bündchen , Brazilian model1982 – Antoine Vermette , Canadian ice hockey player1985 – John Francis Daley , American actor and screenwriter 1986 – Osric Chau , Canadian actor and martial artist1987 – Nicola Benedetti , Scottish violinist 1987 – Niall McGinn , Northern Irish footballer 1988 – Julianne Hough , American dancer1988 – Stephen Strasburg , American baseball player1989 – Cristiano Pasquato , Italian footballer 1989 – Javier Cortés , Mexican footballer 1990 – Wendie Renard , French footballer 1991 – Philipp Reiter , German mountaineer and runner1993 – Steven Adams , New Zealand basketball player1993 – Alycia Debnam-Carey , Australian actress1999 – Princess Alexandra of Hanover , Monegasque royaltyDeaths
Up to 1900
985 – Pope Boniface VII 1031 – King Robert II of France (b. 972 )1156 – Emperor Toba of Japan (1103 )1160 – Peter Lombard , French theologian (b. c. 1100 )1320 – King Oshin of Armenia (b. 1282 )1351 – Margaretha Ebner , German visionary (b.1291 )1387 – Robert IV of Artois, Count of Eu (poisoned) (b. 1356 )1398 – Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March , heir to the throne of England (b. 1374 )1453 – Enguerrand de Monstrelet , French chronicler (b. c. 400 )1454 – King John II of Castile (b. 1405 )1524 – Claude of France , queen of Louis XII of France (b. 1499 )1616 – Hugh O'Neill, 3rd Earl of Tyrone , Irish soldier (b. c. 1550 )1704 – Peregrine White , first English child born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1620 )1752 – Johann Christoph Pepusch , German composer (b. 1667 )1793 – Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux , French explorer (b. 1737 )1796 – John Houstoun , Governor of Georgia (b. 1744 )1816 – Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin , Russian poet (b. 1743 )1866 – Bernhard Riemann , German mathematician (b. 1826 )1870 – Jules de Goncourt , French writer (b. 1830 )1891 – Frederick Weld , Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1823 )1897 – Jean Ingelow , English poet (b. 1820 )– 20001901 – William Cosmo Monkhouse , English poet and critic (b. 1840 )1903 – Pope Leo XIII (b. 1810 )1908 – Demetrius Vikelas , Greek International Olympic Committee president (b. 1835 )1922 – Andrey Markov , Russian mathematician (b. 1856 )1923 – Pancho Villa , Mexican revolutionary (b. 1878 )1926 – Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinskiy , head of the Soviet secret police (b. 1877 )1927 – King Ferdinand of Romania (b. 1865 )1932 – René Bazin , French writer (b. 1853 )1937 – Guglielmo Marconi , Italian inventor, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics (b. 1874 )1941 – Lew Fields , American vaudeville performer (b. 1867 )1942 – Germaine Dulac , French movie director (b. 1882 )1944 – Mildred Harris , American actress (b. 1901 )1945 – Paul Valéry , French writer and poet (b. 1871 )1951 – King Abdullah I of Jordan (b. 1882 )1951 – Friedrich Wilhelm Hohenzollern , Crown Prince of Germany (b. 1882 )1953 – Dumarsais Estimé , President of Haiti (b. 1900 )1953 – Jan Struther , British writer (b. 1901 )1955 – Calouste Gulbenkian , Armenian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1869 )1959 – William D. Leahy , American admiral (b. 1875 )1967 – Albert Lutuli , South African civil rights leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. c. 1898 )1970 – Iain Macleod , English politician (b. 1913 )1972 – Friedrich Flick , German industrialist and Nazi war criminal (b. 1893 )1973 – Bruce Lee , American actor and martial artist (b. 1940 )1982 – Okot p'Bitek , Ugandan poet (b. 1931 )1983 – Frank Reynolds , American television news anchor (b. 1923 )1986 – Stanley Rous , English FIFA President1987 – Richard Egan , American actor (b. 1921 )1989 – Forrest H. Anderson , 17th Governor of Montana (b. 1920 )1990 – Herbert Jenkins , Atlanta's longest serving police chief (b. 1907 )1993 – Vincent Foster Jr. , White House deputy counsel (b. 1945 )1997 – John Akii-Bua , Ugandan hurdler (b. 1949 )1999 – Sandra Gould , American actress (b. 1916 )From 2001
2001 – Carlo Giuliani , Italian anti–globalist demonstrator (b. 1978 )2003 – Nicolas Freeling , English writer (b. 1927 )2004 – Adi Lady Lala Mara , Fiji chieftainess, wife of Kamisese Mara (b. 1931 )2004 – Antonio Gades , Spanish dancer and choreographer (b. 1936 )2005 – James Doohan , Canadian–born actor (b. 1920 )2005 – Charles Chibitty , World War II Comanche code talker (b. 1921 )2005 – Finn Gustavsen , Norwegian politician (b. 1926 )2005 – Kayo Hatta , American movie director (b. 1958 )2005 – Alfred Hayes , British–born wrestling announcer (b. 1928 )2007 – Tammy Faye Messner , American televangelist (b. 1942 )2010 – Benedikt Gröndal , Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1924 )2011 – Lucian Freud , German–born British painter (b. 1922 )2013 – Helen Thomas , American journalist (b. 1920 )2014 – Kadhal Dhandapani , Indian actor (b. 1943 )2014 – Victor G. Atiyeh , American politician, 32nd Governor of Oregon (b. 1923 )2014 – Klaus Schmidt , German archaeologist (b. 1953 )2014 – Kadhal Dhandapani , Indian actor (b. 1943 )2014 – Panna Rittikrai , Thai martial arts choreographer , actor and director (b. 1961 )2015 – Dieter Moebius , Swiss–German electronic musician (b. 1944 )2016 – Radu Beligan , Romanian actor, director and essayist (b. 1918 )2016 – Dimitri , Swiss clown (b. 1935 )2016 – Mohammed Shahid , Indian field hockey player (b. 1960 )2016 – Pavel Sheremet , Belarusian journalist (b. 1971 )2017 – Marco Aurélio Garcia , Brazilian politician (b. 1941 )2017 – Chester Bennington , American singer and musician (Linkin Park ) (b. 1976 )2017 – Bernhard Kempa , German handball player and coach (b. 1920 )2017 – Kenneth Jay Lane , American costume jewellery designer (b. 1932 )2017 – John McCluskey, Baron McCluskey , Scottish lawyer, judge and life peer (b. 1929 )2017 – Claude Rich , French actor (b. 1929 )2017 – Jonathan Shurberg , American attorney and politician (b. 1963 )2017 – Jadwiga Szubartowicz , Polish supercentenarian (b. 1905 )2017 – Pudsey , Border Collie performing dog (b. 2005 )2018 – Thaddeus Radzilowski , Polish–American historian and writer (b. 1938 )2018 – Christoph Westerthaler , Austrian footballer (b. 1965 )2018 – Mitsuo Matayoshi , Japanese political activist (b. 1944 )2019 – Sheila Dikshit , Indian politician (b. 1938 )2019 – Ilaria Occhini , Italian actress (b. 1934 )2019 – Peter McNamara , Australian tennis player (b. 1955 )
In 2007 , the date of July 20 could have been written as 20072007, although in the US it was mostly written as 07202007.