Sun Signs Everything Under The Sun!
July 20: Today in History – Historical Events
Early Centuries – July 20 Historic Events – Before the 1700s
1. 20th July 1031: Robert II was succeeded by Henry I as King of Franks (1031-60).
2. 20th July 1304: During the war of Scottish independence King Edward I of England took the last rebel stronghold of the war at the fall of the Sterling Castle.
3. 20th July 1495: Montpensier the French viceroy of Naples surrendered today.
4. 20th July 1553: John Dudley who was the Lord President of Council under Edward the VI was captured today in Cambridge.
5. 20th July 1609: Freedom of religion was granted to Silezische Protestants by Emperor Rudolf II today.
6. 20th July 1627: The English fleet led by George Villiers reached La Rochelle.
7. 20th July 1654: In the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty, Portugal came under British control.
18th Century – What Happened on July 20 – The 1700s
8. 20th July 1712: The Riot Act comes into effect in Great Britain today.
9. 20th July 1738: French Explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye who was on a mission to explore North America, arrived at the western shore of Lake Michigan.
10. 20th July 1749: It was said by the Earl of Chesterfield that “idleness is the only refuge of weak minds”.
11. 20th July 1773: Scottish settlers arrived at Pictou, Nova Scotia in Canada.
19th Century – July 20 This Day That Year – The 1800s
12. 20th July 1808: Napoleon issued a decree for all Jews to adopt family names.
13. 20th July 1810: Citizens of Bogota, New Granada, which is now known as Columbia declared their independence from Spain.
14. 20th July 1837: Euston railway station in London opened today as a terminus of the London Birmingham Railway, which was the city’s first intercity railway station.
15. 20th July 1847: Comet Brorsen-Metcalf was discovered by German astronomer Theodore today.
16. 20th July 1855: 1st train service between Rotterdam and Utrecht in the Netherlands was commissioned today.
17. 20th July 1858: Entrée fee (50 cents) to witness a baseball game was introduced today.
18. 20th July 1861: In Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate Congress began holding its sessions.
19. 20th July 1864: In the Battle of Stephenson’s depot in Virginia, 200 people were either killed or injured.
20. 20th July 1868: Tax stamps were used on cigarettes for the first time today.
21. 20th July 1871: British Columbia joined with the Confederation of Canada today.
22. 20th July 1876: The first inter-collegiate track meet was held today at Saratoga in New York. Princeton emerged as the winner.
23. 20th July 1877: In Baltimore, a military shot stopped railroad workers killing 9 people.
24. 20th July 1878: Hawaii got its first telephone today.
25. 20th July 1881: Sitting Bull, the Lakota Sioux Indian Chief, surrendered to US federal troops today.
26. 20th July 1894: After ending the Pullman strike, 2000 federal troops were recalled from Chicago.
27. 20th July 1896: In Wimbledon men’s tennis, three-time champion Wilfred Baddeley lost to Harold Mahony, 2-6, 8-6, 7-5, 6-8, 3-6.
20th Century – Important Events On This Day July 20th – The 1900
28. 20th July 1901: Morocco signed an agreement with France fixing Morocco’s boundary with the French colony Algeria.
29. 20th July 1903: Giuseppe Sarto was elected as Pope Pius X today. He was known as the “Pope of the poor and humble”.
30. 20th July 1907: There was a train accident on the Pere Marquette Railroad near Salem, Michigan. 30 people were killed and 70 others were injured in the accident.
31. 20th July 1910: Abraham Kuyper, the former Dutch Premier was acquitted of charges of corruption today.
32. 20th July 1913: Turkish troops took Adrianople and Erdine from Bulgaria today.
33. 20th July 1914: In Ulster, armed resistance against the British started today.
34. 20th July 1921: Alice Mary Robertson, the 2nd woman to be elected to Congress became the first woman to preside over the floor of the US House of Representatives.
35. 20th July 1924: The World Chess Federation “Federation Internationale des Echecs” (FIDE) was formed in Paris on this day.
36. 20th July 1926: A convention of a Methodist Church voted to allow women to become priests.
37. 20th July 1928: The Hungarian government issued a decree that ordered Gypsies to put an end to their nomadic practice settle in one place permanently and subject themselves to the same laws and taxes as the rest of the Hungarians.
38. 20th July 1932: Police fired teargas shells on World War I veterans who were part of the bonus expenditure force, who were attempting to march to the White House in Washington DC.
39. 20th July 1933: Adolf Hitler and Vatican state secretary Pacelli (Pius XII) signed an accord today.
40. 20th July 1933: 500,000 people take out a march against anti-Semitism in London.
41. 20th July 1933: In Germany, 200 Jewish merchants were arrested in Nuremberg and were paraded in the streets.
42. 20th July 1935: An aircraft of the Royal Dutch Airlines flying from Milan to Frankfurt crashed into a Swiss mountain killing 13 people.
43. 20th July 1938: The 1940 Olympic Games was awarded to Finland after Japan withdrew.
44. 20th July 1940: German occupiers today forbid the Dutch Communist Party (CPN) in the Netherlands.
45. 20th July 1942: The first contingent of the Women’s Army Auxiliary force commenced basic training today.
46. 20th July 1942: The US Congress authorized the Legion of Merit Medal today.
47. 20th July 1944: Leipzig and Dessau in Germany came under attack by the Flying Fortresses of the US 8th Air Force.
48. 20th July 1944: General Eisenhower visited Montgomery’s headquarters in Normandy today.
49. 20th July 1944: The democratic convention nominated Franklin D Roosevelt for an unprecedented fourth term as President.
50. 20th July 1944: Adolf Hitler survived an assassination attempt today which was led by a German officer Claus Von Stauffenberg.
51. 20th July 1944: Japanese-occupied Guam was invaded by the US today.
52. 20th July 1947: The Netherlands army launches its first political action on Java and Sumatra.
53. 20th July 1948: In South Korea, Syngman Rhee was today elected as its President.
54. 20th July 1948: William Foster, chairman of the US communist party was arrested today.
55. 20th July 1949: The 19-month-long war of independence of Israel ended today.
56. 20th July 1951: While attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem, King Abdullah I of Jordan was assassinated by a Palestinian.
57. 20th July 1953: Israel and USSR re-established diplomatic relations today.
58. 20th July 1953: The United Nations Economic and Social Council today voted in favor of making UNICEF a permanent agency.
59. 20th July 1956: Tunisian independence recognized by France.
60. 20th July 1956: Great Britain refuses to give financial assistance to Egypt for building the Aswan Dam.
61. 20th July 1956: The US today performed an atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island.
62. 20th July 1958: King Hussein of Jordan broke off diplomatic relations with the United Arab Republic today.
63. 20th July 1961: Tunisian seizure on Bizerte was broken today by the French military forces.
64. 20th July 1969: Apollo 11 carrying Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins landed on the surface of the moon. Seven hours later Armstrong and Aldrin walk on the surface of the moon.
65. 20th July 1972: The US today performed a nuclear test at its Nevada test site.
66. 20th July 1973: The War Powers Act was passed by the US Senate today.
67. 20th July 1975: Three reporters, one each from ‘The Times’, ‘The Daily Telegraph’ and ‘Newsweek’ were expelled by India for refusing to sign a pledge to abide by the government censorship.
68. 20th July 1977: Johnstown in Pennsylvania was hit by flash floods causing the death of 80 people and $350 million damage.
69. 20th July 1983: France performed a nuclear test at Mururoa atoll.
70. 20th July 1994: In North Korea, Supreme Leader Kim II-Sung was placed in a public Mausoleum at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun.
21st Century – July 20 This Day In History – The 2000s
71. 20th July 2001: The London Stock Exchange went public today.
72. 20th July 2002: In a nightclub in Lima Peru, bartenders doing tricks with fire triggered a major fire that killed 25 and caused injury to 100.
73. 20th July 2003: In France, two bombs exploded outside a tax office in Nice in which 16 people were injured.
74. 20th July 2005: After receiving Royal assent to bill C-38, Canada became the fourth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.
75. 20th July 2008: Golfer Tiger Woods and basketball professional Cadence Parker won the 16th ESPY Awards.
76. 20th July 2014: The Israeli Defense Forces as part of their ground offensive destroying tunnels crossing the Israel border enter the Shuja’iyya a populous neighborhood of Gaza City.
77. 20th July 2015: 30 people were killed by suicide bombers in the Turkish town of Suruc near the border of Syria.
78. 20th July 2017: The Iraqi city of Mosul probably has its last fighting as the city is liberated from ISIS militants.
79. 20th July 2017: China, announced a plan against “foreign garbage” which banned 24 categories of plastic and recyclable waste from 2018.
80. 20th July 2018: Australian businessman James Packer today announced that owing to mental health issues he has quit 22 directorships.
See Also: