Today in History - Historical Events - July 20th

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Notable Historical Events on July 20th

1808Napoleon decrees all French Jews adopt family names

1944Adolf Hitler survives an assassination attempt led by Germany army officer Claus Von Stauffenberg.

196318th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Mary Mills

1944US President FDR nominated for an unprecedented 4th term at Dem convention

1994OJ Simpson offers $500,000 reward for evidence of ex-wife's klller

1980Pat Bradley wins LPGA Greater Baltimore Golf Classic

1986Jane Geddes wins LPGA Boston Five Golf Classic

1991Mike Tyson is accused of raping a Miss Black America contestant

1967Pablo Neruda receives 1st Viareggio-Versile prizes

1956Yankee pitcher Whitey Ford ties AL record of 6 straight strike-outs

200816th ESPY Awards: Tiger Woods, Candace Parker win

19691st men on the Moon, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin Jr. from Apollo 11

1980109th British Golf Open: Tom Watson shoots a 271 at Muirfield Gullane

1933Vatican state secretary Pacelli (Pius XII) signs accord with Hitler

1943US Joint Chiefs of Staff question Admiral Nimitz over the landing on Gilbert Island

1836Charles Darwin climbs Green Hill on Ascension

1881Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull, surrenders to US federal troops

1992121st British Golf Open: Nick Faldo shoots a 272 at Muirfield Gullane

1989Burma government puts author Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest

1948Syngman Rhee elected President of South Korea

July 20th Historical Events
Date Event
514
St Hormisdas elected as Pope succeeding Pope Sympowerus 
1031
Henry I succeeds father Robert II as King of France 
1304
Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle - King Edward I of England takes the last rebel stronghold of the war. 
1402
Battle at Ancyra/Angora/Ankara: Timur' beats Sultan Bajezid I's Ottoman forces 
1495
French viceroy of Naples Montpensier surrenders 
1498
Emperor Maximilian names Albrecht governor of Netherlands 
1553
John Dudley, Lord President of the Council under Edward VI, captured in Cambridge 
1609
Emperor Rudolf II grants Silezische protestants freedom of religion 
1619
Gerardus Vossius resigns as Dutch regent States college leader 
1627
English fleet under George Villiers reaches La Rochelle [OS=June 10] 
1654
Anglo-Portuguese treaty, Portugal comes under English control 
1712
The Riot Act takes effect in Great Britain. 
1738
North America: French explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye reaches the western shore of Lake Michigan. 
1749
Earl of Chesterfield says "Idleness is only refuge of weak minds" 
1773
Scottish settlers arrive at Pictou, Nova Scotia (Canada) 
1801
Elisha Brown Jr pressed a 1,235 pound cheese ball at his farm 
1808
Napoleon decrees all French Jews adopt family names 
1810
Citizens of Bogotá, New Granada (now Colombia), declare independence from Spain. 
1836
Charles Darwin climbs Green Hill on Ascension 
1847
German astronomer Theodor discovers Comet Brorsen-Metcalf 
1849
Start of 1st Lancashire-Yorkshire clash at Hyde Park, Sheffield 
1855
1st train from Rotterdam to Utrecht in Netherlands 
1858
Fee 1st charged to see a baseball game (50 cents) (NY beats Bkln 22-18) 
1858
Gathering of Plombieres - Napoleon III meets Cavour 
1861
Confederate states' congress began holding sessions in Richmond, Va 
1862
Guerrilla campaign in GA (Porter's & Poindexter's) [->SEP 20] US580 CS2866 
1864
Battle at Stephenson's Depot Virginia: 200 killed or injured 
1864
Battle of Peachtree Creek-Atlanta Campaign 
1866
Sea battle of Lissa-Austria vs Italy 
1868
1st use of tax stamps on cigarettes 
1871
British Columbia joins the confederation of Canada. 
1876
1st US intercollegiate track meet held, Saratoga, NY; Princeton wins 
1877
Military shoots on stopped railroad workers in Balt, kills 9 
1878
1st telephone introduced in Hawaii 
1878
2nd Wimbledon Mens Tennis: Frank Hadow beats S Gore (7-5- 6-1 9-7) 
1881
Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull, surrenders to US federal troops 
1890
"Gibbons Stamp Monthly" begins publishing 
1890
Snow & hail in Calais, Maine 
1893
10th Wimbledon Womens Tennis: Lottie Dod beats B Hillyard (6-8 6-1 6-4) 
1893
17th Wimbledon Mens Tennis: Joshua Pim beats Wilfred Baddeley (3-6 6-1 6-3 6-2) 
1894
2000 fed troops recalled from Chicago, having ended Pullman strike 
1901
Morocco signs an agreement with France fixing Morocco's frontier with Algeria, a French colony 
1903
Giuseppe Sarto elected Pope Pius X, known as the 'pope of the poor and humble' 
1906
Bkln Dodger Mal Eason no-hits St Louis Cards, 2-0 
1907
A train wreck on the Pere Marquette Railroad near Salem, Michigan kills thirty and injures seventy more. 
1910
Former Dutch premier Abraham Kuyper acquitted of corruption 
1911
Boston Red Sox Smokey Joe Wood no-hits St Louis Browns, 5-0 
1911
Generals Henry Wilson/Auguste Dubail sign plan for British Expeditionary army in case of war with Germany 
1912
Phillies Sherry Magee steals home twice in 1 game 
1913
Turkish troops take Adrianopel & Erdine from Bulgaria 
1914
Armed resistance against British rule begins in Ulster 
1916
Giants trade Christy Mathewson to Cin Reds 
1917
Pact of Corfu signed: Serbs, Croats & Slovenes form Yugoslavia 
1917
WW I draft lottery held; #258 is 1st drawn 
1918
World War I: German troops cross the Marne. 
1920
Heerenveen soccer team forms 
1921
Congresswoman Alice Mary Robertson became the first woman to preside over the US House of Representatives. 
1922
Togo made a mandate of League of Nations 
1923
Yanks hit into a triple-play but beat A's 9-2 
1924
Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) forms in Paris 
1924
Teheran, Persia comes under martial law after the American vice consul, Robert Imbrie, is killed by a religious mob enraged by rumors he had poisoned a fountain and killed several people. 
1925
Beirut sultan Pasja al-Atrasj calls Druzen for holy war against France 
1925
Italian-Serbian/Croatian/Slav treaty about Dalmatie 
1926
A convention of the Methodist Church votes to allow women to become priests. 
1928
The government of Hungary issues a decree ordering Gypsies to end their nomadic ways, settle permanently in one place, and subject themselves to the same laws and taxes as other Hungarians. 
1930
106°F (41°C), Washington, DC (district record) 
1932
In Washington, D.C., police fire tear gas on World War I veterans part of the Bonus Expeditionary Force who attempt to march to the White House. 
1933
Vatican state secretary Pacelli (Pius XII) signs accord with Hitler 
1933
In London, 500,000 march against anti-Semitism. 
1933
Germany: Two-hundred Jewish merchants are arrested in Nuremberg and paraded through the streets. 
1934
118°F (48°C), Keokuk, Iowa (state record) 
1935
1st broadcast of "Gang Busters" on NBC-radio 
1935
Switzerland: A Royal Dutch Airlines plane en route from Milan to Frankfurt crashes into a Swiss mountain, killing thirteen. 
1938
Finland awarded 1940 Olympic games after Japan withdraws 
1940
Germany occupiers forbid Dutch Communist Party (CPN) in Netherlands 
1940
Nazi collaborator Rost of Tonningen appointed director of Marxist 
1940
Billboard publishes its 1st singles record chart (#1 is "I'll Never Smile Again" by Tommy Dorsey) 
1941
Yanks beat Tigers 12-6 in 17 
1942
1st detachment of Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, begin basic training 
1942
Barbados dismiss Trinidad for 16 in 69 minutes, Derek Sealy 8-8 
1942
Legion of Merit Medal authorized by US congress 
1942
Time puts Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovitch on its cover 
1943
US Joint Chiefs of Staff question Admiral Nimitz over the landing on Gilbert Island 
1944
British and Canadian troops occupy Hill 67/Ifs/Bras/Frenouville, Normandy 
1944
Browns Nelson Potter is 1st pitcher suspended for throwing spitballs 
1944
Canadian Cameron Highlanders conquer St Andre 
1944
Death March of 1,200 Jews from Lipcani Moldavia begins 
1944
Fieldmarshal von Kluge consults with German commandant at Caen 
1944
Flying Fortresses of US 8th Air Force attack Leipzig/Dessau 
1944
General Eisenhower visits Montgomery's headquarter in Normandy 
1944
Heavy storm hampers British offensive at Caen 
1944
Japanese aircraft carrier Hijo sunk by US air attack 
1944
Liberators of US 8th Air Force attack Gotha Russelsheim/Eisenach 
1944
US President FDR nominated for an unprecedented 4th term at Dem convention 
1944
US 15th Air Force attacks Friedrichshaven Memmingen 
1944
US 9th Air Force bombs railroad at Chaulnes Sable-sur-Sarthe/Dreux 
1944
US invades Japanese-occupied Guam 
1944
Violent battles in Verrieres-hill (Normandy) 
1944
Fifty are hurt in rioting in front of the presidential palace in Mexico City. 
1944
Adolf Hitler survives an assassination attempt led by Germany army officer Claus Von Stauffenberg. 
1947
1st political action of Neth Army on Java & Sumatra 
1948
Lou Thesz beats Bill Longson, to become NWA wrestling champ 
1948
Syngman Rhee elected President of South Korea 
1948
US Communist Party chairman William Forster arrested 
1949
Israel's 19 month war of independence ends 
1949
Vasil Kolarov elected premier of Bulgaria 
1950
"Arthur Murray Party" premieres on ABC TV (later DuMont, CBS, NBC) 
1951
King Abdullah I of Jordan is assassinated by a Palestinian while attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem. 
1952
Emile Zatopek runs Olympic Record 10K (29:17.0) 
1952
Fausto Coppi wins Tour de France 
1953
USSR/Israel recover diplomatic relations 
1953
The United Nations Economic and Social Council votes to make UNICEF a permanent agency. 
1954
Armistice for Indo-China signed, Vietnam separates into North & South 
1954
Tennis champ Maureen Connolly's right leg is crushed in an accident 
1954
West German secret service head Otto John defects to German DR 
1956
France recognizes Tunisian independence 
1956
Great Britain refuses to lend Egypt money to build Aswan Dam 
1956
US performs atmospheric nuclear Test at Bikini Island 
1956
Yankee pitcher Whitey Ford ties AL record of 6 straight strike-outs 
1958
40th PGA Championship: Dow Finsterwald shoots a 276 at Llanerch CC PA 
1958
Betty Jameson/Mary Lena Faulk wins Homestead 4-Ball Golf Tournament 
1958
King Hussein of Jordan breaks off diplomatic relations with UAR 
1960
1st submerged submarine to fire Polaris missile (George Washington) 
1960
Sirima Bandaranaike becomes 1st female premier of Ceylon 
1960
USSR recovered 2 dogs; 1st living organisms to return from space 
1960
The head of the Physics Department at the Israel Institute of Technology, Kurt Sitte, is arrested for espionage. 
1961
French military forces break the Tunisian siege of Bizerte. 
1962
Dmitri Shostakovitch completes his 13th Symphony 
1962
France & Tunisia recover diplomatic relations 
1963
17 African states & Madagascar sign peace treaty with EC 
1963
18th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Mary Mills 
1963
Verne Gagne beats Crusher Lisowski in Minneapolis, to become NWA champ 
1963
Riots break out at Mt Eden Prison, Auckland, New Zealand 
1964
1st surfin' record to go #1-Jan & Dean's "Surf City" 
1964
Dmitri Shostakovitch completes his 10th String quartet 
1965
18.18" (46.18 cm) of rainfall, Edgarton, Missouri (state 24-hr record) 
1965
NY Yankee pitcher Mel Stottlemyre hits an inside-the-park grand slam 
1967
Pablo Neruda receives 1st Viareggio-Versile prizes 
1967
Race riots in Memphis Tenn 
1968
Jane Asher breaks her engagement with Paul McCartney on live TV 
1968
Iron Butterfly's "In-a-gadda-da-vida" becomes 1st heavy metal song to hit charts, it comes in at #117 
1969
1st men on the Moon, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin Jr. from Apollo 11 
1969
Carol Mann wins LPGA Danbury Lady Carling Golf Open 
1969
Eddy Merckx wins Tour de France 
1970
Dodgers Bill Singer no-hits the Phillies 5-0, giving up no walks 
1972
US performs nuclear Test at Nevada Test Site 
1973
Jack Brisco beats Harley Race in Houston, to become NWA champ 
1973
Chic's Wilbur Wood starts & loses both games of a doubleheader with NY Yankees, 12-2, & 7-0 
1973
The US Senate passes the War Powers Act. 
1974
Heng Yo & Heng Ju, completes 1,000 mile (SF-Seattle) pilgrimage 
1974
Turkey invades Cyprus 
1975
30th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Sandra Palmer 
1975
India expels three reporters from The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and Newsweek because they refused to sign a pledge to abide by government censorship. 
1976
Hank Aaron hits 755th & last home run off Angels Dick Drago 
1976
US Viking 1 lands on Mars at Chryse Planitia, 1st Martian landing 
1976
Vietnam War: The US military completes its troop withdrawal from Thailand. 
1976
Rev. Samuel Mutendi, founder of the first African Independent Church, dies 
1977
Flash flood hits Johnstown, Pa, kills 80 & causing $350 mil damage 
1977
The Central Intelligence Agency releases documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind control experiments. 
1979
44-kg Newfoundland dog pulls 2293-kg load, Bothell, Wash 
1980
109th British Golf Open: Tom Watson shoots a 271 at Muirfield Gullane 
1980
Joop Zoetemelk wins Tour de France 
1980
Pat Bradley wins LPGA Greater Baltimore Golf Classic 
1981
England set for innings loss v Aust, Botham hits 100 in 87 balls 
1981
Irene Saez, of Venezuela, crowned 30th Miss Universe 
1982
T Macauly & D Vosburghs musical "Windy City," premieres in London 
1982
Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings: 11 British soldiers and 7 military horses killed in Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb attacks during military ceremonies in London 
1983
France performs nuclear Test at Muruora Island 
1984
Uwe Hohn of East Germany throws javelin a record 104.8 m 
1984
Vanessa Williams is asked to resign as Miss America 
1985
Divers find wreck of Spanish galleon Atocha 
1985
The government of Aruba passes legislation to secede from the Netherlands Antilles. 
1986
Jane Geddes wins LPGA Boston Five Golf Classic 
1987
Don Mattingly ties 1st base fielding record with 22 put-outs 
1988
Michael Dukakis selected Democratic presidential nominee 
1989
93°F, highest overnight low ever recorded in Phoenix Arizona 
1989
Burma government puts author Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest 
1989
Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe's show opens at Washington, D.C.'s Project for the Arts after the Smithsonian Institution's Corcoran Gallery cancels it. 
1990
Justice William Brennan resigns from Supreme Court after 36 years 
1991
Mike Tyson is accused of raping a Miss Black America contestant 
1992
121st British Golf Open: Nick Faldo shoots a 272 at Muirfield Gullane 
1992
Round World Air Race begins in Paris 
1992
Václav Havel resigns as president of Czechoslovakia. 
1993
Fire in the press box at Altanta Fulton County Stadium 
1994
Major parts of Comet Shoemaker-Levy hit Jupiter (July 16th-22nd) 
1994
OJ Simpson offers $500,000 reward for evidence of ex-wife's klller 
1995
The Regents of the University of California vote to end all affirmative action in the UC system by 1997. 
1996
In Spain an ETA bomb at an airport kills 35 
1997
126th British Golf Open: Billy Ray Brown shoots a 271 at Royal Troon 
1997
American Justin Leonard wins the British Open shooting at 272 
1997
Burnet Senior Golf Classic 
1997
Michele Redman wins LPGA JAL Big Apple Classic 
1998
Two hundred aid workers from CARE International, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and other aid groups leave Afghanistan on orders of the Taliban. 
1999
Falun Gong is banned in the People's Republic of China, and a large scale crackdown of the practice is launched. 
2000
The leaders of Salt Lake City's bid to win the 2002 Winter Olympics are indicted by a federal grand jury for bribery, fraud, and racketeering 
2000
In Zimbabwe, Parliament opens its new session and seats opposition members for the first time in a decade. 
2000
Terrorist Carlos the Jackal sues France in the European Court of Human Rights for allegedly torturing him. 
2001
The London Stock Exchange goes public. 
2001
Italy: The 27th Annual G8 summit opens in Genoa. An Italian protester in Genoa, Carlo Giuliani, is shot by police. 
2002
South America: A fire in a discotheque in Lima, Peru kills over twenty-five. 
2003
France: Sixteen people are injured after two bombs explode outside a tax office in Nice. 
2003
132nd British Golf Open: Ben Curtis shoots a 283 at Royal St George's Golf Club 
2005
Canada becomes the fourth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage, after the bill C-38 receives its Royal Assent. 
2008
137th British Golf Open: Pádraig Harrington shoots a 283 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club 
2008
16th ESPY Awards: Tiger Woods, Candace Parker win 
2012
12 people are killed and 59 injured after a gunman opens fire at a Dark Knight movie premier in Aurora, Colorado, 
2012
21 people are killed and 29 injured in a bus accident in Nayarit, Mexico 
2014
Rory McIlroy wins the 2014 Open Championship (British Open) 
2017
CBO estimates 32 million more uninsured in a decade with Obamacare repeal 
2017
Republican Senator John McCain diagnosed with brain tumour 
2017
CBO estimates 32 million more uninsured in a decade with Obamacare repeal 
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