20 July

July 20 is the 201st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 164 days remain until the end of the year.

We have some interesting facts & historic events all about July 20^th, including areas in religion, crime, health and more.

Keep reading for more interesting facts about July 20^th in history!

Table of Contents

1. Global Celebrations
2. Historic Events
3. Famous Birthdays
4. Heartbreaking Deaths

Global Celebrations

• National Lollipop Day
• World Jump Day
• International Chess Day
• Space Exploration Day
• National Moon Day

Historic Events

What Happened On This Day – July 20

2012: Aurora shooting

A gunman, James Holmes, opened fire in a movie theater during the premier of the Dark Night Rises in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others.

1976: Viking I lands on Mars

Part of the Viking program, Viking I became the first American spacecraft to successfully land on Mars and to complete its mission.

1974: Turkish invasion of Cyprus

Also known as Cyprus Peace Operation or Operation Attila, the invasion was a response to a coup in Cyprus.

1969: Apollo 11 lands on the Moon

Carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, who would become the first humans to walk on the Moon, the spacecraft safely landed on the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon.

1969: Football War ends

A ceasefire came into effect between Honduras and El Salvador after the two countries fought a brief war over immigration El Salvador to Honduras. The hostilities occurred during North American trials of the FIFA World Cup.

1944: Hermann Goering and other German officials survey the damage to Hitler’s “Wolf’s Lair” headquarters after the failed July 20th assassination attempt (July 20th, 1944)

1943: A German tanker from the 20th Panzer Division shows the camera his Panzer IV shot through the barrel by a Soviet shell – Battle of Kursk, July 1943

Famous Birthdays

Births On This Day, July 20

1978: Elliott Yamin, American singer-songwriter

1966: Enrique Peña Nieto, Mexican politician

1947: Carlos Santana, Mexican/American singer-songwriter, guitarist

1919: Edmund Hillary, New Zealand mountaineer, explorer

1304: Petrarch, Italian scholar, poet

Heartbreaking Deaths

Deaths On This Day, July 20

2013: Helen Thomas, American journalist

2011: Lucian Freud, English painter

1973: Bruce Lee, American actor, martial artist

1937: Guglielmo Marconi, Italian businessman, inventor, developed Marconi’s law, Nobel Prize laureate

1923: Pancho Villa, Mexican general