20 July
Notable Births
Álex Baena
b. 2001
Spanish footballer (born 2001)
Pop Smoke
b. 1999
American rapper (1999–2020)
Ben Simmons
b. 1996
Australian basketball player (born 1996)
Moses Leota
b. 1995
New Zealand and Samoa international rugby league footballer
Steven Adams
b. 1993
New Zealand basketball player (born 1993)
Nick Cousins
b. 1993
Canadian ice hockey player (born 1993)
Chiyoshōma Fujio
b. 1991
Mongolian sumo wrestler
Ryan James (rugby league)
b. 1991
Australian rugby league footballer
Kira Dixon
b. 1991
American beauty pageant contestant (born 1991)
Tawan Vihokratana
b. 1991
Thai actor, model and host (born 1991)
Lars Unnerstall
b. 1990
German footballer (born 1990)
Javier Cortés
b. 1989
Mexican footballer (born 1989)
Cristian Pasquato
b. 1989
Italian footballer (born 1989)
Julianne Hough
b. 1988
American dancer (born 1988)
Stephen Strasburg
b. 1988
American baseball pitcher (born 1988)
Shahram Mahmoudi
b. 1988
Iranian volleyball player
Nicola Benedetti
b. 1987
Scottish violinist (born 1987)
Niall McGinn
b. 1987
Northern Irish professional footballer (born 1987)
Osric Chau
b. 1986
Canadian actor and martial artist
Kim Carnes
b. 1945
American singer and songwriter (born 1945)
Notable Deaths
Malcolm-Jamal Warner
d. 2025
American actor (1970–2025)
Jerry Miller
d. 2024
American musician (1943–2024)
Jill Schary Robinson
d. 2024
American novelist (1936–2024)
Michael Brooks (political commentator)
d. 2020
American talk show host (1983–2020)
Chester Bennington
d. 2017
American singer (1976–2017)
Radu Beligan
d. 2016
Romanian actor (1918–2016)
Dieter Moebius
d. 2015
Musical artist
Victor Atiyeh
d. 2014
American politician (1923–2014)
Klaus Schmidt (archaeologist)
d. 2014
German archaeologist
Pierre Fabre (businessman)
d. 2013
French pharmaceutical and cosmetics executive and pharmacist
Khurshed Alam Khan
d. 2013
Indian politician (1919–2013)
Helen Thomas
d. 2013
American journalist (1920–2013)
Alastair Burnet
d. 2012
British journalist
Jack Davis (hurdler)
d. 2012
American hurdler (1930–2012)
José Hermano Saraiva
d. 2012
Portuguese historian, jurist and television presenter (1919–2012)
Lucian Freud
d. 2011
British painter and engraver (1922–2011)
Mark Rosenzweig (psychologist)
d. 2009
American research psychologist
Artie Traum
d. 2008
American musician (1943–2008)
Pancho Villa
d. 1923
Mexican revolutionary general and politician (1878–1923)
Bernhard Riemann
d. 1866
German mathematician (1826–1866)
On This Day in History
All 68 ›
2021
American businessman Jeff Bezos flies to space aboard New Shepard NS-16 operated by his private spaceflight company Blue Origin.
Jeff Bezos
2019
Soyuz MS-13 is launched to the International Space Station on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Soyuz MS-13
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.
O. J. Simpson
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.
Suruç bombing
2015
The United States and Cuba resume full diplomatic relations after five decades.
United States
2013
Seventeen government soldiers are killed in an attack by FARC revolutionaries in the Colombian department of Arauca.
2013 Colombian clashes
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).
Syrian civil war
2012
James Holmes opened fire at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 and injuring 70 others.
James Holmes (mass murderer)
2012
Syrian civil war: The People's Protection Units (YPG) capture the cities of Amuda and Efrîn without resistance.
Syrian civil war
2005
The Civil Marriage Act legalizes same-sex marriage in Canada.
Civil Marriage Act
1999
The Chinese Communist Party begins a persecution campaign against Falun Gong, arresting thousands nationwide.
Persecution of Falun Gong
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.
USS Constitution
1992
Václav Havel resigns as president of Czechoslovakia.
Václav Havel
1992
A Tupolev Tu-154 crashes during takeoff from Tbilisi International Airport, killing all 24 aboard and four more people on the ground.
Tupolev Tu-154
1989
Burma's ruling junta puts opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.
Myanmar
1985
The government of Aruba passes legislation to secede from the Netherlands Antilles.
Aruba
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.
Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings
1981
Somali Airlines Flight 40 crashes in Balad, Somalia, killing 50 people.
Somali Airlines Flight 40
1977
The Central Intelligence Agency releases documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind-control experiments.
Central Intelligence Agency
1977
The Johnstown flood of 1977 kills 84 people and causes millions of dollars in damages.
Johnstown flood of 1977