On This Day — June 20

Famous events, births, and deaths from June 20 in history, plus the public holidays, religious observances, sports, and national days happening on this date today.

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45 events · 195 births · 57 deaths recorded for June 20.

🕰️ Notable Events on June 20

2003 — The Wikimedia Foundation is founded in St. Petersburg, Florida. Wikipedia ↗
1994 — The 1994 Imam Reza shrine bomb explosion in Iran leaves at least 25 dead and 70 to 300 injured. Wikipedia ↗
1991 — German Bundestag votes to move seat of government to Berlin. Wikipedia ↗
1990 — Asteroid Eureka is discovered. Wikipedia ↗
1990 — The 7.4 Mw Manjil-Rudbar earthquake affects northern Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 35,000-50,000, and injuring 60,000-105,000. Wikipedia ↗
1982 — The Argentine Corbeta Uruguay base on Southern Thule surrenders to Royal Marine commandos in the final action of the Falklands War. Wikipedia ↗
1979 — ABC News correspondent Bill Stewart is shot dead by a Nicaraguan soldier under the regime of Anastasio Somoza Debayle. The murder is caught on tape and sparks an international outcry against the regime. Wikipedia ↗
1975 — The film Jaws is released in the United States, becoming the highest-grossing film of that time and starting the trend of films known as "summer blockbusters". Wikipedia ↗
1973 — Snipers fire upon left-wing Peronists in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in what is known as the Ezeiza massacre. At least 13 are killed and more than 300 are injured. Wikipedia ↗
1972 — Watergate scandal: An 18½-minute gap appears in the tape recording of the conversations between U.S. President Richard Nixon and his advisers regarding the recent arrests of his operatives while breaking into the Watergate complex. Wikipedia ↗
1963 — Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet Union and the United States sign an agreement to establish the so-called "red telephone" link between Washington and Moscow. Wikipedia ↗
1960 — The Mali Federation gains independence from France (it later splits into Mali and Senegal). Wikipedia ↗
1959 — A rare June hurricane strikes Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence killing 35. Wikipedia ↗
1956 — A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey, killing 74 people. Wikipedia ↗
1948 — The Deutsche Mark is introduced in Western Allied-occupied Germany. The Communists respond by imposing the Berlin Blockade four days later. Wikipedia ↗
1945 — The United States Secretary of State approves the transfer of Wernher von Braun and his team of Nazi rocket scientists to the U.S. under Operation Paperclip. Wikipedia ↗
1944 — World War II: The Battle of the Philippine Sea concludes with a decisive U.S. naval victory. The lopsided naval air battle is also known as the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot". Wikipedia ↗
1944 — Continuation War: The Soviet Union demands an unconditional surrender from Finland during the beginning of partially successful Vyborg-Petrozavodsk Offensive. The Finnish government refuses. Wikipedia ↗
1944 — The experimental MW 18014 V-2 rocket reaches an altitude of 176 km, becoming the first man-made object to reach outer space. Wikipedia ↗
1943 — The Detroit race riot breaks out and continues for three more days. Wikipedia ↗
1943 — World War II: The Royal Air Force launches Operation Bellicose, the first shuttle bombing raid of the war. Lancaster bombers damage the V-2 rocket production facilities at the Zeppelin Works while en route to an air base in Algeria. Wikipedia ↗
1942 — The Holocaust: Kazimierz Piechowski and three others, dressed as members of the SS-Totenkopfverbände, steal an SS staff car and escape from the Auschwitz concentration camp. Wikipedia ↗
1941 — The United States Army Air Corps is deprecated to being the American training and logistics section of what is known until 1947 as the United States Army Air Forces, just two days before Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union. Wikipedia ↗
1940 — World War II: Italy begins an unsuccessful invasion of France. Wikipedia ↗
1921 — Workers of Buckingham and Carnatic Mills in the city of Chennai, India, begin a four-month strike. Wikipedia ↗
1900 — Boxer Rebellion: The Imperial Chinese Army begins a 55-day siege of the Legation Quarter in Beijing, China. Wikipedia ↗
1900 — Baron Eduard Toll, leader of the Russian Polar Expedition of 1900, departs Saint Petersburg in Russia on the explorer ship Zarya, never to return. Wikipedia ↗
1895 — The Kiel Canal, crossing the base of the Jutland peninsula and the busiest artificial waterway in the world, is officially opened. Wikipedia ↗
1893 — Lizzie Borden is acquitted of the murders of her father and stepmother. Wikipedia ↗
1877 — Alexander Graham Bell installs the world's first commercial telephone service in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Wikipedia ↗
1863 — American Civil War: West Virginia is admitted as the 35th U.S. state. Wikipedia ↗
1862 — Barbu Catargiu, the Prime Minister of Romania, is assassinated. Wikipedia ↗
1840 — Samuel Morse receives the patent for the telegraph. Wikipedia ↗
1837 — Queen Victoria succeeds to the British throne. Wikipedia ↗
1819 — The U.S. vessel SS Savannah arrives at Liverpool, United Kingdom. It is the first steam-propelled vessel to cross the Atlantic, although most of the journey is made under sail. Wikipedia ↗
1789 — Deputies of the French Third Estate take the Tennis Court Oath. Wikipedia ↗
1787 — Oliver Ellsworth moves at the Federal Convention to call the government the 'United States'. Wikipedia ↗
1782 — The U.S. Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States. Wikipedia ↗
1756 — A British garrison is imprisoned in the Black Hole of Calcutta. Wikipedia ↗
1685 — Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth declares himself King of England at Bridgwater. Wikipedia ↗
1652 — Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha is appointed Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. Wikipedia ↗
1631 — The sack of Baltimore: The Irish village of Baltimore is attacked by Algerian pirates. Wikipedia ↗
1620 — The Battle of Höchst takes place during the Thirty Years' War. Wikipedia ↗
1248 — The University of Oxford receives its Royal charter. Wikipedia ↗
451 — Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius' battles Attila the Hun. After the battle, which was inconclusive, Attila retreats, causing the Romans to interpret it as a victory. Wikipedia ↗

🎂 Notable Births on June 20

1999 — Yui Mizuno, Japanese singer Wikipedia ↗
1996 — Sam Bennett, Canadian ice hockey player Wikipedia ↗
1994 — Leonard Williams, American football player Wikipedia ↗
1993 — Sead Kolašinac, Bosnian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1991 — Kalidou Koulibaly, Senegalese footballer Wikipedia ↗
1991 — Rick ten Voorde, Dutch footballer Wikipedia ↗
1990 — DeQuan Jones, American basketball player Wikipedia ↗
1989 — Javier Pastore, Argentinian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1989 — Terrelle Pryor, American football player Wikipedia ↗
1989 — Christopher Mintz-Plasse, American actor Wikipedia ↗
1987 — A-fu, Taiwanese singer and songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1987 — Carsten Ball, Australian tennis player Wikipedia ↗
1987 — Asmir Begović, Bosnian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1987 — Joseph Ebuya, Kenyan runner Wikipedia ↗
1986 — Dreama Walker, American actress Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Saki Aibu, Japanese actress Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Matt Flynn, American football player Wikipedia ↗
1984 — Hassan Adams, American basketball player Wikipedia ↗
1983 — Josh Childress, American basketball player Wikipedia ↗
1983 — Masashi Mikami, Japanese actor Wikipedia ↗
1983 — Darren Sproles, American football player Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Aleksei Berezutski, Russian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Vasili Berezutski, Russian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Example, English singer/rapper Wikipedia ↗
1981 — Brede Hangeland, Norwegian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Tony Lovato, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Franco Semioli, Italian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Fabian Wegmann, German cyclist Wikipedia ↗
1979 — Charles Howell III, American golfer Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Frank Lampard, English footballer Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Jan-Paul Saeijs, Dutch footballer Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Gordan Giriček, Croatian basketball player Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Amos Lee, American singer-songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1976 — Juliano Belletti, Brazilian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1976 — Carlos Lee, Panamanian baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1975 — Joan Balcells, Spanish tennis player Wikipedia ↗
1975 — Daniel Zítka, Czech footballer Wikipedia ↗
1973 — Chino Moreno, American singer-songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1972 — Alexis Alexoudis, Greek footballer Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Josh Lucas, American actor Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Rodney Rogers, American basketball player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Jeordie White, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and bass player Wikipedia ↗
1970 — Andrea Nahles, German politician, German Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Wikipedia ↗
1970 — Athol Williams, South African poet and social philosopher Wikipedia ↗
1969 — Paulo Bento, Portuguese footballer and manager Wikipedia ↗
1969 — Misha Verbitsky, Russian mathematician and academic Wikipedia ↗
1969 — MaliVai Washington, American tennis player and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1968 — Robert Rodriguez, American director, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1967 — Nicole Kidman, American-Australian actress Wikipedia ↗
1967 — Dan Tyminski, American singer-songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1966 — Boaz Yakin, American director, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1964 — Pierfrancesco Chili, Italian motorcycle racer Wikipedia ↗
1964 — Silke Möller, German runner Wikipedia ↗
1963 — Kirk Baptiste, American sprinter Wikipedia ↗
1960 — Philip M. Parker, American economist and author Wikipedia ↗
1960 — John Taylor, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor Wikipedia ↗
1958 — Kelly Johnson, English hard rock guitarist and songwriter (d. 2007) Wikipedia ↗
1956 — Peter Reid, English footballer and manager Wikipedia ↗
1956 — Sohn Suk-hee, South Korean newscaster Wikipedia ↗
1955 — E. Lynn Harris, American author (d. 2009) Wikipedia ↗
1954 — Allan Lamb, South African-English cricketer and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1954 — Ilan Ramon, Israeli colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2003) Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Robert Crais, American author and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Raúl Ramírez, Mexican tennis player Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Willy Rampf, German engineer Wikipedia ↗
1952 — John Goodman, American actor Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Vikram Seth, Indian author and poet Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Tress MacNeille, American actress and voice artist Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Sheila McLean, Scottish scholar and academic Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Paul Muldoon, Irish poet and academic Wikipedia ↗
1950 — Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi politician, 76th Prime Minister of Iraq Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Alan Longmuir, Scottish bass player and songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Lionel Richie, American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Cirilo Flores, American bishop (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Ludwig Scotty, Nauruan politician, 10th President of Nauru Wikipedia ↗
1947 — Dolores "LaLa" Brooks, American pop singer (The Crystals) Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Xanana Gusmão, Timorese soldier and politician, 1st President of East Timor Wikipedia ↗
1946 — David Kazhdan, Russian-Israeli mathematician and academic Wikipedia ↗
1946 — André Watts, American pianist and educator Wikipedia ↗
1945 — Anne Murray, Canadian singer and guitarist Wikipedia ↗
1942 — Neil Trudinger, Australian mathematician and theorist Wikipedia ↗
1942 — Brian Wilson, American singer-songwriter and producer Wikipedia ↗
1941 — Stephen Frears, English actor, director, and producer Wikipedia ↗
1941 — Ulf Merbold, German physicist and astronaut Wikipedia ↗
1940 — Eugen Drewermann, German priest and theologian Wikipedia ↗
1940 — John Mahoney, English actor Wikipedia ↗
1939 — Ramakant Desai, Indian cricketer (d. 1998) Wikipedia ↗
1939 — Budge Rogers, English rugby player and manager Wikipedia ↗
1938 — Joan Kirner, Australian educator and politician, 42nd Premier of Victoria (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1938 — Mickie Most, English music producer (d. 2003) Wikipedia ↗
1937 — Stafford Dean, English actor and singer Wikipedia ↗
1937 — Jerry Keller, American singer-songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1936 — Billy Guy, American singer (d. 2002) Wikipedia ↗
1936 — Enn Vetemaa, Estonian author and screenwriter (d. 2017) Wikipedia ↗
1935 — Jim Barker, American politician (d. 2005) Wikipedia ↗
1935 — Len Dawson, American football player and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1935 — Armando Picchi, Italian footballer and coach (d. 1971) Wikipedia ↗
1934 — Wendy Craig, English actress Wikipedia ↗
1933 — Danny Aiello, American actor Wikipedia ↗
1933 — Claire Tomalin, English journalist and author Wikipedia ↗
1932 — Robert Rozhdestvensky, Russian poet and author (d. 1994) Wikipedia ↗
1931 — Olympia Dukakis, American actress Wikipedia ↗
1931 — James Tolkan, American actor and director Wikipedia ↗
1930 — Magdalena Abakanowicz, Polish sculptor and academic (d. 2017) Wikipedia ↗
1930 — John Waine, English bishop Wikipedia ↗
1929 — Edgar Bronfman, Sr., Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1929 — Anne Weale, English journalist and author (d. 2007) Wikipedia ↗
1929 — Edith Windsor, American lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights activist (d. 2017) Wikipedia ↗
1928 — Eric Dolphy, American saxophonist, flute player, and composer (d. 1964) Wikipedia ↗
1928 — Martin Landau, American actor and producer (d. 2017) Wikipedia ↗
1928 — Jean-Marie Le Pen, French intelligence officer and politician Wikipedia ↗
1928 — Asrat Woldeyes, Ethiopian surgeon and educator (d. 1999) Wikipedia ↗
1927 — Simin Behbahani, Iranian poet and activist (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1926 — Rehavam Ze'evi, Israeli general and politician, 9th Israeli Minister of Tourism (d. 2001) Wikipedia ↗
1925 — Doris Hart, American tennis player and educator (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1925 — Audie Murphy, American lieutenant and actor Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1971) Wikipedia ↗
1924 — Chet Atkins, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2001) Wikipedia ↗
1924 — Fritz Koenig, German sculptor and academic, designed The Sphere (d.2017) Wikipedia ↗
1923 — Peter Gay, German-American historian, author, and academic (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1923 — Jerzy Nowak, Polish actor and educator (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1921 — Byron Farwell, American historian and author (d. 1999) Wikipedia ↗
1921 — Pancho Segura, Ecuadorian tennis player Wikipedia ↗
1920 — Geoffrey Baker, English Field Marshal and Chief of the General Staff of the British Army (d. 1980) Wikipedia ↗
1920 — Danny Cedrone, American guitarist and bandleader (d. 1954) Wikipedia ↗
1920 — Thomas Jefferson, American trumpet player Wikipedia ↗
1918 — George Lynch, American race car driver (d. 1997) Wikipedia ↗
1918 — Zoltán Sztáray, Hungarian-American author (d. 2011) Wikipedia ↗
1917 — Helena Rasiowa, Austrian-Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1994) Wikipedia ↗
1916 — Jean-Jacques Bertrand, Canadian lawyer and politician, 21st Premier of Quebec (d. 1973) Wikipedia ↗
1916 — T. Texas Tyler, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1972) Wikipedia ↗
1915 — Dick Reynolds, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2002) Wikipedia ↗
1915 — Terence Young, Chinese-English director and screenwriter (d. 1994) Wikipedia ↗
1914 — Gordon Juckes, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1994) Wikipedia ↗
1914 — Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, Turkish archaeologist and academic Wikipedia ↗
1912 — Anthony Buckeridge, English author (d. 2004) Wikipedia ↗
1912 — Jack Torrance, American shot putter and football player (d. 1969) Wikipedia ↗
1911 — Gail Patrick, American actress (d. 1980) Wikipedia ↗
1910 — Josephine Johnson, American author and poet (d. 1990) Wikipedia ↗
1909 — Errol Flynn, Australian-American actor (d. 1959) Wikipedia ↗
1908 — Billy Werber, American baseball player (d. 2009) Wikipedia ↗
1908 — Gus Schilling, American actor (d. 1957) Wikipedia ↗
1907 — Jimmy Driftwood, American singer-songwriter and banjo player (d. 1998) Wikipedia ↗
1906 — Bob King, American high jumper and obstetrician (d. 1965) Wikipedia ↗
1905 — Lillian Hellman, American playwright and screenwriter (d. 1984) Wikipedia ↗
1903 — Sam Rabin, English wrestler, sculptor, and singer (d. 1991) Wikipedia ↗
1899 — Jean Moulin, French soldier and engineer (d. 1943) Wikipedia ↗
1897 — Elisabeth Hauptmann, German author and playwright (d. 1973) Wikipedia ↗
1896 — Wilfrid Pelletier, Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1982) Wikipedia ↗
1894 — Lloyd Hall, American chemist and academic (d. 1971) Wikipedia ↗
1893 — Wilhelm Zaisser, German soldier and politician (d. 1958) Wikipedia ↗
1891 — Giannina Arangi-Lombardi, Italian soprano (d. 1951) Wikipedia ↗
1891 — John A. Costello, Irish lawyer and politician, 3rd Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 1976) Wikipedia ↗
1890 — Giorgio Morandi, Italian painter (d. 1964) Wikipedia ↗
1889 — John S. Paraskevopoulos, Greek-South African astronomer and academic (d. 1951) Wikipedia ↗
1887 — Kurt Schwitters, German painter and illustrator (d. 1948) Wikipedia ↗