What happened today in history
June
What happened on June 20
On June 20 history recorded 56 notable events. 160 people who left a mark were born on this day, and 62 died. Here is the full almanac.
- 56events
- 160births
- 62deaths
- 13observances
Highlights
Highlights
1782The Congress of the Confederation adopted the Great Seal of the United States (obverse pictured), used to authenticate documents issued by the U.S. federal government.
The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States from March 1, 1781, until March 3, 1789, during the Confederation period. A unicamera
1837Queen Victoria (pictured) acceded to the British throne, beginning a 63-year reign.
Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days, which was longer than those of any of her predecessors, constituted the Victorian era, a period of industrial,
1900Boxer Rebellion: The Imperial Chinese Army began a 55-day siege of the Legation Quarter in Peking.
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, Boxer Movement, Yihetuan Movement, or Boxer War, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society
June 20
On this day
V century
- 451
451Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius battles Attila the Hun. After the battle, which was inconclusive, Attila retreats. Despite suffering catastrophic losses that led to the collapse of their alliance with the Goths and the destruction of much of the Roman army, the Romans nevertheless proclaimed victory despite the lack of any clear military success.
XII century
XIII century
- 1210
1210Michael I Komnenos Doukas, the first ruler of the despotate of Epirus, signs a treaty with the Republic of Venice and becomes their vassal. - 1295
1295The Treaty of Anagni, an attempt mediated by the papacy to end the War of the Sicilian Vespers, is signed by the crown of Aragon, the kingdom of France and kingdom of Naples.
XVII century
- 1622
1622The Battle of Höchst takes place during the Thirty Years' War. - 1631
1631The Sack of Baltimore: The Irish village of Baltimore is attacked by Barbary slave traders. - 1652
1652Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha is appointed Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. - 1685
1685Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth declares himself King of England at Bridgwater.
XVIII century
- 1756
1756A British garrison is imprisoned in the Black Hole of Calcutta. - 1782
1782The U.S. Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States. - 1787
1787Oliver Ellsworth moves at the Federal Convention to call the government the 'United States'. - 1789
1789Deputies of the French Third Estate take the Tennis Court Oath. - 1791
1791King Louis XVI, disguised as a valet, and the French royal family attempt to flee Paris during the French Revolution.
XIX century
- 1819
1819The 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. - 1837
1837King William IV dies, and is succeeded by his niece, Victoria. - 1840
1840Samuel Morse receives the patent for the telegraph. - 1862
1862Barbu Catargiu, the Prime Minister of Romania, is assassinated. - 1863
1863American Civil War: West Virginia is admitted as the 35th U.S. state. - 1877
1877Alexander Graham Bell installs the world's first commercial telephone service in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. - 1893
1893Lizzie Borden is acquitted of the murders of her father and stepmother. - 1895
1895The Kiel Canal, crossing the base of the Jutland peninsula and the busiest artificial waterway in the world, is officially opened. - 1900
1900Boxer Rebellion: The Imperial Chinese Army begins a 55-day siege of the Legation Quarter in Beijing, China. - 1900
1900Baron Eduard Toll, leader of the Russian Polar Expedition of 1900, departs Saint Petersburg in Russia on the explorer ship Zarya, never to return.
XX century
- 1921
1921Workers of Buckingham and Carnatic Mills in the city of Chennai, India, begin a four-month strike. - 1926
1926The 28th International Eucharistic Congress begins in Chicago, with over 250,000 spectators attending the opening procession. - 1942
1942The 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. - 1943
1943The Detroit race riot breaks out and continues for three more days. - 1943
1943World War II: The Royal Air Force launches Operation Bellicose, the first shuttle bombing raid of the war. Avro Lancaster bombers damage the V-2 rocket production facilities at the Zeppelin Works while en route to an air base in Algeria. - 1944
1944World 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". - 1944
1944World War II: During the Continuation War, the Soviet Union demands unconditional surrender from Finland during the beginning of partially successful Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive. The Finnish government refuses. - 1944
1944The experimental MW 18014 V-2 rocket reaches an altitude of 176 km, becoming the first man-made object to reach outer space. - 1945
1945The 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. - 1948
1948In Western Allied-occupied Germany, the Currency Reform of 1948 goes into effect, introducing the Deutsche Mark. The Soviet Military Administration in Germany responded by imposing the Berlin Blockade four days later. - 1956
1956A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey, killing 74 people. - 1959
1959A rare June hurricane strikes Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence killing 35. - 1960
1960The Mali Federation gains independence from France (it later splits into Mali and Senegal). - 1963
1963Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet Union and the United States sign an agreement to establish the so-called "red telephone" link between Washington, D.C., and Moscow. - 1964
1964A Curtiss C-46 Commando crashes in the Shengang District of Taiwan, killing 57 people. - 1972
1972Watergate scandal: An 18+1⁄2-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. - 1973
1973Snipers 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. - 1973
1973Aeroméxico Flight 229 crashes on approach to Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport, killing all 27 people on board. - 1975
1975The 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". - 1979
1979ABC News correspondent Bill Stewart is shot dead by a Nicaraguan National Guard soldier under the regime of Anastasio Somoza Debayle during the Nicaraguan Revolution. The murder is caught on tape and sparks an international outcry against the regime. - 1982
1982The International Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide opens in Tel Aviv, despite attempts by the Turkish government to cancel it, as it included presentations on the Armenian genocide. - 1982
1982The Argentine Corbeta Uruguay base on Southern Thule surrenders to Royal Marine commandos in the final action of the Falklands War. - 1988
1988Haitian president Leslie Manigat is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Lieutenant General Henri Namphy. - 1990
1990Asteroid Eureka is discovered. - 1990
1990The 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. - 1991
1991The German Bundestag votes to move seat of government from the former West German capital of Bonn to the present capital of Berlin. - 1994
1994The 1994 Imam Reza shrine bomb explosion in Iran leaves at least 25 dead and 70 to 300 injured. - 1996
1996Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-78 to conduct life science and microgravity research aboard the Spacelab module.
XXI century
- 2003
2003The Wikimedia Foundation is founded in St. Petersburg, Florida. - 2008
2008Twelve people are killed, including nine clubgoers and three police officers, during a crowd crush in Mexico City. - 2011
2011RusAir Flight 9605 crashes in Besovets during approach to Petrozavodsk Airport, killing 47. - 2019
2019Iran's Air Defense Forces shoot down an American surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions between the two countries. - 2025
2025The first EF5 tornado in 12 years occurs in Enderlin, North Dakota.
Best known
Born on June 20
Best known
Died on June 20
465Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei
Emperor of Northern Wei
840Louis the Pious
Emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 813 to 840
930Hucbald
Benedictine monk and music theorist (c. 850 – 930)
981Adalbert of Magdeburg
German saint, archbishop and missionary (c. 910 – 981)
1176Mikhail of Vladimir
Grand Prince of Vladimir (r. 1174; 1175–1176)
1351Margareta Ebner
German Dominican nun and writer
Holidays and observances
- Christian feast day: Adalbert of Magdeburg
- Christian feast day: Blessed Dermot O'Hurley
- Christian feast day: Florentina
- Christian feast day: John of Matera
- Christian feast day: Blessed Margareta Ebner
- Christian feast day: Methodius of Olympus
- Christian feast day: Pope Silverius
- Christian feast day: June 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of the National Flag (Argentina)
- Gas Sector Day (Azerbaijan)
- Martyrs' Day (Eritrea)
- West Virginia Day (West Virginia)
- World Refugee Day (International)
Frequently asked questions
What happened on June 20?
56 documented historical events happened on June 20, from antiquity to the present day. The best known is this: The Congress of the Confederation adopted the Great Seal of the United States (obverse pictured), used to authenticate documents issued by the U.S. federal government. On the same day, in another year: Queen Victoria (pictured) acceded to the British throne, beginning a 63-year reign. On Almanaccolo every event is listed in chronological order, grouped by century, and links to the Wikipedia article it comes from, so you can always read further or check the source. Alongside the events you find who was born and who died on this date, and which observances are celebrated around the world.
Who was born on June 20?
160 people with a Wikipedia article were born on June 20, including Billy Werber, Gus Schilling, Errol Flynn. The list spans every era and every field — art, science, politics, sport, entertainment — ordered by year of birth, from the earliest to the most recent. The six featured people are those most has been written about: the ordering uses the length of their Wikipedia article as an indicator of prominence. For each one you find their occupation, year of birth and a link to the full biography.
Who died on June 20?
62 people with a Wikipedia article died on June 20, including Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei, Louis the Pious, Hucbald. The list is in chronological order by year of death and spans all of documented history, from antiquity to the present day. For each person you find their occupation, the year and a link to the Wikipedia biography, where the full story and its sources can be read.
What is celebrated on June 20?
13 observances are celebrated on June 20 around the world: Christian feast day: Adalbert of Magdeburg, Christian feast day: Blessed Dermot O'Hurley, Christian feast day: Florentina, Christian feast day: John of Matera, Christian feast day: Blessed Margareta Ebner, Christian feast day: Methodius of Olympus. The list gathers national holidays, international days and religious or civil observances falling on this date in different countries, as recorded on Wikipedia. Some are fixed and recur on the same day every year; others depend on the local calendar. Each links to the article explaining its origin and meaning.
Keep exploring
Free app
Every day’s history, in your pocket
Almanaccolo greets you each morning with the almanac of the day, sunrise and sunset times and your saved events.
- Today’s almanac, every morning
- Save the events that strike you
- Sunrise, sunset and weather for your city
- Free, no account required
Source: Wikipedia · Calendar