On This Day: 20 July

20 July in Indian history

• 1867The United States Congress established the Indian Peace Commission to seek peace treaties with a number of Native American tribes.India

20 July in world history

• 2015A suicide attack in Suruç, Turkey, for which Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility, killed 34 people and injured 104 others.
• 2012Syrian civil war: The People's Protection Units (YPG) capture the cities of Amuda and Efrîn without resistance.
• 1997USS Constitution, one of the United States Navy's original six frigates, sailed for the first time in 116 years after a full restoration.
• 1982Members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated two bombs in Hyde Park and Regent's Park in London, killing eleven British Army personnel and seven horses.
• 1969The Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle landed on the Sea of Tranquillity, where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later.
• 1964Vietnam War: Viet Cong forces attack the capital of Định Tường Province, Cái Bè, killing 11 South Vietnamese military personnel and 40 civilians (30 of whom are children).
• 1961French military forces break the Tunisian siege of Bizerte.
• 1950Cold War: In Philadelphia, Harry Gold pleads guilty to spying for the Soviet Union by passing secrets from atomic scientist Klaus Fuchs.
• 1941Soviet leader Joseph Stalin consolidates the Commissariats of Home Affairs and National Security to form the NKVD and names Lavrentiy Beria its chief.
• 1934West Coast waterfront strike: In Seattle, police fire tear gas on and club 2,000 striking longshoremen. The governor of Oregon calls out the National Guard to break a strike on the Portland docks.
• 1917Serbian prime minister Nikola Pašić and Yugoslav Committee president Ante Trumbić signed the Corfu Declaration, agreeing to seek the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.
• 1871British Columbia joins the Canadian Confederation.
• 1866Austro-Prussian War: Battle of Lissa: The Austrian Navy, led by Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, defeats the Italian Navy near the island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea.
• 1864American Civil War: Battle of Peachtree Creek: Near Atlanta, Georgia, Confederate forces led by General John Bell Hood unsuccessfully attack Union troops under General William T. Sherman.
• 1715Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War: The Ottoman Empire captures Nauplia, the capital of the Republic of Venice's "Kingdom of the Morea", thereby opening the way to the swift Ottoman reconquest of the Morea.
• 1651Wars of the Three Kingdoms: After crossing the Firth of Forth, English Commonwealth forces defeated a Scottish army at the Battle of Inverkeithing, opening the rest of the country to occupation.
• 1333Second War of Scottish Inde­pen­dence: The Scottish-held town of Berwick-upon-Tweed surrendered to English forces, ending a siege led by King Edward III.

Born on 20 July

• 1994Maia Shibutani, American ice dancer
• 1976Debashish Mohanty, Indian cricketer and coachIndia
• 1956Jim Prentice, Canadian lawyer and politician, 16th Premier of Alberta (died 2016)
• 1931Shakuntala Karandikar, Indian biographer, essayist and philanthropist (died 2018)India
• 1929Rajendra Kumar, Pakistani-Indian actor and producer (died 1999)India
• 1929David Tonkin, Australian politician, 38th Premier of South Australia (died 2000)

Died on 20 July

• 1974Kamal Dasgupta, Bengali music director, composer and folk artist. (born 1912)India
• 1965Batukeshwar Dutt, Indian activist (born 1910)India
• 1923Pancho Villa, Mexican general and politician, Governor of Chihuahua (born 1878)
• 1398Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, Welsh nobleman (born 1374)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 20 July in history?

2015: A suicide attack in Suruç, Turkey, for which Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility, killed 34 people and injured 104 others. 2012: Syrian civil war: The People's Protection Units (YPG) capture the cities of Amuda and Efrîn without resistance. 1997: USS Constitution, one of the United States Navy's original six frigates, sailed for the first time in 116 years after a full restoration. 1982: Members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated two bombs in Hyde Park and Regent's Park in London, killing eleven British Army personnel and seven horses.

What happened on 20 July in Indian history?

1867: The United States Congress established the Indian Peace Commission to seek peace treaties with a number of Native American tribes.

Which famous people were born on 20 July?

Maia Shibutani, American ice dancer (1994); Debashish Mohanty, Indian cricketer and coach (1976); Jim Prentice, Canadian lawyer and politician, 16th Premier of Alberta (died 2016) (1956); Shakuntala Karandikar, Indian biographer, essayist and philanthropist (died 2018) (1931).

Which day is observed on 20 July?

Birthday of Crown Prince Haakon Magnus (Norway); Día del Amigo (Argentina, Brazil); Engineer's Day (Costa Rica); Independence Day, celebrates the independence declaration of Colombia from Spain in 1810.; International Chess Day.