On This Day: 20 June

20 June in Indian history

• 1921Workers at the Buckingham and Carnatic Mills in Madras, India, began a four-month strike.India
• 1756A British garrison is imprisoned in the Black Hole of Calcutta.India

20 June in world history

• 2025The first EF5 tornado in 12 years occurs in Enderlin, North Dakota.
• 1996Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-78 to conduct life science and microgravity research aboard the Spacelab module.
• 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.
• 1975Steven Spielberg's film Jaws was released; it became a summer blockbuster and the first film to earn $100 million in U.S. theatrical rentals.
• 1964A Curtiss C-46 Commando crashes in the Shengang District of Taiwan, killing 57 people.
• 1960The Mali Federation gained independence from France, but dissolved into Mali and Senegal two months later.
• 1959The extratropical remnants of an Atlantic hurricane reached the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada, causing 22 fishing boats to capsize and killing 35 people.
• 1956A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey, killing 74 people.
• 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.
• 1947A Mafia hitman murdered gangster Bugsy Siegel, one of the driving forces in the development of the Las Vegas Strip, in Beverly Hills, California.
• 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.
• 1943World War II: The Royal Air Force began Operation Bellicose, a four-day shuttle-bombing mission that included raids on Germany and Italy and a refuelling and rearming stop in Algeria.
• 1943The Detroit race riot breaks out and continues for three more days.
• 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.
• 1926Approximately 250,000 spectators attended the opening procession of the 28th International Eucharistic Congress in Chicago, United States.
• 1921British Army officer Thomas Stanton Lambert was assassinated by the Irish Republican Army near Moydrum, Ireland.

Born on 20 June

• 1963Kirk Baptiste, American sprinter
• 1952Vikram Seth, Indian author and poetIndia
• 1939Ramakant Desai, Indian cricketer (died 1998)India
• 1912Geoffrey Baker, English Field Marshal and Chief of the General Staff of the British Army (died 1980)
• 1869Laxmanrao Kirloskar, Indian businessman, founded the Kirloskar Group (died 1956)India
• 1860Alexander Winton, Scottish-American race car driver and engineer (died 1932)

Died on 20 June

• 2015Miriam Schapiro, Canadian-American painter and sculptor (born 1923)
• 2015Angelo Niculescu, Romanian footballer and manager (born 1921)
• 1969Bishnu Prasad Rabha, Indian artist, painter, actor, dancer, writer, music composer and politician (born 1909)India
• 930Hucbald, Frankish monk and music theorist

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 20 June in history?

2025: The first EF5 tornado in 12 years occurs in Enderlin, North Dakota. 1996: Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-78 to conduct life science and microgravity research aboard the Spacelab module. 1979: ABC 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. 1975: Steven Spielberg's film Jaws was released; it became a summer blockbuster and the first film to earn $100 million in U.S. theatrical rentals.

What happened on 20 June in Indian history?

1921: Workers at the Buckingham and Carnatic Mills in Madras, India, began a four-month strike. 1756: A British garrison is imprisoned in the Black Hole of Calcutta.

Which famous people were born on 20 June?

Kirk Baptiste, American sprinter (1963); Vikram Seth, Indian author and poet (1952); Ramakant Desai, Indian cricketer (died 1998) (1939); Geoffrey Baker, English Field Marshal and Chief of the General Staff of the British Army (died 1980) (1912).

Which day is observed on 20 June?

World Refugee Day; Day of the National Flag (Argentina); Gas Sector Day (Azerbaijan); Martyrs' Day (Eritrea); West Virginia Day (West Virginia).