June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 194 days remaining until the end of the year.
This is a common date for the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere.
Events
- 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius' victory over Attila the Hun.
- 1214 - University of Oxford receives its charter.
- 1631 - The sack of Baltimore: the Irish village of Baltimore is attacked by Algerian pirates.
- 1685 - Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth declares himself King of England at Bridgwater.
- 1756 - British garrison imprisoned in the Black Hole of Calcutta.
- 1782 - The U.S. Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States.
- 1787 - Oliver Ellsworth moves at the Federal Convention to call the government the United States.
- 1789 - Deputies of the French Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath.
- 1791 - King Louis XVI of France and his immediate family begin the Flight to Varennes.
- 1819 - The U.S. vessel SS Savannah arrives at Liverpool, United Kingdom. She is the first steam-propelled vessel to cross the Atlantic, but most of the journey was made under sail.
- 1837 - Queen Victoria succeeds to the British throne.
- 1862 - Barbu Catargiu, the Prime Minister of Romania, is assassinated.
- 1863 - West Virginia is admitted as the 35th U.S. state.
- 1877 - Alexander Graham Bell installs world's first commercial telephone service in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
- 1893 - Lizzie Borden is acquitted of murdering her stepmother and father.
- 1919 - 150 die at the Teatro Yaguez fire, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
- 1948 - Toast of the Town, later The Ed Sullivan Show, debuts.
- 1956 - A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashed in Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey killing 74 people.
- 1960 - Independence of Mali and Senegal.
- 1963 - The so-called "red telephone" is established between Soviet Union and United States following the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- 1973 - Ezeiza massacre in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Snipers fired upon left-wing peronists. At least 13 are killed and more than 300 injured.
- 1990 - Asteroid Eureka discovered.
- 1991 - German parliament decides to move the capital from Bonn back to Berlin.
Births
- 1005 - Ali az-Zahir, caliph (d. 1036)
- 1389 - John, Duke of Bedford, regent of England (d. 1435)
- 1566 (O.S.) - King Sigismund III Vasa (d. 1632)
- 1583 - Jacob De la Gardie, Swedish soldier and statesman (d. 1652)
- 1634 - Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy (d. 1675)
- 1642 (O.S.) - George Hickes, English minister and scholar (d. 1715)
- 1647 - John George III, Elector of Saxony (d. 1691)
- 1717 - Jacques Saly, French sculptor (d. 1776)
- 1723 (O.S.) - Adam Ferguson, Scottish philosopher and historian (d. 1816)
- 1723 (O.S.) - Theophilus Lindsey, English theologian (d. 1808)
- 1733-Betty Washington- sister of George Washington
- 1737 - Tokugawa Ieharu, Japanese military (d. 1786)
- 1756 - Joseph Martin Kraus, Swedish composer (d. 1792)
- 1763 - Wolfe Tone, Irish patriot (d. 1798)
- 1770 - Moses Waddel, American educator/minister and bestselling author (d. 1840)
- 1771 - Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, Scottish philanthropist (d. 1820)
- 1786 - Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, French poet (d. 1859)
- 1808 - Samson Raphael Hirsch, German rabbi (d. 1888)
- 1819 - Jacques Offenbach, German-born French composer (d. 1880)
- 1858 - Charles W. Chesnutt, American writer (d. 1932)
- 1860 - Jack Worrall, Australian cricketer, footballer, and coach (d. 1937)
- 1861 - Frederick Hopkins, English biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (d. 1947)
- 1872 - George Carpenter, the 5th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1948)
- 1885 - Andrzej Gawroński, Polish scholar (d. 1927)
- 1887 - Kurt Schwitters, German painter and writer (d. 1948)
- 1889 - John S. Paraskevopoulos, Greek-South African astronomer (d. 1951)
- 1891 - John A. Costello, second Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland (d. 1976)
- 1894 - Lloyd Hall, American chemist (d. 1971)
- 1896 - Wilfrid Pelletier, French Canadian conductor (d. 1982)
- 1897 - Elisabeth Hauptmann, German writer (d. 1973)
- 1899 - Jean Moulin, French Resistance leader (d. 1943)
- 1905 - Lillian Hellman, American playwright (d. 1984)
- 1907 - Jimmy Driftwood, American songwriter and musician (d. 1998)
- 1909 - Errol Flynn, Australian actor (d. 1959)
- 1911 - Gail Patrick, American actress (d. 1980)
- 1912 - Anthony Buckeridge, English author (d. 2004)
- 1915 - Dick Reynolds, Australian rules footballer and coach (d. 2002)
- 1915 - Terence Young, British film director (d. 1994)
- 1916 - Jean-Jacques Bertrand, premier of Quebec (d. 1973)
- 1917 - Igor Śmiałowski, Polish actor (d. 2006)
- 1918 - George Lynch, American auto racer (d. 1997)
- 1918 - Zoltán Sztáray, Hungarian writer
- 1920 - Hans Gerschwiler, Swiss figure skater
- 1924 - Chet Atkins, American guitar player and producer (d. 2001)
- 1924 - Audie Murphy, American Medal of Honor recipient and actor (d. 1971)
- 1924 - Fritz Koenig, German sculptor
- 1928 - Eric Dolphy, American jazz musician (d. 1964)
- 1928 - Jean-Marie Le Pen, French politician
- 1930 - Paul Pender, American boxer
- 1930 - Magdalena Abakanowicz, Polish artist
- 1931 - Olympia Dukakis, Greek-American actress
- 1931 - Martin Landau, American actor
- 1932 - Robert Rozhdestvensky, Russian poet (d. 1994)
- 1933 - Danny Aiello, American actor
- 1934 - Wendy Craig, English actress
- 1934 - Rossana Podestà, Italian actress
- 1935 - Len Dawson, former football player
- 1935 - Neal Knox, gun rights activist (d. 2005)
- 1936 - Billy Guy, American singer (The Coasters) (d. 2002)
- 1937 - Jerry Keller, pop singer and songwriter
- 1938 - Mickie Most, British record producer (d. 2003)
- 1939 - Ramakant Desai, Indian cricketer (d. 1998)
- 1940 - Eugen Drewermann, German theologian
- 1940 - John Mahoney, English actor
- 1941 - Ulf Merbold, German physicist and astronaut
- 1941 - Stephen Frears, English film director
- 1942 - Brian Wilson, American musician; founder of The Beach Boys
- 1944 - Cheryl Holdridge, American actress
- 1944 - David Roper, English actor
- 1945 - Anne Murray, Canadian singer
- 1946 - Bob Vila, television presenter
- 1946 - Xanana Gusmão, President of East Timor
- 1946 - Andre Watts, American pianist
- 1947 - Dolores Brooks, American singer (the Crystals)
- 1947 - Candy Clark, American actress
- 1947 - Josef Clemens, German bishop and Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity
- 1947 - Ivo Milazzo, Italian comic book artist
- 1948 - Ludwig Scotty, President of Nauru
- 1949 - Lionel Richie, American musician (The Commodores)
- 1949 - Alan Longmuir, Scottish bass guitarist (Bay City Rollers)
- 1951 - Tress MacNeille, American voice actress
- 1951 - Paul Muldoon, Northern Irish poet
- 1951 - Bill Simon, American businessman and politician
- 1952 - John Goodman, American actor
- 1952 - Larry Riley, American actor (d. 1992)
- 1952 - Vikram Seth, Indian poet
- 1953 - Ulrich Mühe, German actor (d. 2007)
- 1952 - Willy Rampf, German F1 technical director (BMW Sauber)
- 1954 - Michael Anthony, American musician (Van Halen)
- 1954 - Ilan Ramon, Israeli combat pilot and astronaut (d. 2003)
- 1954 - Allan Lamb, South African born English cricketer
- 1956 - Ace Andres, American musician
- 1956 - Peter Reid, English former footballer
- 1958 - Chuck Wagner, American actor
- 1958 - Ron Hornaday, American racecar driver
- 1960 - John Taylor, English musician (Duran Duran)
- 1963 - Amir Derakh, American musician (Orgy)
- 1963 - Don West, American professional wrestling announcer
- 1964 - Pierfrancesco Chili, Italian motorcycle racer
- 1964 - Silke Möller, German track and field athlete
- 1967 - Nicole Kidman, American-born Australian actress
- 1968 - Robert Rodriguez, American film director
- 1969 - MaliVai Washington, American former tennis player
- 1970 - Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco
- 1970 - Andrea Nahles, German politician
- 1970 - Bruce Woodcock, American computer games analyst
- 1971 - Josh Lucas, American actor
- 1971 - Jeordie White, American musician (Marilyn Manson)
- 1971 - Rodney Rogers, American basketball player
- 1972 - Paul Bako, American baseball player
- 1973 - Chino Moreno, American musician (Deftones)
- 1974 - Attila Czene, Hungarian swimmer
- 1975 - Daniel Zítka, Czech footballer
- 1976 - Jerome Fontamillas,Filipino American musician (Switchfoot)
- 1976 - Carlos Lee, Panamanian baseball player
- 1976 - Rob Mackowiak, American baseball player
- 1976 - Juliano Belletti, Brazilian footballer
- 1977 - Gordan Giriček, Croatian basketball player
- 1978 - LaVar Arrington, American football player
- 1978 - Frank Lampard, English footballer
- 1978 - Jan-Paul Saeijs, Dutch footballer
- 1978 - Bobby Seay, American baseball player
- 1979 - Charlotte Hatherley, Former Ash guitarist
- 1979 - Charles Howell III, Professional Golfer
- 1979 - Cael Sanderson, Olympic Wrestler
- 1979 - Lani Billard, Canadian actress
- 1980 - Damián A. Fernández Beanato, Argentine journalist
- 1980 - Carlo Festuccia, Italian rugby union footballer
- 1980 - Fabian Wegmann, German road racing cyclist
- 1980 - Tony Lovato, American singer and guitarrist (Mest)
- 1980 - Franco Semioli, Italian footballer
- 1983 - Darren Sproles, American football player
- 1983 - Cherrie Ying, Hong Kong actress
- 1987 - Kamil Król, Polish footballer
- 1987 - Darko Miličić, Serbian basketball player
- 1989 - Christopher Mintz-Plasse, American actor
- 1990 - Tim Commandeur, Australian musician
- 1997 - Maria Lark, Russian-born American actress
Deaths
- 451 - Theodorid, King of the Visigoths
- 840 - Louis the Pious, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (b. 778)
- 885 - Bernard Plantapilosa, Count of Auvergne (b. 841)
- 1597 - Willem Barentsz, Dutch navigator
- 1668 - Heinrich Roth, German Sanskrit scholar (b. 1620)
- 1776 - Benjamin Huntsman, English inventor and manufacturer (b. 1704)
- 1787 - Karl Friedrich Abel, German composer (b. 1723)
- 1800 - Abraham Gotthelf Kästner, German mathematician (b. 1719)
- 1820 - Manuel Belgrano, Argentine lawyer and politician (b. 1770)
- 1837 - William IV of the United Kingdom (b. 1765)
- 1869 - Toshizou Hijikata, Shinsengumi vice-commander (b. 1835)
- 1870 - Jules de Goncourt, French writer (b. 1830)
- 1906 - John Clayton Adams, British landscape artist (b. 1840)
- 1925 - Josef Breuer, Austrian psychologist (b. 1842)
- 1945 - Bruno Frank, German author (b. 1878)
- 1947 - Bugsy Siegel, American crime figure (b. 1906)
- 1952 - Luigi Fagioli, Italian race car driver (b. 1898)
- 1958 - Kurt Alder, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1902)
- 1963 - Raphaël Salem, Greek mathematician (b. 1898)
- 1972 - Howard Johnson, American businessman, originator of restaurant chain (b. 1897)
- 1976 - Lou Klein, American baseball player (b. 1918)
- 1978 - Mark Robson, Canadian film director and producer (b. 1913))
- 1992 - Sir Charles Groves, English conductor (b. 1915)
- 1995 - Emil Cioran, Romanian-born French philosopher (b. 1911)
- 1996 - Jim Ellison, Singer/Guitarist for the band Material Issue (b. 1964)
- 1997 - Lawrence Payton, American singer (The Four Tops) (b. 1938)
- 1998 - Conrad Schumann, East German border guard (b. 1942)
- 1999 - Clifton Fadiman, American author (b. 1902)
- 2002 - Erwin Chargaff, Austrian biochemist (b. 1905)
- 2002 - Tinus Osendarp, Dutch runner (b. 1916)
- 2003 - Bob Stump, American politician (b. 1927)
- 2005 - Jack Kilby, American electrical engineer, Nobel laureate (b. 1923)
- 2005 - Larry Collins, American writer (b. 1929)
- 2006 - Billy Johnson, American baseball player (b. 1918)
- 2007 - Trevor Henry, New Zealand Justice (b. 1902)
Holidays and observances
External links
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