This Day in History on 20 July
The historical events hold a lot of value for aspirants who are sitting for UPSC competitive exams including the IAS Exam.
On this page, we will list all historical events that occurred on 20 July. The students can refer them while preparing for all competitive exams and banking exams.
Important Days
International Chess Day
It is observed on 20 July to honour the foundation of the Federation Internationale des Eches (FIDES).
Important Events
1807: Nicephore Niepce was patented for the world’s first internal combustion engine.
1903: The Ford Motor Company shipped its first automobile.
1905: The first partition of Bengal along religious lines was approved in London by the Secretary of State of India On July 20th 1905.
1908: Establishment of the Bank of Baroda on the initiative of Maharaja Sir Sayajirao Gaikwad (III) of Baroda.
1944: World War II – Adolf Hitler survived a deadly attack by Klaus von Stauffenberg.
1949: The Israel-Syria Mixed Armistice Commission brokers the last of four ceasefire agreements to end the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
1951: King Abdullah I of Jordan was assassinated by a Palestinian while attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem.
1960: Sirimavo Bhandarnayake became the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. The world’s first elected female head of government.
1969: Apollo 11’s crew successfully made the first manned landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later.
1989: Burma’s ruling junta put opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.
2012: James Holmes opened fire at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 and injuring 70 others.
2013: Seventeen government soldiers are killed in an attack by FARC revolutionaries in the Colombian department of Arauca.
2015: A huge explosion in the mostly Kurdish border town of Suruç, Turkey, targeting the Socialist Youth Associations Federation, kills at least 31 people and injures over 100.
2015: The United States and Cuba resume full diplomatic relations after five decades.
2017: O. J. Simpson is granted parole to be released from prison after serving nine years of a 33-year sentence after being convicted of armed robbery in Las Vegas.
Birth/Birth Anniversary
356 BC: Alexander the Great, a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon.
1889: John Reith, a Scottish broadcasting executive.
1911: Baqa Jilani, Indian cricketer (d. 1941). Mohammad Baqa Khan Jilani was a bowler who represented India in Test cricket.
1919: Edmund Hillary, the first climber confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest.
1921: Pandit Samta Prasad, an Indian classical musician and tabla player from the Benares Gharana.
1929: Rajendra Kumar, an Indian film actor.
1950: Naseeruddin Shah, an Indian film and stage actor.
1960: Sudesh Berry, Indian actor
1976: Debashish Mohanty, Indian cricketer and coach
1988: Arunima Sinha, an Indian mountain climber, and sportswoman.
Death/ Death Anniversary
1922: Andrey Markov, a Russian mathematician.
1937: Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian inventor, and electrical engineer.
1965: Batukeshwar Dutt, an Indian revolutionary and independence fighter.
1972: Geeta Dutt, a prominent Indian playback singer.
1973: Bruce Lee, a Hong Kong American actor, director, martial artist, martial arts instructor, and philosopher.
2013: Khurshed Alam Khan, an Indian politician.
2020: Bijay Mohanty, an Indian film actor of Odia Cinema.