Summary of the Day ✨ 20 July (20/07)
On this day, American entrepreneur Jeff Bezos traveled to space aboard his Blue Origin spacecraft while a Soyuz mission launched to the ISS on the Apollo 11 moon landing anniversary, and O.J. Simpson was granted parole after serving nine years of his sentence. Meanwhile, a bomb explosion in Turkey killed at least 31 people, and the United States and Cuba restored full diplomatic relations after five decades of estrangement.
Historical Events 📜
- 2021: American businessman Jeff Bezos flies to space aboard New Shepard NS-16 operated by his private spaceflight company Blue Origin.
- 2019: Soyuz MS-13 is launched to the International Space Station on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
- 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.
- 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.
- 2013: Seventeen government soldiers are killed in an attack by FARC revolutionaries in the Colombian department of Arauca.
- 2013: Syrian civil war: The Battle of Ras al-Ayn ends with the expulsion of Islamist forces from the city by the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
- 2012: James Holmes opened fire at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 and injuring 70 others.
- 2012: Syrian civil war: The People’s Protection Units (YPG) capture the cities of Amuda and Efrîn without resistance.
- 2005: The Civil Marriage Act legalizes same-sex marriage in Canada.
- 1999: The Chinese Communist Party begins a persecution campaign against Falun Gong, arresting thousands nationwide.
- 1997: The fully restored USS Constitution (a.k.a. Old Ironsides) celebrates its 200th birthday by setting sail for the first time in 116 years.
- 1992: Václav Havel resigns as president of Czechoslovakia.
- 1992: A Tupolev Tu-154 crashes during takeoff from Tbilisi International Airport, killing all 24 aboard and four more people on the ground.
- 1989: Burma’s ruling junta puts opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.
Famous Births 👶
- 2001: Álex Baena, Spanish footballer
- 1999: Pop Smoke, American rapper and singer (died 2020)
- 1996: Ben Simmons, Australian basketball player
- 1995: Moses Leota, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1993: Steven Adams, New Zealand basketball player
- 1993: Nick Cousins, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1991: Chiyoshōma Fujio, Mongolian sumo wrestler
- 1991: Ryan James, Australian rugby league player
- 1991: Kira Kazantsev, Miss America 2015
- 1991: Philipp Reiter, German mountaineer and runner
- 1991: Tawan Vihokratana, Thai actor, host, and model
- 1990: Lars Unnerstall, German footballer
- 1989: Javier Cortés, Mexican footballer
- 1989: Cristian Pasquato, Italian footballer
- 1988: Julianne Hough, American singer-songwriter, actress, and dancer
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Malcolm-Jamal Warner, American actor (born 1970)
- 2024: Jerry Miller, American songwriter, guitarist and vocalist (born 1943)
- 2024: Jill Schary Robinson, American novelist (born 1936)
- 2020: Michael Brooks, political commentator (born 1983)
- 2017: Chester Bennington, American singer (born 1976)
- 2016: Radu Beligan, Romanian actor, director, and essayist (born 1918)
- 2015: Wayne Carson, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1943)
- 2015: Fred Else, English footballer and manager (born 1933)
- 2015: Dieter Moebius, Swiss-German keyboard player and producer (born 1944)
- 2014: Victor G. Atiyeh, American businessman and politician, 32nd Governor of Oregon (born 1923)
- 2014: Constantin Lucaci, Romanian sculptor and educator (born 1923)
- 2014: Bob McNamara, American football player (born 1931)
- 2014: Klaus Schmidt, German archaeologist and academic (born 1953)
- 2013: Pierre Fabre, French pharmacist and businessman, founded Laboratoires Pierre Fabre (born 1926)
- 2013: Khurshed Alam Khan, Indian politician, 2nd Governor of Goa (born 1919)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Birthday of Crown Prince Haakon Magnus (Norway)
- Christian feast day:
Ansegisus - Christian feast day:
Apollinaris of Ravenna - Christian feast day:
Aurelius - Christian feast day:
Ealhswith (or Elswith) - Christian feast day:
Elijah - Christian feast day:
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Bloomer, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Ross Tubman (Episcopal Church (USA)) - Christian feast day:
Giuseppe Beotti - Christian feast day:
John Baptist Yi (one of The Korean Martyrs) - Christian feast day:
Margaret the Virgin - Christian feast day:
Thorlac (relic translation) - Christian feast day:
Wilgefortis - Christian feast day:
July 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Día del Amigo (Argentina, Brazil)
- Engineer’s Day (Costa Rica)