June 20
| June 20 in recent years |
| 2023 (Tuesday) |
| 2022 (Monday) |
| 2021 (Sunday) |
| 2020 (Saturday) |
| 2019 (Thursday) |
| 2018 (Wednesday) |
| 2017 (Tuesday) |
| 2016 (Monday) |
| 2015 (Saturday) |
| 2014 (Friday) |
June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 194 days remain until the end of the year.
In the Northern Hemisphere, meteorological Summer begins on 20 June. In the Southern Hemisphere, meteorological Winter begins on this date.
Events
- 451 – Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius' battles Attila the Hun. After the battle, which was inconclusive, Attila retreats, causing the Romans to interpret it as a victory.
- 1214 – The University of Oxford receives its charter.
- 1605 – After only three months as tsar, 16-year-old Feodor II of Russia is assassinated.
- 1631 – The sack of Baltimore: the Irish village of Baltimore is attacked by Algerian pirates.
- 1652 – Tarhoncu Ahmet Paşa is appointed grand vezir of the Ottoman Empire.
- 1685 – Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth declares himself King of England at Bridgwater.
- 1756 – A British garrison is 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 take the Tennis Court Oath.
- 1819 – The U.S. vessel SS Savannah arrives at Liverpool, England, United Kingdom. It is the first steam-propelled vessel to cross the Atlantic, although most of the journey is made under sail.
- 1837 – Queen Victoria succeeds to the British throne.
- 1840 – Samuel Morse receives the patent for the telegraph.
- 1862 – Barbu Catargiu, the Prime Minister of Romania, is assassinated.
- 1863 – American Civil War: West Virginia is admitted as the 35th U.S. state.
- 1877 – Alexander Graham Bell installs the world's first commercial telephone service in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
- 1887 – Victoria Terminus, the busiest railway station in India, opens in Bombay.
- 1893 – Lizzie Borden is acquitted of the murders of her father and stepmother.
- 1895 – The Kiel Canal, crossing the base of the Jutland peninsula and the busiest artificial waterway in the world, is officially opened.
- 1900 – Boxer Rebellion: The Imperial Chinese Army begins a 55-day siege of the Legation Quarter in Beijing, China.
- 1919 – 150 die at the Teatro Yaguez fire, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
- 1921 – Workers of Buckingham and Carnatic Mills in the city of Chennai, India, begin a four-month strike.
- 1940 – World War II: Italy begins an unsuccessful invasion of France.
- 1942 – The 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.
- 1943 – The Detroit Race Riot breaks out and continues for three more days.
- 1944 – World War II: The Battle of the Philippine Sea concludes with a decisive U.S. naval victory. The lopsided naval air battle is also known as the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot".
- 1944 – Continuation war: the Soviet Union demands an unconditional surrender from Finland during the beginning of partially successful Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive. The Finnish government refuses.
- 1945 – The United States Secretary of State approves the transfer of Wernher von Braun and his team of Nazi rocket scientists to America.
- 1948 – Toast of the Town, later The Ed Sullivan Show, makes its television debut.
- 1956 – A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey, killing 74 people.
- 1959 – A rare June hurricane strikes Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence killing 35.
- 1960 – The Mali Federation gains independence from France (it later splits into Mali and Senegal).
- 1963 – The so-called "red telephone" is established between the Soviet Union and the United States following the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- 1972 – Watergate scandal: An 18½-minute gap appears in the tape recording of the conversations between U.S. President Richard Nixon and his advisers regarding the recent arrests of his operatives while breaking into the Watergate complex.
- 1973 – Ezeiza massacre in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Snipers fire upon left-wing Peronists. At least 13 are killed and more than 300 are injured.
- 1979 – ABC News correspondent Bill Stewart is shot dead by a Nicaraguan soldier under the regime of Anastasio Somoza Debayle. The murder is caught on tape and sparks an international outcry against the regime.
- 1982 – The Argentine base (Corbeta Uruguay) on Southern Thule surrenders to Royal Marine commandos in the final action of the Falklands War.
- 1990 – Asteroid Eureka is discovered.
- 1991 – The German Bundestag votes to move the capital from Bonn back to Berlin.
- 2003 – The WikiMedia Foundation is founded in St. Petersburg, Florida.
- 2009 – During the Iranian election protests, the death of Neda Agha-Soltan is captured on video and spreads virally on the Internet, making it "probably the most widely witnessed death in human history".
Births
- 1005 – Ali az-Zahir, Egyptian caliph (d. 1036)
- 1389 – John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford (d. 1435)
- 1469 – Gian Galeazzo Sforza, Italian husband of Isabella of Naples (d. 1494)
- 1485 – Astorre III Manfredi (d. 1502)
- 1566 – 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 – George Hickes, English theologian and writer (d. 1715)
- 1647 – John George III, Elector of Saxony (d. 1691)
- 1699 – William Gustav of Anhalt-Dessau (d. 1737)
- 1717 – Jacques Saly, French sculptor (d. 1776)
- 1723 – Adam Ferguson, Scottish philosopher and historian (d. 1816)
- 1723 – Theophilus Lindsey, English theologian (d. 1808)
- 1733 – Betty Washington Lewis, American sister of George Washington (d. 1797)
- 1737 – Tokugawa Ieharu, Japanese shogun (d. 1786)
- 1754 – Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt (d. 1832)
- 1756 – Joseph Martin Kraus, Swedish composer (d. 1792)
- 1761 – Jacob Hübner, German entomologist and author (d. 1826)
- 1763 – Wolfe Tone, Irish patriot (d. 1798)
- 1770 – Moses Waddel, American educator, minister, and author (d. 1840)
- 1771 – Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, Scottish philanthropist (d. 1820)
- 1771 – Hermann von Boyen, German army officer (d. 1848)
- 1777 – Jean-Jacques Lartigue, Canadian catholic bishop (d. 1840)
- 1778 – Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac, French politician (d. 1832)
- 1786 – Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, French poet (d. 1859)
- 1796 – Luigi Amat di San Filippo e Sorso, Italian cardinal (d. 1878)
- 1808 – Samson Raphael Hirsch, German rabbi (d. 1888)
- 1813 – Joseph Autran, French poet (d. 1877)
- 1819 – Jacques Offenbach, German-French composer (d. 1880)
- 1855 – Richard Lodge, British historian (d. 1936)
- 1858 – Charles W. Chesnutt, American writer (d. 1932)
- 1860 – Jack Worrall, Australian cricketer, footballer, and coach (d. 1937)
- 1861 – Frederick Gowland Hopkins, British biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
- 1862 – Marco Praga, Italian playwright (d. 1929)
- 1869 – Laxmanrao Kirloskar, Indian businessman (d. 1956)
- 1870 – Georges Dufrénoy, French painter (d. 1943)
- 1872 – George Carpenter, American 5th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1948)
- 1875 – Reginald Punnett, British geneticist (d. 1967)
- 1876 – Romuald Joubé, French actor (d. 1949)
- 1882 – Daniel Sawyer, American golfer (d. 1937)
- 1884 – Johannes Heinrich Schultz, German psychiatrist (d. 1970)
- 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 – Giannina Arangi-Lombardi, Italian soprano (d. 1951)
- 1891 – John A. Costello, Irish politician (d. 1976)
- 1893 – Wilhelm Zaisser, German politician (d. 1958)
- 1894 – Lloyd Hall, American chemist (d. 1971)
- 1896 – Wilfrid Pelletier, Canadian conductor, pianist, and composer (Montreal Symphony Orchestra) (d. 1982)
- 1897 – Elisabeth Hauptmann, German writer (d. 1973)
- 1899 – Jean Moulin, French resistance leader (d. 1943)
- 1903 – Sam Rabin, British wrestler, sculptor and singer (d. 1991)
- 1905 – Lillian Hellman, American playwright (d. 1984)
- 1907 – Jimmy Driftwood, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1998)
- 1908 – Billy Werber, American baseball player (d. 2009)
- 1909 – Errol Flynn, Australian actor (d. 1959)
- 1910 – Josephine Johnson, American novelist (d. 1990)
- 1911 – Gail Patrick, American actress (d. 1980)
- 1912 – Anthony Buckeridge, English author (d. 2004)
- 1914 – Gordon Juckes, Canadian ice hockey executive (d. 1994)
- 1915 – Dick Reynolds, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2002)
- 1915 – Terence Young, British screenwriter and director (d. 1994)
- 1916 – Jean-Jacques Bertrand, Canadian politician (d. 1973)
- 1916 – Johnny Morris, Welsh television host (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Igor Śmiałowski, Polish actor (d. 2006)
- 1918 – George Lynch, American race car driver (d. 1997)
- 1918 – Zoltán Sztáray, Hungarian writer (d. 2011)
- 1920 – Danny Cedrone, American guitarist and bandleader (d. 1954)
- 1920 – Hans Gerschwiler, Swiss figure skater
- 1920 – Thomas Jefferson, American trumpeter
- 1921 – Byron Farwell, American historian (d. 1999)
- 1923 – Jerzy Nowak, Polish actor (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Bjørn Watt-Boolsen, Danish actor (d. 1998)
- 1924 – Chet Atkins, American musician, songwriter, and producer (d. 2001)
- 1924 – Fritz Koenig, German sculptor, designed The Sphere
- 1924 – Audie Murphy, American soldier and actor Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1971)
- 1926 – Rehavam Ze'evi, Israeli general and politician (d. 2001)
- 1928 – Eric Dolphy, American musician, bandleader, and composer (d. 1964)
- 1928 – Martin Landau, American actor
- 1928 – Jean-Marie Le Pen, French politician
- 1928 – Asrat Woldeyes, Ethiopian politician
- 1929 – Anne Weale, British newspaper writer (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Magdalena Abakanowicz, Polish sculptor
- 1930 – Paul Pender, American boxer (d. 2003)
- 1931 – Olympia Dukakis, American actress
- 1931 – James Tolkan, American actor
- 1932 – Robert Rozhdestvensky, Russian poet (d. 1994)
- 1933 – Danny Aiello, American actor
- 1934 – Wendy Craig, English actress
- 1934 – Rossana Podestà, Italian actress
- 1934 – Yuri Vizbor, Russian poet (d. 1984)
- 1935 – Len Dawson, American football player
- 1935 – Neal Knox, American activist and author (d. 2005)
- 1936 – Billy Guy, American singer (The Coasters) (d. 2002)
- 1937 – Jerry Keller, American singer-songwriter
- 1938 – Mickie Most, British singer and producer (d. 2003)
- 1939 – Ramakant Desai, Indian cricketer (d. 1998)
- 1940 – Eugen Drewermann, German theologian
- 1940 – John Mahoney, English actor
- 1941 – Stephen Frears, English director
- 1941 – Dieter Mann, German actor
- 1941 – Ulf Merbold, German physicist and astronaut
- 1942 – Richard I. Neal, American general
- 1942 – Brian Wilson, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (The Beach Boys)
- 1944 – Cheryl Holdridge, American actress (d. 2009)
- 1944 – John McCook, American actor
- 1944 – David Roper, English actor
- 1945 – Anne Murray, Canadian singer and guitarist
- 1946 – Xanana Gusmão, Timorese politician, 1st President of East Timor
- 1946 – Bob Vila, American television host
- 1946 – Lars Vilks, Swedish artist
- 1946 – Joseph Waeckerle, American physician specializing in Emergency and Sports medicine
- 1946 – André Watts, American pianist and educator
- 1947 – Dolores "LaLa" Brooks, American-English singer-songwriter (The Crystals)
- 1947 – Candy Clark, American actress
- 1947 – Josef Clemens, German bishop
- 1947 – Ivo Milazzo, Italian illustrator
- 1948 – Ludwig Scotty, Nauruan politician, President of Nauru
- 1949 – Alan Longmuir, Scottish bassist and actor (Bay City Rollers)
- 1949 – Lionel Richie, American singer-songwriter, musician, producer, and actor (Commodores)
- 1950 – Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi politician, 76th Prime Minister of Iraq
- 1951 – Tress MacNeille, American voice actress
- 1951 – Paul Muldoon, Irish poet
- 1951 – Bill Simon, American businessman and politician
- 1952 – John Goodman, American actor
- 1952 – Vince Gotera, American poet
- 1952 – Larry Riley, American actor (d. 1992)
- 1952 – Vikram Seth, Indian poet
- 1953 – Robert Crais, American writer
- 1953 – Ulrich Mühe, German actor (d. 2007)
- 1953 – Raúl Ramírez, Mexican tennis player
- 1953 – Willy Rampf, German engineer
- 1954 – Michael Anthony, American singer and musician (Van Halen and Chickenfoot)
- 1954 – Allan Lamb, South African-English cricketer
- 1954 – Miles O'Keeffe, American actor
- 1954 – Ilan Ramon, Israeli astronaut (d. 2003)
- 1955 – E. Lynn Harris, American author (d. 2009)
- 1956 – Peter Reid, English footballer
- 1957 – Koko B. Ware, American wrestler
- 1958 – Ron Hornaday, Jr., American race car driver
- 1958 – Chuck Wagner, American actor
- 1959 – Louise Bessette, Canadian classical pianist
- 1960 – John Taylor, English musician, songwriter, producer, and actor (Duran Duran, Neurotic Outsiders, and Power Station)
- 1962 – Alex Di Gregorio, Italian editorial cartoonist
- 1963 – Amir Derakh, American musician (Orgy, Rough Cutt, Julien-K, and Dead by Sunrise)
- 1963 – Don West, American sportscaster
- 1964 – Pierfrancesco Chili, Italian motorcycle racer
- 1964 – Silke Möller, German athlete
- 1967 – Nicole Kidman, Australian-American actress
- 1968 – Robert Rodriguez, American director
- 1969 – Paulo Bento, Portuguese footballer and manager
- 1969 – Peter Paige, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1969 – Misha Verbitsky, Russian mathematician
- 1969 – MaliVai Washington, American tennis player
- 1970 – Jason Robert Brown, American composer, lyricist, and playwright
- 1970 – Andrea Nahles, German politician
- 1970 – Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco
- 1970 – Bruce Woodcock, American analyst and public speaker
- 1971 – Josh Kronfeld, New Zealand rugby player
- 1971 – Josh Lucas, American actor
- 1971 – Rodney Rogers, American basketball player
- 1971 – DJ Screw, American rapper and DJ (Screwed Up Click)
- 1971 – Jeordie White, American singer-songwriter and musician (A Perfect Circle, Amboog-a-Lard, Goon Moon and The Desert Sessions)
- 1972 – Alexis Alexoudis, Greek footballer
- 1972 – Paul Bako, American baseball player
- 1973 – Chino Moreno, American singer-songwriter and musician (Deftones, Team Sleep, and Crosses)
- 1974 – Tuta, Brazilian footballer
- 1974 – Attila Czene, Hungarian swimmer
- 1975 – Daniel Zítka, Czech footballer
- 1976 – Juliano Belletti, Brazilian footballer
- 1976 – Jerome Fontamillas, American singer and musician (Switchfoot, Mortal, and Fold Zandura)
- 1976 – Carlos Lee, Panamanian baseball player
- 1976 – Rob Mackowiak, American baseball player
- 1977 – Gordan Giriček, Croatian basketball player
- 1978 – LaVar Arrington, American football player
- 1978 – Quinton Jackson, American mixed martial artist and actor
- 1978 – Frank Lampard, English footballer
- 1978 – Jan-Paul Saeijs, Dutch footballer
- 1978 – Bobby Seay, American baseball player
- 1979 – Charlotte Hatherley, English singer-songwriter and musician (Ash, Nightnurse, and Client)
- 1979 – Charles Howell III, American golfer
- 1979 – Cael Sanderson, American wrestler
- 1980 – Carlo Festuccia, Italian rugby player
- 1980 – Tony Lovato, American singer and guitarist (Mest)
- 1980 – Franco Semioli, Italian footballer
- 1980 – Fabian Wegmann, German cyclist
- 1981 – Angerfist, Dutch DJ and musician
- 1981 – Ardian Gashi, Albanian-Norwegian footballer
- 1981 – Brede Hangeland, Norwegian footballer
- 1982 – Example, English singer-songwriter, rapper, and musician
- 1982 – Aleksei Berezutski, Russian footballer
- 1982 – Vasili Berezutski, Russian footballer
- 1982 – George Forsyth, Peruvian footballer
- 1982 – April Ross, American volleyball player
- 1983 – Josh Childress, American basketball player
- 1983 – Darren Sproles, American football player
- 1983 – Cherrie Ying, Hong Kong actress
- 1984 – Hassan Adams, American basketball player
- 1984 – Neetu Chandra, Indian actress
- 1984 – Dennis Malura, German footballer
- 1985 – Matt Flynn, American football player
- 1985 – Kai Hesse, German footballer
- 1985 – Souleymane Mamam, Togolese footballer
- 1985 – Darko Miličić, Serbian basketball player
- 1985 – Halil Savran, German footballer
- 1986 – Dreama Walker, American actress
- 1987 – Carsten Ball, Australian tennis player
- 1987 – Asmir Begovic, Bosnian footballer
- 1988 – Shefali Chowdhury, Welsh actress
- 1989 – Federico Barón, Argentine actor
- 1989 – Christopher Mintz-Plasse, American actor
- 1989 – Javier Pastore, Argentine football player
- 1989 – Terrelle Pryor, American football player
- 1991 – Rick ten Voorde, Dutch footballer
- 1995 – Carol Zhao, Canadian tennis player
- 1997 – Maria Lark, Russian-American actress
- 1998 – Jadin Gould, American actress
Deaths
- 451 – Theodoric I, Roman emperor
- 537 – Silverius, pope of Rome
- 840 – Louis the Pious, Roman emperor (b. 778)
- 885 – Bernard Plantapilosa, French son of Bernard of Septimania (b. 841)
- 1176 – Mikhail of Vladimir
- 1597 – Willem Barentsz, Dutch navigator and explorer (b. 1550)
- 1605 – Feodor II of Russia (b. 1589)
- 1668 – Heinrich Roth, German scholar (b. 1620)
- 1776 – Benjamin Huntsman, English inventor and manufacturer (b. 1704)
- 1787 – Carl Friedrich Abel, German composer (b. 1723)
- 1800 – Abraham Gotthelf Kästner, German mathematician (b. 1719)
- 1810 – Axel von Fersen the Younger, Swedish statesman (b. 1755)
- 1820 – Manuel Belgrano, Argentine general and politician (b. 1770)
- 1837 – William IV of the United Kingdom (b. 1765)
- 1840 – Pierre Claude François Daunou, French statesman (b. 1761)
- 1847 – Juan Larrea, Argentine politician and businessman (b. 1782)
- 1869 – Hijikata Toshizō, Japanese military leader (b. 1835)
- 1870 – Jules de Goncourt, French writer (b. 1830)
- 1872 – Elie Frédéric Forey, French general (b. 1804)
- 1875 – Joseph Meek, American police officer and politician (b. 1810)
- 1888 – Johannes Zukertort, Polish chess player (b. 1842)
- 1906 – John Clayton Adams, British painter (b. 1840)
- 1925 – Josef Breuer, Austrian psychologist (b. 1842)
- 1929 – Emmanuel Benakis, Greek merchant and politician (b. 1843)
- 1945 – Luís Fernando de Orleans y Borbón, Spanish prince (b. 1888)
- 1945 – Bruno Frank, German author (b. 1878)
- 1947 – Bugsy Siegel, American mobster (b. 1906)
- 1952 – Luigi Fagioli, Italian race car driver (b. 1898)
- 1958 – Kurt Alder, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
- 1963 – Raphaël Salem, Greek mathematician (b. 1898)
- 1965 – Bernard Baruch, American financier and statesman (b. 1870)
- 1966 – Georges Lemaître, Belgian priest, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1894)
- 1972 – Howard Deering Johnson, American businessman, founded Howard Johnson's (b. 1897)
- 1974 – Horace Lindrum, Australian snooker and billiards player (b. 1912)
- 1976 – Lou Klein, American baseball player (b. 1918)
- 1978 – Mark Robson, Canadian director and producer (b. 1913)
- 1984 – Estelle Winwood, English actress (b. 1883)
- 1995 – Emil Cioran, Romanian-French philosopher (b. 1911)
- 1996 – Jim Ellison, American musician (Material Issue) (b. 1964)
- 1997 – Lawrence Payton, American singer-songwriter and producer (The Four Tops) (b. 1938)
- 1998 – Conrad Schumann, German soldier (b. 1942)
- 1999 – Clifton Fadiman, American author (b. 1902)
- 2001 – Gina Cigna, Italian French-born opera singer, dramatic soprano (b. 1900)
- 2002 – Erwin Chargaff, Austrian biochemist (b. 1905)
- 2002 – Tinus Osendarp, Dutch runner (b. 1916)
- 2003 – Bob Stump, American politician (b. 1927)
- 2005 – Larry Collins, American writer (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Jack Kilby, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1923)
- 2006 – Billy Johnson, American baseball player (b. 1918)
- 2006 – Claydes Charles Smith, American musician (Kool & the Gang) (b. 1948)
- 2007 – Trevor Henry, New Zealand lawyer and judge (b. 1902)
- 2009 – Neda Agha-Soltan, Iranian student and protester (b. 1982)
- 2010 – Roberto Rosato, Italian footballer (b. 1943)
- 2010 – Harry B. Whittington, British palaeontologist (b. 1916)
- 2011 – Ryan Dunn, American stuntman and actor (b. 1977)
- 2012 – Judy Agnew, American wife of Spiro Agnew (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Alcides Mendoza Castro, Peruvian archbishop (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Robert J. Kelleher, American tennis player (b. 1913)
- 2012 – LeRoy Neiman, American painter (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Andrew Sarris, American critic and writer (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Ramaz Shengelia, Georgian footballer (b. 1957)
- 2012 – Alexander Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 9th Marquess of Londonderry, English-Irish nobleman (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Michael Westmacott, British mountaineer (b. 1925)
- 2013 – James Gandolfini, American Actor (b. 1961)
Holidays and observances
- Christian Feast Day:
- Day of the National Flag (Argentina)
- Earliest date for the summer solstice in the Northern hemisphere and the winter solstice in the Southern hemisphere, and its related observance:
- Earliest day on which Day of the Finnish Flag can fall, while June 26 is the latest; celebrated on Saturday of Midsummer's Day (Finland)
- International Surfing Day (June 21 during non-leap years)
- Litha / Midsummer celebrations in the northern hemisphere, Yule in the southern hemisphere. (Neopagan Wheel of the Year)
- Festival in honor of Summanus (Roman Empire)
- Martyrs' Day (Eritrea)
- West Virginia Day (West Virginia)
- World Refugee Day (International)
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to June 20.