Today June 20th in history click read more below to view detail events, deaths, births, Holidays and observances, and video clips in hisotry. Please comments, last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
451 – Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius defeats Attila the Hun.
1214 – The 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 – 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.
1791 – King Louis XVI of France and his immediate family begin the Flight to Varennes during The French Revolution.
1819 – The U.S. vessel SS Savannah arrives at Liverpool, United Kingdom. She is the first steam-propelled vessel to cross the Atlantic, although most of the journey was 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.
1893 – Lizzie Borden is acquitted for the murders of her father and stepmother.
1919 – 150 die at the Teatro Yaguez fire, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
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”.
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 struck Canada s Gulf of St. Lawrence killing 35.
1960 – Independence of Mali and Senegal.
1963 – The so-called red telephone is established between the Soviet Union and the United States following the Cuban Missile Crisis.
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 sparked international outcry of the regime.
1990 – Asteroid Eureka is discovered.
1991 – The German parliament decides to move the capital from Bonn back to Berlin.
2007 – A football match between England and The Netherlands at the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship sets a new UEFA record for the longest penalty shoot-out in the governing body s history. The shootout ends 13-12 to the Netherlands after Anton Ferdinand misses the decisive kick.
Births
1005 – Ali az-Zahir, caliph (d. 1036)
1389 – John, Duke of Bedford, regent of England (d. 1435)
1566 – 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 Gawronski, 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, 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)
1908 – Billy Werber, American baseball player
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 Smialowski, 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)
1953 – Raúl Ramírez, Mexican tennis player
1953 – 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 – Peter Reid, English former footballer
1957 – Koko B. Ware, American professional wrestler
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
1974 – Jami Ferrell, American model and actress
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 Giricek, Croatian basketball player
1978 – LaVar Arrington, American football player
1978 – Quinton Jackson, American Mixed Martial Artist
1978 – Frank Lampard, English footballer
1978 – Jan-Paul Saeijs, Dutch footballer
1978 – Bobby Seay, American baseball player
1979 – Charlotte Hatherley, English guitarist (Ash)
1979 – Charles Howell III, Professional Golfer
1979 – Cael Sanderson, Olympic Wrestler
1979 – Lani Billard, Canadian actress
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
1981 – Ardian Gashi, Albanian-Norwegian footballer
1983 – Darren Sproles, American football player
1983 – Josh Childress, American basketball player
1983 – Cherrie Ying, Hong Kong actress
1985 – Souleymane Mamam, Togolese footballer
1985 – Darko Milicic, Serbian basketball player
1988 – Shefali Chowdhury, Welsh actress
1989 – Christopher Mintz-Plasse, American actor
1989 – Terrelle Pryor, American football player
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 – Carl 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)
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
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – World Refugee Day.
Flag Day in Argentina (1995).
West Virginia – West Virginia Day.
International Surfing Day.
Saint Adalbert of Magdeburg (d. 981)
