June 20

On leap years, this day usually marks the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere and the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere.

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.

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, 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 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)
*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 - Brian Maloney, Austin Designer and creator of snerst.com
* 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 Giriček, 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 Miličić, Serbian basketball player
*1988 - Shefali Chowdhury, Welsh actress
*1989 - Christopher Mintz-Plasse, American actor
*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)

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/20 BBC: On This Day]
*
* [http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Jun&day=20 On This Day in Canada] ----