Historical Events -  July 20.

1807: Nicephore Niepce was patented for the world’s first internal combustion engine.

1903: The Ford Motor Company shipped its first automobile.

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.

Famous Birthdays – July 20  

356 BC: Alexander the Great, a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon.

1889: John Reith, a Scottish broadcasting executive.

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.

1988: Arunima Sinha, an Indian mountain climber, and sportswoman.

 

Death Anniversaries -  July 20

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.