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.
1763: Mir Qasim was defeated in the ‘Katwa’ battle by the British.
1832: The British Medical Association was founded as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association by Sir Charles Hastings at a meeting in the Board Room of the Worcester Infirmary.
1949: The king of Tehri Garhwal announced a merger with the Indian Union.
1969: The Indian government nationalized 14 major commercial banks.
1974: The remains of Indian revolutionary Udham Singh were brought from London to New Delhi.
1976: Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal was created.
2007: Pratibha Patil became the First Woman President of India.
Famous Birthdays – July 19
1814: Samuel Colt, an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman.
1827: Mangal Pandey, an Indian revolutionary.
1863: D. L. Ray, a Bengali poet, playwright, and musician.
1896: A. J. Cronin, a Scottish physician, and novelist.
1909: Balamani Amma, an Indian poet.
1938: Jayant Narlikar, an Indian astrophysicist.
1955: Roger Binny, an Indian former cricketer.
1956: Rajendra Kumar, an Indian film actor.
1961: Harsha Bhogle, an Indian cricket commentator and journalist.
1976: Benedict Cumberbatch, an English actor.
Death Anniversaries - July 19
1882: F. M. Balfour, a British biologist.
1968: Pratap Singh Rao Gaekwad, the last ruling Maharaja of Baroda.
1925: Adolf Hitler published an autobiographical book, Mein Kampf.
1947: The Indian Independence Bill was introduced in the British Parliament on July 4, 1947, based on the Mountbatten Plan presented on June 3, 1947. It was approved by the emperor on 18July 1947.
1968: Intel was founded in California.
1980: Rohini-1, a completely India-made satellite, was placed in Earth orbit.
1992: A picture of Les Horribles Cernrttes was taken, which became the first-ever photo posted on the World Wide Web.
Famous Birthdays – July 18
1811: William Makepeace Thackeray, an English novelist, author, and illustrator.
1848: Maharaja Sir Pratap Singh, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir.
1861: Kadambini Ganguly, one of the first two female physicians from India.
1909: Bishnu Dey, a Bengali poet, and writer.
1918: Nelson Mandela, a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist.
1919: Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, the twenty-fifth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore.
1927: Mehdi Hasan, a Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer.
1950: Richard Branson, an English business magnate, investor, author, and former philanthropist.
1955: Pradeep Kumar Sinha, the 31st Cabinet Secretary of India.
1971: Sukhwinder Singh, an Indian playback singer.
1972: Soundarya, an Indian actress.
1982: Priyanka Chopra, an Indian actress, singer, and film producer.
1989: Bhumi Pednekar, an Indian actress.
1996: Smriti Mandhana, an Indian cricketer.
Death Anniversaries - July 18
1817: Jane Austen, an English novelist.
1969: Annabhau Sathe, a social reformer, folk poet, and writer.
1974: S. V. Ranga Rao, an Indian film actor, director and producer.
2012: Rajesh Khanna, an Indian actor, film producer, and politician.
