Revision 187729470 of "July 20/Events1" on enwiki

This page is to list events of [[July 20]] before [[1950]].

==To 1300==
*[[514]] - [[Roman Catholic Church]]: [[Pope Hormisdas]] assumes the papacy.
==1300-1899==
*[[1304]] - [[Great Britain]]: [[Edward I of England]] takes the last rebel stronghold in the [[Wars of Scottish Independence]], [[Fall of Stirling Castle|Stirling Castle]]. 
*[[1712]] - [[United Kingdom]]:  The [[Riot Act]] takes effect.
*[[1738]] - [[North America]]:  French explorer [[Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye]] reaches the western shore of [[Lake Michigan]].
*[[1810]] - [[South America]]:  [[Colombia]] declares independence from [[Spain]].  
*[[1833]] - [[United States]]:  An [[Anti-Mormon]] mob in [[Independence, Missouri]], destroys the [[printing press]] for the ''[[Book of Commandments]]'', now among the most valuable 19th century books.
*[[1861]] - [[American Civil War]]: The [[Confederate Congress|Congress]] of the [[Confederate States of America]] begins sitting in [[Richmond, Virginia]].
*[[1864]] - [[American Civil War]]: [[Battle of Peachtree Creek]] - Near [[Atlanta, Georgia]], [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] forces led by [[General]] [[John Bell Hood]] unsuccessfully attack [[United States|Union]] troops under [[General]] [[William T. Sherman]]. 
*[[1866]] - [[Europe]]: [[Battle of Lissa (1866)|Battle of Lissa]] - The [[Austria|Austrian]] navy, led by [[Admiral]] [[Wilhelm von Tegetthoff]], defeats the [[Italy|Italian]] navy near the island of [[Vis (island)|Vis]].
*[[1871]] - [[North America]]:  [[British Columbia]] joins the confederation of [[Canada]]. 
*[[1872]] - [[Technology]]:  The [[United States Patent Office]] awards the first [[patent]] for [[wireless telegraphy]] to [[Mahlon Loomis]].
*[[1877]] - [[United States]]:  [[Riot|rioting]] in [[Baltimore, Maryland]] by [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] workers is put down by the state [[militia]], resulting in nine deaths.
*[[1881]] - [[Indian Wars]]: [[Sioux]] [[tribal chief|Chief]] [[Sitting Bull]] leads the last of his fugitive people in surrender to [[United States]] troops at [[Fort Buford]] in [[Montana]].



==1930-1939==
*[[1930]] - [[Soviet Union]]:  [[Maxim Litvinov]] is named the [[Soviet Union|Soviet Union's]] Commissar of Foreign Affairs.
*[[1930]] - [[New York State]]:  [[Alfred E. Smith]], president of the company building the [[Empire State Building]], announces the structure will have an observation deck 1,288 feet above Fifth Avenue.
*[[1930]] - [[New York State]]:  Five die in the 92°F heat [[New York City]] from the heat wave gripping the east coast.
*[[1931]] - [[United States]]:  Former [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Interior Secretary]] [[Albert Fall]] enters state prison in [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]] on his [[bribery]] conviction from the [[Teapot Dome scandal]].
*[[1931]] - [[Connecticut]]:  Two [[United States Army Air Corps]] planes collide over [[Newington, Connecticut|Newington]], killing two.
*[[1931]] - [[Spain]]:  Three are dead in rioting in [[Seville]] after police clash with marchers in a funeral parade for a [[syndicalism|syndicalist]] killed by the police days earlier.
*[[1932]] - [[Germany]]:  President [[Paul von Hindenburg]] signs a decree ordering [[Franz von Papen]] to take control of the [[Prussia|Prussian]] state government and declares [[martial law]].
*[[1932]] - [[South America]]:  Crowds in the capitals of [[Bolivia]] and [[Paraguay]] demand their governments declare war on the other after fighting on their border.
*[[1932]] - [[United States]]:  In [[Washington, D.C.]], police fire [[tear gas]] on [[World War I]] veterans part of the [[Bonus Expeditionary Force]] who attempt to march to the [[White House]].
*[[1932]] - [[United States]]:  The [[American Federation of Labor|AFL]] votes to ask President [[Herbert Hoover]] to help it secure a five-day work week.
*[[1933]] - [[Europe]]:  [[Germany]]'s [[Franz von Papen]] and the [[Holy See|Vatican]]'s Cardinal [[Pope Pius XII|Eugenio Pacelli]] sign a [[concordat]] on behalf of their respective nations.
*[[1933]] - [[United Kingdom]]:  In [[London]], 500,000 march against [[anti-Semitism]].
*[[1933]] - [[United States]]:  President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] orders new regulations on the trading of grain in order to curb speculators.
*[[1933]] - [[Tennessee]]:  The state becomes the nineteenth to approve the [[Twenty-first Amendment]] to repeal [[Prohibition]].
*[[1933]] - [[Germany]]:  The Nazis arrest two-hundred Jewish merchants in [[Nuremberg]] and parade them through the streets.
*[[1933]] - [[Aviation]]:  Aviator [[Wiley Post]] damages his plane as he lands in [[Flat, Alaska]], on his first round-the-world flight.
*[[1934]] - [[Minnesota]]:  Police in [[Minneapolis, Minnesota|Minneaspolis]] fire upon striking [[Trucker|truck drivers]], wounding fifty.
*[[1934]] - [[Washington]]:  In [[Seattle, Washington|Seattle]], Mayor [[Charles L. Smith]] leads police in firing [[tear gas]] on and clubbing 2,000 striking [[stevedore|longshoremen]].
*[[1934]] - [[Oregon]]:  [[Governor of Oregon|Governor]] [[Julius Meier]] calls out the National Guard to break a strike on the [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]] docks.
*[[1934]] - [[Maine]]:  Three murderers serving life sentences escape from the state prison in [[Thomaston, Maine|Thomaston]].
*[[1934]] - [[Iowa]]:  The state experiences its hottest day on record as the temperature hits 118°F in [[Keokuk, Iowa|Keokuk]].
*[[1934]] - [[United States]]:  [[United States Postmaster General|Postmaster General]] [[James A. Farley]] announces that the [[United States Post Office Department]] turned a $5 million profit in the fiscal year ended [[June 30]], the first annual profit since [[1919]].
*[[1934]] - [[United States]]:  President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] heads to [[Hawaii]] aboard the cruiser [[USS Houston (CA-30)]].
*[[1934]] - [[Andorra]]:  [[Spain]] arrests a man who proclaimed himself the ruler of the tiny principality under the name "Boris I".
*[[1935]] - [[New York State]]:  [[Lightning]] kills four on the shore at [[Brighton Beach, New York|Brighton Beach]].
*[[1935]] - [[Switzerland]]:  A [[Royal Dutch Airlines]] plane en route from [[Milan]] to [[Frankfurt]] crashes into a Swiss mountain, killing thirteen.
*[[1935]] - [[Ethiopia]]:  [[Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia|Emperor Haile Selassie]] demands [[Italy]] cease its demands on his country.
*[[1935]] - [[Turkey]]:  A [[munitions]] dump near [[Istanbul]] explodes killing many.
*[[1935]] - [[India]]:  Riots between [[Muslims]] and [[Sikhs]] over a mosque in [[Lahore]] leave eleven dead. 
*[[1936]] - [[Freedom of the seas]]:  The [[Montreux Convention]] is signed in [[Montreux, Switzerland]], authorizing [[Turkey]] to fortify the [[Dardanelles]] and [[Bosphorus]] but guaranteeing free passage to ships of all nations in peacetime.
*[[1936]] - [[Aviation]]:  [[Aviator]] [[Wiley Post]] nears [[Alaska]] aboard the ''Winnie Mae'' on his second round the world flight.  His trip makes him the first person to fly around the world twice.  
*[[1937]] - [[Michigan]]:  A judge rules the [[Ford Motor Company]], as well as eight individuals, must stand trial on criminal charges of assault for attacks on strikers in May.
*[[1937]] - [[Florida]]:  Two black men accused of stabbing a policeman are taken by a mob from the [[Leon County, Florida|Leon County]] jail in [[Tallahassee, Florida|Tallahassee]] and [[lynching|killed]]. 
*[[1938]] - [[United States]]:  The [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] files suit in [[New York City]] against the [[motion picture]] industry charging violations of [[anti-trust law]].  The case would eventually result in a break-up of the industry in [[1948]].
*[[1938]] - [[Aviation]]:  [[Ireland]]'s President [[Douglas Hyde]] receives [[Douglas Corrigan|Douglas "Wrongway" Corrigan]] in [[Dublin]] after his transatlantic flight.
*[[1939]] - [[United States]]:  The keel of the [[battleship]] [[USS Massachusetts (BB-59)]] is laid at the [[Bethlehem Steel]] [[shipyard]] in [[Quincy, Massachusetts]].

==1940-1949==
*[[1940]] - [[Denmark]] leaves the [[League of Nations]].
*[[1940]] - [[Pop culture]]:  [[Billboard magazine]] publishes its first "Music Popularity Chart"; the first number one song is [[Frank Sinatra]]'s "I'll Never Smile Again".
*[[1940]] - [[Southeast Asia]]:  Admiral [[Jean Decoux]] named governor of [[French Indochina]] by Marshal [[Philippe Pétain]].
*[[1940]] - [[United States]]:  President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] signs a bill limiting political activity by Federal employees, the [[Hatch Act]].
*[[1941]] - [[Soviet Union]]:  [[Joseph Stalin]] consolidates the Commissariats of Home Affairs and National Security to form the [[NKVD]] and names [[Lavrenti Beria]] its chief.
*[[1941]] - [[South America]]:  In [[Bolivia]], the government makes arrests, including the former finance minister [[Victor Paz Estenssoro]], and shuts down newspapers, claiming a [[Nazism|Nazi]] coup is in the works.
*[[1941]] - [[Baseball]]:  In [[Detroit, Michigan]], the [[New York Yankees]] beat the [[Detroit Tigers|Tigers]] 12-6 in a marathon seventeen inning game.
*[[1942]] - [[World War II]]:  The first unit of the [[Women's Army Corps]] begins training in [[Des Moines, Iowa]].
*[[1942]] - [[World War II]]:  [[Red Army]] troops take [[bridgehead]]s over the [[Don River, Russia|Don River]] near [[Voronezh]].
*[[1942]] - [[World War II]]: The [[Royal Air Force]] attacks [[Fuka]]
*[[1942]] - [[United States]]:  The [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] by a vote of 392-2 passes the largest tax increase in American history, $6.3 billion, and raises corporate tax rates to 90 percent.
*[[1943]] - [[World War II]]:  [[Red Army]] forces launch an attack on a 450 mile front from [[Taganrog]] to [[Orel]].
*[[1943]] - [[World War II]]:  American and Canadian troops conquer [[Enna, Italy|Enna]] on [[Sicily]].
*[[1943]] - [[World War II]]: Three [[Imperial Japanese Navy|Japanese Navy]] ships are sunk by American planes near [[Vila]] in the [[Solomon Islands]].
*[[1943]] - [[World War II]]: In [[Washington, D.C.]], Admiral [[Frederick Horne]], Vice [[Chief of Naval Operations]] says the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] is planning for the war to last until [[1949]].
*[[1943]] - [[World War II]]:  Axis leaders [[Adolf Hitler]] and [[Benito Mussolini]] confer in northern [[Italy]]
*[[1944]] - [[Germany]]: [[Adolf Hitler]] survives the [[July 20 Plot]] an assassination attempt led by [[Claus von Stauffenberg]]. 
*[[1944]] - [[World War II]]:  American troops land on [[Guam]] near [[Port Apra, Guam|Port Apra]].
*[[1944]] - [[World War II]]:  On [[Sicily]], fighting continues between [[Wehrmacht|German]] and [[United States Army|American]] forces near [[Catania, Italy|Catania]].
*[[1944]] - [[India]]:  In [[Bombay]], health authorities announce a [[cholera]] epidemic has killed 34,000 in three months.
*[[1944]] - [[United States]]:  The [[United States Democratic Party]] nominates [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] for a fourth term as president.
*[[1944]] - [[Mexico]]:  Fifty are hurt in rioting in front of the presidential palace in [[Mexico City]].
*[[1945]] - [[United States]]:  The [[Congress of the United States|U.S. Congress]] approves the [[Bretton Woods system|Bretton Woods Agreement Act]].
*[[1945]] - [[World War II]]:  Talks continue on the fourth day of the [[Potsdam Conference]] outside [[Berlin]]. 
*[[1946]] - [[World War II]]:  The [[Congress of the United States|U.S. Congress]]'s [[Pearl Harbor Committee]] says [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] was completely blameless for the [[Japan|Japanese]] [[Pearl Harbor Attack|attack on Pearl Harbor]] and calls for a unified command structure in the armed forces.
*[[1946]] - [[United States]]:  The [[United States House of Representatives]] votes 265-79 to put control of [[atomic energy]] in the hands of a civilian body, the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|U.S. Atomic Energy Commission]], rather than leave the military in control.
*[[1946]] - [[United States]]:  [[Congress of the United States|Congressional]] conferees agree to extend the [[Office of Price Administration]] and its [[wage controls|wage]] and [[price controls]] to [[June 30]], [[1947]].
*[[1946]] - [[United States]]:  [[Congress of the United States|Congress]] sends President [[Harry S. Truman]] the [[GI Bill]].
*[[1946]] - [[Michigan]]:  A [[grand jury]] indicts nineteen members of the state legislature for bribery for obstructing a banking reform bill.
*[[1946]] - [[Roman Catholic Church]]:  [[Pope Pius XII]] denounces [[nationalization]] of industries.
*[[1946]] - [[World War II]]:  The [[Soviet Union]] informed the [[United States Army]] that [[Lord Hee Haw]], the Iowa-born propaganda broadcaster, had died in a Soviet camp in October 1945.
*[[1946]] - [[United Kingdom]]:  Prime Minister [[Clement Atlee]] denounces leader of the opposition [[Winston Churchill]]'s "stunts" and says the [[Tories]] have no plan.
*[[1947]] - [[Southeast Asia]]:  Police in [[Burma]] arrest former Prime Minister [[U Saw]] and 19 others on charges of assassinating Prime Minister [[U Aung San]] and seven members of his cabinet.
*[[1947]] - [[South Asia]]:  The [[viceroy]] of [[India]] says the people of the [[Northwest Frontier Province]] overwhelmingly voted the previous day to join [[Pakistan]] rather than [[India]].
*[[1947]] - [[Roman Catholic Church]]:  [[Pope Pius XII]] [[canonize]]s a French saint, [[Blessed Louis-Marie Gregnon de Montort]].
*[[1948]] - [[Cold War]]: President [[Harry S. Truman]] issues the first peacetime [[military draft]] in the [[United States]] amid increasing tensions with the [[Soviet Union]].  
*[[1948]] - [[Far East]]:  [[Syngman Rhee]] is elected president of [[South Korea]] by parliament.
*[[1948]] - [[United States]]:  In [[New York City]], twelve leaders of the [[Communist Party USA]] are indicted under the [[Smith Act]] including [[William Z. Foster]] and [[Gus Hall]].
*[[1949]] - [[Middle East]]:  [[Israel]] and [[Syria]] sign a truce to end their nineteen month war.
*[[1949]] - [[Bulgaria]]:  Parliament elects [[Vassil Kolarov]] prime minister, replacing [[Georgi Dimitrov]].
*[[1949]] - [[United States]]:  [[Carmine DeSapio]] becomes leader of [[Tammany Hall]], the [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic]] organization in [[New York City]].
*[[1949]] - [[Journalism]]:  Colonel [[Robert R. McCormick]] announces the purchase of the ''[[Washington Times-Herald]]'' by his paper, the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''.
*[[1949]] - [[United States]]:  President [[Harry S. Truman]] signs a bill to enable [[urban renewal]] and [[slum clearance]].

==Births==
===1300-1899===
*[[1304]] - Francesco [[Petrarch]], Italian poet (d. [[1374]])
*[[1519]] - [[Pope Innocent IX]]
*[[1754]] - [[Destutt de Tracy]], philosopher
*[[1797]] - [[Paul Edmund Strzelecki|Sir Paweł Edmund Strzelecki]], [[Poland|Polish]] explorer and geologist (d. [[1873]])
*[[1838]] - [[George Otto Trevelyan]], British statesman and biographer (d. 1928)
*1838- [[Augustin Daly]], American playwright (d. [[1899]])
*[[1847]] - [[Max Liebermann]], painter and graphic artist (d. [[1935]])
*[[1849]] - [[Robert Anderson Van Wyck]], Mayor of [[New York City]] (d. [[1918]])
*[[1865]] - [[Carlos Avril]], French actor (d. [[1940]])
*[[1868]] - [[Miron Cristea]], First patriarch of the [[Romanian Orthodox Church]] (d. 1939)
*[[1870]] - [[Charles McHugh]], American actor (d. [[1931]])
*1870 - [[Gerard Wolst Trenité]], Dutch writer
*[[1873]] - [[Alberto Santos-Dumont]], Brazilian aviator (d. 1932)
*[[1877]] - [[William Colman]], American actor (d. [[1930]])
*[[1881]] - [[Clyde Benson]], American actor (d. [[1947]])
*[[1881]] - [[Hugh Sothern]], American actor (d. [[1947]])
*[[1884]] - [[Hellwig F. Rimmen]], Danish actor
*[[1889]] - [[Erich Pommer]], German actor (d. [[1966]])
*1889 - [[Ruth Weijden]] (d. 1956)
*1889 - [[John Reith]], [[BBC]] director-general
*[[1890]] - [[Theda Bara]] (Theodosia Burr Goodman), American actress (d. [[1955]])
*1890 - [[Gonzalo Roig]], Cuban composer (d. 1970)
*1890 - [[Richard Billinger]], Austrian writer (d. 1965)
* 1890 - [[Freeman H. Owens]], American cinematographer
* 1890 - King [[George II of Greece]] (d. 1947)
*[[1891]] - [[Ralph Faukner]], American actor and [[fight choreographer]] for films (d. [[1987]])
*[[1894]] - [[Errett Cord]], automobile entrepreneur
*[[1895]] - [[László Moholy-Nagy]], painter, photographer, sculptor (d. [[1946]])
*[[1897]] - [[Clifford Braughton]], American actor (d. [[1979]])
*[[1898]] - [[Stepan Kayukov]], Russian actor (d. [[1960]])
*[[1899]] - [[Melville De Lay]], American actor (d. [[1947]])

===1900-1909===
*[[1900]] - [[Maurice Gilliams]], Belgian writer (d. 1979)
*[[1901]] - [[Heinie Manush]], [[Baseball Hall of Fame]]r (d. [[1971]])
*1901 - [[Sergei Blinnikov]], Russian actor (d. [[1969]])
*[[1902]] - [[Jimmy Kennedy]], Irish composer (d. [[1984]])
*[[1903]] - [[Maria Paudle]], German actress (d. 1990)
*[[1905]] - [[Pascual Pelliciota]], Argentine actor (d. [[1985]])
*[[1907]] - [[Leon Pietraskiewicz]], Polish actor (d. 1987)
*[[1909]] - [[Clint Sharp]], American stuntman in films (d. 1989)
===1910-1919===
*[[1910]] - [[Louise Rousseau]], American screenwriter (d. 1981)
*1910 - [[Henri Calef]], Belgian filmmaker (d. 1994)
*1910 - [[Muriel Evans]], American actress (d. 2000)
*[[1911]] - [[Mirelle Balin]], French actress (d. 1968)
*[[1912]] - [[Tom McDermott]], American actor (d. 1996)
*[[1913]] - [[Elmer Lahti]], Finnish actor
*1913 - [[Irma Cordoba]], Argentine actress
*[[1914]] - [[Masa Niemi]], Finnish actor (d. 1960)
*[[1916]] - [[Claude Vernier]], French actor (d. 1996)
*[[1917]] - [[Paul Hubschmid]], German actor (d. 2001)
*[[1918]] - [[Cindy Walker]], American country music singer
*[[1919]] - Sir [[Edmund Hillary]], New Zealand mountain climber (d. 2008)
*1919 - [[Ernie Wilkins]], American jazz musician (d. 1999)
*1919 - [[Benson Ford]], son of industrialist [[Henry Ford]] (d. 1978)
*1919 - [[Paolo Levi]], Italian writer (d. 1989)
*1919 - [[K. T. Stevens]], American actress (d. 1994)

===1920-1929===
*[[1920]] - [[Tommy Prothro]], American football coach
*1920 - [[Elliot Richardson]], American politician (d. [[1999]])
*1920 - [[Dick Lucas]], American animator (d. 1997)
*[[1921]] - [[Hall Daniels]], American composer (d. 1984)
*1921  - [[Takanobu Hozumi]], Japanese actor
*[[1923]] - [[Stanislaw Albinowski|Stanisław Albinowski]], Polish economist and journalist (d.2005)
*[[1924]] - [[Tor Isedal]], Swedish actor (d. 1990)
*1924  - [[Mort Garson]], Canadian composer
*1924 - [[Tatyana Lioznova]], Soviet director
*1924 - [[Thomas Berger (US novelist)|Thomas Berger]], American novelist
*1924 - [[Bob Nichols]], American actor
*[[1925]] - [[Jacques Delors]], former [[President of the European Commission]]
*[[1926]] - [[Lola Albright]], American actress (''Peter Gunn'')
*1926 - [[Ilija Ivezic]], Yugoslav actor
*1926 - [[Patricia Cutts]], British actress (''Coronation Street'')(d. 1974)
*[[1927]] - [[Leon Sinden]], British actor
*1927 - [[Heather Chasen]], British actress
*1927 - [[Paul Marin]], American actor
*[[1928]] - [[Terence Feely]], British screenwriter
*1928 - [[Pavel Kohout]], Czech writer
*[[1929]] - [[Mike Ilitch]], American businessman (Little Caesar's Pizza), sports executive, and philanthropist
*1929 - [[Rajendra Kumar]], Indian actor (d. 1999)
*1929 - [[Zlatko Sudovic]], Yugoslav director

===1930-1939===
*[[1930]] - [[Oleg Anofriyev]], Russian actor
*1930 - [[Sally Ann Howes]], British actress
*1930 - [[James Kenney]], British actor (d. 1982)
*[[1932]] - [[Otto Schily]], German politician
*1932 - [[Ove Verner Hansen]], Danish actor
*[[1933]] - [[Chuck Daly]], American basketball coach
*1933 - [[Nelson Doubleday]], American book publisher and baseball executive
*1933 - [[Cormac McCarthy]], American author
*1933 - [[Rex Williams]], [[England|English]] [[snooker]] player
*[[1934]] - [[Uwe Johnson]], German writer
*1934 - [[Adriano Reys]], Brazilian actor
*1934 - [[Aliki Vougiouklaki]], Greek actress
*[[1935]] - [[Henson Cargill]], American country music singer
*1935 - [[Sleepy LaBeef]], American country music singer
*1935 - [[Raleigh Bond]], American actor (d. 1989)
*[[1936]] - [[Barbara Mikulski]], U.S. Senator from Maryland
*1936 - [[Ken Johnson (sound editor)|Ken Johnson]], American sound editor in motion pictures
*1936 - [[Christian Rode]], German actor
*1936 - [[Andrzej Kondratiuk]], Polish filmmaker
*[[1937]] - [[Ken Ogata]], Japanese actor
*[[1938]] - [[Natalie Wood]], American actress: (''[[Rebel Without a Cause]], [[West Side Story (film)|West Side Story]]'' (d. [[1981]])
*1938 - Dame [[Diana Rigg]], British actress
*1938 - [[Timothy Scott]], American actor (d. 1995)
*[[1939]] - [[Judy Chicago]], American feminist artist

===1940-1949===
*[[1940]] - [[Tony Oliva]], Cuban-born American baseball player
*1940 - [[David Tukhmanov]], Russian composer
*[[1941]] - [[Kurt Raab]], German actor (d. 1988)
*1941 - [[Lyudmila Chursina]], Russian actress
*1941 - [[Koji Ishizaka]], Japanese actor
*[[1942]] - [[Pete Hamilton]], American race car driver
*1942 - [[Yves Mourousi]], French television news anchor (d. 1998)
*[[1943]] - [[Wendy Richard]], British television actress (''[[Are You Being Served?]]'', ''[[EastEnders]]'')
*1943 - [[John Lodge (musician)|John Lodge]], American singer (The [[Moody Blues]])
*1943 - [[Ernie Gehr]], American film director
*1943 - [[Chris Murney]], American actor
*1943 - [[Chris Aman]], New Zealand race car driver
*[[1944]] - [[T. G. Sheppard]], American country music singer
*[[1945]] - [[Kim Carnes]], American singer and songwriter ("Bette Davis Eyes")
*1945 - [[Harrison Ellenshaw]], American special effects artist in motion pictures
*  1945   - [[Larry Craig]], U.S. Senator from Idaho
*[[1946]] - [[Randal Kleiser]], American film director (''Grease'')
*1946 - [[Peter Simons]], Belgian director
*[[1947]] - [[Carlos Santana]], Mexican guitarist
*1947 - [[Judi Connelli]], Australian opera singer
*[[1948]] - [[Niki Harris]], American dancer
*1948 - [[Muse Watson]], American actor

==Deaths==
===To 1899===
*[[985]] - [[Pope Boniface VII]]
*[[1031]] - King [[Robert II of France]] (b. [[972]])
*[[1398]] - [[Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March]]
*[[1524]] - [[Queen Claude of France]]
*[[1870]] - [[Jules Alfred Huot de Goncourt]], French writer and founder of the ''[[Prix Goncourt]]''
*[[1897]] - [[Jean Ingelow]], [[England|English]] poet (b. [[1820]])

===1900-1949===
*[[1901]] - [[William Cosmo Monkhouse]], [[poet]], [[critic]] (b. [[1840]])
*[[1903]] - [[Pope Leo XIII]]
*[[1908]] - [[Demetrius Vikelas]], Greek [[International Olympic Committee]] president
*[[1922]] - [[Andrey Markov]], [[mathematician]]
*[[1923]] - [[Pancho Villa]], revolutionary (assassinated)
*[[1926]] - [[Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinskiy]], head of the Soviet secret police
*[[1927]] - King [[Ferdinand of Romania]]
*[[1937]] - [[Guglielmo Marconi]], Italian [[radio]] inventor
*[[1941]] - [[Lew Fields]], American vaudeville performer
*[[1945]] - [[Paul Valéry]], [[France|French]] author and poet (b. [[1871]])

==References==
*''Facts on File Yearbook'', various years
*Facts on File's ''Day by Day'' series
*''Encyclopaedia Britannica Yearbook'', various years
*[http://www.imdb.com/OnThisDay?day=20&month=July Internet Movie Database July 20 in Movie History page]
*''The [[New York Times]],'' July 21 issues of various years
* {{NYT On this day|month=07|day=20}}

[[Category:July]]