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On This Day in History – July 20

by hpmom

Major Events

  • 356 BC – The Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was destroyed by arson in Ephesus.
  • 1868 – The first use of tax stamps on cigarettes occurred in the U.S. under the Revenue Act.
  • 1881 – Sitting Bull, a Lakota leader, surrendered to U.S. federal troops.
  • 1944 – A failed assassination attempt against Adolf Hitler took place, known as the July 20 Plot.
  • 1969 – Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon.
  • 1976 – Viking 1 successfully landed on Mars and sent back images of the Martian surface.

Famous Birthdays

  • Alexander the Great (356 BC–323 BC), Macedonian king and military leader
  • Gregor Mendel (1822–1884), Austrian scientist and founder of genetics
  • Natalie Wood (1938–1981), American actress known for West Side Story and Rebel Without a Cause
  • Carlos Santana (born 1947), Mexican-American guitarist and bandleader
  • Sandra Oh (born 1971), Canadian actress known for Grey’s Anatomy and Killing Eve
  • Gisele Bündchen (born 1980), Brazilian supermodel and philanthropist

Notable Deaths

  • Pancho Villa (d. 1923), Mexican revolutionary general (b. 1878)
  • Bruce Lee (d. 1973), Hong Kong-American martial artist and actor (b. 1940)
  • James Doohan (d. 2005), Canadian actor best known as Scotty in Star Trek (b. 1920)
  • Luciano Ercoli (d. 2015), Italian film director and producer (b. 1929)

Holidays

  • Colombian Independence Day (Colombia) – Celebrates Colombia’s declaration of independence from Spain in 1810.
  • Space Exploration Day (USA) – Honors the anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.

Fun Facts

  • The phrase “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” was spoken by Neil Armstrong on this day in 1969.
  • Gregor Mendel’s pea plant experiments laid the foundation for modern genetics.
  • Carlos Santana blended Latin sounds with rock, pioneering a new genre of music.
  • Viking 1 was the first U.S. spacecraft to land successfully on Mars.
  • Sandra Oh was the first Asian woman to host the Golden Globes and win multiple major acting awards in North America.

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