Anniversaries and commemorations come and go daily. Most of us, even the best historians, miss most occasions. If we think of history as events then we are faced with a continually showering in the grains of sand. Nevertheless, we do pick out certain patterns in the remembrance of historical dates. The blog here reminds us of some dates where the local, state, national, and global perspectives entwine.
On 20, Friday July 1894, Wiley Blount Rutledge, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, born (d. 1949)
On 20, Sunday July 1919, Jacquemine Charrott Lodwidge, English writer
On 20, Sunday July 1919, Sir Edmund Hillary, New Zealand mountaineer, conqueror of Mount Everest, born (d. 2008)
On 20, Thursday July 1944, WWII: Adolf Hitler survives an assassination attempt led by Claus von Stauffenberg.
On 20, Thursday July 1944, W. Cary Edwards, American politician, born (d. 2010)
On 20, Thursday July 1944, Heinz Brandt, German officer, died (b. 1907)
On 20, Thursday July 1944, Mildred Harris, American actress, died (b. 1901)
On 20, Thursday July 1944, Günther Korten, German colonel-general, chief of staff of the Luftwaffe, died (b. 1898)
On 20, Monday July 1959, Giovanna Amati, Italian race car driver, born
On 20, Monday July 1959, William D. Leahy, American admiral, died (b. 1875)
On 20, Sunday July 1969, NASA switches the main transmission feed of the Apollo 11 moon landing to Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station in Canberra, then Parkes Observatory in New South Wales, which then broadcasts the mission to the world.
On 20, Sunday July 1969, Apollo program: The lunar module Eagle/Apollo 11 lands on the lunar surface. An estimated 500 million people worldwide watch in awe as Neil Armstrong takes his historic first steps on the Moon at 10:56 pm ET (02:56 UTC July 21), the largest television audience for a live broadcast at that time.
On 20, Sunday July 1969, Josh Holloway, American actor, born
On 20, Sunday July 1969, Johnny Ngauamo, Tonga rugby union player, born
On 20, Sunday July 1969, Cathy Wayne, entertainer; first Australian woman killed in the Vietnam War, died (b. 1949)
On 20, Friday July 1979, Inaugural meeting of the National Farmers’ Federation
On 20, Friday July 1979, Claudine Barretto, Filipino film actress, television actress, entrepreneur and product endorser, born
On 20, Friday July 1979, Marcos Mion, Brazilian TV host, actor, voice actor, and businessman, born
On 20, Friday July 1979, Milan Nikolić, Serbian accordionist, born
On 20, Friday July 1979, Adam Rose, South African professional wrestler, born
On 20, Friday July 1979, Amr Shabana, Egyptian squash player, born
On 20, Friday July 1979, Herbert Butterfield, English philosopher and historian, died (b. 1900)
On 20, Friday July 1979, Volney Davis, American Depression era outlaw, died (b. 1902)
On 20, Thursday July 1989, Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is placed under house arrest. She is released in 2010.
On 20, Thursday July 1989, Rayver Cruz, Filipino actor, born
On 20, Thursday July 1989, Juan Carlos Altavista, Argentine actor, died (b. 1929)
On 20, Thursday July 1989, Forrest H. Anderson, American politician, died (b. 1913)
On 20, Thursday July 1989, Mary Treen, American film actress, died (b. 1907)
On 20, Wednesday July 1994, Paul Delvaux, Belgian painter, died (b. 1897)
On 20, Tuesday July 1999, Mercury program: Liberty Bell 7 — piloted by Gus Grissom in 1961 — is raised from the Atlantic Ocean.
On 20, Tuesday July 1999, Falun Gong is banned in the People’s Republic of China under Jiang Zemin.
On 20, Tuesday July 1999, Princess Alexandra of Hanover, born
On 20, Tuesday July 1999, Ellie Downie, British artistic gymnast, born
On 20, Tuesday July 1999, Sandra Gould, American actress, died (b. 1916)
Other On This Day days in history
Neville Buch
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