Discover · History

On this day — July 20

A hand-curated thread of what happened on this date, across centuries.

Observed today

National Moon Day

Marks Apollo 11's 1969 landing. Not a federal holiday, though periodic attempts to make it one resurface every decade or so.

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2021

Milestone

American businessman Jeff Bezos flies to space aboard New Shepard NS-16 operated by his private spaceflight company Blue Origin.

2019

Milestone

Soyuz MS-13 is launched to the International Space Station on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

2017

Milestone

O. J. Simpson is granted parole to be released from prison after serving nine years of a 33-year sentence after being convicted of armed robbery in Las Vegas.

2015

Milestone

A huge explosion in the mostly Kurdish border town of Suruç

Turkey, targeting the Socialist Youth Associations Federation, kills at least 31 people and injures over 100.

2015

Milestone

The United States and Cuba resume full diplomatic relations after five decades.

2013

Politics

Seventeen government soldiers are killed in an attack by FARC revolutionaries in the Colombian department of Arauca.

2013

Politics

Syrian civil war

The Battle of Ras al-Ayn ends with the expulsion of Islamist forces from the city by the People's Protection Units (YPG).

2012

Disaster

James Holmes opened fire at a movie theater in Aurora

Colorado, killing 12 and injuring 70 others.

2012

Politics

Syrian civil war

The People's Protection Units (YPG) capture the cities of Amuda and Efrîn without resistance.

2005

Milestone

The Civil Marriage Act legalizes same-sex marriage in Canada.

1999

Milestone

The Chinese Communist Party begins a persecution campaign against Falun Gong

arresting thousands nationwide.

1997

Milestone

The fully restored USS Constitution (a.k.a

Old Ironsides) celebrates its 200th birthday by setting sail for the first time in 116 years.

1992

Politics

Václav Havel resigns as president of Czechoslovakia.

1992

Milestone

A Tupolev Tu-154 crashes during takeoff from Tbilisi International Airport

killing all 24 aboard and four more people on the ground.

1989

Milestone

Observed today

National Moon Day

American businessman Jeff Bezos flies to space aboard New Shepard NS-16 operated by his private spaceflight company Blue Origin.

Soyuz MS-13 is launched to the International Space Station on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

O. J. Simpson is granted parole to be released from prison after serving nine years of a 33-year sentence after being convicted of armed robbery in Las Vegas.

A huge explosion in the mostly Kurdish border town of Suruç

The United States and Cuba resume full diplomatic relations after five decades.

Seventeen government soldiers are killed in an attack by FARC revolutionaries in the Colombian department of Arauca.

Syrian civil war

James Holmes opened fire at a movie theater in Aurora

Syrian civil war

The Civil Marriage Act legalizes same-sex marriage in Canada.

The Chinese Communist Party begins a persecution campaign against Falun Gong

The fully restored USS Constitution (a.k.a

Václav Havel resigns as president of Czechoslovakia.

A Tupolev Tu-154 crashes during takeoff from Tbilisi International Airport

Burma's ruling junta puts opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.