What Happened on June 20th in History
60 historical events on this date
The Holocaust: Kazimierz Piechowski and three others, dressed as members of the SS-TotenkopfverbÀnde, steal an SS staff car and escape from the Auschwitz concentration camp.
The Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered around six million...
The Holocaust: Kazimierz Piechowski and three others, dressed as members of the SS-TotenkopfverbÀnde, steal an SS staff car and escape from the Auschwitz concentration camp.
The Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered around six million...
The Detroit race riot breaks out and continues for three more days.
The 1943 Detroit race riot took place in Detroit, Michigan, from the evening of June 20 through to the early morning of June 22. It occurred in a period of dramatic population increase and social...
World War II: The Royal Air Force launches Operation Bellicose, the first shuttle bombing raid of the war. Avro Lancaster bombers damage the V-2 rocket production facilities at the Zeppelin Works while en route to an air base in Algeria.
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major...
The Detroit race riot breaks out and continues for three more days.
The 1943 Detroit race riot took place in Detroit, Michigan, from the evening of June 20 through to the early morning of June 22. It occurred in a period of dramatic population increase and social...
World War II: The Royal Air Force launches Operation Bellicose, the first shuttle bombing raid of the war. Avro Lancaster bombers damage the V-2 rocket production facilities at the Zeppelin Works while en route to an air base in Algeria.
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major...
World War II: The Battle of the Philippine Sea concludes with a decisive U.S. naval victory. The lopsided naval air battle is also known as the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot".
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a major naval battle of World War II on 19â20 June 1944 that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took...
World War II: During the Continuation War, the Soviet Union demands unconditional surrender from Finland during the beginning of partially successful VyborgâPetrozavodsk Offensive. The Finnish government refuses.
The Continuation War, also known as the Second SovietâFinnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration...
The experimental MW 18014 V-2 rocket reaches an altitude of 176Â km, becoming the first man-made object to reach outer space.
MW 18014 was a German A-4 test rocket launched on 20Â June 1944, at the PeenemĂŒnde Army Research Center in PeenemĂŒnde. It was the first man-made object to reach outer space, attaining an apogee of...
World War II: The Battle of the Philippine Sea concludes with a decisive U.S. naval victory. The lopsided naval air battle is also known as the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot".
The Battle of the Philippine Sea was a major naval battle of World War II on 19â20 June 1944 that eliminated the Imperial Japanese Navy's ability to conduct large-scale carrier actions. It took...
World War II: During the Continuation War, the Soviet Union demands unconditional surrender from Finland during the beginning of partially successful VyborgâPetrozavodsk Offensive. The Finnish government refuses.
The Continuation War, also known as the Second SovietâFinnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration...
The experimental MW 18014 V-2 rocket reaches an altitude of 176Â km, becoming the first man-made object to reach outer space.
MW 18014 was a German A-4 test rocket launched on 20Â June 1944, at the PeenemĂŒnde Army Research Center in PeenemĂŒnde. It was the first man-made object to reach outer space, attaining an apogee of...
The United States Secretary of State approves the transfer of Wernher von Braun and his team of Nazi rocket scientists to the U.S. under Operation Paperclip.
The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State, equivalent to a...
The United States Secretary of State approves the transfer of Wernher von Braun and his team of Nazi rocket scientists to the U.S. under Operation Paperclip.
The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State, equivalent to a...
The Deutsche Mark is introduced in Western Allied-occupied Germany. The Soviet Military Administration in Germany responded by imposing the Berlin Blockade four days later.
The Deutsche Mark, abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" ( ), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990, and then unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In...
The Deutsche Mark is introduced in Western Allied-occupied Germany. The Soviet Military Administration in Germany responded by imposing the Berlin Blockade four days later.
The Deutsche Mark, abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" ( ), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990, and then unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In...
A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey, killing 74 people.
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and various islands and islets in the Caribbean...
A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey, killing 74 people.
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and various islands and islets in the Caribbean...
A rare June hurricane strikes Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence killing 35.
The 1959 Escuminac disaster, also known as the Escuminac hurricane, was considered the worst fishing-related disaster in the Canadian province of New Brunswick in 100Â years. It occurred due to the...
A rare June hurricane strikes Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence killing 35.
The 1959 Escuminac disaster, also known as the Escuminac hurricane, was considered the worst fishing-related disaster in the Canadian province of New Brunswick in 100Â years. It occurred due to the...
The Mali Federation gains independence from France (it later splits into Mali and Senegal).
The Mali Federation was a federation in West Africa that linked the French colonies of Senegal and the Sudanese Republic for two months in 1960. It was founded on 4 April 1959 as a territory with...
The Mali Federation gains independence from France (it later splits into Mali and Senegal).
The Mali Federation was a federation in West Africa that linked the French colonies of Senegal and the Sudanese Republic for two months in 1960. It was founded on 4 April 1959 as a territory with...
Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet Union and the United States sign an agreement to establish the so-called "red telephone" link between Washington, D.C., and Moscow.
The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis, was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when...
Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet Union and the United States sign an agreement to establish the so-called "red telephone" link between Washington, D.C., and Moscow.
The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis, was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when...
A Curtiss C-46 Commando crashes in the Shengang District of Taiwan, killing 57 people.
The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a low-wing, twin-engine aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurized high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the...
A Curtiss C-46 Commando crashes in the Shengang District of Taiwan, killing 57 people.
The Curtiss C-46 Commando is a low-wing, twin-engine aircraft derived from the Curtiss CW-20 pressurized high-altitude airliner design. Early press reports used the name "Condor III" but the...
Watergate scandal: An 18+1â2-minute gap appears in the tape recording of the conversations between U.S. President Richard Nixon and his advisers regarding the recent arrests of his operatives while breaking into the Watergate complex.
The Watergate scandal, or simply Watergate, was a political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. On June 17, 1972, operatives associated with Nixon's...
Watergate scandal: An 18+1â2-minute gap appears in the tape recording of the conversations between U.S. President Richard Nixon and his advisers regarding the recent arrests of his operatives while breaking into the Watergate complex.
The Watergate scandal, or simply Watergate, was a political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon. On June 17, 1972, operatives associated with Nixon's...
Snipers fire upon left-wing Peronists in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in what is known as the Ezeiza massacre. At least 13 are killed and more than 300 are injured.
A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized...
AeromĂ©xico Flight 229 crashes on approach to Licenciado Gustavo DĂaz Ordaz International Airport, killing all 27 people on board.
AeromĂ©xico Flight 229 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 that crashed into the side of a mountain while on approach to Licenciado Gustavo DĂaz Ordaz International Airport in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on 20...
Snipers fire upon left-wing Peronists in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in what is known as the Ezeiza massacre. At least 13 are killed and more than 300 are injured.
A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized...
AeromĂ©xico Flight 229 crashes on approach to Licenciado Gustavo DĂaz Ordaz International Airport, killing all 27 people on board.
AeromĂ©xico Flight 229 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 that crashed into the side of a mountain while on approach to Licenciado Gustavo DĂaz Ordaz International Airport in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on 20...
The film Jaws is released in the United States, becoming the highest-grossing film of that time and starting the trend of films known as "summer blockbusters".
Jaws is a 1975 American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the 1974 novel by Peter Benchley. It stars Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody, who, with the help of a marine...
The film Jaws is released in the United States, becoming the highest-grossing film of that time and starting the trend of films known as "summer blockbusters".
Jaws is a 1975 American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the 1974 novel by Peter Benchley. It stars Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody, who, with the help of a marine...
ABC News correspondent Bill Stewart is shot dead by a Nicaraguan National Guard soldier under the regime of Anastasio Somoza Debayle during the Nicaraguan Revolution. The murder is caught on tape and sparks an international outcry against the regime.
ABC News is the news division of the American television network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ABC World News Tonight with David Muir; other programs include morning...
ABC News correspondent Bill Stewart is shot dead by a Nicaraguan National Guard soldier under the regime of Anastasio Somoza Debayle during the Nicaraguan Revolution. The murder is caught on tape and sparks an international outcry against the regime.
ABC News is the news division of the American television network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ABC World News Tonight with David Muir; other programs include morning...
The International Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide opens in Tel Aviv, despite attempts by the Turkish government to cancel it, as it included presentations on the Armenian genocide.
The International Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide was the first major conference in the field of genocide studies, held in Tel Aviv on 20â24 June 1982. It was organized by Israel Charny,...
The Argentine Corbeta Uruguay base on Southern Thule surrenders to Royal Marine commandos in the final action of the Falklands War.
Corbeta Uruguay base was an Argentine military outpost established in November 1976 on Thule Island, Southern Thule, in the South Sandwich Islands. It was vacated and mostly demolished in 1982...
The International Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide opens in Tel Aviv, despite attempts by the Turkish government to cancel it, as it included presentations on the Armenian genocide.
The International Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide was the first major conference in the field of genocide studies, held in Tel Aviv on 20â24 June 1982. It was organized by Israel Charny,...
The Argentine Corbeta Uruguay base on Southern Thule surrenders to Royal Marine commandos in the final action of the Falklands War.
Corbeta Uruguay base was an Argentine military outpost established in November 1976 on Thule Island, Southern Thule, in the South Sandwich Islands. It was vacated and mostly demolished in 1982...
Haitian president Leslie Manigat is ousted from power in a coup d'Ă©tat led by Lieutenant General Henri Namphy.
Leslie François Saint Roc Manigat was a Haitian politician who was elected as President of Haiti in a tightly controlled military held election in January 1988. He served as President for only a few...
Haitian president Leslie Manigat is ousted from power in a coup d'Ă©tat led by Lieutenant General Henri Namphy.
Leslie François Saint Roc Manigat was a Haitian politician who was elected as President of Haiti in a tightly controlled military held election in January 1988. He served as President for only a few...
Asteroid Eureka is discovered.
An asteroid is a minor planetâan object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified cometâthat orbits within the inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter. Asteroids...
The 7.4 Mw⯠ManjilâRudbar earthquake affects northern Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 35,000â50,000, and injuring 60,000â105,000.
The 1990 ManjilâRudbar earthquake occurred on Thursday, 21 June 1990 at 00:30:14 local time in the Caspian Sea region of northern Iran. The shock had a moment magnitude of 7.4 and a Mercalli...
Asteroid Eureka is discovered.
An asteroid is a minor planetâan object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified cometâthat orbits within the inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter. Asteroids...
The 7.4 Mw⯠ManjilâRudbar earthquake affects northern Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 35,000â50,000, and injuring 60,000â105,000.
The 1990 ManjilâRudbar earthquake occurred on Thursday, 21 June 1990 at 00:30:14 local time in the Caspian Sea region of northern Iran. The shock had a moment magnitude of 7.4 and a Mercalli...
The German Bundestag votes to move seat of government from the former West German capital of Bonn to the present capital of Berlin.
The Bundestag is the federal parliament of Germany. It is the only constitutional body in the country directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag was established by Title III of the Basic...
The German Bundestag votes to move seat of government from the former West German capital of Bonn to the present capital of Berlin.
The Bundestag is the federal parliament of Germany. It is the only constitutional body in the country directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag was established by Title III of the Basic...
The 1994 Imam Reza shrine bomb explosion in Iran leaves at least 25 dead and 70 to 300 injured.
The Imam Reza shrine bombing refers to a bomb explosion that occurred on 20 June 1994 in a crowded prayer hall at the shrine of Ali al-Ridha, the eighth Imam of Shia, located in Mashhad, Iran. To...
The 1994 Imam Reza shrine bomb explosion in Iran leaves at least 25 dead and 70 to 300 injured.
The Imam Reza shrine bombing refers to a bomb explosion that occurred on 20 June 1994 in a crowded prayer hall at the shrine of Ali al-Ridha, the eighth Imam of Shia, located in Mashhad, Iran. To...
Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-78 to conduct life science and microgravity research aboard the Spacelab module.
Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe, and the...
Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-78 to conduct life science and microgravity research aboard the Spacelab module.
Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) was a Space Shuttle orbiter manufactured by Rockwell International and operated by NASA. Named after the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe, and the...
The Wikimedia Foundation is founded in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (WMF) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, and registered there as a charitable foundation. It is most known for...
The Wikimedia Foundation is founded in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (WMF) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California, and registered there as a charitable foundation. It is most known for...
RusAir Flight 9605 crashes in Besovets during approach to Petrozavodsk Airport, killing 47.
RusAir Flight 9605 was a passenger flight which crashed near Petrozavodsk in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, on 20 June 2011 while attempting to land in thick fog. The aircraft involved, a Tupolev...
RusAir Flight 9605 crashes in Besovets during approach to Petrozavodsk Airport, killing 47.
RusAir Flight 9605 was a passenger flight which crashed near Petrozavodsk in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, on 20 June 2011 while attempting to land in thick fog. The aircraft involved, a Tupolev...
Iran's Air Defense Forces shoot down an American surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions between the two countries.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Defense Force is the anti-aircraft warfare branch of Iran's regular military, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (Artesh). It split from the air force (IRIAF) in 2008...
Iran's Air Defense Forces shoot down an American surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions between the two countries.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Defense Force is the anti-aircraft warfare branch of Iran's regular military, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (Artesh). It split from the air force (IRIAF) in 2008...
The first EF5 tornado in 12 years occurs in Enderlin, North Dakota.
On the night of June 20, 2025, a very large, extremely violent, and historic EF5 tornado moved through rural North Dakota, United States, passing near the community of Enderlin. Part of a larger...
The first EF5 tornado in 12 years occurs in Enderlin, North Dakota.
On the night of June 20, 2025, a very large, extremely violent, and historic EF5 tornado moved through rural North Dakota, United States, passing near the community of Enderlin. Part of a larger...