July 20
1810 - Colombia declared its independence from Spain.
1881 - Fugitive Sioux Indian leader Sitting Bull surrendered to federal troops.
1917 - America's World War I draft lottery began as Secretary of War Newton Baker, wearing a blindfold, reached into a glass bowl and pulled out a capsule containing the number 258 during a ceremony inside the Senate office building.
1944 - An attempt by a group of German officials to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb failed as the explosion only wounded the Nazi leader.
1951 - King Abdullah I of Jordan was assassinated by a Palestinian gunman who was shot dead on the spot by security.
1960 - Sirima Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon) became the world's first female prime minister.
1969 - Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first men to walk on the surface of the moon after reaching it in their Apollo 11 lunar module.
1976 - America's Viking 1 robot spacecraft made a successful, first-ever landing on Mars.
1977 - A flash flood hit Johnstown, Pennsylvania, killing more than 80 people and causing $350 million worth of damage.
1985 - Treasure hunters found the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha, which sank off the coast of Key West, Florida in 1622 during a hurricane. The ship contained over $400 million in coins and silver ingots.
1990 - Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, one of the court's most liberal voices, announced he was stepping down.
1993 - White House deputy counsel Vincent Foster Jr., age 48, was found shot to death in a park near Washington, D.C.; his death was ruled a suicide.
2006 - The Senate voted 98-0 to renew the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act for another 25 years.
2007 - President George W. Bush signed an executive order prohibiting cruel and inhuman treatment, including humiliation or denigration of religious beliefs, in the detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects.
2010 - The Senate Judiciary Committee voted almost total along party lines, 13-6, to approve Elena Kagan to be the Supreme Court's fourth female justice.
2013 - Longtime White House correspondent Helen Thomas, 92, died in Washington, D.C.
2015 - The United States and Cuba restored full diplomatic relations after more than five decades of frosty relations rooted in the Cold War.
2015 - The U.N. Security Council endorsed a landmark deal to rein in Iran's nuclear program.
2018 - President Donald Trump escalated his threats to punish China for its trade policies, warning in an interview airing on CNBC that he was prepared to impose tariffs on all Chinese imports.
2022 - The U.S. Senate unexpectedly launched a new push to protect same-sex marriage in federal law after a surprising number of Republicans helped pass landmark legislation in the House. The bill started as an election-season political effort following the Supreme Court’s abortion ruling, which raised concerns that other rights could be at risk. (The legislation would pass months later.)
Birthdays
26 - Abby Rao (model)
27 - Joey Bragg (actor)
30 - Alycia Debnam-Carey (actress)
31 - Paige Hurd (actress)
35 - Stephen Strasburg (baseball player)
35 - Julianne Hough (actress/singer)
38 - John Francis Daley (actor)
43 - Gisele Bundchen (model)
45 - Elliott Yamin (singer)
45 - Charlie Korsmo (actor)
48 - Judy Greer (actress)
48 - Ray Allen (basketball player)
49 - Simon Rex (actor)
50 - Omar Epps (actor)
52 - Sandra Oh (actress)
54 - Josh Holloway (actor)
56 - Reed Diamond (actor)
59 - Dean Winters (actor)
60 - Frank Whaley (actor)
64 - Radney Foster (singer)
66 - Donna Dixon (actress)
67 - Paul Cook (musician)
71 - Jay Jay French (musician)
76 - Carlos Santana (musician)
78 - Kim Carnes (singer)
79 - T.G. Sheppard (singer)
=====================================
Today in Sports History - July 20
1859 - Brooklyn and New York played baseball at Fashion Park Race Course on Long Island, NY. The game marked the first time that admission was charged to see a ball game. It cost $.50 to get in and the players on the field did not receive a salary.
1947 - The National Football League (NFL) ruled that no professional team could sign a player who had college eligibility remaining.
1958 - The PGA Championship changed its format from match play to stroke play.
1976 - Hank Aaron hit the 755th and final home run of his career.
1991 - Heavyweight boxing star Mike Tyson is accused of raping a Miss Black America pageant contestant.
2003 - Ben Curtis, an unknown PGA Tour rookie in his first major championship, won the British Open.
2021 - The Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Phoenix Suns in six games to win their first NBA championship in 50 years; Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 50 points in Game 6.
1810 - Colombia declared its independence from Spain.
1881 - Fugitive Sioux Indian leader Sitting Bull surrendered to federal troops.
1917 - America's World War I draft lottery began as Secretary of War Newton Baker, wearing a blindfold, reached into a glass bowl and pulled out a capsule containing the number 258 during a ceremony inside the Senate office building.
1944 - An attempt by a group of German officials to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb failed as the explosion only wounded the Nazi leader.
1951 - King Abdullah I of Jordan was assassinated by a Palestinian gunman who was shot dead on the spot by security.
1960 - Sirima Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon) became the world's first female prime minister.
1969 - Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first men to walk on the surface of the moon after reaching it in their Apollo 11 lunar module.
1976 - America's Viking 1 robot spacecraft made a successful, first-ever landing on Mars.
1977 - A flash flood hit Johnstown, Pennsylvania, killing more than 80 people and causing $350 million worth of damage.
1985 - Treasure hunters found the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha, which sank off the coast of Key West, Florida in 1622 during a hurricane. The ship contained over $400 million in coins and silver ingots.
1990 - Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, one of the court's most liberal voices, announced he was stepping down.
1993 - White House deputy counsel Vincent Foster Jr., age 48, was found shot to death in a park near Washington, D.C.; his death was ruled a suicide.
2006 - The Senate voted 98-0 to renew the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act for another 25 years.
2007 - President George W. Bush signed an executive order prohibiting cruel and inhuman treatment, including humiliation or denigration of religious beliefs, in the detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects.
2010 - The Senate Judiciary Committee voted almost total along party lines, 13-6, to approve Elena Kagan to be the Supreme Court's fourth female justice.
2013 - Longtime White House correspondent Helen Thomas, 92, died in Washington, D.C.
2015 - The United States and Cuba restored full diplomatic relations after more than five decades of frosty relations rooted in the Cold War.
2015 - The U.N. Security Council endorsed a landmark deal to rein in Iran's nuclear program.
2018 - President Donald Trump escalated his threats to punish China for its trade policies, warning in an interview airing on CNBC that he was prepared to impose tariffs on all Chinese imports.
2022 - The U.S. Senate unexpectedly launched a new push to protect same-sex marriage in federal law after a surprising number of Republicans helped pass landmark legislation in the House. The bill started as an election-season political effort following the Supreme Court’s abortion ruling, which raised concerns that other rights could be at risk. (The legislation would pass months later.)
Birthdays
26 - Abby Rao (model)
27 - Joey Bragg (actor)
30 - Alycia Debnam-Carey (actress)
31 - Paige Hurd (actress)
35 - Stephen Strasburg (baseball player)
35 - Julianne Hough (actress/singer)
38 - John Francis Daley (actor)
43 - Gisele Bundchen (model)
45 - Elliott Yamin (singer)
45 - Charlie Korsmo (actor)
48 - Judy Greer (actress)
48 - Ray Allen (basketball player)
49 - Simon Rex (actor)
50 - Omar Epps (actor)
52 - Sandra Oh (actress)
54 - Josh Holloway (actor)
56 - Reed Diamond (actor)
59 - Dean Winters (actor)
60 - Frank Whaley (actor)
64 - Radney Foster (singer)
66 - Donna Dixon (actress)
67 - Paul Cook (musician)
71 - Jay Jay French (musician)
76 - Carlos Santana (musician)
78 - Kim Carnes (singer)
79 - T.G. Sheppard (singer)
=====================================
Today in Sports History - July 20
1859 - Brooklyn and New York played baseball at Fashion Park Race Course on Long Island, NY. The game marked the first time that admission was charged to see a ball game. It cost $.50 to get in and the players on the field did not receive a salary.
1947 - The National Football League (NFL) ruled that no professional team could sign a player who had college eligibility remaining.
1958 - The PGA Championship changed its format from match play to stroke play.
1976 - Hank Aaron hit the 755th and final home run of his career.
1991 - Heavyweight boxing star Mike Tyson is accused of raping a Miss Black America pageant contestant.
2003 - Ben Curtis, an unknown PGA Tour rookie in his first major championship, won the British Open.
2021 - The Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Phoenix Suns in six games to win their first NBA championship in 50 years; Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 50 points in Game 6.
