June 20 in History

The first EF5 tornado in 12 years occurs in Enderlin, North Dakota.

Iran's Air Defense Forces shoot down an American surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions between the two countries.

RusAir Flight 9605 crashes in Besovets during approach to Petrozavodsk Airport, killing 47.

The Wikimedia Foundation is founded in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-78 to conduct life science and microgravity research aboard the Spacelab module.

The 1994 Imam Reza shrine bomb explosion in Iran leaves at least 25 dead and 70 to 300 injured.

The German Bundestag votes to move seat of government from the former West German capital of Bonn to the present capital of Berlin.

Asteroid Eureka is discovered.

The 7.4 Mw Manjil–Rudbar earthquake affects northern Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 35,000–50,000, and injuring 60,000–105,000.

Haitian president Leslie Manigat is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Lieutenant General Henri Namphy.

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 Argentine Corbeta Uruguay base on Southern Thule surrenders to Royal Marine commandos in the final action of the Falklands War.

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.

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".

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.

Aeroméxico Flight 229 crashes on approach to Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport, killing all 27 people on board.

Watergate scandal: An 18+1⁄2-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.

A Curtiss C-46 Commando crashes in the Shengang District of Taiwan, killing 57 people.

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 Mali Federation gains independence from France (it later splits into Mali and Senegal).

A rare June hurricane strikes Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence killing 35.

A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey, killing 74 people.

In Western Allied-occupied Germany, the Currency Reform of 1948 goes into effect, introducing the Deutsche Mark. The Soviet Military Administration in Germany responded by imposing the Berlin Blockade four days later.

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.

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".

World War II: During the Continuation War, the Soviet Union demands unconditional surrender from Finland during the beginning of partially successful Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive. The Finnish government refuses.

The experimental MW 18014 V-2 rocket reaches an altitude of 176 km, becoming the first man-made object to reach outer space.

The Detroit race riot breaks out and continues for three more days.

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.

The Holocaust: Kazimierz Piechowski and three others, dressed as members of the SS-Totenkopfverbände, steal an SS staff car and escape from the Auschwitz concentration camp.

The 28th International Eucharistic Congress begins in Chicago, with over 250,000 spectators attending the opening procession.

Workers of Buckingham and Carnatic Mills in the city of Chennai, India, begin a four-month strike.

Boxer Rebellion: The Imperial Chinese Army begins a 55-day siege of the Legation Quarter in Beijing, China.

Baron Eduard Toll, leader of the Russian Polar Expedition of 1900, departs Saint Petersburg in Russia on the explorer ship Zarya, never to return.

The Kiel Canal, crossing the base of the Jutland peninsula and the busiest artificial waterway in the world, is officially opened.

Lizzie Borden is acquitted of the murders of her father and stepmother.

Alexander Graham Bell installs the world's first commercial telephone service in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

American Civil War: West Virginia is admitted as the 35th U.S. state.

Barbu Catargiu, the Prime Minister of Romania, is assassinated.

Samuel Morse receives the patent for the telegraph.

King William IV dies, and is succeeded by his niece, Victoria.

The U.S. vessel SS Savannah arrives at Liverpool, United Kingdom. It is the first steam-propelled vessel to cross the Atlantic, although most of the journey is made under sail.

King Louis XVI, disguised as a valet, and the French royal family attempt to flee Paris during the French Revolution.

Deputies of the French Third Estate take the Tennis Court Oath.

Oliver Ellsworth moves at the Federal Convention to call the government the 'United States'.

The U.S. Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States.

A British garrison is imprisoned in the Black Hole of Calcutta.

Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth declares himself King of England at Bridgwater.

Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha is appointed Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.

The Sack of Baltimore: The Irish village of Baltimore is attacked by Barbary slave traders.

The Battle of Höchst takes place during the Thirty Years' War.

The Treaty of Anagni, an attempt mediated by the papacy to end the War of the Sicilian Vespers, is signed by the crown of Aragon, the kingdom of France and kingdom of Naples.

Michael I Komnenos Doukas, the first ruler of the despotate of Epirus, signs a treaty with the Republic of Venice and becomes their vassal.

First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan.

Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius battles Attila the Hun. After the battle, which was inconclusive, Attila retreats. Despite suffering catastrophic losses that led to the collapse of their alliance with the Goths and the destruction of much of the Roman army, the Romans nevertheless proclaimed victory despite the lack of any clear military success.

Hans Niemann, American chess player

Marc Pubill, Spanish footballer

Hugo Ekitike, French footballer

Nicolas Jackson, Senegalese footballer

Gonçalo Ramos, Portuguese footballer

Bálint Kopasz, Hungarian sprint canoeist

Sam Bennett, Canadian ice hockey player

Caroline Weir, Scottish footballer

Carol Zhao, Canadian tennis player

Leonard Williams, American football player

Sead Kolašinac, Bosnian footballer

Kalidou Koulibaly, Senegalese footballer

Rick ten Voorde, Dutch footballer

Ding Ning, Chinese table tennis player

DeQuan Jones, American basketball player

Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, Senegalese writer

Christopher Mintz-Plasse, American actor

Javier Pastore, Argentinian footballer

Terrelle Pryor, American football player

A-fu, Taiwanese singer and songwriter

Carsten Ball, Australian tennis player

Asmir Begović, Bosnian footballer

Joseph Ebuya, Kenyan runner

Jakub Štěpánek, Czech ice hockey player

Dreama Walker, American actress

Aurélien Chedjou, Cameroonian footballer

Matt Flynn, American football player

Caroline Polachek, American singer and songwriter

Hassan Adams, American basketball player

Josh Childress, American basketball player

Darren Sproles, American football player

Aleksei Berezutski, Russian footballer

Vasili Berezutski, Russian footballer

Example, English singer/rapper

Brede Hangeland, Norwegian footballer

Franco Semioli, Italian footballer

Fabian Wegmann, German cyclist

Charles Howell III, American golfer

Quinton Jackson, American mixed martial artist and actor

Frank Lampard, English footballer

Jan-Paul Saeijs, Dutch footballer

Gordan Giriček, Croatian basketball player

Juliano Belletti, Brazilian footballer

Carlos Lee, Panamanian baseball player

Joan Balcells, Spanish tennis player

Daniel Zítka, Czech footballer

Chino Moreno, American singer, guitarist and lyricist

Alexis Alexoudis, Greek footballer

Rodney Rogers, American basketball player and coach (died 2025)

Annik Van den Bosch, Belgian politician

Andrea Nahles, German politician, German Minister of Labour and Social Affairs

Paulo Bento, Portuguese footballer and manager

Misha Verbitsky, Russian mathematician and academic

MaliVai Washington, American tennis player and sportscaster

Mike Basham, American stock car racing driver

Mateusz Morawiecki, Polish banker, economist, and politician

Robert Rodriguez, American director, producer, and screenwriter

Nicole Kidman, American-Australian actress

Dan Tyminski, American singer-songwriter

Boaz Yakin, American director, producer, and screenwriter

Pierfrancesco Chili, Italian motorcycle racer

Silke Möller, German runner

Kirk Baptiste, American sprinter

Mark Ovenden, British author and broadcaster

Philip M. Parker, American economist and author

John Taylor, English bass player and actor

Robert B. Weide, American screenwriter, producer and director

Kelly Johnson, English hard rock guitarist and songwriter (died 2007)

Mark Milley, retired United States Army general, served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Peter Reid, English footballer and manager

Sohn Suk-hee, South Korean newscaster

E. Lynn Harris, American author (died 2009)

Michael Anthony, American musician

Allan Lamb, South African-English cricketer and sportscaster

Ilan Ramon, Israeli colonel, pilot, and astronaut (died 2003)

Huda Zoghbi, American geneticist

Robert Crais, American author and screenwriter

Raúl Ramírez, Mexican tennis player

Willy Rampf, German engineer

John Goodman, American actor

Vikram Seth, Indian author and poet

Tress MacNeille, American voice actress

Sheila McLean, Scottish scholar and academic

Paul Muldoon, Irish poet and academic

Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi politician, 76th Prime Minister of Iraq

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, 8th president of Sri Lanka

Lionel Richie, American singer, songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor

Cirilo Flores, American bishop (died 2014)

Alan Longmuir, Scottish bass player and songwriter (died 2018)

Ludwig Scotty, Nauruan politician, 10th President of Nauru (died 2026)

Dolores "LaLa" Brooks, American pop singer

Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester

Xanana Gusmão, Timorese soldier and politician, 1st President of East Timor

David Kazhdan, Russian-Israeli mathematician and academic

Bob Vila, American television host

André Watts, American pianist and educator (died 2023)

Anne Murray, Canadian singer and guitarist

Neil Trudinger, Australian mathematician and theorist

Brian Wilson, American singer, songwriter and producer (died 2025)

Stephen Frears, English actor, director, and producer

Ulf Merbold, German physicist and astronaut

Albert Shesternyov, Soviet footballer, captain of the Soviet Union national team and CSKA Moscow (died 1994)

Eugen Drewermann, German priest and theologian

John Mahoney, English-born American actor (died 2018)

Ramakant Desai, Indian cricketer (died 1998)

Budge Rogers, English rugby player and manager

Joan Kirner, Australian educator and politician, 42nd Premier of Victoria (died 2015)

Mickie Most, English music producer (died 2003)

Stafford Dean, English actor and singer

Jerry Keller, American singer-songwriter

Billy Guy, American singer (died 2002)

Enn Vetemaa, Estonian author and screenwriter (died 2017)

Jim Barker, American politician (died 2005)

Len Dawson, American football player (died 2022)

Armando Picchi, Italian footballer and coach (died 1971)

Wendy Craig, English actress

Danny Aiello, American actor (died 2019)

Claire Tomalin, English journalist and author

Robert Rozhdestvensky, Russian poet and author (died 1994)

Olympia Dukakis, American actress (died 2021)

James Tolkan, American actor and director (died 2026)

Magdalena Abakanowicz, Polish sculptor and academic (died 2017)

John Waine, English bishop (died 2020)

Edgar Bronfman, Sr., Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist (died 2013)

Anne Weale, English journalist and author (died 2007)

Edith Windsor, American lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights activist (died 2017)

Eric Dolphy, American saxophonist, flute player, and composer (died 1964)

Martin Landau, American actor and producer (died 2017)

Jean-Marie Le Pen, French intelligence officer and politician (died 2025)

Asrat Woldeyes, Ethiopian surgeon and educator (died 1999)

Rehavam Ze'evi, Israeli general and politician, 9th Israeli Minister of Tourism (died 2001)

Doris Hart, American tennis player and educator (died 2015)

Audie Murphy, American lieutenant and actor, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1971)

Chet Atkins, American guitarist and record producer (died 2001)

Fritz Koenig, German sculptor and academic, designed The Sphere (died 2017)

Peter Gay, German-American historian, author, and academic (died 2015)

Jerzy Nowak, Polish actor and educator (died 2013)

Byron Farwell, American historian and author (died 1999)

Pancho Segura, Ecuadorian tennis player (died 2017)

Paul Tiulana, Iñupiat artist and dancer (died 1994)

Danny Cedrone, American guitarist and bandleader (died 1954)

Thomas Jefferson, American trumpet player (died 1986)

George Lynch, American race car driver (died 1997)

Zoltán Sztáray, Hungarian-American author (died 2011)

Helena Rasiowa, Austrian-Polish mathematician and academic (died 1994)

Jean-Jacques Bertrand, Canadian lawyer and politician, 21st Premier of Quebec (died 1973)

T. Texas Tyler, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1972)

Dick Reynolds, Australian footballer and coach (died 2002)

Terence Young, Chinese-English director and screenwriter (died 1994)

Gordon Juckes, Canadian ice hockey player (died 1994)

Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, Turkish archaeologist and academic (died 2024)

Geoffrey Baker, English Field Marshal and Chief of the General Staff of the British Army (died 1980)

Anthony Buckeridge, English author (died 2004)

Jack Torrance, American shot putter and football player (died 1969)

Gail Patrick, American actress (died 1980)

Josephine Johnson, American author and poet (died 1990)

Errol Flynn, Australian-American actor (died 1959)

Billy Werber, American baseball player (died 2009)

Gus Schilling, American actor (died 1957)

Jimmy Driftwood, American singer-songwriter and banjo player (died 1998)

Catherine Cookson, English novelist (died 1998)

Bob King, American high jumper and obstetrician (died 1965)

William Reid, Scottish mining engineer (died 1985)

Lillian Hellman, American playwright and screenwriter (died 1984)

Sam Rabin, English wrestler, sculptor, and singer (died 1991)

Jean Moulin, French soldier and engineer (died 1943)

Elisabeth Hauptmann, German author and playwright (died 1973)

Wilfrid Pelletier, Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1982)

Lloyd Hall, American chemist and academic (died 1971)

Wilhelm Zaisser, German soldier and politician (died 1958)

Giannina Arangi-Lombardi, Italian soprano (died 1951)

John A. Costello, Irish lawyer and politician, 3rd Taoiseach of Ireland (died 1976)

John S. Paraskevopoulos, Greek-South African astronomer and academic (died 1951)

Kurt Schwitters, German painter and illustrator (died 1948)

Andrzej Gawroński, Polish linguist and academic (died 1927)

Mary R. Calvert, American astronomer and author (died 1974)

Johannes Heinrich Schultz, German psychiatrist and psychotherapist (died 1970)

Daniel Sawyer, American golfer (died 1937)

Reginald Punnett, English geneticist, statistician, and academic (died 1967)

George Carpenter, American 5th General of The Salvation Army (died 1948)

Georges Dufrénoy, French painter and academic (died 1943)

Laxmanrao Kirloskar, Indian businessman, founded the Kirloskar Group (died 1956)

Leon Wachholz, Polish scientist and medical examiner (died 1942)

James Burns, English cricketer (died 1957)

George Redmayne Murray, English biologist and physician (died 1939)

Frederick Gowland Hopkins, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1947)

Alexander Winton, Scottish-American race car driver and engineer (died 1932)

Jack Worrall, Australian cricketer, footballer, and coach (died 1937)

Christian von Ehrenfels, Austrian philosopher (died 1932)

Charles W. Chesnutt, American novelist and short story writer (died 1932)

Richard Lodge, English historian and academic (died 1936)

Gina Krog, Norwegian suffragist and women's rights activist (died 1916)

Jacques Offenbach, German-French cellist and composer (died 1880)

Joseph Autran, French poet and author (died 1877)

Isaak August Dorner, German theologian and academic (died 1884)

Samson Raphael Hirsch, German rabbi and scholar (died 1888)

Luigi Amat di San Filippo e Sorso, Italian cardinal (died 1878)

Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, French poet and author (died 1859)

Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac, French politician, 7th Prime Minister of France (died 1832)

Jean-Jacques Lartigue, Canadian bishop (died 1840)

Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, Scottish philanthropist and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Kirkcudbright (died 1820)

Hermann von Boyen, Prussian general and politician, Prussian Minister of War (died 1848)

Moses Waddel, American minister and academic (died 1840)

Wolfe Tone, Irish rebel leader (died 1798)

Jacob Hübner, German entomologist and author (died 1826)

Joseph Martin Kraus, German-Swedish composer and educator (died 1792)

Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt, princess of Baden (died 1832)

Tokugawa Ieharu, Japanese shōgun (died 1786)

(O.S.) Adam Ferguson, Scottish philosopher and historian (died 1816)

Jacques Saly, French sculptor and painter (died 1776)

(O.S.) John George III, Elector of Saxony (died 1691)

(O.S.) George Hickes, English minister and scholar (died 1715)

Charles Emmanuel II, duke of Savoy (died 1675)

Jacob De la Gardie, Swedish soldier and politician, Lord High Constable of Sweden (died 1652)

Sigismund III Vasa, Polish and Swedish king (died 1632)

Gian Galeazzo Sforza, duke of Milan (died 1494)

John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, English statesman (died 1435)

Ali az-Zahir, Fatimid caliph of Egypt (died 1036)

Donald Sutherland, Canadian actor and producer (born 1935)

Taylor Wily, American actor, sumo wrestler and mixed martial artist (born 1968)

Caleb Swanigan, American basketball player (born 1997)

Prodigy, American music artist (born 1974)

Angelo Niculescu, Romanian footballer and manager (born 1921)

Miriam Schapiro, Canadian-American painter and sculptor (born 1923)

Ingvar Rydell, Swedish footballer (born 1922)

Judy Agnew, Second Lady of the United States. (born 1921)

LeRoy Neiman, American painter (born 1921)

Heinrich IV, Prince Reuss of Köstritz (born 1919)

Andrew Sarris, American critic (born 1928)

Ryan Dunn, American television personality (born 1977)

Roberto Rosato, Italian footballer (born 1943)

Harry B. Whittington, English palaeontologist and academic (born 1916)

Larry Collins, American journalist, historian, and author (born 1929)

Jack Kilby, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1923)

Jim Bacon, Australian politician, 41st Premier of Tasmania (born 1950)

Erwin Chargaff, Austrian-American biochemist and academic (born 1905)

Tinus Osendarp, Dutch runner (born 1916)

Clifton Fadiman, American game show host, author, and critic (born 1902)

Cahit Külebi, Turkish poet and author (born 1917)

Emil Cioran, Romanian-French philosopher and educator (born 1911)

Estelle Winwood, English actress (born 1883)

Mark Robson, Canadian-American director and producer (born 1913)

Suzanne Comhaire-Sylvain, Haitian anthropologist (born 1898)

Horace Lindrum, Australian snooker player (born 1912)

Bishnu Prasad Rabha, Indian artist, painter, actor, dancer, writer, music composer and politician (born 1909)

Georges Lemaître, Belgian priest, physicist, and astronomer (born 1894)

Bernard Baruch, American financier and politician (born 1870)

Raphaël Salem, Greek-French mathematician and academic (born 1898)

Kurt Alder, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1902)

Luigi Fagioli, Italian race car driver (born 1898)

Bugsy Siegel, American mobster (born 1906)

Bruno Frank, German author, poet, and playwright (born 1878)

Emmanouil Benakis, Greek merchant and politician, 35th Mayor of Athens (born 1843)

Josef Breuer, Austrian physician and psychologist (born 1842)

Friedrich Martens, Estonian-Russian historian, lawyer, and diplomat (born 1845)

John Clayton Adams, English painter (born 1840)

Johannes Zukertort, Polish-English chess player (born 1842)

John Neal, American writer, critic, editor, lecturer, and activist (born 1793)

Joseph Meek, American police officer and politician (born 1810)

Élie Frédéric Forey, French general (born 1804)

Jules de Goncourt, French historian and author (born 1830)

Hijikata Toshizō, Japanese commander (born 1835)

Juan Larrea, Argentinian captain and politician (born 1782)

Pierre Claude François Daunou, French historian and politician (born 1761)

William IV of the United Kingdom (born 1765)

Manuel Belgrano, Argentinian general, economist, and politician (born 1770)

Guillaume Philibert Duhesme, French general (born 1766)

Axel von Fersen the Younger, Swedish general and politician (born 1755)

Abraham Gotthelf Kästner, German mathematician and academic (born 1719)

Carl Friedrich Abel, German viol player and composer (born 1723)

Benjamin Huntsman, English businessman (born 1704)

Heinrich Roth, German missionary and scholar (born 1620)

Feodor II of Russia (born 1589)

Willem Barentsz, Dutch cartographer and explorer (born 1550)

Margareta Ebner, German nun and mystic (born 1291)

Mikhail of Vladimir, Russian prince

Adalbert, archbishop of Magdeburg

Hucbald, Frankish monk and music theorist

Louis the Pious, Carolingian emperor (born 778)

Emperor Wencheng of Northern Wei (born 440)