Vintage News · Odd history for June 20

What Happened On June 20

Q: What happened on June 20?

451: 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. 1972: 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. 1877: Alexander Graham Bell installs the world's first commercial telephone service in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. 1840: Samuel Morse receives the patent for the telegraph. 1819: 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. 1210: Michael I Komnenos Doukas, the first ruler of the despotate of Epirus, signs a treaty with the Republic of Venice and becomes their vassal. 1180: First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan. 1975: Steven Spielberg's film Jaws was released; it became a summer blockbuster and the first film to earn $100 million in U.S. theatrical rentals. 1926: Approximately 250,000 spectators attended the opening procession of the 28th International Eucharistic Congress in Chicago, United States. 2025: The first EF5 tornado in 12 years occurs in Enderlin, North Dakota.

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10 odd things that happened on June 20

451 Weird
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.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1972 Oddly true
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.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1877 First ever
Alexander Graham Bell installs the world's first commercial telephone service in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1840 Oddly true
Samuel Morse receives the patent for the telegraph.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1819 First ever
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.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1210 First ever
Michael I Komnenos Doukas, the first ruler of the despotate of Epirus, signs a treaty with the Republic of Venice and becomes their vassal.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1180 First ever
First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1975 First ever
Steven Spielberg's film Jaws was released; it became a summer blockbuster and the first film to earn $100 million in U.S. theatrical rentals.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1926 Oddly true
Approximately 250,000 spectators attended the opening procession of the 28th International Eucharistic Congress in Chicago, United States.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2025 First ever
The first EF5 tornado in 12 years occurs in Enderlin, North Dakota.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2025The first EF5 tornado in 12 years occurs in Enderlin, North Dakota. Wikipedia →
2019Iran's Air Defense Forces shoot down an American surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions between the two countries. Wikipedia →
2011RusAir Flight 9605 crashes in Besovets during approach to Petrozavodsk Airport, killing 47. Wikipedia →
2008Twelve people are killed, including nine clubgoers and three police officers, during a crowd crush in Mexico City. Wikipedia →
2003The Wikimedia Foundation is founded in St. Petersburg, Florida. Wikipedia →
1996Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-78 to conduct life science and microgravity research aboard the Spacelab module. Wikipedia →
1994The 1994 Imam Reza shrine bomb explosion in Iran leaves at least 25 dead and 70 to 300 injured. Wikipedia →
1991The German Bundestag votes to move seat of government from the former West German capital of Bonn to the present capital of Berlin. Wikipedia →
1990Asteroid Eureka is discovered. Wikipedia →
1990The 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. Wikipedia →
1988Haitian president Leslie Manigat is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Lieutenant General Henri Namphy. Wikipedia →
1982The 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. Wikipedia →
1982The Argentine Corbeta Uruguay base on Southern Thule surrenders to Royal Marine commandos in the final action of the Falklands War. Wikipedia →
1979ABC 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. Wikipedia →
1975The 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". Wikipedia →
1973Snipers 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. Wikipedia →
1973Aeroméxico Flight 229 crashes on approach to Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport, killing all 27 people on board. Wikipedia →
1972Watergate 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. Wikipedia →
1964A Curtiss C-46 Commando crashes in the Shengang District of Taiwan, killing 57 people. Wikipedia →
1963Following 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. Wikipedia →
1960The Mali Federation gains independence from France (it later splits into Mali and Senegal). Wikipedia →
1959A rare June hurricane strikes Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence killing 35. Wikipedia →
1956A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey, killing 74 people. Wikipedia →
1948In 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. Wikipedia →
1945The 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. Wikipedia →
1944World 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". Wikipedia →
1944World 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. Wikipedia →
1944The experimental MW 18014 V-2 rocket reaches an altitude of 176 km, becoming the first man-made object to reach outer space. Wikipedia →
1943The Detroit race riot breaks out and continues for three more days. Wikipedia →
1943World 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. Wikipedia →
1942The 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. Wikipedia →
1926The 28th International Eucharistic Congress begins in Chicago, with over 250,000 spectators attending the opening procession. Wikipedia →
1921Workers of Buckingham and Carnatic Mills in the city of Chennai, India, begin a four-month strike. Wikipedia →
1900Boxer Rebellion: The Imperial Chinese Army begins a 55-day siege of the Legation Quarter in Beijing, China. Wikipedia →
1900Baron Eduard Toll, leader of the Russian Polar Expedition of 1900, departs Saint Petersburg in Russia on the explorer ship Zarya, never to return. Wikipedia →
1895The Kiel Canal, crossing the base of the Jutland peninsula and the busiest artificial waterway in the world, is officially opened. Wikipedia →
1893Lizzie Borden is acquitted of the murders of her father and stepmother. Wikipedia →
1877Alexander Graham Bell installs the world's first commercial telephone service in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Wikipedia →
1863American Civil War: West Virginia is admitted as the 35th U.S. state. Wikipedia →
1862Barbu Catargiu, the Prime Minister of Romania, is assassinated. Wikipedia →
1840Samuel Morse receives the patent for the telegraph. Wikipedia →
1837King William IV dies, and is succeeded by his niece, Victoria. Wikipedia →
1819The 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. Wikipedia →
1791King Louis XVI, disguised as a valet, and the French royal family attempt to flee Paris during the French Revolution. Wikipedia →
1789Deputies of the French Third Estate take the Tennis Court Oath. Wikipedia →
1787Oliver Ellsworth moves at the Federal Convention to call the government the 'United States'. Wikipedia →
1782The U.S. Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States. Wikipedia →
1756A British garrison is imprisoned in the Black Hole of Calcutta. Wikipedia →
1685Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth declares himself King of England at Bridgwater. Wikipedia →
1652Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha is appointed Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. Wikipedia →
1631The Sack of Baltimore: The Irish village of Baltimore is attacked by Barbary slave traders. Wikipedia →
1622The Battle of Höchst takes place during the Thirty Years' War. Wikipedia →
1295The 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. Wikipedia →
1210Michael I Komnenos Doukas, the first ruler of the despotate of Epirus, signs a treaty with the Republic of Venice and becomes their vassal. Wikipedia →
1180First Battle of Uji, starting the Genpei War in Japan. Wikipedia →
451Battle 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. Wikipedia →

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.