On This Day for July 20 - First Moon landing, Sir Edmund Hillary is featured, and more

Created: 2020-07-20 10:03 Updated: 2020-07-20 10:03 Notebook: On this Day in History

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, click here to view.

July 20

FEATURED BIOGRAPHY

Sir Edmund Hillary

FEATURED EVENT

1969

First Moon landing

Britannica Premium for only $49.99 a year

MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY

2013: American journalist Helen Thomas , who broke through a number of barriers for women reporters and was known especially for her coverage of U.S. presidents, died in Washington, D.C.

1968: At Chicago's Soldier Field, the first Special Olympics began, and some 1,000 athletes—all of whom had intellectual disabilities—participated. [ Test your knowledge of sports.]

1976: The Viking 1 lander touched down at Chryse Planitia on Mars. [ Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about Mars.]

Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini after the July Plot failed

1944: During World War II, German military leaders attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler in the July Plot. [ How much do you know about Adolf Hitler?]

1917: The Corfu Declaration was issued, calling for the establishment of a unified Yugoslav state following World War I.

1917: Prince Georgy Yevgenyevich Lvov resigned his post as prime minister of Russia's Provisional Government following the July Days demonstrations. [Test your knowledge of Russian history.]

SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY

ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY

1980

Gisele Bündchen
Brazilian model

1938

Natalie Wood
American actress

1947

Carlos Santana
American musician

1933

Cormac McCarthy
American author

1919

Edmund Hillary
New Zealand explorer