July 20 in history — What Happened Today in History

Václav Havel resigns as president of Czechoslovakia.

A Tupolev Tu-154 crashes during takeoff from Tbilisi International Airport, killing all 24 aboard and four more people on the ground.

Burma's ruling junta puts opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.

The government of Aruba passes legislation to secede from the Netherlands Antilles.

Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombings: The Provisional IRA detonates two bombs in Hyde Park and Regent's Park in central London, killing eight soldiers, wounding forty-seven people, and leading to the deaths of seven horses.

Somali Airlines Flight 40 crashes in Balad, Somalia, killing 50 people.

The Central Intelligence Agency releases documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind-control experiments.

The Johnstown flood of 1977 kills 84 people and causes millions of dollars in damages.

Aeroflot Flight B-2 crashes after takeoff from Vitim Airport in the Sakha Republic, killing 39.

The American Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars.

Turkish invasion of Cyprus: Forces from Turkey invade Cyprus after a coup d'état, organized by the dictator of Greece, against president Makarios.

Apollo program: Apollo 11's crew successfully makes the first human landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later.

A cease fire is announced between Honduras and El Salvador, six days after the beginning of the "Football War".

The first International Special Olympics Summer Games are held at Soldier Field in Chicago, with about 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities.

Vietnam War: Viet Cong forces attack the capital of Định Tường Province, Cái Bè, killing 11 South Vietnamese military personnel and 40 civilians (30 of whom are children).

French military forces break the Tunisian siege of Bizerte.

The Polaris missile is successfully launched from a submarine, the USS George Washington, for the first time.

Germany: Otto John, head of West Germany's secret service, defects to East Germany.

King Abdullah I of Jordan is assassinated by a Palestinian while attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem.

Cold War: In Philadelphia, Harry Gold pleads guilty to spying for the Soviet Union by passing secrets from atomic scientist Klaus Fuchs.

After a month-long campaign, the majority of North Korea's Air Force was destroyed by anti-communist forces.

The Israel–Syria Mixed Armistice Commission brokers the last of four ceasefire agreements to end the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

World War II: Adolf Hitler survives an assassination attempt led by German Army Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.

Soviet leader Joseph Stalin consolidates the Commissariats of Home Affairs and National Security to form the NKVD and names Lavrentiy Beria its chief.

Denmark leaves the League of Nations.

California opens its first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway.

The United States Department of Justice files suit in New York City against the motion picture industry charging violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act in regards to the studio system. The case would eventually result in a break-up of the industry in 1948.

The Montreux Convention is signed in Switzerland, authorizing Turkey to fortify the Dardanelles and Bosphorus but guaranteeing free passage to ships of all nations in peacetime.

Kira Kazantsev, Miss America 2015

Philipp Reiter, German mountaineer and runner

Tawan Vihokratana, Thai actor, host, and model

Andrew Shaw, Canadian ice hockey player

Alec Burks, American basketball player

Dwight Powell, Canadian basketball player

Lars Unnerstall, German footballer

Javier Cortés, Mexican footballer

Cristian Pasquato, Italian footballer

Julianne Hough, American singer-songwriter, actress, and dancer

Stephen Strasburg, American baseball player

Shahram Mahmoudi, Iranian volleyball player

Sami Whitcomb, American-Australian basketball player

Klaus Schmidt, German archaeologist and academic (born 1953)

Pierre Fabre, French pharmacist and businessman, founded Laboratoires Pierre Fabre (born 1926)

Khurshed Alam Khan, Indian politician, 2nd Governor of Goa (born 1919)

Augustus Rowe, Canadian physician and politician (born 1920)

Helen Thomas, American journalist and author (born 1920)

Alastair Burnet, English journalist (born 1928)

Jack Davis, American hurdler (born 1930)

José Hermano Saraiva, Portuguese historian, jurist, and politician, Portuguese Minister of Education (born 1919)

Lucian Freud, German-English painter and illustrator (born 1922)

Vedat Okyar, Turkish footballer (born 1945)

Mark Rosenzweig, American psychologist and academic (born 1922)

Artie Traum, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (born 1943)

Dinko Šakić, Croatian concentration camp commander (born 1921)