June 20 in History

Historical Events on June 20

1248 The University of Oxford receives its Royal charter.

1782 The U.S. Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States.

1863 American Civil War: West Virginia is admitted as the 35th U.S. state.

1940 World War II: Italy begins an unsuccessful invasion of France.

1942 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.

1943 World War II: The Royal Air Force launches Operation Bellicose, the first shuttle bombing raid of the war. Lancaster bombers damage the V-2 rocket production facilities at the Zeppelin Works while en route to an air base in Algeria.

1956 A Venezuelan Super-Constellation crashes in the Atlantic Ocean off Asbury Park, New Jersey, killing 74 people.

1963 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 and Moscow.

2003 The Wikimedia Foundation is founded in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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Famous Birthdays on June 20

1566 Sigismund III Vasa

1942 Brian Wilson

1967 Nicole Kidman

1978 Frank Lampard

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Famous Deaths on June 20

656 Uthman ibn Affan

1820 Manuel Belgrano

1837 William IV of the United Kingdom

1947 Bugsy Siegel

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