1930 – US Veterans Administration forms
1948 – WSPD TV channel 13 in Toledo, OH (NBC) begins broadcasting
1972 – In New York 57 murders occur in 24 hours
1980 – Jean-Claude Droyer climbs Eiffel Tower in 2 hrs 18 mins
1983 – World’s lowest-ever natural temperature is recorded: -89.2°C (-128.6°F; 184.0 K) at the Soviet Vostok Station in Antarctica, surpassing record at same location set in 1960
1995 – Brian Lara completes a pair for West Indians vs. Kent
1995 – KC Royals set club record of 22 singles in 15 innings
2024 – Copa America: Argentina defeats Columba 1-0 to win record 16th title in a delayed match in Miami
Category: Historical Events
Historical Events for 20th July 2026
1773 – Scottish settlers arrive at Pictou, Nova Scotia (Canada)
1864 – Battle at Stephenson’s Depot, Virginia: 200 killed or injured
1890 – Snow and hail in Calais, Maine
1944 – British and Canadian troops occupy Hill 67/Ifs/Bras/Frenouville, Normandy
1953 – USSR/Israel recover diplomatic relations
1973 – MLB Chicago White Sox pitcher Wilbur Wood starts and loses both games of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees, 12-2 and 7-0
1975 – Murray Schisgal’s stage comedy “All Over Town”, directed by Dustin Hoffman, closes at the Boothe Theatre, NYC, after 233 performances
1975 – India expels three correspondents for The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and Newsweek after they refuse to sign a pledge to comply with government censorship
Historical Events for 19th July 2026
1870 – France declares war on Prussia; Franco-Prussian war begins
1884 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Maud Watson becomes inaugural female champion by beating her sister Lillian Watson 6–8, 6–3, 6–3
1908 – Dutch football club Feyenoord is established in Rotterdam as Wilhelmina; reverts to SC Feijenoord 1912; updated to SC Feyenoord 1974 and to Feyenoord Rotterdam 1978
1951 – “2 in the Aisle” opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 276 performances
1967 – First air-conditioned NYC subway car (R-38 on the F line)
1977 – 48th MLB All-Star Game, Yankee Stadium, NYC, NY: NL wins, 7-5; MVP: Don Sutton, LA Dodgers, P
1979 – Patricia Harris becomes sect of HEW
1992 – “Price” closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 47 performances
Historical Events for 18th July 2026
1743 – First half-page newspaper ad is published, in the NY Weekly Journal
1915 – WWI: Second Battle of Isonzo begins with Kingdom of Italy offensive against Austria-Hungary, ends 2-1/2 weeks later with over 91,000 combined casualties
1935 – Amsterdam city council accept city growth plan through the year 2000
1965 – Zond 3 launches to fly by the Moon and enters solar orbit
1970 – WJCL TV channel 22 in Savannah, GA (ABC) begins broadcasting
1995 – “Dreams from My Father,” a memoir by Barack Obama, is published by Times Books
2014 – The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) call 18,000 additional reserves soldiers in campaign against Gaza
2018 – Lava from Kilauea volcano eruption has now destroyed 700 homes and added 700 acres to Big Island confirms Hawaii National Guard
Historical Events for 17th July 2026
1245 – Pope Innocent IV declares Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II deposed and excommunicated at the First Council of Lyon amid their struggle over papal and imperial authority
1393 – Osmanen occupy Turnovo, Bulgaria
1740 – Prospero Lambertini chosen Pope Benedictus XIV
1863 – Māori forces are defeated by British troops at Koheroa, Waikato, in the New Zealand Wars between Maori tribes and British colonials
1863 – Battle of Honey Springs – largest battle in Indian Territory
1981 – Glasdrumman ambush: the Provisional Irish Republican Army attack a British Army post in South Armagh, killing 1 soldier and injuring another
2023 – Russia pulls out of a deal allowing the export of Ukrainian grain past their naval blockade, threatening to push world food prices higher
2024 – US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro officially exonerates all 258 Black sailors who protested work conditions after the Port Chicago Disaster in 1944; none of them are alive for the ruling
Historical Events for 16th July 2026
1439 – Kissing is banned in England to stop the spread of the Black Death
1863 – Utrecht-Swells railway opens
1897 – The South African Committee, investigating the Jameson Raid releases its report finding that it was conducted almost implicitly through the support and encouragement of Cecil Rhodes and the mining houses in the Transvaal
1920 – General Amos Fries is appointed as the first U.S. Army Chemical Warfare Service Chief
1950 – Single-day 16-team home run record set at 37 (NL-25, AL-12)
1960 – 205,000 (record sports attend) see Brazil-Uruguay World Cup soccer
1994 – Wendy Wasserstein’s stage play “The Sisters Rosensweig,” starring Madeline Kahn, closes at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, NYC, after 556 performances
2023 – Jam rock band Dead and Company, an outgrowth of the Grateful Dead, plays the final show of its final concert tour, at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California
Historical Events for 15th July 2026
971 – According to legend, English saint Swithun is reburied inside Winchester Cathedral against his wishes, and a terrible storm proceeds to rain for 40 days and 40 nights
1500 – Baglione family massacre at the “Blood Wedding” of Astorre Baglione and Lavinia Colonna in Perugia
1926 – VPRO (Free-thinking Protestant Radio Broadcast) forms
1928 – 22nd Tour de France: Defending champion Nicolas Frantz of Luxembourg holds yellow jersey from start to finish; his Alcyon team has all 3 podium positions
1945 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Moraine CC: Byron Nelson wins his fifth and final major title and second PGA title; he defeats former MLB player Sam Byrd 4 and 3
1971 – US President Richard Nixon announces he will visit the People’s Republic of China
1979 – Morarji Desai resigns as Prime Minister of India
2018 – Senior Players Championship Men’s Golf, Exmoor CC: Fijian Vijay Singh wins in a playoff with Jeff Maggert on second extra hole
Historical Events for 14th July 2026
1535 – Emperor Charles V conquers Tunis
1876 – British battleship HMS Thunderer boiler explodes during full-power sea trial near Portsmouth, England; 45 sailors killed and 40 injured
1927 – First commercial airplane flight in Hawaii
1949 – Czech tennis stars Jaroslav Drobný and Vladimir Černík defect while playing in a tournament in Gstaad, Switzerland; Drobny accepts Egyptian citizenship
1955 – Two killed and many dazed by lightning strikes at Ascot racecourse in England
1987 – Rookie of the Year Award is renamed to honor Jackie Robinson
2008 – “The Dark Knight” directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, premieres in New York
2019 – Senior Players Championship Men’s Golf at Firestone CC: Retief Goosen of South Africa birdies the final two holes to secure his first Champions Tour win by two strokes over Jay Haas and Tim Petrovic
Historical Events for 13th July 2026
1837 – Queen Victoria is the first monarch to live in present-day Buckingham Palace
1923 – The Hollywood Sign is officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood, Los Angeles. It originally reads “Hollywoodland,” but the last four letters are dropped after renovation in 1949.
1930 – First football World Cup competition begins in Uruguay
1967 – Race riots break out in Newark, New Jersey killing 27
1971 – 42nd MLB All-Star Game, Tiger Stadium, Detroit, MI: AL beats NL, 6-4; MVP: Frank Robinson, Baltimore Orioles, OF
1972 – NFL franchises LA Rams (Irsay) and Baltimore Colts (Rosenbloom) swap owners
1978 – Alexander Ginzburg is sentenced by a Soviet court to eight years in a labor camp
2018 – HBO announces that it has obtained the rights to “The Nevers,” a project by Joss Whedon
Historical Events for 12th July 2026
1192 – Minamoto Yoritomo becomes Seii Taishōgun, the first ruling shogun in the history of Japan and de facto ruler
1801 – Second Battle of Algeciras: British fleet beats French and Spanish (six days after losing the 1st Battle of Algeciras)
1901 – Striking Canadian salmon fishermen on the Pacific coast, resentful of the non-union Japanese who continue to fish, maroon and imprison 47
1930 – US Open Men’s Golf, Interlachen CC: Defending champion Bobby Jones wins record-tying 4th US Open title by 2 strokes from Macdonald Smith; third consecutive major title
1958 – Gene De Paul and Johnny Mercer’s musical “Li’l Abner,” adapted from Al Capp’s hillbilly comic strip, closes at St James Theater, NYC, after 693 performances and two Tony Award wins
1960 – XEWT TV Channel 12 in Tijuana-San Diego, CA (IND) begins broadcasting
1990 – Boris Yeltsin resigns from the Soviet Communist Party during its congress, strengthening his role as a leading reform figure in Russian politics
2013 – Malala Yousafzai addresses the United Nations and calls for worldwide access to education