- AD 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, storms the Fortress of Antonia north of the Temple Mount. The Roman army is drawn into street fights with the Zealots.
- 792 – Kardam of Bulgaria defeats Byzantine Emperor Constantine VI at the Battle of Marcellae.
- 911 – Rollo lays siege to Chartres.
- 1189 – Richard I of England officially invested as Duke of Normandy.
- 1225 – Treaty of San Germano is signed at San Germano between Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and Pope Gregory IX. A Dominican named Guala is responsible for the negotiations.
- 1398 – The Battle of Kellistown was fought on this day between the forces of the English led by Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March against the O’Byrnes and O’Tooles under the command of Art Óg mac Murchadha Caomhánach, the most powerful Chieftain in Leinster.
- 1402 – Ottoman-Timurid Wars: Battle of Ankara: Timur, ruler of Timurid Empire, defeats forces of the Ottoman Empire sultan Bayezid I.
- 1592 – During the first Japanese invasion of Korea, Japanese forces led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi captured Pyongyang, although they were ultimately unable to hold it.
- 1715 – Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War: The Ottoman Empire captures Nauplia, the capital of the Republic of Venice’s “Kingdom of the Morea”, thereby opening the way to the swift Ottoman reconquest of the Morea.
- 1738 – Canadian explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye reaches the western shore of Lake Michigan.
- 1799 – Tekle Giyorgis I begins his first of six reigns as Emperor of Ethiopia.
- 1807 – Nicéphore Niépce is awarded a patent by Napoleon for the Pyréolophore, the world’s first internal combustion engine, after it successfully powered a boat upstream on the river Saône in France.
- 1810 – Citizens of Bogotá, New Granada declare independence from Spain.
- 1831 – Seneca and Shawnee people agree to relinquish their land in western Ohio for 60,000 acres west of the Mississippi River.
- 1848 – The first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, a two-day event, concludes.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Peachtree Creek: Near Atlanta, Georgia, Confederate forces led by General John Bell Hood unsuccessfully attack Union troops under General William T. Sherman.
- 1866 – Austro-Prussian War: Battle of Lissa: The Austrian Navy, led by Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, defeats the Italian Navy near the island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea.
- 1871 – British Columbia joins the confederation of Canada.
- 1885 – The Football Association legalizes professionalism in association football under pressure from the British Football Association.
- 1903 – The Ford Motor Company ships its first automobile.
- 1917 – World War I: The Corfu Declaration, which leads to the creation of the post-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia, is signed by the Yugoslav Committee and Kingdom of Serbia.
- 1920 – The Greek Army takes control of Silivri after Greece is awarded the city by the Paris Peace Conference; by 1923 Greece effectively lost control to the Turks.
- 1922 – The League of Nations awards mandates of Togoland to France and Tanganyika to the United Kingdom.
- 1932 – In the Preußenschlag (“Prussian coup”), German President Paul von Hindenburg dissolves the government of Prussia
- 1934 – Labor unrest in the U.S.: Police in Minneapolis fire upon striking truck drivers, during the Minneapolis Teamsters Strike of 1934, killing two and wounding sixty-seven.
- 1934 – West Coast waterfront strike: In Seattle, police fire tear gas on and club 2,000 striking longshoremen. The governor of Oregon calls out the National Guard to break a strike on the Portland docks.
- 1935 – Switzerland: A Royal Dutch Airlines plane en route from Milan to Frankfurt crashes into a Swiss mountain, killing thirteen.
- 1936 – 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.
- 1938 – 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.
- 1940 – Denmark leaves the League of Nations.
- 1940 – California opens its first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway.
- 1941 – Soviet leader Joseph Stalin consolidates the Commissariats of Home Affairs and National Security to form the NKVD and names Lavrentiy Beria its chief.
- 1944 – World War II: Adolf Hitler survives an assassination attempt led by German Army Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.
- 1949 – Israel and Syria sign a truce to end their nineteen-month war.
- 1950 – Cold War: In Philadelphia, Harry Gold pleads guilty to spying for the Soviet Union by passing secrets from atomic scientist Klaus Fuchs.
- 1951 – King Abdullah I of Jordan is assassinated by a Palestinian while attending Friday prayers in Jerusalem.
- 1954 – Germany: Otto John, head of West Germany’s secret service, defects to East Germany.
- 1960 – Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) elects Sirimavo Bandaranaike Prime Minister, the world’s first elected female head of government.
- 1960 – The Polaris missile is successfully launched from a submarine, the USS George Washington, for the first time.
- 1961 – French military forces break the Tunisian siege of Bizerte.
- 1964 – 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).
- 1968 – The first International Special Olympics Summer Games are held at Soldier Field in Chicago, with about 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities.
- 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 11’s crew successfully makes the first manned 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.
- 1969 – A cease fire is announced between Honduras and El Salvador, six days after the beginning of the “Football War”.
- 1974 – Turkish invasion of Cyprus: Forces from Turkey invade Cyprus after a coup d’état, organised by the dictator of Greece, against president Makarios.
- 1976 – The American Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars.
- 1977 – The Central Intelligence Agency releases documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind-control experiments.
- 1977 – The Johnstown flood of 1977 kills 84 people and causes millions of dollars in damages.
- 1982 – 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.
- 1985 – The government of Aruba passes legislation to secede from the Netherlands Antilles.
- 1989 – Burma’s ruling junta puts opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.
- 1992 – Václav Havel resigns as president of Czechoslovakia.
- 1997 – The fully restored USS Constitution (a.k.a. Old Ironsides) celebrates its 200th birthday by setting sail for the first time in 116 years.
- 1999 – The Chinese Communist Party begins a persecution campaign against Falun Gong, arresting thousands nationwide.
- 2005 – The Civil Marriage Act legalizes same-sex marriage in Canada.
- 2012 – James Holmes opened fire at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 and injuring 70 others.
- 2013 – Seventeen government soldiers are killed in an attack by FARC revolutionaries in the Colombian department of Arauca.
- 2015 – A huge explosion in the mostly Kurdish border town of Suruç, Turkey, targeting the Socialist Youth Associations Federation, kills at least 31 people and injures over 100.
- 2015 – The United States and Cuba resume full diplomatic relations after five decades.
- 2017 – O. J. Simpson is granted parole to be released from prison after serving nine years of a 33-year sentence after being convicted of armed robbery in Las Vegas.
Births on July 20
- 356 BC – Alexander the Great, Macedonian king (d. 323 BC)
- 647 – Yazid I, Arabian caliph (d. 683)
- 682 – Taichō, Japanese monk and scholar (d. 767)
- 1304 – Petrarch, Italian poet and scholar (d. 1374)
- 1313 – John Tiptoft, 2nd Baron Tibetot (d. 1367)
- 1346 – Margaret, Countess of Pembroke, daughter of King Edward III of England (d. 1361)
- 1470 – John Bourchier, 1st Earl of Bath, English noble (d. 1539)
- 1519 – Pope Innocent IX (d. 1591)
- 1537 – Arnaud d’Ossat, French cardinal (d. 1604)
- 1583 – Alban Roe, English Benedictine martyr (d. 1642)
- 1591 – Anne Hutchinson, English Puritan preacher (d. 1643)
- 1592 – Johan Björnsson Printz, governor of New Sweden (d. 1663)
- 1601 – Robert Wallop, English politician (d. 1667)
- 1620 – Nikolaes Heinsius the Elder, Dutch poet and scholar (d. 1681)
- 1649 – William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland (d. 1709)
- 1754 – Antoine Destutt de Tracy, French philosopher and academic (d. 1836)
- 1757 – Garsevan Chavchavadze, Georgian politician and diplomat (d. 1811)
- 1762 – Jakob Haibel, Austrian tenor and composer (d. 1826)
- 1774 – Auguste de Marmont, French general (d. 1852)
- 1789 – Mahmud II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1839)
- 1804 – Richard Owen, English biologist, anatomist, and paleontologist (d. 1892)
- 1822 – Gregor Mendel, Austro-German monk, geneticist and botanist (d. 1884)
- 1838 – Augustin Daly, American playwright and manager (d. 1899)
- 1838 – William Paine Lord, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of Oregon (d. 1911)
- 1838 – Sir George Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet, English civil servant and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (d. 1928)
- 1847 – Max Liebermann, German painter and academic (d. 1935)
- 1849 – Robert Anderson Van Wyck, American lawyer and politician, 91st Mayor of New York City (d. 1918)
- 1852 – Theo Heemskerk, Dutch lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1932)
- 1854 – Philomène Belliveau, Canadian artist (d. 1940)
- 1864 – Erik Axel Karlfeldt, Swedish poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1931)
- 1864 – Ruggero Oddi, Italian physiologist and anatomist (d. 1913)
- 1868 – Miron Cristea, Romanian cleric and politician, 38th Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1939)
- 1873 – Alberto Santos-Dumont, Brazilian pilot (d. 1932)
- 1876 – Otto Blumenthal, German mathematician and academic (d. 1944)
- 1877 – Tom Crean, Irish sailor and explorer (d. 1938)
- 1882 – Olga Hahn-Neurath, Austrian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1937)
- 1889 – John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, Scottish broadcaster, co-founded BBC (d. 1971)
- 1890 – Verna Felton, American actress (d. 1966)
- 1890 – Julie Vinter Hansen, Danish-Swiss astronomer and academic (d. 1960)
- 1890 – Giorgio Morandi, Italian painter (d. 1964)
- 1893 – George Llewelyn Davies, English soldier (d. 1915)
- 1895 – László Moholy-Nagy, Hungarian painter, photographer, and sculptor (d. 1946)
- 1897 – Tadeusz Reichstein, Polish-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
- 1900 – Maurice Leyland, English cricketer and coach (d. 1967)
- 1901 – Vehbi Koç, Turkish businessman and philanthropist, founded Koç Holding (d. 1996)
- 1901 – Eugenio Lopez Sr., Filipino businessman and founder of the Lopez Group of Companies (d. 1975)
- 1901 – Heinie Manush, American baseball player and manager (d. 1971)
- 1902 – Leonidas Berry, American gastroenterologist (d. 1995)
- 1905 – Joseph Levis, American foil fencer (d. 2005)
- 1909 – Eric Rowan, South African cricketer (d. 1993)
- 1910 – Vilém Tauský, Czech-English conductor and composer (d. 2004)
- 1911 – Baqa Jilani, Indian cricketer (d. 1941)
- 1911 – José Zabala-Santos, Filipino author and illustrator (d. 1985)
- 1912 – George Johnston, Australian journalist and author (d. 1970)
- 1914 – Dobri Dobrev, Bulgarian philanthropist (d. 2018)
- 1914 – Charilaos Florakis, Greek politician (d. 2005)
- 1914 – Ersilio Tonini, Italian cardinal (d. 2013)
- 1918 – Cindy Walker, American singer-songwriter and dancer (d. 2006)
- 1919 – Edmund Hillary, New Zealand mountaineer and explorer (d. 2008)
- 1919 – Jacquemine Charrott Lodwidge, English writer (d. 2012)
- 1920 – Elliot Richardson, American lieutenant and politician, 11th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Henri Alleg, English-French journalist and author (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Alan Stephenson Boyd, American lawyer and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Transportation
- 1923 – Stanisław Albinowski, Polish economist and journalist (d. 2005)
- 1924 – Lola Albright, American actress and singer (d. 2017)
- 1924 – Thomas Berger, American author and playwright (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Mort Garson, Canadian-American songwriter and composer (d. 2008)
- 1925 – Jacques Delors, French economist and politician, 8th President of the European Commission
- 1925 – Frantz Fanon, French–Algerian psychiatrist and philosopher (d. 1961)
- 1927 – Barbara Bergmann, American economist and academic (d. 2015)
- 1927 – Heather Chasen, English actress (d. 2020)
- 1927 – Michael Gielen, Austrian conductor and composer (d. 2019)
- 1927 – Ian P. Howard, English-Canadian psychologist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Józef Czyrek, Polish economist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Belaid Abdessalam, Prime Minister of Algeria
- 1929 – Hazel Hawke, Australian social worker and pianist, 23rd Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia (d. 2013)
- 1929 – Mike Ilitch, American businessman, co-founded Little Caesars (d. 2017)
- 1929 – Rajendra Kumar, Pakistani-Indian actor and producer (d. 1999)
- 1929 – David Tonkin, Australian politician, 38th Premier of South Australia (d. 2000)
- 1930 – Giannis Agouris, Greek journalist and author (d. 2006)
- 1930 – Chuck Daly, American basketball player and coach (d. 2009)
- 1930 – William H. Goetzmann, American historian and author (d. 2010)
- 1930 – Sally Ann Howes, English-American singer and actress
- 1931 – Tony Marsh, English race car driver (d. 2009)
- 1932 – Nam June Paik, American artist (d. 2006)
- 1932 – Otto Schily, German lawyer and politician, German Minister of the Interior
- 1933 – Buddy Knox, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
- 1933 – Cormac McCarthy, American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter
- 1933 – Rex Williams, English snooker player
- 1935 – Peter Palumbo, Baron Palumbo, English businessman and art collector
- 1935 – Sleepy LaBeef, American rockabilly singer and musician (d. 2019)
- 1936 – Alistair MacLeod, Canadian novelist and short story writer (d. 2014)
- 1936 – Barbara Mikulski, American social worker and politician
- 1938 – Deniz Baykal, Turkish lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
- 1938 – Roger Hunt, English footballer
- 1938 – Tony Oliva, Cuban-American baseball player and coach
- 1938 – Diana Rigg, English actress
- 1938 – Natalie Wood, American actress (d. 1981)
- 1939 – Judy Chicago, American painter and sculptor
- 1941 – Don Chuy, American football player (d. 2014)
- 1941 – Periklis Korovesis, Greek author and journalist
- 1941 – Kurt Raab, German actor, screenwriter, and production designer (d. 1988)
- 1942 – Pete Hamilton, American race car driver
- 1943 – Chris Amon, New Zealand race car driver (d. 2016)
- 1943 – Bob McNab, English footballer
- 1943 – Adrian Păunescu, Romanian poet, journalist, and politician (d. 2010)
- 1943 – Wendy Richard, English actress (d. 2009)
- 1944 – Mel Daniels, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1944 – W. Cary Edwards, American politician (d. 2010)
- 1944 – Olivier de Kersauson, French sailor
- 1944 – T. G. Sheppard, American country music singer-songwriter
- 1945 – Kim Carnes, American singer-songwriter
- 1945 – Larry Craig, American soldier and politician
- 1945 – John Lodge, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
- 1945 – Bo Rein, American football player and coach (d. 1980)
- 1946 – Randal Kleiser, American actor, director, and producer
- 1947 – Gerd Binnig, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1947 – Carlos Santana, Mexican-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1948 – Muse Watson, American actor and producer
- 1950 – Edward Leigh, English lawyer and politician
- 1950 – Lucille Lemay, Canadian archer
- 1951 – Jeff Rawle, English actor and screenwriter
- 1953 – Dave Evans, Welsh-Australian singer-songwriter
- 1953 – Thomas Friedman, American journalist and author
- 1953 – Marcia Hines, American-Australian singer and actress
- 1954 – Moira Harris, American actress
- 1954 – Jay Jay French, American guitarist and producer
- 1955 – Desmond Douglas, Jamaican-English table tennis player
- 1955 – René-Daniel Dubois, Canadian actor and playwright
- 1955 – Jem Finer, English banjo player and songwriter
- 1956 – Paul Cook, English drummer
- 1956 – Thomas N’Kono, Cameroonian footballer
- 1956 – Jim Prentice, Canadian lawyer and politician, 16th Premier of Alberta (d. 2016)
- 1958 – Mick MacNeil, Scottish keyboard player and songwriter
- 1959 – Radney Foster, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1960 – Claudio Langes, Italian race car driver
- 1960 – Prvoslav Vujčić, Serbian-Canadian poet and philosopher
- 1960 – Sudesh Berry, Indian actor
- 1961 – Óscar Elías Biscet, Cuban physician and activist, founded the Lawton Foundation
- 1962 – Carlos Alazraqui, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1962 – Giovanna Amati, Italian race car driver
- 1962 – Julie Bindel, English journalist, author, and academic
- 1963 – Frank Whaley, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1964 – Chris Cornell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
- 1964 – Terri Irwin, American-Australian zoologist and author
- 1964 – Sebastiano Rossi, Italian footballer
- 1964 – Bernd Schneider, German race car driver
- 1965 – Jess Walter, American journalist and author
- 1966 – Stone Gossard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1966 – Enrique Peña Nieto, Mexican lawyer and politician, 57th President of Mexico
- 1967 – Courtney Taylor-Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1968 – Jimmy Carson, American ice hockey player
- 1968 – Hami Mandıralı, Turkish footballer and manager
- 1968 – Kool G Rap, American hip-hop artist
- 1969 – Josh Holloway, American actor
- 1969 – Kreso Kovacec, Croatian-German footballer
- 1969 – Giovanni Lombardi, Italian cyclist
- 1969 – Joon Park, South Korean-American singer
- 1969 – Tobi Vail, American singer and guitarist
- 1971 – Charles Johnson, American baseball player
- 1971 – Sandra Oh, Canadian actress
- 1972 – Jamie Ainscough, Australian rugby league player
- 1972 – Jozef Stümpel, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1972 – Erik Ullenhag, Swedish jurist and politician
- 1972 – Vitamin C, American singer-songwriter
- 1973 – Omar Epps, American actor
- 1973 – Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway
- 1973 – Peter Forsberg, Swedish ice hockey player and manager
- 1973 – Nixon McLean, Caribbean cricketer
- 1973 – Roberto Orci, Mexican-American screenwriter and producer
- 1973 – Claudio Reyna, American soccer player
- 1975 – Ray Allen, American basketball player and actor
- 1975 – Judy Greer, American actress and producer
- 1975 – Erik Hagen, Norwegian footballer
- 1975 – Birgitta Ohlsson, Swedish journalist and politician, 5th Swedish Minister for European Union Affairs
- 1975 – Jason Raize, American singer and actor
- 1975 – Yusuf Şimşek, Turkish footballer and manager
- 1976 – Erica Hill, American journalist
- 1976 – Debashish Mohanty, Indian cricketer and coach
- 1976 – Andrew Stockdale, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1976 – Alex Yoong, Malaysian race car driver
- 1977 – Kiki Musampa, Congolese footballer
- 1977 – Yves Niaré, French shot putter (d. 2012)
- 1977 – Alessandro Santos, Brazilian-Japanese footballer
- 1978 – Pavel Datsyuk, Russian ice hockey player
- 1978 – Will Solomon, American basketball player
- 1978 – Elliott Yamin, American singer-songwriter
- 1978 – Ieva Zunda, Latvian runner and hurdler
- 1979 – Miklós Fehér, Hungarian footballer (d. 2004)
- 1979 – Charlotte Hatherley, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1979 – David Ortega, Spanish swimmer
- 1980 – Tesfaye Bramble, English-Montserratian footballer
- 1980 – Gisele Bündchen, Brazilian model, fashionista, and businesswoman
- 1981 – Viktoria Ladõnskaja, Estonian journalist and politician
- 1982 – Antoine Vermette, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Alexi Casilla, Dominican baseball player
- 1984 – Matt Gilroy, American ice hockey player
- 1985 – John Francis Daley, American actor and screenwriter
- 1985 – Harley Morenstein, Canadian actor and YouTube personality
- 1985 – David Mundy, Australian footballer
- 1986 – Osric Chau, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1987 – Nicola Benedetti, Scottish violinist
- 1987 – Niall McGinn, Irish footballer
- 1988 – Julianne Hough, American singer-songwriter, actress, and dancer
- 1988 – Stephen Strasburg, American baseball player
- 1988 – Shahram Mahmoudi, Iranian volleyball player
- 1989 – Javier Cortés, Mexican footballer
- 1989 – Cristian Pasquato, Italian footballer
- 1990 – Lars Unnerstall, German footballer
- 1991 – Chiyoshōma Fujio, Mongolian sumo wrestler
- 1991 – Ryan James, Australian rugby league player
- 1991 – Kira Kazantsev, Miss America 2015
- 1991 – Philipp Reiter, German mountaineer and runner
- 1993 – Steven Adams, New Zealand basketball player
- 1995 – Moses Leota, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1996 – Ben Simmons, Australian basketball player
Deaths on July 20
- 518 – Amantius, Byzantine grand chamberlain and Monophysite martyr
- 833 – Ansegisus, Frankish abbot and saint
- 985 – Boniface VII, antipope of Rome
- 1031 – Robert II, king of France (b. 972)
- 1156 – Toba, emperor of Japan (b. 1103)
- 1320 – Oshin, king of Armenia (b. 1282)
- 1332 – Thomas Randolph, 1st Earl of Moray, regent of Scotland
- 1387 – Robert IV, French nobleman (b. 1356)
- 1398 – Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, Welsh nobleman (b. 1374)
- 1453 – Enguerrand de Monstrelet, French historian and author (b. 1400)
- 1454 – John II, king of Castile and León (b. 1405)
- 1514 – György Dózsa, Transylvanian peasant revolt leader (b. 1470)
- 1524 – Claude, queen consort of France (b. 1499)
- 1526 – García Jofre de Loaísa, Spanish explorer (b. 1490)
- 1600 – William More, English courtier (b. 1520)
- 1616 – Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, Irish nobleman and rebel soldier (b. 1550)
- 1704 – Peregrine White, English-American farmer and soldier (b. 1620)
- 1752 – Johann Christoph Pepusch, German-English composer and theorist (b. 1667)
- 1816 – Gavrila Derzhavin, Russian poet and politician (b. 1743)
- 1866 – Bernhard Riemann, German mathematician and academic (b. 1826)
- 1897 – Jean Ingelow, English poet and author (b. 1820)
- 1901 – William Cosmo Monkhouse, English poet and critic (b. 1840)
- 1903 – Leo XIII, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1810)
- 1908 – Demetrius Vikelas, Greek businessman and author (b. 1835)
- 1908 – Karl Bernhard Zoeppritz, German geophysicist and seismologist (b. 1881)
- 1910 – Anderson Dawson, Australian politician, 14th Premier of Queensland (b. 1863)
- 1922 – Andrey Markov, Russian mathematician and theorist (b. 1856)
- 1923 – Pancho Villa, Mexican general and politician, Governor of Chihuahua (b. 1878)
- 1926 – Felix Dzerzhinsky, Russian educator and politician (b. 1877)
- 1927 – Ferdinand I, king of Romania (b. 1865)
- 1928 – Kostas Karyotakis, Greek poet and author (b. 1896)
- 1932 – René Bazin, French author and academic (b. 1853)
- 1937 – Olga Hahn-Neurath, Austrian mathematician and philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1882)
- 1937 – Guglielmo Marconi, Italian physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
- 1941 – Lew Fields, American actor and producer (b. 1867)
- 1944 – Ludwig Beck, German general (b. 1880)
- 1945 – Paul Valéry, French author and poet (b. 1871)
- 1951 – Abdullah I, king of Jordan (b. 1882)
- 1953 – Dumarsais Estimé, Haitian lawyer and politician, 33rd President of Haiti (b. 1900)
- 1953 – Jan Struther, English author and hymn-writer (b. 1901)
- 1955 – Calouste Gulbenkian, Armenian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1869)
- 1956 – James Alexander Calder, Canadian educator and politician, Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence (b. 1868)
- 1959 – William D. Leahy, American admiral and diplomat, United States Ambassador to France (b. 1875)
- 1965 – Batukeshwar Dutt, Indian activist (b. 1910)
- 1968 – Bray Hammond, American historian and author (b. 1886)
- 1970 – Iain Macleod, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1913)
- 1972 – Geeta Dutt, Indian singer and actress (b. 1930)
- 1973 – Bruce Lee, American actor and martial artist (b. 1940)
- 1973 – Robert Smithson, American photographer and sculptor (b. 1938)
- 1974 – Allen Jenkins, American actor and singer (b. 1900)
- 1974 – Kamal Dasgupta, Bengali music director, composer and folk artist. (b. 1912)
- 1976 – Joseph Rochefort, American captain and cryptanalyst (b. 1900)
- 1977 – Gary Kellgren, American record producer, co-founded Record Plant (b. 1939)
- 1980 – Maria Martinez, San Ildefonso Pueblo (Native American) potter (b. 1887)
- 1981 – Kostas Choumis, Greek-Romanian footballer (b. 1913)
- 1983 – Frank Reynolds, American soldier and journalist (b. 1923)
- 1987 – Richard Egan, American soldier and actor (b. 1921)
- 1989 – Forrest H. Anderson, American judge and politician, 17th Governor of Montana (b. 1913)
- 1990 – Herbert Turner Jenkins, American police officer (b. 1907)
- 1993 – Vince Foster, American lawyer and political figure (b. 1945)
- 1994 – Paul Delvaux, Belgian painter (b. 1897)
- 1997 – M. E. H. Maharoof, Sri Lankan politician (b. 1939)
- 1998 – June Byers, American wrestler (b. 1922)
- 1999 – Sandra Gould, American actress (b. 1916)
- 2002 – Michalis Kritikopoulos, Greek footballer (b. 1946)
- 2003 – Nicolas Freeling, English author (b. 1927)
- 2004 – Lala Mara, Fijian politician (b. 1931)
- 2004 – Valdemaras Martinkėnas, Lithuanian footballer and coach (b. 1965)
- 2005 – James Doohan, Canadian-American actor (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Finn Gustavsen, Norwegian journalist and politician (b. 1926)
- 2005 – Kayo Hatta, American director and cinematographer (b. 1958)
- 2006 – Ted Grant, South African-English theorist and activist (b. 1913)
- 2006 – Gérard Oury, French actor, director, and producer (b. 1919)
- 2007 – Tammy Faye Messner, American Christian evangelist and talk show host (b. 1942)
- 2008 – Artie Traum, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1943)
- 2008 – Dinko Šakić, Croatian concentration camp commander (b. 1921)
- 2009 – Vedat Okyar, Turkish footballer (b. 1945)
- 2009 – Mark Rosenzweig, American psychologist and academic (b. 1922)
- 2011 – Lucian Freud, German-English painter and illustrator (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Alastair Burnet, English journalist (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Jack Davis, American hurdler (b. 1930)
- 2012 – José Hermano Saraiva, Portuguese historian, jurist, and politician, Portuguese Minister of Education (b. 1919)
- 2013 – Pierre Fabre, French pharmacist and businessman, founded Laboratoires Pierre Fabre (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Khurshed Alam Khan, Indian politician, 2nd Governor of Goa (b. 1919)
- 2013 – Augustus Rowe, Canadian physician and politician (b. 1920)
- 2013 – Helen Thomas, American journalist and author (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Victor G. Atiyeh, American businessman and politician, 32nd Governor of Oregon (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Constantin Lucaci, Romanian sculptor and educator (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Bob McNamara, American football player (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Klaus Schmidt, German archaeologist and academic (b. 1953)
- 2015 – Wayne Carson, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1943)
- 2015 – Fred Else, English footballer and manager (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Dieter Moebius, Swiss-German keyboard player and producer (b. 1944)
- 2016 – Radu Beligan, Romanian actor, director, and essayist (b. 1918)
- 2017 – Chester Bennington, American singer (b. 1976)
Holidays and observances on July 20
- Birthday of Crown Prince Haakon Magnus (Norway)
- Christian feast day:
- Ansegisus
- Apollinaris of Ravenna
- Aurelius
- Ealhswith (or Elswith)
- Elijah
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Bloomer, Sojourner Truth, and Harriet Ross Tubman (Episcopal Church (USA))
- John Baptist Yi (one of The Korean Martyrs)
- Margaret the Virgin
- Thorlac (relic translation)
- Wilgefortis (cult suppressed)
- July 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Día del Amigo (Argentina, Brazil)
- Engineer’s Day (Costa Rica)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence declaration of Colombia from Spain in 1810.
- International Chess Day
- Lempira Day (Honduras)
- Tree Planting Day (Central African Republic)