Here are 31 newsworthy and notable anniversaries coming up in July 2020.
This list is a short extract from The Date-A-Base Book 2020, which lists hundreds of newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries for each month. It’s just the thing you need for writing “on this day in history” features and anniversary tie-ins.
1 Jul 1970 – 50 years ago
Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) opened in California, USA. It developed numerous important technologies including the personal computer, graphical user interface, laser printer, ethernet, and electronic paper.
2 Jul 1940 – 80 years ago
Lake Washington Floating Bridge (now the Lacey V. Murrow Memorial Bridge) was opened. It links Seattle to Mercer Island, Washington, USA.
3 Jul 1970 – 50 years ago
A British holiday jet (Dan-Air Flight 1903) crashed into mountains near Barcelona, Spain, killing 112 people. (Cause: misinterpreted radar data and air traffic control instructions relating to another plane flying in the same area.)
4 Jul 1960 – 60 years ago
The 50‐star Flag of the United States made its debut. It had been updated to include Hawaii.
5 Jul 1920 – 100 years ago
Death of Max Klinger, German symbolist artist, sculptor, printmaker and writer.
6 Jul 1945 – 75 years ago
U.S. President Harry S. Truman established the Medal of Freedom (now known as the Presidential Medal of Freedom). It honors civilians whose actions aid the war efforts of the USA and its allies.
7 Jul 2005 – 15 years ago
7th July London bombings. A coordinated series of 4 suicide bomb attacks on London’s transport system during the morning rush hour. 56 people were killed, including the 4 bombers, and more than 700 were injured. It was the worst-ever terrorist attack on Britain, and the country’s first attack by suicide bombers.
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9 Jul 1955 – 65 years ago
The song Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley and His Comets reached #1 on the Billboard chart in the USA. It remained #1 for 8 weeks. Although not the first rock and roll song, it is considered the song that brought rock and roll into the mainstream.
10 Jul to 31 Oct 1940 – 80 years ago
World War II: the Battle of Britain. British victory.
11 Jul 1960 – 60 years ago
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was published.
12 Jul 1920 – 100 years ago
The Panama Canal was officially opened by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. (It had been operating since August 1914.)
13 to 30 Jul 1930 – 90 years ago
The first FIFA World Cup (soccer) was held in Uruguay. The host nation, Uruguay won 4-2 against Argentina in the final.
14 Jul 1995 – 25 years ago
The MP3 digital audio format was officially named.
15 Jul 1940 – 80 years ago
Death of Robert Wadlow, American giant. The world’s tallest man. Almost nine feet tall and still growing at the time of his death, aged 22.
16 Jul 1945 – 75 years ago
The USA detonated the world’s first nuclear weapon, (“Fat Boy”), at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
17 Jul 1955 – 65 years ago
The first Disneyland theme park opened, in Anaheim, California, USA.
18 Jul 1895 – 125 years ago
Birth of Machine Gun Kelly, American gangster who operated in Memphis, Tennessee during the prohibition era.
19 Jul 1940 – 80 years ago
The British Army’s Intelligence Corps was founded.
20 Jul 1940 – 80 years ago
Billboard magazine published the first Music Popularity Chart, which listed the top 10 singles sold in the USA that week. The first #1 record was I’ll Never Smile Again by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra.
21 Jul 1970 – 50 years ago
The Aswan High Dam in Egypt was completed after 11 years of construction.
22 Jul 1995 – 25 years ago
Death of Harold Larwood, British cricketer. The main exponent of the controversial “bodyline” bowling style which was denounced as “unsportsmanlike” and ended his career.
23 Jul 1940 – 80 years ago
Britain’s Local Defence Volunteers were renamed the Home Guard.
24 Jul 1950 – 70 years ago
The first rocket to be launched at Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA: the Bumper 2. Its first stage was a captured German V-2 rocket, and its upper stage was a U.S. Army WAC Corporal rocket. It reached a height of 25 miles.
25 Jul 2000 – 20 years ago
An Air France Concorde crashed outside Paris shortly after taking off for New York. All 109 people on board were killed, as well as 4 people on the ground.
26 Jul 1945 – 75 years ago
Clement Attlee, the Labour Party leader, became British Prime Minister after defeating Winston Churchill’s Conservative Party in the general election held on 5th July.
27 Jul 1940 – 80 years ago
Bugs Bunny made his first appearance, in the Warner Bros. cartoon A Wild Hare.
28 Jul 1945 – 75 years ago
A U.S. Army B-25 Mitchell bomber crashed into the Empire State Building in New York City, USA in thick fog. All 3 people onboard the plane and 11 people in the building were killed.
29 Jul 1945 – 75 years ago
The BBC Light Programme radio station was launched in the UK. It broadcast mainstream light entertainment and music. It became BBC Radio 2 in 1967.
30 Jul 1945 – 75 years ago
World War II: the U.S. Navy heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine after delivering key components of the Hiroshima atomic bomb to the Pacific island of Tinian. About 300 of the 1,196 crew were killed immediately, while almost 600 more died over the following days from dehydration, exposure, salt water poisoning or shark attacks while awaiting rescue. 317 survived.
31 Jul 1970 – 50 years ago
“Black Tot Day.” The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the British Royal Navy.
More anniversaries:
The above list is a short extract from The Date-A-Base Book 2020. You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for each month in the book. The 2021 and 2022 editions are also available. Find out more at ideas4writers.com.