Milestones for June 20

1756 Calcutta, India

Suraj-ud-Daula, the Nawab of Bengal, jails 146 captured British soldiers in the East India Company's military jail at Fort William; 23 survive this imprisonment in what later became known as the Black Hole of Calcutta, a small dungeon, 5 metres long by 5 metres wide; on their first day in prison, 123 of the prisoners died from thirst and suffocation; the Empire will regain power in 1757 when the city is recaptured by Robert Clive, who leads 800 British soldiers and 2,200 Indian mercenaries to victory over Siraj's army of almost 50,000; he rebuilds Fort William in a more defensible position.

1789 Paris, France

Members of the French Third Estate, led by Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes, arrive at their assigned meeting hall, Menus Plaisirs, to discuss crucial reforms, only to find it locked against them; the angry deputies move their meeting to the nearby Jeu de Paume indoor tennis court, with allies from the other two Estates, the nobles and clergy; there they proclaim themselves the National Assembly of France, and swear an oath not to disperse before they have given France a constitution; the Tennis Court Oath asserted that the sovereignty of the people did not reside in the King, but in the people themselves and their representatives; it marked the beginning of the French Revolution; one week later, a desperate King Louis XVI grants their wishes. [picture: by David]

1819 Liverpool, England

The 320 ton paddle-wheel steamship Savannah becomes the first steamer to cross the Atlantic, arriving in Liverpool after a journey from Savannah, Georgia, of 27 days 11 hours; left May 22.

1837 London, England

Princess Victoria becomes Queen Victoria of England at age 18, on the death of her uncle, King William IV; she will marry Albert, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and have eight children, Victoria, Edward, Alice, Alfred, Helena, Louise, Arthur, Leopold and Beatrice; she will be crowned by William Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury on the 28th June 1838 at Westminster Abbey, London, a month after she came of age, and released the country from a Regency by her unpopular mother; will rule for 63 years, until her death in 1901.

1948 New York City

Entertainment columnist and critic Ed Sullivan premieres his TV variety show, called Talk of the Town, on CBS; among his first guests are the comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Rodgers & Hammerstein and pianist Eugene List; it lasts for 23 years. [picture: with the Beatles]

Other Events

0451 06 20 Germans & Romans beat Atiila the Hun at Catalarinische Fields
1212 06 20 French & Spanish crusaders unite against the Almohaden at Toledo
1402 06 20 Battle of Angora (Ankara)-Tatars defeat Turkish Army
1530 06 20 German Parliament joins to Augsburg together
1547 06 20 Count Philip van Hessen captured
1567 06 20 Don Henrique of Brazil, expel Jews
1567 06 20 Jews are expelled from Brazil by order of regent Don Henrique
1582 06 20 Bishop Domingo de Salazar of Manila suppresses the Philippines
1591 06 20 Mauritius & Willem van Nassau occupy Devente
1624 06 20 Netherlands & France sign Treaty of CompiŠgne
1632 06 20 Britain grants 2nd Lord Baltimore rights to Chesapeake Bay area
1656 06 20 Polish King Jan II Casimir recaptures Warsaw
1675 06 20 Abenaki, Massachusetts, Mohegan & Wampanoag indians form anti-English front under Metacom
1756 06 20 146 Brit soldiers imprisoned in India-Black Hole of Calcutta-most die
1756 06 20 India rebels defeat Calcutta on British army
1779 06 20 Battle of Stone Ferry
1782 06 20 Congress approves Great Seal of US & eagle as it's symbol
1789 06 20 Oath of Tennis Court (for a new constitution) in France taken
1791 06 20 King Louis XVI caught trying to escape French Revolution
1793 06 20 Eli Whitney patents his cotton gin
1819 06 20 320 ton Savannah becomes first steamship to cross any ocean (Atlantic)
1825 06 20 Coronation of French king Charles X the Bourbon
1826 06 20 Siam/England sign trade/peace treaty
1837 06 20 England issues its first stamp, 1P Queen Victoria
1837 06 20 Queen Victoria at 18 ascends British throne following death of uncle King William IV Ruled for 63 years ending in 1901
1840 06 20 Samuel Morse patents his telegraph
1855 06 20 Commissioners appointed to lay out SF streets west of Larkin
1863 06 20 First bank chartered in US (National Bank of Davenport Iowa)
1863 06 20 Skirmish at Greencastle Pennsylvania
1863 06 20 West Virginia admitted as 35th US state
1864 06 20 Battle of Kinston NC & Battle of Abingdon VA
1864 06 20 Battle of Petersburgs VA - in trenches
1864 06 20 Skirmish at Lattermore's Mills/Powder Springs Georgia
1866 06 20 Italy declares war on Austria
1867 06 20 Pres Andrew Johnson announces purchase of Alaska
1871 06 20 Ku Klux Klan trials began in federal court in Oxford Miss
1874 06 20 First US Lifesaving Medal awarded (Lucian Clemons)
1888 06 20 Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Libertas
1893 06 20 Lizzie Borden acquitted in murder of parents in New Bedford Mass
1895 06 20 First female PhD (science) earned (Caroline Willard Baldwin)
1895 06 20 Canal of Smock official opens
1895 06 20 Nicaragua, El Salvador & Honduras form a short-lived confederation
1901 06 20 Charlotte Manye is first native African to graduate from a US college
1907 06 20 First Portland Rose festival
1909 06 20 First balloon honeymoon (Roger Burham & Eleanor Waring)
1910 06 20 Krazy Kat comic strip by George Herriman debuts in NY Journal
1911 06 20 NAACP incorporates (NY)
1912 06 20 NY Giant Josh Devore steals 4 bases in an inning (2nd & 3rd twice)
1912 06 20 NY Giants lead Bost Braves 14-2 into 9th, Giants win 21-12
1913 06 20 3 of first 4 Yankees hit-by-pitch en route to a record 6 hit batsman
1913 06 20 Bert Daniels set AL mark, being hit-by-pitch 3 times in a doubleheader
1914 06 20 46th Belmont: Merritt Buxton aboard Luke McLuke wins in 2:20
1915 06 20 German offensive in Argonnes
1919 06 20 German govt of Scheideman resigns
1919 06 20 Treaty of Versailles: Germany ends incorporation of Austria
1920 06 20 Yanks win protest of 1-0 White Sox win & game is replayed
1921 06 20 11.5 (29.2 cm) of rainfall, Circle, Montana (state record)
1926 06 20 Mordecai W Johnson becomes first black president of Howard University
1930 06 20 65th British Golf Open: Bobby Jones shoots a 291 at Hoylake Hoylake
1931 06 20 Karl Buresch becomes chancellor of Austrian
1932 06 20 A's Roger Cramer gets 6 consecutive hits in a game (repeats in 1935)
1936 06 20 Jesse Owens of US sets 100 meter record at 10.2
1939 06 20 Test flight of first rocket plane using liquid propellants
1940 06 20 Joe Louis TKOs Arturo Godoy in 8 for heavyweight boxing title
1941 06 20 German U-203 fails on torpedo attack on US battleship Texas
1942 06 20 Adolf Eichmann proclaims deportation of Dutch Jews
1942 06 20 German troops conquer Tobruk, North Africa
1943 06 20 Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) founded
1943 06 20 Detroit race riot kills 35
1943 06 20 German round up Jews in Amsterdam
1943 06 20 National Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) organizes
1943 06 20 New Québec (Chubb) Crater discovered in northern Québec (3« km dia)
1943 06 20 Sweden's Gunther Hagg beats favorite Greg Rice by 35 yards in 5,000m at national AAU track & field championship in NY
1944 06 20 Congress charters Central Intelligence Agency
1944 06 20 Heavy storm hits the Channel
1944 06 20 Nazi begin mass extermination of Jews at Auschwitz
1944 06 20 Soviet forces conquer Wiborg
1944 06 20 US attacks Japanese fleet in Philippines Sea
1944 06 20 US troops occupy Biak
1946 06 20 NYC transit begins using PA system - Car # 744 on 8th Ave IND line
1947 06 20 Pres Truman vetoes Taft-Hartley Act
1948 06 20 Toast of the Town hosted by Ed Sullivan premieres on CBS-TV
1948 06 20 20 Jews killed when a bomb is thrown into Jewish quarter of Cairo
1948 06 20 Cleveland draws then record 82,781 for doubleheader
1948 06 20 Deutsche Mark introduced in West-Germany
1949 06 20 Central Intelligence Agency Act, passes
1950 06 20 Dutch Air Force base Tjililitan given to Indonesia
1950 06 20 Joe Dimaggio's 2,000th hit, Yanks beat Indians 8-2
1951 06 20 Cleve Indian Bobby Avila hits 3 HRs, double & single vs Red Sox
1953 06 20 Louise Suggs wins LPGA Western Golf Open
1955 06 20 Almost Crazy opens at Longacre Theater NYC for 16 performances
1956 06 20 Venezuelan Super Constellation crashes in NJ, 74 killed
1956 06 20 At Detroit's Briggs Stadium, Mickey Mantle hits 2 Billy Hoeft pitches into right center field bleachers (no else hits 1 there)
1958 06 20 NZ all out 47 v England at Lord's Laker 4-13, Lock 5-17
1960 06 20 12nd Emmy Awards: Playhouse 90, Robert Stack & Jane Wyatt
1960 06 20 Federation of Mali (& Senegal) becomes independent of France
1960 06 20 Floyd Patterson KOs Ingemar Johansson in 5 for heavywgt boxing title
1960 06 20 Heavyweight Floyd Patterson KOs Ingemar Johnstown (NYC)
1963 06 20 First Mayor's Trophy Game, Mets beat Yanks 6-2
1963 06 20 Beatles form Beatles Ltd to handle their income
1963 06 20 US & USSR agree to set up Hot Line
1964 06 20 64th US Golf Open: Ken Venturi shoots a 278 at Congressional CC MD
1965 06 20 Sandra Haynie wins LPGA Cosmopolitan Golf Open
1966 06 20 66th US Golf Open: Billy Casper shoots a 278 at Olympic CC in SF
1966 06 20 Sheila Scott completes first round-the-world solo flight by a woman
1967 06 20 Muhammad Ali convicted of refusing induction into armed services
1967 06 20 Phillies Larry Jackson beats NY Mets for 18th straight time
1968 06 20 Jim Hines becomes first person to run 100 meters in under 10 seconds
1969 06 20 150,000 attend Newport '69, Jimi Hendrix gets $120,000 to appear
1969 06 20 Georges Pompidou sworn in as president of France
1969 06 20 White Rhodesia agrees to race separation
1970 06 20 Ray Stevens Show, debuts on NBC-TV
1970 06 20 British govt of Edward Heath forms (with Margaret Thatcher)
1970 06 20 Oriole's Brooks Robinson get his 2,000 career hit, a 3 run HR
1971 06 20 Sandra Palmer wins LPGA Heritage Golf Open
1973 06 20 Chicago's Cy Acosta is first AL pitcher to bat since DH rule (strikeout)
1973 06 20 Juan Per¢n returns to Argentina
1973 06 20 SF Giants Bobby Bonds sets NL record with 22 lead off HRs
1976 06 20 76th US Golf Open: Jerry Pate shoots a 277 at Atlanta AC in Duluth Ga
1976 06 20 Carl Fugate, Starkwether accomplice, paroled
1976 06 20 Czechoslovakia becomes European soccer champ
1976 06 20 Joanne Carner wins LPGA Hoosier Golf Classic
1976 06 20 River Country opens
1977 06 20 Menahem Begin forms Israeli govt
1977 06 20 Oil enters Trans-Alaska pipeline exits 38 days later at Valdez
1978 06 20 First 6 teams of Women's Pro Basketball League (WBL) granted-Iowa, NJ, Milwaukee, Chicago, Minnesota & Dayton
1980 06 20 Calif Angels Freddie Patek, hits 3 HRs & double to beat Red Sox 20-2
1980 06 20 Roberto Duran takes WBC welterweight title from Sugar Ray Leonard at Olympic Stadium in Montreal by unanimous decision
1981 06 20 Guitarist Gerry Cott quits Boomtown Rats
1981 06 20 Mudjahedin uprises against Iran regime
1981 06 20 Pope John Paul II hospitalized for 55 days for infection
1982 06 20 82nd US Golf Open: Tom Watson shoots a 282 at Pebble Beach GL Calif
1982 06 20 Israeli PM Menachem Begin arrives in Washington
1982 06 20 Jan Stephenson wins LPGA Lady Keystone Golf Open
1982 06 20 Pete Rose is 5th to appear in 3,000 games (Cobb, Musial, Aaron, Yaz)
1983 06 20 83rd US Golf Open: Larry Nelson shoots a 280 at Oakmont CC PA
1983 06 20 NY Yankee Bobby Murcer retires
1984 06 20 A's Dave Kingman hits his 3rd grand slam & 14th lifetime
1984 06 20 Amber Kvanli, of Minnesota, crowned America's Junior Miss
1986 06 20 Drs at Bethesda Naval remove 2 small benign polyps from Reagan's colon
1986 06 20 Jim Fregosi replaces Tony LaRussa as White Sox manager
1987 06 20 Chuti Tiu, 17, of Wisconsin, crowned America's Junior Miss
1987 06 20 Johnny Carson marries 4th wife Alexis Mass
1988 06 20 Curtis Strange wins US Open golf tournament
1988 06 20 Haiti's general assembly dissolves
1988 06 20 NYC WABC-AM becomes flagship radio station of NJ Devils
1988 06 20 Price is Right model Janice Pennington is knocked out by a TV camera
1988 06 20 WABC officially becomes the NJ Devils new home radio
1988 06 20 Supreme Court upholds a law that made it illegal for private clubs to discriminate against women & minorities
1990 06 20 40,000-50,000 die in a (7.6) earthquake in Iran
1990 06 20 Nelson Mandela lands in NYC to begin a tour of US
1992 06 20 Kelly Saunders is 2nd female baseball PA announcer (Balt Orioles)
1993 06 20 47th NBA Championship: Chicago Bulls beat Phoenix Suns, 4 games to 2
1993 06 20 93rd US Golf Open: Lee Janzen shoots a 272 at Baltusrol GC NJ
1993 06 20 Tammie Green wins LPGA Rochester International Golf Tournament
1994 06 20 Bomb attack on Islamic temple in Mashad Iran (70 killed)
1994 06 20 Ernie Els win's 1994 Golf US Open
1994 06 20 Howard Stern begins 30-minute (Radio) TV show on E! cable network
1994 06 20 OJ Simpson arraigned on murder of Nicole Simpson & Ronald Goldman
1995 06 20 Space probe Ulysses begins 2nd passage behind the Sun
1996 06 20 Space Shuttle STS 78 (Columbia 20), launches into space
1997 06 20 Negotiators announce agreement in principle with tobacco industry
1999 06 20 99th US Golf Open: at Pinehurst CC NJ

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