July 20
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1969: First contact with a hazardous surface
On this day in 1969, the Apollo 11 mission put men on the Moon for the first time. As Neil Armstrongâs boots made contact with the lunar surface, his words became etched in history: âThatâs one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.â But what was he actually stepping on? While the Moonâs surface is powdery, lunar dust is incredibly sharpâsimilar to countless microscopic knives. This dust plagued all future lunar expeditions.
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JSC/NASA; Photo Illustration EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
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KeystoneâHulton Archive/Getty Images
On this day in 1944, German military leaders attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The plan, often called the July Plot, failed. A bomb in a suitcase was detonated during Hitlerâs meeting with military leaders, but he suffered only minor injuries.
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Featured Biography
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We didnât know if it was humanly possible to reach the top of Mt. Everest. And even using oxygen as we were, if we did get to the top, we werenât at all sure whether we wouldnât drop dead or something of that nature.
Explorer Sir Edmund Hillaryâwho in 1953, along with Tenzing Norgay, was the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the worldâwas born this day in 1919 in Auckland, New Zealand.
Famous Birthdays
More on July 20
NASA/Joel Kowsky
2021
Wally Funk became, at age 82, the oldest woman to go to space. Her trip aboard a private spaceship came decades after her attempts, denied by NASA, to become an astronaut during the 1960s.
Photograph by Pete Souza/The White House
2013
American journalist Helen Thomas, who broke through a number of barriers for women reporters and was known especially for her coverage of U.S. presidents, died at age 92. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about famous Americans.]
NASA
1976
The Viking 1 lander touched down at Chryse Planitia on Mars. [Take our quiz about space exploration.]
© Tokarsky/Dreamstime.com
1968
At Chicagoâs Soldier Field, the first Special Olympics began, and some 1,000 athletesâall of whom had intellectual disabilitiesâparticipated. [Test your knowledge of sports.]
Image: EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
1917
The Corfu Declaration was issued, calling for the establishment of a unified Yugoslav state following World War I.
Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (2005676895).
1917
Prince Georgy Yevgenyevich Lvov resigned his post as prime minister of Russiaâs Provisional Government following the July Days demonstrations. [Test your knowledge of Russian history.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
1894
The Pullman Strike, a widespread railroad strike in the United States, ended shortly after President Grover Cleveland ordered federal troops to Chicago. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about Chicago history.]
Image: EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
1877
The Siege of Pleven began in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877â78.
© Photos.com/Getty Images
1402
The forces of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I were defeated by those of the Central Asian ruler Timur in the Battle of Ankara, resulting in the collapse of Bayezidâs empire. [Take our quiz about the Ottoman Empire.]