20 July - Alexander the Great birth anniversary

Alexander III of Macedon ( 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great (Aléxandros ho Mégas), was a king (basileus) of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon[a] and a member of the Argead dynasty. He was born in Pella in 356 BC and succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of 20. He spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented military campaign through western Asia and northeast Africa, and by the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to northwestern India.He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered one of history's most successful military commanders.

Alexander was born in Pella, the capital of the Kingdom of Macedon,on the sixth day of the ancient Greek month of Hekatombaion, which probably corresponds to 20 July 356 BC, although the exact date is uncertain.He was the son of the king of Macedon, Philip II, and his fourth wife, Olympias, the daughter of Neoptolemus I, king of Epirus.Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias was his principal wife for some time, likely because she gave birth to Alexander.

20 July - Lempira Day

Lempira Day is a Honduran holiday celebrated annually on July 20. It is dedicated to an indigenous leader of the Lenca people who led the resistance against the Spanish conquistadors in the 1530s.

In 1533, Spanish conquistador Francisco de Montejo received a royal decree that gave him permission to conquer certain parts of Honduras. He then attempted to conquer the territory inhabited by the Lencas in western Honduras.

Chief Lempira organized resistance against the Spanish conquerors and gathered an army of about 30,000 people. Unfortunately, the resistance was ultimately unsuccessful. The Spaniards lured Lempira out to talk and then shot him dead. After their leader’s death, the Lenca surrendered.

Despite the defeat of Lempira's uprising and the subsequent conquest of Honduras, the Lenca leader is considered a national hero of Honduras. The currency of Honduras and one of the country’s 18 departments were named after him. Besides, Lempira is portrayed on the 1 lempira note.

Although Lempira Day is not a public holiday, it is widely celebrated throughout in Honduras, especially in schools (most Honduran schools are in session in July). On this day, children dress up as indigenous Hondurans and prepare presentations of different ethnic groups. Lempira Day is more than a holiday dedicated to a national hero, it is a celebration of indigenous culture and heritage.

Source : https://anydayguide.com/

20 July - Viking 1 Lander lands on Mars in 1976

Viking 1 was the first of two spacecraft (along with Viking 2) sent to Mars as part of NASA's Viking program.On July 20, 1976, it became the second spacecraft to soft-land on Mars, and the first to successfully perform its mission. (The first spacecraft to soft-land on Mars was the Soviet Union's Mars 3 on December 2, 1971, which stopped transmitting after 14.5 seconds.) Viking 1 held the record for the longest Mars surface mission of 2307 days (over 6​1⁄4 years)or 2245 Martian solar days,until that record was broken by the Opportunity rover on May 19, 2010.

20 July - Geeta Dutt death anniversary

Geeta Dutt (born Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri; 23 November 1930 – 20 July 1972) was a prominent Indian playback singer and a famous Hindi and Bengali classical artist, born in Faridpur before the Partition of India. She found particular prominence as a playback singer in Hindi cinema. She also sang many modern Bengali songs, both in the film and non-film genre.

Geeta Dutt died on 20 July 1972 due to cirrhosis of liver at the age of 41 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She was survived by her three children and siblings.

20 July - Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway born in July 1973

Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway (Haakon Magnus; born 20 July 1973) is the only son of King Harald V and Queen Sonja, and heir apparent to the throne of Norway.

In 2001, Haakon married Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby with whom he has two children. He has an older sister, Princess Märtha Louise. In accordance with Norway's agnatic primogeniture succession, Haakon became crown prince when his father ascended the throne on 17 January 1991 upon the death of his grandfather Olav V.

The Skaugum Estate, situated in the area of Semsvannet, is the official residence of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess

20 July - Krishna Kanta Handique birth anniversary

Krishna Kanta Handique (20 July 1898 – 7 June 1982) was a Sanskrit scholar, an Indologist and philanthropist from Assam. He was a recipient of the civilian honour of the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan

The Indian Posts and Telegraphs Dept. issued a commemorative stamp in honor of Prof. Handique on 7 October 1983. The Govt of Assam has instituted the prestigious Krishna Kanta Handique Memorial Award in his honour in the field of promotion of Sanskrit language and literature.

Handique, the Sanskrit scholar is known for his three major works:

Naisadhacarita of Sriharsa, 1934
Yasastilika and Indian Culture 1949
Pravarasena's Setubandha 1976

19 July- Nationalised the 14 largest commercial banks in 1969

The government through the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Ordinance, 1969 and nationalised the 14 largest commercial banks on 19 July 1969. These lenders held over 80 per cent bank deposits in the country. Soon, the parliament passed the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertaking) Bill, and it received presidential approval on 9 August 1969.

The banks that were nationalised included Allahabad Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank of India, Canara Bank, Dena Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab National Bank, Syndicate Bank, UCO Bank, Union Bank and United Bank of India. Thereafter, in 1980, six more banks that were nationalised included Punjab and Sind Bank, Vijaya Bank, Oriental Bank of India, Corporate Bank, Andhra Bank and New Bank of India.

19 July - Tehri Garhwal merger with the Indian Union in 1949

Garhwal Kingdom was an independent kingdom in the current north-western Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, India, founded in 823 AD by Kanakpal, the progenitor of the Panwar dynasty that ruled over the kingdom uninterrupted until 1803.

The kingdom was divided into two parts during the British Raj, namely: the princely state of Garhwal and the Garhwal District of British India. During this period, the princely state of Garhwal was one of the States of the Punjab Hills which became part of the Punjab Hill States Agency although it was not under the Punjab Province administration. The princely state of Garhwal or Independent Garhwal consisted of the present day Tehri Garhwal district and most of the Uttarkashi district. This former state acceded to the Union of India in August 1949.

During the Quit India Movement people from this region actively worked for the independence of India. Ultimately, when the country was declared independent in 1947, the inhabitants of Tehri Riyasat (Garhwal State) started their movement to free themselves from the clutches of the Maharaja Narendra Shah (Panwar).

Due to this movement, the situation became out of his control and it was difficult for him to rule over the region. Consequently, the 60th king of Panwar Vansh, Manvendra Shah, the last ruling Maharaja of the Garhwal Kingdom (1946–1949), accepted the sovereignty of the Union of India. Tehri Riyasat was merged into the Garhwal District of United Provinces (later renamed to Uttar Pradesh) and was given the status of a new district, the Tehri Garhwal district. Subsequently, on 24 February 1960, the state government separated one of its tehsils which was given the status of a separate district named Uttarkashi. It is currently part of the Garhwal Division of the Uttarakhand state of India which was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000. Former royal palace of the Maharaja of Tehri Garhwal at Narendranagar, now houses the Ananda in the Himalayas spa, established 2000.

19 July - Coronation of George IV in 1821

The coronation of George IV as king of the United Kingdom took place at Westminster Abbey, London, on 19 July 1821. Originally scheduled for 1 August of the previous year, the ceremony had been postponed because of parliamentary proceedings of George's estranged wife, Queen Caroline of Brunswick; because these failed to deprive her of her titles and obtain a divorce from the king, she was excluded from the ceremony. In accordance with George's lavish personal tastes, the coronation was the most extravagant ever staged and a number of the traditional elements of the ceremonial were conducted for the last time.

19 July - Mangal Pandey birth anniversary

Mangal Pandey (19 July 1827 – 8 April 1857) was an Indian soldier who played a key part in the events immediately preceding the outbreak of the Indian rebellion of 1857. He was a sepoy (infantryman) in the 34th Bengal Native Infantry (BNI) regiment of the British East India Company. In 1984, the Indian government issued a postage stamp to remember him. His life and actions have also been portrayed in several cinematic productions.

Mangal Pandey was arrested and sentenced to death after he attacked British officers in Barrackpore on March 29, 1857. Anticipating a revolt, British authorities moved up his initial execution date from April 18 to April 8, when he was hanged

Mangal Pandey is widely regarded as the harbinger of the 1857 rebellion against the British considered to be India's first war of Independence.