The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began in Martinsburg, West Virginia, but its fury radiated outward days later. By July 20, Baltimore was ablaze—literally and figuratively. As the Maryland militia marched toward Camden Station, thousands of outraged citizens blocked their path. Stones flew. Militiamen opened fire—ten dead. Rail cars and buildings burned. Federal troops were summoned. What started as a protest over wage cuts had become a national reckoning, with Baltimore at its boiling point.
Image: Harper’s Weekly engraving depicting the unrest of July 20, 1877, as the Maryland National Guard’s Sixth Regiment advanced westward through downtown Baltimore, clashing with civilians along the city’s commercial artery—Baltimore Street—in a tense push toward Camden Station.
via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
On July 20, 1749, George Washington (only 17 at the time) was appointed as the official Surveyor of Culpeper County, Virginia.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
On July 20, 1969, 38-year-old American astronaut Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the Moon.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
On July 20, 1903, the Ford Motor Company shipped its first vehicle, the Ford Model A, a little over a month after the company was founded.
Three days later the first Ford Model A was owned by a dentist in Chicago named Ernest Pfennig.
Image: Henry Ford in 1933, thirty years after his first Model A was shipped, sitting in his then vintage Ford Model A next to a very vintage horse and carriage
via Alamy
“While the last act of the drama, the final scene in Sitting Bull’s career as a warrior, was enacted at noon on July 20th, when, by the hand of his little son, he delivered to Major Brotherton the rifle he had carried throughout so many bloody fields. This being done, the great chieftain spoke as follows:
“I surrender this rifle to you through my young son, whom I now desire to teach in this manner that he has become a friend of the Americans. I wish him to learn the habits of the whites and to be educated as their sons are educated. I wish it to be remembered that I was the last man of my tribe to surrender my rifle. This boy has given it to you, and he now wants to know how he is going to make a living. Whatever you have to give or whatever you have to say, I would like to receive or hear now, for I don’t wish to be kept in darkness longer. I have sent several messengers in here from time to time, but none of them have returned with news. The other chiefs, Crow King and Gaul, have not wanted me to come, and I have never received good news from here. I now wish to be allowed to live this side of the line or the other, as I see fit. I wish to continue my old life of hunting, but would like to be allowed to trade on both sides of the line. This is my country, and I don’t wish to be compelled to give it up. My heart was very sad at having to leave the great mother’s country. She has been a friend to me, but I want my children to grow up in our native country, and I also wish to feel that I can visit two of my friends on the other side of the line, viz.: Major Walsh and Captain McDonald, whenever I wish, and would like to trade with Louis Legare, as he has always been a friend to me. I wish to have all my people live together upon one reservation of our own on the Little Missouri…”
From: Campaigns of General Custer in the North-west, and the final surrender of Sitting Bull
by Judson Elliott Walker, published in 1881
https://archive.org/details/campaignsofgener00walkrich/page/74/mode/1up
Source says not in copyright
Image: A cabinet card Sitting Bull from 1881 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Robert Anderson Van Wyck,
First Mayor of the consolidated City of New York, was born on July 20, 1849 in New York City
Image via NYPL Digital Collections, no known restrictions
A technician checks the soil sampler on the robotic arm of NASA’s Viking I
five years before it safely landed on Mars on July 20, 1976.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Six years after leaving communist Czechoslovakia during the U.S. Open, tennis legend Martina Navratilova became a U.S. citizen on July 20, 1981. At just 18, she made a bold personal and political decision to seek asylum—driven by a desire for freedom and the chance to compete without state interference. By the time she took the citizenship oath, Navratilova had already won multiple Grand Slam titles and was revolutionizing women’s tennis with her aggressive serve-and-volley style. Her naturalization marked not only a legal milestone, but a symbolic embrace of the country she had come to call home.
Image of Martina in 1980 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Verna Felton,
who was the voice of the Fairy Godmother in Walt Disney’s Cinderella, and the voice of other characters in many other Disney animated films, was born on July 20, 1890 in Salinas, California.
Image of Felton in 1903 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Unveiling statue of Brigham Young, Pioneer Jubilee, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A.
July 20, 1897
via LOC, no known restrictions
Celebrate and emote on July 20th, all you theater kids, for on that day in 1838 John Augustin Daly was born. Known as a playwright, drama critic, theater manager, and the first recognized stage manager in the US, Daly was called “the autocrat of the stage” for fining actors who were late or forgot their lines.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US
Drive-In ad for the movie The Seven Year Itch dated July 20, 1955.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US
“Surf City” by Jan & Dean became the first surf rock song to peak at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 20, 1963. The hit, which was co-written with Beach Boys member Brian Wilson, encapsulated the sun-drenched ideal of California youth: two girls for every boy, fast cars, and endless beaches. Its success at the top of the charts helped define the carefree spirit of a generation and turned surf music from a regional craze into a national phenomenon.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US
American musician Kim Carnes was born on July 20, 1945 in Los Angeles, California. Her version of “Bette Davis Eyes” became the top selling single in 1981.
The song was such a success that Bette Davis herself wrote a letter to Carnes thanking her for the newfound popularity.
Image of Kim Carnes in 1981 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Born July 20, 1938 Natalie Wood began appearing in films at age 5 and her body of work includes classics
like Miracle on 34th Street, Rebel Without a Cause, The Searchers, West Side Story, Gypsy, and Splendor
in the Grass. She’s shown here in 1958, after winning a Golden Globe as New Star of the Year.
Image via Wikipedia Commons, public domain in the US
On July 20, 1918, First Lieutenant Hermann St. John Boldt, Jr. was killed in action near Château-Thierry, France, during World War I. A Princeton graduate and New York native, Boldt served with the 102nd Infantry Regiment and volunteered as an aerial observer with the 1st Aero Squadron—flying low over enemy lines to report battlefield movements. That summer, as Allied forces mounted a counteroffensive in the Second Battle of the Marne, Boldt was struck by a sniper’s bullet at just 25 years old. In his final letter home, he wrote: ‘We are going to win, no matter what happens to me.’ The French government awarded him the Croix de Guerre for valor, and today he rests at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx—a memorial to one soldier’s courage, conviction, and sacrifice.
Image via LOC, no known restrictions
