In History, Today on July 20

The Battle of Ankara took place, where Timur (Tamerlane) defeated the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I, leading to a temporary fragmentation of the Ottoman Empire.

The Riot Act received royal assent in Great Britain, allowing local authorities to declare any group of 12 or more people unlawfully assembled and to disperse them.

Nicéphore Niépce, a French inventor, received a patent for the Pyréolophore, the world's first internal combustion engine.

The Austro-Prussian War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Prague, which resulted in the dissolution of the German Confederation and the exclusion of Austria from German affairs.

Sioux leader Sitting Bull surrendered to United States federal troops, marking the end of his resistance to U.S. government policies.

The 20 July plot, an attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, failed. The plot was led by Claus von Stauffenberg and other conspirators within the German military.

Apollo 11's lunar module, Eagle, landed on the Moon, and Neil Armstrong became the first human to step onto the lunar surface, famously declaring, 'That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.'

The Viking 1 lander successfully landed on Mars, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the planet and send back images of the Martian surface.

The Central Intelligence Agency released documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing the existence of the MKUltra program, a covert operation aimed at developing mind control techniques.

Falun Gong, a spiritual practice, was banned by the Chinese government, leading to widespread persecution of its practitioners.

Canada becomes the fourth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide after the Civil Marriage Act receives royal assent.

A mass shooting occurs at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, during a midnight screening of 'The Dark Knight Rises,' resulting in 12 deaths and 70 injuries.

Cuba and the United States formally re-establish diplomatic relations after 54 years, marked by the reopening of embassies in each other's capitals.

O.J. Simpson is granted parole after serving nine years of a 33-year sentence for armed robbery and kidnapping in Nevada.

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, successfully completes a suborbital flight aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, marking a significant milestone in commercial space travel.