Today in History: June 20

1789: Third Estate makes Tennis Court Oath. In Versailles, France, the deputies of the Third Estate, which represent commoners and the lower clergy, meet on the Jeu de Paume, an indoor tennis court, in defiance of King Louis XVI’s order to disperse. In these modest surroundings, they took the historic Tennis Court Oath, with which they agreed not to disband until a new French constitution had been adopted.

1837: Victoria becomes Queen of the United Kingdom. During the 64 years of her regency, the United Kingdom became one of the world’s most potent powers. The British Empire soon encompassed large parts of the planet. Queen Victoria died in 1901.

1840: American inventor Samuel Morse patents his telegraph.

1942: Kazimierz Piechowski and three others escape from Auschwitz concentration camp. In a feat of “exceptional courage and gallantry”, as stated by the Polish author Kazimierz Smoleń, the four prisoners left via the front gate in a stolen SS staff car, dressed as SS officers. During World War II, the Nazi regime murdered 1.1 million people in Auschwitz. Only 144 are known to have escaped.

1963: The “Red Telephone” is instituted. The hotline between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was established following the Cuban Missile Crisis. Contrary to popular belief, communications between the two superpowers occurred via teletype or fax, and today, via email.

1964: It’s Father’s Day, and the Father of his Country, President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, relaxes with his daughter Samia along his wife Fathia Ritzk Nkrumah, the Egyptian banker he married on New Year’s Eve 1957.

1973: Hollywood’s Blaxploitation films turn to Africa with the release today of Shaft in Africa. The newest story about the African-American detective Shaft, who goes to Africa to end human trafficking to France, was filmed in Ethiopia, where star Richard Roundtree was presented to Emperor Haile Selassie.

1975: Jaws, a film directed by Steven Spielberg that made countless viewers afraid to go into the water, opens in theaters. The story of a great white shark that terrorizes a New England resort town became an instant blockbuster and the highest-grossing film in movie history until it was bested by 1977’s Star Wars. Jaws was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Picture category and took home three Oscars, for Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Sound.

1986: In the wake of the Chernobyl disaster, the government ordered a temporary ban on the slaughter and movement of lambs in some parts of the country.

1991: The German parliament moves to Berlin

Bonn had been the capital of West Germany until the country’s reunification in 1990. The “Hauptstadtbeschluss” (capital decision) stipulated that the seat of government and the parliament also be moved to the “new” capital Berlin.

2010: As the biggest TV audience in the world watches the games of the FIFA World Cup played in South Africa, global fascination grows over a new instrument that is a feature among the fans at the stadiums: the Vuvuzela. The 65 centimetre (2-foot) long plastic horn is so loud, that the noise disturbs players on the soccer field.

2017: Nigerian musician Victor Uwaifo is named a Human Living Treasure by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

BIRTHS ON THIS DAY: June 20

Lionel Richie, 75 years

Lionel Richie was born June 20, 1949, in Tuskegee, Alabama, U.S.A. He is an American popular singer, songwriter, and producer most admired for his smooth and soulful love ballads of the 1970s and ’80s. A highly versatile musician, he can perform—and skillfully blend—multiple musical styles, most notably funk, soul, rhythm and blues, and country.

Nicole Kidman, 57

Nicole Kidman—who was known for her considerable range and versatility, as well as for her glamorous looks and cool demeanour—was born in Hawaii on 20 June 1967. She is an actress and producer. Known for her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world’s highest-paid actresses.

Frank Lampard, 46 years

Frank James Lampard OBE was born on 20 June 1978. He is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently caretaker manager of Premier League club Chelsea. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest players ever, and one of the greatest midfielders of his generation. He is the son of Frank Lampard Senior, a former West Ham and England player.

Amos Tutuola (20 June 1920 – 8 June 1997)

Nigerian writer, in Wasinmi, British Nigeria. As a boy servant, instead of wages he was given an education with the Salvation Army, which he happily accepted. Despite his short formal education, Tutuola wrote his novels in English. He developed his writing skills over the years until his first full-length book, The Palm Wine Drinkard was published in 1952, as the first novel by an African published in English outside of Africa. This milestone in African literature, like Tutola’s other writings, was based on Yoruba folklore. He died at the age of 77.

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