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Made for the 250thOn this day › July 20
What happened on July 20 in American history
July 20 is the 201st day of the year (the 202nd in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 6 stories from July 20 spanning 1864 to 2015. Among them: in 1864, Hood's first attack as commander breaks against Thomas's line north of Atlanta; and in 1960, From out of the deep to target, perfect: Polaris fires from a submerged submarine.
1864
Hood's first attack as commander breaks against Thomas's line north of Atlanta
Two days into the job, the new Confederate commander throws two corps at Sherman's advancing army and cannot make them give ground.
1960
From out of the deep to target, perfect: Polaris fires from a submerged submarine
A second missile follows within two hours, both striking 1,100 miles downrange off Florida.
1969
Eagle touches down with about 50 seconds of fuel left; Armstrong radios "the Eagle has landed"
Alarms blared during descent as Mission Control watched the fuel gauge fall, and a spacecraft named for a bird settled into lunar dust.
1976Member story · 1776 Club
Viking 1 touches down on Mars; the first picture arrives twenty-five seconds later
The landing falls seven years to the day after Apollo 11 put boots on the Moon.
1977Member story · 1776 Club
20,000 pages the CIA thought it burned turn up in a warehouse
A financial records building held what Richard Helms tried to destroy in 1973: proof the agency dosed unwitting Americans with LSD for twenty years.
2015Member story · 1776 Club
Flags rise over Havana; U.S. and Cuba reopen embassies after 54 years
Secret talks brokered by Pope Francis quietly ended a Cold War freeze that outlasted ten American presidents.
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