About the day » Thursday July 20, 1939Calender converter

• N.N., Den Haag
• Cornelis Gijsbertus Hoogendijk († 2005)
• Jan Willem (Willy) Schulte, Emmen(Dr)-Zwartemeer († 2004)
• Garry Dale Dunigan, Indiana († 2016)
• Jan van den Top, Barneveld († 2005)
• Anna Kellner, Hodonice
• Jan Jacobus Vermaat, Nieuw Helvoet († 2017)
• Betty Lou Rodas, Elkader, Clayton County, Iowa († 2011)
• Hendrik Antonius Haasewinkel, Hengelo, 7550, Nederland († 2000)
• Veenstra, Achtkarspelen

• Abraham Bloklander (78), 's-Gravenhage
• Alfonsus Jacobus Rörink (0), Hengelo
• Anthon Franc Willem baron van Brakell van Wadenoyen en Doorwerth (57), Heelsum,Gemeente Renkum,Gelderland,Netherlands
• Antje Lipjes (61), Harlingen
• Adriana Klazina Kaptein (63), Rotterdam
• Aaltje Super (1), Musselkanaal gem. Onstwedde
• Anganita van der Bijl (87), Poortugaal, Zuid-Holland, Nederland
• Adrianus Groot (73), Ouder-Amstel, Noord-Holland, Nederland
• Albertine Gezina Petronella Sloet van Tweenijenhuizen (80), Nijmegen, Gelderland, Nederland
• Albertine Gesina Petronella Sloet van Tweenijenhuizen (80), Nijmegen, Gelderland, Nederland

• 1936 » Alistair MacLeod, Canadian novelist and short story writer († 2014)
• 1938 » Deniz Baykal, Turkish lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
• 1938 » Diana Rigg, English actress
• 1938 » Natalie Wood, American actress († 1981)
• 1938 » Roger Hunt, English footballer
• 1938 » Tony Oliva, Cuban-American baseball player and coach
• 1939 » Judy Chicago, American painter and sculptor
• 1941 » Don Chuy, American football player († 2014)
• 1941 » Kurt Raab, German actor, screenwriter, and production designer († 1988)
• 1941 » Periklis Korovesis, Greek author and journalist († 2020)

• 1926 » Felix Dzerzhinsky, Russian educator and politician (b. 1877)
• 1927 » Ferdinand I, king of Romania (b. 1865)
• 1928 » Kostas Karyotakis, Greek poet and author (b. 1896)
• 1932 » René Bazin, French author and academic (b. 1853)
• 1937 » Guglielmo Marconi, Italian physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
• 1937 » Olga Hahn-Neurath, Austrian mathematician and philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1882)
• 1941 » Lew Fields, American actor and producer (b. 1867)
• 1944 » Ludwig Beck, German general (b. 1880)
• 1945 » Paul Valéry, French author and poet (b. 1871)
• 1951 » Abdullah I, king of Jordan (b. 1882)

• Koningin Wilhelmina (Huis van Oranje-Nassau) was from 1890 till 1948 sovereign of the Netherlands (also known as Koninkrijk der Nederlanden)
• In The Netherlands , there was from June 24, 1937 to July 25, 1939 the cabinet Colijn IV, with Dr. H. Colijn (ARP) as prime minister.
• In The Netherlands , there was from July 25, 1939 to August 10, 1939 the cabinet Colijn V, with Dr. H. Colijn (ARP) as prime minister.
• In The Netherlands , there was from August 10, 1939 to September 3, 1940 the cabinet De Geer II, with Jonkheer mr. D.J. de Geer (CHU) as prime minister.
• The Netherlands had about 8.7 million citizens.
• January 27 » First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
• April 4 » Faisal II becomes King of Iraq.
• April 30 » The 1939–40 New York World's Fair opens.
• August 31 » Nazi Germany mounts a false flag attack on the Gleiwitz radio station, creating an excuse to attack Poland the following day, thus starting World War II in Europe.
• September 21 » Romanian Prime Minister Armand Călinescu is assassinated by the Iron Guard.
• November 23 » World War II: HMSRawalpindi is sunk by the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.

The temperature on July 20, 1939 was between 13.6 °C and 21.6 °C and averaged 17.2 °C. There was 7.1 mm of rain during 1.6 hours. There was 5.1 hours of sunshine (32%). The average windspeed was 3 Bft (moderate breeze) and was prevailing from the south.