What Happened on July 20, 2021

Historical Events

Event of Interest

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announces his first two 'Courage and Civility Awards' of $100M each to writer, commentator, and non-profit founder Van Jones and chef and World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés to distribute to charities of their choice

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos goes into space in first unpiloted suborbital flight with all-civilian crew, aboard rocket developed by his company Blue Origin
India's COVID-19 death toll likely 10 times its official toll, 3.4 million to 4.7 million (to June 2021), according to The Center for Global Development [1]
Leyna Bloom becomes Sports Illustrated's first transgender cover model

Sports History

NBA Finals: Milwaukee Bucks beat Phoenix Suns, 105-98 in Game 6 to win first title in 50 years (1971); MVP: Giannis Antetokounmpo, 50 points in Game 6

New York records the worst air quality in the world due to smoke from 80 wild fires on the US west coast [1]
Oregon's Bootleg fire has burnt nearly 400,000 acres, now so big it's generating its own weather patterns according to local fire chiefs
Torrential rain causes severe flooding in China's Hunan province, flooding subways with people still on the trains, killing at least 12 people in Zhengzhou city [1]
US, NATO members and other states accuse China's Ministry of State Security for using "contract criminal hackers" to infiltrate Microsoft email systems [1]

Events in 2021

Famous Deaths

Chuck E. Weiss, American blues and rock songwriter, vocalist, and muse (Rickie Lee Jones; Tom Waits), dies of cancer at 76 [1]
Françoise Arnoul, French actress and composer (French Cancan; Jacko & Lise), dies at 90
Jerry Granelli, American-Canadian jazz drummer (Vince Guaraldi Trio; Mose Allison), dies at 80

Died in 2021 2021 Highlights