1940 86 years ago Historical Events July 20 3 sources

California opens its first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway.

On July 20, in the year 1940, California opens its first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of July 20, a notable event in this corner of history.

California is a U.S. state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, and Nevada and Arizona to the east; it also shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. With over 39 million residents across an area of 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2), it is the largest U.S. state by population and third-largest by area.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on July 20, 1940 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 3 Wikipedia articles.
  • The event is associated with a specific geographical location (see map below).
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 11 July 2026.

On This Date in History

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2025 Jul 20 Malcolm-Jamal Warner, American actor (born 1970)
Notable Deaths 2024 Jul 20 Jerry Miller, American songwriter, guitarist and vocalist (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2024 Jul 20 Jill Schary Robinson, American novelist (born 1936)
Historical Events 2021 Jul 20 American businessman Jeff Bezos flies to space aboard New Shepard NS-16 operated by his private spaceflight company…
Notable Deaths 2020 Jul 20 Michael Brooks, political commentator (born 1983)
Historical Events 2019 Jul 20 Soyuz MS-13 is launched to the International Space Station on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Historical Events 2017 Jul 20 O. J. Simpson is granted parole to be released from prison after serving nine years of a 33-year sentence after being…
Notable Deaths 2017 Jul 20 Chester Bennington, American singer (born 1976)
Notable Deaths 2016 Jul 20 Radu Beligan, Romanian actor, director, and essayist (born 1918)
Historical Events 2015 Jul 20 A huge explosion in the mostly Kurdish border town of Suruç, Turkey, targeting the Socialist Youth Associations…
Historical Events 2015 Jul 20 The United States and Cuba resume full diplomatic relations after five decades.
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 20 Wayne Carson, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 20 Fred Else, English footballer and manager (born 1933)
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 20 Dieter Moebius, Swiss-German keyboard player and producer (born 1944)
Selected Events 2015 Jul 20 A suicide attack (aftermath pictured) in Suruç, Turkey, for which Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed…
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 20 Victor G. Atiyeh, American businessman and politician, 32nd Governor of Oregon (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 20 Constantin Lucaci, Romanian sculptor and educator (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 20 Bob McNamara, American football player (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 20 Klaus Schmidt, German archaeologist and academic (born 1953)
Historical Events 2013 Jul 20 Seventeen government soldiers are killed in an attack by FARC revolutionaries in the Colombian department of Arauca.
Historical Events 2013 Jul 20 Syrian civil war: The Battle of Ras al-Ayn ends with the expulsion of Islamist forces from the city by the People's…
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 20 Pierre Fabre, French pharmacist and businessman, founded Laboratoires Pierre Fabre (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 20 Khurshed Alam Khan, Indian politician, 2nd Governor of Goa (born 1919)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 20 Augustus Rowe, Canadian physician and politician (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 20 Helen Thomas, American journalist and author (born 1920)
Historical Events 2012 Jul 20 James Holmes opened fire at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 and injuring 70 others.
Historical Events 2012 Jul 20 Syrian civil war: The People's Protection Units (YPG) capture the cities of Amuda and Efrîn without resistance.
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 20 Alastair Burnet, English journalist (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 20 Jack Davis, American hurdler (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 20 José Hermano Saraiva, Portuguese historian, jurist, and politician, Portuguese Minister of Education (born 1919)
Selected Events 2012 Jul 20 A gunman carried out a mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others.
Notable Deaths 2011 Jul 20 Lucian Freud, German-English painter and illustrator (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2009 Jul 20 Vedat Okyar, Turkish footballer (born 1945)
Notable Deaths 2009 Jul 20 Mark Rosenzweig, American psychologist and academic (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2008 Jul 20 Artie Traum, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2008 Jul 20 Dinko Šakić, Croatian concentration camp commander (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 2007 Jul 20 Tammy Faye Messner, American Christian evangelist and talk show host (born 1942)
Notable Deaths 2006 Jul 20 Ted Grant, South African-English theorist and activist (born 1913)
Notable Deaths 2006 Jul 20 Gérard Oury, French actor, director, and producer (born 1919)
Historical Events 2005 Jul 20 The Civil Marriage Act legalizes same-sex marriage in Canada.
Notable Deaths 2005 Jul 20 James Doohan, Canadian-American actor (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2005 Jul 20 Finn Gustavsen, Norwegian journalist and politician (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2005 Jul 20 Kayo Hatta, American director and cinematographer (born 1958)
Notable Deaths 2004 Jul 20 Lala Mara, Fijian politician (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2004 Jul 20 Valdemaras Martinkėnas, Lithuanian footballer and coach (born 1965)
Notable Deaths 2003 Jul 20 Nicolas Freeling, English author (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2002 Jul 20 Michalis Kritikopoulos, Greek footballer (born 1946)
Notable Births 2001 Jul 20 Álex Baena, Spanish footballer
Selected Events 2001 Jul 20 Twenty-three-year-old Italian anti-globalist Carlo Giuliani was shot dead by a police officer while protesting outside…
Historical Events 1999 Jul 20 The Chinese Communist Party begins a persecution campaign against Falun Gong, arresting thousands nationwide.

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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