September 20: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

The climate change rally led by activist Greta Thunberg saw millions of protesters worldwide standing up for urgent action.

An African American man, Keith Lamont Scott, was shot dead by police on Old Concord Road, Charlotte, North Carolina.

Black Lives Matter protests broke out, but the shooting officer, Brentley Vinson, was not charged as prosecutors say the shooting was justified.

Grand Theft Auto V smashed records after topping $1 billion in sales.

GTA-V reached this milestone just three days after the game was released.

The US military policy “don’t ask, don’t tell” came to an end.

This meant that the military allowed gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals to be open about their sexuality without facing discrimination. Before this, the "don't ask, don't tell" policy allowed people of any sexuality, as long as they didn't talk about it.

Neversoft’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 was released for the PlayStation.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 has a legendary status among skaters and gamers alike and is the second-highest-rated video game of all time on Metacritic.

NASA’s 50th space shuttle mission, STS-47, landed safely at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

It was the second time the Endeavour space shuttle made it into space and back, this time carrying the first Japanese astronaut, Mamoru Mohri, into space. That wasn't the only first for the mission, though, with Mae C Jemison becoming the first African American in space and Mark C. Lee and N. Jan Davis becoming the first married couple to fly on the same shuttle. Mark and Jan kept their marriage secret until the last minute, as NASA had an unofficial policy preventing married couples from flying together. It was too late to change anything by the time NASA found out.

South Ossetia declared its independence from Georgia.

The first Whole Foods store opened in Austin, Texas, US.

The store was 10,500 square feet, and they had 19 staff. Sadly, on May 25, 1981, a significant flood caused the uninsured store $400,000 worth of damage, but the community helped with repairs, and lenders gave them time to rebuild.

A gasoline-powered car was tested in Springfield, Massachusetts, for the first time in the US.

Britain and France defeated Russia during the Battle of Alma, which was the first battle of the Crimean War.

Maryland passed its first anti-amalgamation law.

The law was passed to prevent white English women from being able to marry black men as, at the time, interracial marriages were common. Many states in the US followed suit and introduced this law in the coming years.

Spanish navigator Ferdinand Magellan and crew set off aboard the Victoria on their adventure around the globe.

The Siege of Jerusalem began and lasted for 12 days.

The siege began when the Balian of Ibelin surrendered the city to the first Saladin. Saladin was the Sultan of Egypt and Syria.