20 June 2002

Iranian aircraft shot down an American drone over the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between the two countries.

Iranian student Neda Agha-Soltan was shot dead in Tehran during the presidential election protests; footage of her death was widely distributed over the Internet, making it "probably the most widely witnessed death in human history".

A bomb explosion in the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Iran, left at least 25 dead and more than 70 injured.

Bill Stewart, an American journalist, was executed by Nicaraguan Guardia forces.

Steven Spielberg's film Jaws was released; it became a summer blockbuster and the first film to earn $100 million in U.S. theatrical rentals.

The Mali Federation gained independence from France, but dissolved into Mali and Senegal two months later.

The extratropical remnants of an Atlantic hurricane reached the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada, causing 22 fishing boats to capsize and killing 35 people.

World War II: The Royal Air Force began Operation Bellicose, a four-day shuttle-bombing mission that included raids on Germany and Italy and a refuelling and rearming stop in Algeria.

Approximately 250,000 spectators attended the opening procession of the 28th International Eucharistic Congress in Chicago, United States.

Boxer Rebellion: The Imperial Chinese Army began a 55-day siege of the Legation Quarter in Peking.

Queen Victoria (pictured) acceded to the British throne, beginning a 63-year reign.

The Congress of the Confederation adopted the Great Seal of the United States (obverse pictured), used to authenticate documents issued by the U.S. federal government.

The first EF5 tornado in 12 years occurs in Enderlin, North Dakota.

Iran's Air Defense Forces shoot down an American surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions between the two countries.

RusAir Flight 9605 crashes in Besovets during approach to Petrozavodsk Airport, killing 47.

The Wikimedia Foundation is founded in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-78 to conduct life science and microgravity research aboard the Spacelab module.

The 1994 Imam Reza shrine bomb explosion in Iran leaves at least 25 dead and 70 to 300 injured.

The German Bundestag votes to move seat of government from the former West German capital of Bonn to the present capital of Berlin.

Asteroid Eureka is discovered.

The 7.4 Mw Manjil–Rudbar earthquake affects northern Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 35,000–50,000, and injuring 60,000–105,000.

Haitian president Leslie Manigat is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Lieutenant General Henri Namphy.

The Argentine Corbeta Uruguay base on Southern Thule surrenders to Royal Marine commandos in the final action of the Falklands War.

ABC News correspondent Bill Stewart is shot dead by a Nicaraguan National Guard soldier under the regime of Anastasio Somoza Debayle during the Nicaraguan Revolution. The murder is caught on tape and sparks an international outcry against the regime.