1837
Jun 20, Queen Victoria (18) ascended the British throne following the death of her uncle, King William IV (b.1765). She ruled for 63 years to 1901.

1931
Jun 20, Olympia Dukakis, actress (Moonstruck, Cemetery Club), was born in Lowell, Mass.

1979
Jun 20, Robin Samsoe (12) was kidnapped in Huntington Beach, Ca. Her dismembered and decomposing body was found 12 days later in the Angeles National Forest. Rodney Alcala was arrested and convicted of the slaying in 1980, but the sentence was overturned. He was convicted again in 1986 but a judge faulted the ruling in 2005 and a retrial was scheduled. Alcala pleaded innocent to 4 other sex-torture killings that dated back to 1977.

1983
Jun 20, The crew of the space shuttle Challenger, including America's first woman in space, Sally K. Ride, launched the Indonesian-owned Palapa B communications satellite into orbit.

2005
Jun 20, Massouma al-Mubarak, Kuwait's first female Cabinet member, took the oath of office over the shouts of Muslim fundamentalist and tribal lawmakers opposed to women in politics.

2007
Jun 20, Nazek al-Malaika (85), a renowned Iraqi poet, died. She was famous as the first to write Arabic poetry in free verse rather than classical rhyme.

2007
Jun 20, Thailand’s legislature approved an anti-rape law that widens the definition of the crime and makes it illegal for a husband to have sex with his wife without her consent.

2012
Jun 20, In Thailand Michelle Elizabeth Smith (60), an Australian tourist, was stabbed and killed as 2 men tried to steal her bag on the resort island of Phuket. Two Thai men were arrested and pleaded guilty on June 26, saying they meant only to slash her pocketbook strap and never meant to stab her.