1. Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19, but June 20 holds significance in Texas history as well. In 1837, the Republic of Texas officially declared itself independent from Mexico, setting the stage for statehood in 1845.

2. On June 20, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas and announced that all slaves in Texas were free—two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed. This event is now known as Juneteenth and is celebrated as a holiday in Texas and other states.

3. Texas is home to numerous important military installations, and on June 20, 1944, one of those installations came under attack. Japanese submarines fired torpedoes at the USS Scorpion, which was docked at the naval base in Corpus Christi. The ship was sunk, but there were no casualties.

4. In 1973, former Texas Governor John B. Connally was shot while riding in President John F. Kennedy's motorcade in Dallas. With his wife Nellie at his side, Connally survived the attack and went on to play an active role in Texas politics for many years.

5. On June 20, 2020, Texas surpassed 100,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The state had seen a surge in cases throughout the month of June, prompting officials to implement measures such as mandatory masks in certain areas and limiting restaurant capacity. The total number of cases in Texas has continued to climb since then, with over 2.3 million confirmed cases as of 2021.