August 20: Difference between revisions

August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 133 days remain until the end of the year.

• 636 - Battle of Yarmouk: Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take control of Syria and Palestine away from the Byzantine Empire, marking the first great wave of Muslim conquests and the rapid advance of Islam outside Arabia.
• 917 - Battle of Anchialus: Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria invades Thrace and drives the Byzantines out.
• 1000 - The foundation of the Hungarian state, Hungary is established as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary.
• 1391 - Konrad von Wallenrode becomes the 24th Hochmeister of the Teutonic Order.
• 1672 - Former Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelis are brutally murdered by an angry mob in The Hague.
• 1775 - The Spanish establish a presidio (fort) in the town that became Tucson, Arizona.
• 1794 - Battle of Fallen Timbers - American troops force a confederacy of Shawnee, Mingo, Delaware, Wyandot, Miami, Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi warriors into a disorganized retreat.
• 1804 - Lewis and Clark Expedition: the "Corps of Discovery", exploring the Louisiana Purchase, suffers its only death when sergeant Charles Floyd dies, apparently from acute appendicitis.
• 1858 - Charles Darwin first publishes his theory of evolution in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, alongside Alfred Russel Wallace's same theory.
• 1866 - President Andrew Johnson formally declares the American Civil War over.
• 1882 - Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture debuts in Moscow.
• 1888 - Mutineers imprison Emin Pasha at Dufile.
• 1900 - Japan's primary school law is amended to provide for four years of mandatory schooling.
• 1914 - World War I: German forces occupy Brussels.
• 1920 - The first commercial radio station, 8MK (WWJ), begins operations in Detroit, Michigan.
• 1926 - Japan's public broadcasting company, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai(NHK) is established.
• 1938 - Lou Gehrig hits his 23rd career grand slam - a record that still stands.
• 1940 - In Mexico City exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky is fatally wounded with an ice axe by Ramon Mercader. He dies the next day.
• 1944 - World War II: the Battle of Romania begins with a major Soviet offensive.
• 1953 - The Soviet Union publicly acknowledges that it had tested a hydrogen bomb.
• 1955 - In Morocco, a force of Berbers from the Atlas Mountains region of Algeria raid two rural settlements and kill 77 French nationals.
• 1960 - Senegal breaks from the Mali federation, declaring its independence.
• 1968 - 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 5,000 tanks invade Czechoslovakia to end the "Prague Spring" of political liberalization.
• 1975 - Viking Program: NASA launches the Viking 1 planetary probe toward Mars.
• 1977 - Voyager Program: NASA launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
• 1979 - The East Coast Main Line rail route between England and Scotland is restored when the Penmanshiel Diversion opens.
• 1982 - Lebanese Civil War: a multinational force lands in Beirut to oversee the PLO's withdrawal from Lebanon.
• 1986 - In Edmond, Oklahoma, U.S. Postal employee Patrick Sherrill guns down 14 of his co-workers and then commits suicide.
• 1988 - "Black Saturday" of the Yellowstone fire in Yellowstone National Park
• 1988 - Peru becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
• 1988 - Iran–Iraq War: a cease-fire is agreed after almost eight years of war.
• 1991 - Collapse of the Soviet Union, August Coup: more than 100,000 people rally outside the Soviet Union's parliament building protesting the coup aiming to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev.
• 1991 - Estonia secedes from the Soviet Union.
• 1993 - After rounds of secret negotiations in Norway, the Oslo Peace Accords are signed, followed by a public ceremony in Washington, D.C. the following month.
• 1997 - Souhane massacre in Algeria; over 60 people are killed and 15 kidnapped.
• 1998 - The Supreme Court of Canada rules that Quebec cannot legally secede from Canada without the federal government's approval.
• 1998 - U.S. embassy bombings: the United States military launches cruise missile attacks against alleged al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan and a suspected chemical plant in Sudan in retaliation for the August 7 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum is destroyed in the attack.
• 2002 - A group of Iraqis opposed to the regime of Saddam Hussein take over the Iraqi Embassy in Berlin for five hours before releasing their hostages and surrendering.
• 2008 - Spanair Flight 5022, from Madrid to Gran Canaria, skids off the runway and crashes at Barajas Airport. 146 people are killed in the crash, 8 more die afterwards. Only 18 people survive.

• 1517 - Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, French church leader (d. 1586)
• 1561 - Jacopo Peri, Italian composer (d. 1633)
• 1625 - Thomas Corneille, French dramatist (d. 1709)
• 1632 - Louis Bourdaloue, French Jesuit preacher (d. 1704)
• 1710 - Thomas Simpson, British mathematician (d. 1761)
• 1719 - Charles-François de Broglie, marquis de Ruffec, French soldier and diplomat (d. 1791)
• 1719 - Christian Mayer, Czech astronomer (d. 1783)
• 1776 - Bernardo O'Higgins, South American revolutionary (d. 1842)
• 1779 - Jöns Jakob Berzelius, Swedish chemist (d. 1848)
• 1833 - Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the United States (d. 1901)
• 1845 - St. Albert Chmielowski, Polish Catholic Saint (d. 1916)
• 1847 - Bolesław Prus, Polish writer (d. 1912)
• 1847 - Andrew Greenwood, England cricketer (d. 1889)
• 1856 - Jakub Bart-Ćišinski, Sorbian writer (d. 1909)
• 1860 - Raymond Poincaré, French statesman (d. 1934)
• 1865 - Bernard Tancred, South African cricketer (d. 1911)
• 1868 - Ellen Roosevelt, American tennis player (d. 1954)
• 1873 - Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen, Finnish architect (d. 1950)
• 1881 - Edgar Guest, English poet (d. 1959)
• 1886 - Paul Tillich, German-American theologian (d. 1965)
• 1890 - H. P. Lovecraft, American writer (d. 1937)
• 1897 - Tarjei Vesaas, Norwegian writer (d. 1970)
• 1898 - Vilhelm Moberg, Swedish author and historian (d. 1973)
• 1901 - Salvatore Quasimodo, Italian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
• 1905 - Jean Gebser, German-born author, linguist, and poet (d. 1973)
• 1905 - Jack Teagarden, American musician (d. 1964)
• 1907 - Alan Reed, original voice of Fred Flintstone. (d. 1977)
• 1908 - Al Lopez, American baseball player and manager (d. 2005)
• 1909 - Alby Roberts, New Zealand cricketer (d. 1978)
• 1910 - Eero Saarinen, Finnish architect (d. 1961)
• 1913 - Roger Wolcott Sperry, American neurobiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1994)
• 1916 - Paul Felix Schmidt, Estonian–German chess player (d. 1984)
• 1918 - Jacqueline Susann, American novelist (d. 1974)
• 1921 - Jack Wilson, Australian cricketer (d. 1985)
• 1923 - Jim Reeves, American singer (d. 1964)
• 1926 - Nobby Wirkowski, American and Canadian football player and coach
• 1927 - Geriatric1927, English video blogger
• 1927 - Yootha Joyce, English actress (d. 1980)
• 1930 - Mario Bernardi, Canadian conductor
• 1931 - Don King, American boxing promoter
• 1932 - Anthony Ainley, British actor (d. 2004)
• 1932 - Vasily Aksyonov, Russian novelist
• 1932 - Atholl McKinnon, South African cricketer (d. 1983)
• 1933 - George J. Mitchell, former United States Senator
• 1934 - Armi Kuusela, Finnish beauty queen
• 1935 - Ron Paul, US Congressman, 1988 and 2008 presidential candidate
• 1936 - Hideki Shirakawa, Japanese chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1937 - Jim Bowen, English comedian
• 1937 - El Fary, Spanish singer and actor (d. 2007)
• 1937 - Andrei Konchalovsky, Russian film director
• 1938 - Alain Vivien, French politician
• 1939 - Fernando Poe Jr., Filipino actor and politician (d. 2004)
• 1940 - Rubén Hinojosa, American politician
• 1940 - Rex Sellers, Australian cricketer
• 1941 - Dave Brock, British musician and founder of Hawkwind
• 1941 - Rich Brooks, American football coach
• 1941 - Slobodan Milošević, President of Serbia and of Yugoslavia (d. 2006)
• 1941 - Robin Oakley, British journalist
• 1941 - Jo Ramirez, Mexican motor racing team manager and author
• 1942 - Isaac Hayes, American singer, songwriter, and actor (d. 2008)
• 1942 - Fred Norman, American baseball player
• 1943 - Sylvester McCoy, Scottish actor
• 1944 - Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India (d. 1991)
• 1944 - Graig Nettles, American baseball player
• 1946 - Connie Chung, American journalist
• 1946 - Ralf Hütter, German musician (Kraftwerk)
• 1946 - N.R. Narayana Murthy, Indian businessman
• 1947 - Alan Lee, English conceptual artist
• 1948 - John Noble, Australian actor
• 1948 - Robert Plant, British Musician (Led Zeppelin)
• 1949 - Nikolas Asimos, Greek composer and singer (d. 1988)
• 1949 - Norman Featherstone, South African cricketer
• 1949 - Alan Hardwick, English TV presenter
• 1949 - Phil Lynott, Irish musician (d. 1986)
• 1951 - Greg Bear, American author
• 1952 - John Emburey, English cricketer
• 1952 - Doug Fieger, American musician (The Knack)
• 1952 - John Hiatt, American musician
• 1954 - Tawn Mastrey, American disc jockey (d. 2007)
• 1954 - Al Roker, American television personality
• 1954 - Don Stark, American actor
• 1955 - Agnes Chan, Hong Kong singer and writer
• 1956 - Joan Allen, American actress
• 1956 - Alvin Greenidge, West Indian cricketer
• 1957 - Finlay Calder, Scottish rugby player
• 1958 - Patricia Rozema, Canadian film director and screenwriter
• 1961 - Greg Egan, Australian author
• 1961 - Joe Pasquale, English comedian
• 1962 - Sophie Aldred, English actress
• 1962 - James Marsters, American actor
• 1962 - Dong-Wook Song, South Korean tennis player
• 1965 - KRS-One, American rapper
• 1966 - Dimebag Darrell, American guitarist (Pantera and Damageplan) (d. 2004)
• 1967 - Andy Benes, American baseball player
• 1967 - Colin Cunningham, American actor
• 1967 - Terri Poch, American yogini and former professional wrestler
• 1968 - Klas Ingesson, Swedish footballer
• 1968 - Yuri Shiratori, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1969 - Duke Droese, American professional wrestler
• 1970 - Els Callens, Belgian tennis player
• 1970 - John D. Carmack, American computer game programmer
• 1970 - Fred Durst, American singer (Limp Bizkit)
• 1971 - Brad Avery, American musician (former guitarist for Third Day)
• 1971 - Jonathan Ke Quan, Vietnamese American actor
• 1971 - Steve Stone, English footballer
• 1971 - David Walliams, British comedian
• 1972 - Chaney Kley, American actor
• 1973 - Todd Helton, American baseball player
• 1974 - Amy Adams, American actress
• 1974 - Big Moe, American rapper (d. 2007)
• 1974 - Szabolcs Sáfár, Hungarian footballer
• 1974 - Andy Strachan, Australian musician (The Living End)
• 1974 - Maxim Vengerov, Russian violinist
• 1975 - Marianne Garvey, American reporter
• 1975 - Marcus Mastin, American author
• 1976 - Chris Drury, American hockey player
• 1977 - Felipe Contepomi, Argentine rugby player
• 1977 - Manuel Contepomi, Argentine rugby player
• 1977 - Ivar Ingimarsson, Icelandic footballer
• 1977 - Mayra Veronica, Cuban model and actress
• 1977 - James Ormond, England cricketer
• 1979 - Cory Sullivan, American baseball player
• 1980 - Corey Carrier, American actor
• 1980 - Rochelle Gadd, British actress
• 1981 - Benjamin Barnes, English actor (Prince Caspian)
• 1981 - Bernard Mendy, French footballer
• 1982 - Cléber Luis Alberti, Brazilian footballer
• 1982 - Youssouf Hersi, Ethiopian footballer
• 1982 - Joshua Kennedy, Australian footballer
• 1982 - Barney Rogers, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1984 - Mirai Moriyama, Japanese actor
• 1984 - Golan Yosef, Dutch actor
• 1986 - Robert Clark, Canadian actor
• 1987 - Cătălina Ponor, Romanian gymnast
• 1990 - Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Dutch swimmer
• 1991 - Marko Đoković, Serbian tennis player
• 1992 - Demi Lovato, American Actress
• 2003 - Prince Gabriel of Belgium

• 535 - Mochta of Louth, disciple of St. Patrick
• 984 - Pope John XIV
• 1384 - Geert Groote, Dutch founder of the Brethren of the Common Life (b. 1340)
• 1572 - Miguel López de Legazpi, Spanish conquistador (b. 1502)
• 1580 - Jeronymo Osorio, Portuguese historian (b. 1506)
• 1611 - Tomás Luis de Victoria, Spanish composer (b. 1548)
• 1639 - Martin Opitz von Boberfeld, German poet (b. 1597)
• 1643 - Anne Hutchinson, English Puritan preacher (b. 1591)
• 1648 - Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, English diplomat, poet, and philosopher (b. 1583)
• 1672 - Johan de Witt, Dutch politician (b. 1625)
• 1672 - Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician (b. 1623)
• 1680 - William Bedloe, English informer (b. 1650)
• 1701 - Charles Sedley, English playwright (b. 1639)
• 1707 - Nicolas Gigault, French organist and composer (b. 1627)
• 1773 - Enrique Florez, Spanish historian (b. 1701)
• 1811 - Louis Antoine de Bougainville, French explorer (b. 1729)
• 1823 - Pope Pius VII (b. 1740)
• 1825 - William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock, Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1753)
• 1887 - Jules Laforgue, French poet (b. 1860)
• 1904 - René Waldeck-Rousseau, French statesman (b. 1846)
• 1912 - William Booth, English founder of the Salvation Army (b. 1829)
• 1914 - Pope Pius X (b. 1835)
• 1915 - Paul Ehrlich, German scientist, Nobel laureate (b. 1854)
• 1917 - Adolf von Baeyer, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1835)
• 1919 - Greg MacGregor, England cricketer (b. 1869)
• 1930 - Charles Bannerman, Australian cricketer (b. 1851)
• 1959 - William Halsey, Jr, American admiral (b. 1882)
• 1961 - Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1882)
• 1963 - Joan Voûte, Dutch astronomer (b. 1879)
• 1965 - Jonathan Myrick Daniels, Civil Rights Martyr (b. 1939)
• 1971 - Rashid Minhas, Pakistani Air Force pilot (b. 1951)
• 1980 - Joe Dassin, American singer (b. 1938)
• 1982 - Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish actress (b. 1929)
• 1986 - Milton Acorn, Canadian poet (b. 1923)
• 1989 - George Adamson, India-born English game warden and lion expert (b. 1906)
• 1993 - Bernard Delfgaauw, Dutch philosopher (b. 1912)
• 1997 - Norris Bradbury, American physicist (b. 1909)
• 1997 - Léon Dion, French-Canadian political scientist (b. 1922)
• 1998 - Raquel Rastenni, Danish singer (b. 1915)
• 2001 - Sir Fred Hoyle, English astronomer and science fiction writer (b. 1915)
• 2001 - Kim Stanley, American actress (b. 1925)
• 2005 - Thomas Herrion, American football player (b. 1981)
• 2005 - Krzysztof Raczkowski, Polish drummer (b. 1970)
• 2006 - Claude Blanchard, French-Canadian singer, comedian and actor (b. 1932)
• 2006 - Joe Rosenthal, American photographer (b. 1911)
• 2006 - Cpl Bryan Budd VC, British soldier (Afghanistan) (b. 1977)
• 2007 - Leona Helmsley, American hotel operator and real estate investor (b. 1920)
• 2007 - Larry Hartsell, American martial artist, bodyguard, trainer, student of Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto (b. 1942)
• 2008 - Hua Guofeng, former Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, succeeding Mao Zedong in 1976 and being replaced by Hu Yaobang in 1981 (b. 1921)
• 2008 - Stephanie Tubbs Jones, American politician (b. 1949)
• 2008 - Gene Upshaw, American football player and union leader (b. 1945)

• World Union - World Union Day.
• Roman Catholic saints - Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
• Bahá'í Faith - Feast of Asmá (Names) - First day of the ninth month of the Bahá'í calendar.
• Hungary - St. Stephen's day, the main national holiday in Hungary.
• Estonia - Day of Restoration of Independence, celebrating the secession from the Soviet Union in 1991.

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada