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August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 133 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 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 Acheloos: Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria decisively defeats a Byzantine army.
- 1083 – Canonization of the first King of Hungary, Saint Stephen and his son Saint Emeric. Celebrated as a National Day in Hungary, commemorating the foundation of the state in the year 1000.
- 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.
- 1989 – The pleasure boat Marchioness sinks on the River Thames following a collision, 51 people are killed.
- 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.
- 1999 – Tony Martin confronts two burglars in his farmhouse in Emneth Hungate, Norfolk. Martin shoots both Brendon Fearon and Fred Barras with a pump-action shotgun, with Barras later dying of his injuries.
- 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.
Births
- 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)
- 1778 – 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 – Andrew Greenwood, England cricketer (d. 1889)
- 1847 – Bolesław Prus, Polish writer (d. 1912)
- 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, US country music singer (d.1964)
- 1924 – George Zuverink, American baseball player
- 1926 – Nobby Wirkowski, American and Canadian football player and coach
- 1927 – Geriatric1927, English video blogger
- 1927 – Yootha Joyce, English actress (d. 1980)
- 1929 – Kevin Heffernan, Gaelic footballer
- 1930 – Mario Bernardi, Canadian conductor
- 1931 – Don King, American boxing promoter
- 1932 – Anthony Ainley, British actor (d. 2004)
- 1932 – Vasily Aksyonov, Russian novelist (d. 2009)
- 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
- 1953 – Gerry Bertier, American wheelchair Olympian (d. 1981)
- 1954 – Quinn Buckner, American basketball player and coach
- 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
- 1958 – John Stehr, American journalist
- 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 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 – 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
- 1974 – Misha Collins, American actor and producer
- 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 – Jamie Cullum, British musician
- 1979 – Cory Sullivan, American baseball player
- 1979 – Haha, South Korean entertainer
- 1980 – Corey Carrier, American actor
- 1980 – Rochelle Gadd, British actress
- 1981 – Ben Barnes, English actor
- 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
- 1986 – Robert Clark, Canadian actor
- 1987 – Cătălina Ponor, Romanian gymnast
- 1988 – Jerryd Bayless, American basketball player
- 1990 – Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Dutch swimmer
- 1991 – Marko Đoković, Serbian tennis player
- 1992 – Demi Lovato, American actress and singer
- 1992 – Matej Delač, Croatian footballer
- 1995 – Liana Liberato, American actress
- 2003 – Prince Gabriel of Belgium
Deaths
- 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)
- 1996 – Rio Reiser, German rock musician and singer (b. 1950)
- 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, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (b. 1921)
- 2008 – Stephanie Tubbs Jones, American politician (b. 1949)
- 2008 – Gene Upshaw, American football player and union leader (b. 1945)
- 2009 – Larry Knechtel, American keyboard player and bassist (b. 1940)
Holidays and observances
External links
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