What are the important events that happened on August 20? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
August 20: Facts & Myths About This Day
August 20 is the 232nd day of the year 2017 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 133 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is August 7, 2017 – a Sunday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 1,503,187,200 seconds has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectatriacontadigon’ day.
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Leo is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Peridot is the modern birthstone for this month. Diamond is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 183 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 1,703 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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August 20 Historical Events
- 1308 –Pope Clement V pardons Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, absolving him of charges of heresy.
- 1914 –World War I: German forces occupy Brussels.
- 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.
- 1950 –Korean War: United Nations repel an offensive by North Korean divisions attempting to cross the Naktong River and assault the city of Taegu.
- 1986 –In Edmond, Oklahoma, U.S. Postal employee Patrick Sherrill guns down 14 of his co-workers and then commits suicide.
- 1988 –The Troubles: Eight British Army soldiers are killed and 28 wounded when their bus is hit by a Provisional Irish Republican Army roadside bomb in Northern Ireland (see Ballygawley bus bombing).
- 1991 –Dissolution 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.
- 1998 –U.S. embassy bombings: the United States 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.
- 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.
Who were born on August 20?
- 1881 –Edgar Guest, English poet (d. 1959)
- 1905 –Jack Teagarden, American musician (d. 1964)
- 1927 –Geriatric1927, English video blogger
- 1952 –Doug Fieger, American musician (The Knack) (d. 2010)
- 1961 –Greg Egan, Australian author
- 1968 –Klas Ingesson, Swedish footballer
- 1974 –Andy Strachan, Australian musician (The Living End)
- 1976 –Chris Drury, American hockey player
- 1982 –Cléber Luis Alberti, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 –Robert Clark, Canadian actor
Who died on August 20?
- 1707 –Nicolas Gigault, French organist and composer (b. 1627)
- 1915 –Paul Ehrlich, German scientist, Nobel laureate (b. 1854)
- 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)
- 2001 –Kim Stanley, American actress (b. 1925)
- 2005 –Thomas Herrion, American football player (b. 1981)
- 2006 –Claude Blanchard, French-Canadian singer, comedian and actor (b. 1932)
- 2010 –Dang Phong, Vietnamese historian (b. 1937)
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