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 233rd day of the year 2016 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 133 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is August 7, 2016 – a Saturday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 408,792 hours 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 ‘dihectatriacontatrigon’ 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 161 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 1,338 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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August 20 Historical Events
- 20 –Agrippa Postumus, adoptive-son of the late Roman Emperor Augustus, is executed by his guards while in exile under mysterious circumstances
- 1710 –War of the Spanish Succession: a multinational army led by the Austrian commander Guido Starhemberg defeats the Spanish-Bourbon army commanded by the Marquis de Bay in the Battle of Saragossa.
- 1910 –The Great Fire of 1910 (also commonly referred to as the Big Blowup or the Big Burn) occurred in northeast Washington, northern Idaho (the panhandle), and western Montana, burning approximately 3 e6acre.
- 1940 –British Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes the fourth of his famous wartime speeches, containing the line “Never was so much owed by so many to so few”.
- 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.
- 1988 –“Black Saturday” of the Yellowstone fire in Yellowstone National Park
- 1988 –Peru becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
- 1989 –The O-Bahn in Adelaide, the world’s longest guided busway, opens.
- 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?
- 1517 –Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, French church leader (d. 1586)
- 1930 –Peter Randall, British George Medal recipient (d. 2007)
- 1931 –Don King, American boxing promoter
- 1932 –Atholl McKinnon, South African cricketer (d. 1983)
- 1941 –Jo Ramirez, Mexican motor racing team manager and author
- 1949 –Norman Featherstone, South African cricketer
- 1949 –Phil Lynott, Irish musician (d. 1986)
- 1967 –Andy Benes, American baseball player
- 1974 –Maxim Vengerov, Russian violinist
- 1992 –Demi Lovato, American actress and singer
Who died on August 20?
- 1384 –Geert Groote, Dutch founder of the Brethren of the Common Life (b. 1340)
- 1572 –Miguel López de Legazpi, Spanish conquistador (b. 1502)
- 1701 –Charles Sedley, English playwright (b. 1639)
- 1919 –Greg MacGregor, England cricketer (b. 1869)
- 1993 –Bernard Delfgaauw, Dutch philosopher (b. 1912)
- 1997 –Norris Bradbury, American physicist (b. 1909)
- 2007 –Larry Hartsell, American martial artist, bodyguard, trainer, student of Bruce Lee and Dan Inosanto (b. 1942)
- 2007 –Leona Helmsley, American hotel operator and real estate investor (b. 1920)
- 2008 –Ed “Too Tall” Freeman, former U.S. Army helicopter pilot and Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1927)
- 2008 –Stephanie Tubbs Jones, American politician (b. 1949)
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