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 2019 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 133 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is August 7, 2019 – a Tuesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 26,104,320 minutes 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 158 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 2,433 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
- 917 –Battle of Acheloos: Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria decisively defeats a Byzantine army.
- 1000 –The foundation of the Hungarian state by Saint Stephen. Today celebrated as a National Day in Hungary.
- 1083 –Canonization of the first King of Hungary, Saint Stephen and his son Saint Emeric.
- 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.
- 1882 –Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture debuts in Moscow.
- 1991 –Estonia, annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940, issues a decision on the re-establishment of independence on the basis of historical continuity of her pre-World War II statehood.
- 1998 –The Supreme Court of Canada rules that Quebec cannot legally secede from Canada without the federal government’s approval.
- 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?
- 1625 –Thomas Corneille, French dramatist (d. 1709)
- 1845 –St. Albert Chmielowski, Polish Catholic Saint (d. 1916)
- 1905 –Jean Gebser, German-born author, linguist, and poet (d. 1973)
- 1937 –Jim Bowen, English comedian
- 1940 –Rubén Hinojosa, American politician
- 1949 –Patrick Kilpatrick, American actor
- 1956 –Alvin Greenidge, West Indian cricketer
- 1968 –Klas Ingesson, Swedish footballer
- 1974 –Misha Collins, American actor and producer
- 1980 –Samuel Dumoulin, French cyclist
Who died on August 20?
- 1707 –Nicolas Gigault, French organist and composer (b. 1627)
- 1773 –Enrique Florez, Spanish historian (b. 1701)
- 1825 –William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock, Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1753)
- 1917 –Adolf von Baeyer, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1835)
- 1963 –Joan Voûte, Dutch astronomer (b. 1879)
- 1971 –Rashid Minhas, Pakistani Air Force pilot (b. 1951)
- 1997 –Norris Bradbury, American physicist (b. 1909)
- 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)
- 2009 –Larry Knechtel, American keyboard player and bassist (b. 1940)
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