On This Day in History — August 20

Highlights of August 20

• 2018 — Silent Sam, a Confederate monument on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was toppled by protestors. Read more
• 2008 — Spanair Flight 5022 crashed just after take-off from Madrid's Barajas Airport, killing 154 people. Read more
• 1998 — The Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory (pictured) in Sudan was destroyed by a missile attack launched by the United States in retaliation for the August 7 U.S. embassy bombings. Read more
• 1989 — After colliding with the dredger Bowbelle on the River Thames in London, the pleasure boat Marchioness sank in thirty seconds, killing 51 people. Read more
• 1989 — The final stage of the O-Bahn Busway in Adelaide, South Australia, was finished, completing at the time the world's longest and fastest guided busway, with buses (example pictured) travelling 12 km (7.5 mi) at speeds of up to 100 km/h (62 mph). Read more
• 1988 — The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army bombed a bus carrying British Army soldiers in Northern Ireland, killing eight of them and wounding twenty-eight. Read more
• 1988 — More than 150,000 acres (610 km2) were burned on the worst day of the largest wildfire in the recorded history of Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Read more
• 1950 — Korean War: United Nations forces repelled an attempt by North Korea to capture the city of Taegu. Read more
• 1920 — The American Professional Football Conference, a predecessor of the National Football League, was established in Canton, Ohio. Read more
• 1910 — Hurricane-force winds combined hundreds of small fires in the U.S. states of Washington and Idaho into the Devil's Broom fire, which burned about 4,700 square miles (12,100 km²), the largest fire in recorded U.S. history. Read more
• 1909 — Pluto (pictured) was photographed for the first time at the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, U.S., 21 years before it was officially discovered by Clyde Tombaugh. Read more
• 1892 — Celtic Park, the largest football stadium in Scotland and home of Celtic F.C., opened. Read more
• 1710 — War of the Spanish Succession: A Spanish Bourbon army commanded by the Marquis de Bay was soundly defeated by a multinational army led by the Austrian commander Guido Starhemberg. Read more
• 1707 — The first Siege of Pensacola came to an end with the British and Creek abandoning their attempt to capture Pensacola in Spanish Florida. Read more
• 917 — Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: Bulgarian forces led by Tsar Simeon I drove the Byzantines out of Thrace with a decisive victory at the Battle of Achelous. Read more

Events

• 2020 — Joe Biden gives his acceptance speech virtually for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Read more
• 2016 — Fifty-four people are killed when a suicide bomber detonates himself at a Kurdish wedding party in Gaziantep, Turkey. Read more
• 2014 — Seventy-two people are killed in Japan's Hiroshima Prefecture by a series of landslides caused by a month's worth of rain that fell in one day. Read more
• 2012 — A prison riot in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, kills at least 20 people. Read more
• 2011 — First Air Flight 6560 crashes 1 mile (1.6 km) from the Resolute Bay runway, killing 12 of the 15 aboard. Read more
• 2008 — Spanair Flight 5022, from Madrid, Spain to Gran Canaria, skids off the runway and crashes at Barajas Airport. Of the 172 people on board, 146 die immediately, and eight more later die of injuries sustained in the crash. Read more
• 2007 — China Airlines Flight 120 catches fire and explodes after landing at Naha Airport in Okinawa, Japan. Read more
• 2006 — Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil politician and former MP S. Sivamaharajah is shot dead at his home in Tellippalai. Read more
• 2002 — A group of Iraqis opposed to the regime of Saddam Hussein take over the Iraqi embassy in Berlin, Germany for five hours before releasing their hostages and surrendering. Read more
• 1998 — The Supreme Court of Canada rules that Quebec cannot legally secede from Canada without the federal government's approval. Read more
• 1998 — U.S. embassy bombings: The United States launches cruise missile attacks against alleged al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and a suspected chemical weapons plant in Sudan in retaliation for the August 7 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Read more
• 1997 — Souhane massacre in Algeria; over 60 people are killed and 15 kidnapped. Read more
• 1995 — The Firozabad rail disaster kills 358 people in Firozabad, India. Read more
• 1992 — In India, Meitei language (officially known as Manipuri language) is included in the scheduled languages' list and made one of the official languages of the Indian Government. Read more
• 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. Read more
• 1991 — Estonia, occupied by and incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940, issues a decision on the re-establishment of independence on the basis of legal continuity of its pre-occupation statehood. Read more
• 1989 — The pleasure boat Marchioness sinks on the River Thames following a collision. Fifty-one people are killed. Read more
• 1988 — "Black Saturday" of the Yellowstone fire in Yellowstone National Park. Read more
• 1988 — Iran–Iraq War: A ceasefire is agreed after almost eight years of war. Read more
• 1988 — The Troubles: Eight British soldiers are killed and 28 wounded when their bus is hit by an IRA roadside bomb in Ballygawley, County Tyrone. Read more
• 1986 — In Edmond, Oklahoma, U.S. Postal employee Patrick Sherrill shoots and kills 14 of his co-workers and then commits suicide. Read more
• 1977 — Voyager program: NASA launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Read more
• 1975 — Viking program: NASA launches the Viking 1 planetary probe toward Mars. Read more
• 1975 — ČSA Flight 540 crashes on approach to Damascus International Airport in Damascus, Syria, killing 126 people. Read more
• 1968 — Cold War: Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia, crushing the Prague Spring. East German participation is limited to a few specialists due to memories of the recent war. Only Albania and Romania refuse to participate. Read more
• 1962 — The NS Savannah, the world's first nuclear-powered civilian ship, embarks on its maiden voyage. Read more
• 1960 — Senegal breaks from the Mali Federation, declaring its independence. Read more
• 1955 — Battle of Philippeville: In Algeria, a force of Berbers from the Atlas Mountains region of Algeria raid two rural settlements and kill 77 French nationals. Read more
• 1949 — Hungary adopts the Hungarian Constitution of 1949 and becomes a People's Republic. Read more
• 1948 — Soviet Consul General in New York, Jacob M. Lomakin is expelled by the United States, due to the Kasenkina Case. Read more
• 1944 — World War II: One hundred sixty-eight captured allied airmen, including Phil Lamason, accused by the Gestapo of being "terror fliers", arrive at Buchenwald concentration camp. Read more
• 1944 — World War II: The Battle of Romania begins with a major Soviet Union offensive. Read more
• 1940 — In Mexico City, exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky is fatally wounded with an ice axe by Ramón Mercader. He dies the next day. Read more
• 1940 — World War II: 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". Read more
• 1940 — World War II: The Eighth Route Army launches the Hundred Regiments Offensive, a successful campaign to disrupt Japanese war infrastructure and logistics in occupied northern China. Read more
• 1926 — Japan's public broadcasting company, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK) is established. Read more
• 1920 — The first commercial radio station, 8MK (now WWJ), begins operations in Detroit. Read more
• 1920 — The National Football League is organized as the American Professional Football Conference in Canton, Ohio. Read more
• 1914 — World War I: Brussels is captured during the German invasion of Belgium. Read more
• 1910 — Extreme fire weather in the Inland Northwest of the United States causes many small wildfires to coalesce into the Great Fire of 1910, burning approximately 3 million acres (12,000 km2) and killing 87 people. Read more
• 1905 — Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and others establish the Tongmenghui, a Republican, anti-Qing revolutionary organisation, in Tokyo, Japan. Read more
• 1882 — Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture debuts in Moscow, Russia. Read more
• 1866 — President Andrew Johnson formally declares the American Civil War over. Read more
• 1864 — Bakumatsu: Kinmon incident: The Chōshū Domain attempts to expel the Satsuma and Aizu Domains from Japan's imperial court. Read more
• 1858 — Charles Darwin first publishes his theory of evolution through natural selection in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, alongside Alfred Russel Wallace's same theory. Read more
• 1852 — Steamboat Atlantic sinks on Lake Erie after a collision, with the loss of at least 150 lives. Read more
• 1794 — Northwest Indian War: United States troops force the United Indian Nations, a confederacy of Shawnee, Mingo, Lenape, Wyandot, Miami, Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi warriors, into a disorganized retreat at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. Read more
• 1775 — The Spanish establish the Presidio San Augustin del Tucson in the town that became Tucson, Arizona. Read more
• 1710 — War of the Spanish Succession: A multinational army led by the Austrian commander Guido Starhemberg defeats the Spanish-Bourbon army commanded by Alexandre Maître, Marquis de Bay in the Battle of Saragossa. Read more
• 1707 — The first Siege of Pensacola comes to an end with the failure of the British to capture Pensacola, Florida. Read more
• 1672 — Former Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelis are lynched by a mob in The Hague. Read more
• 1648 — The Battle of Lens is the last major military confrontation of the Thirty Years' War, contributing to the signing of the Peace of Westphalia in October that year. Read more
• 1519 — On the third day of battle, philosopher and general Wang Yangming defeats Zhu Chenhao, ending the Prince of Ning rebellion against the reign of the Ming dynasty's Zhengde Emperor. Read more
• 1467 — The Second Battle of Olmedo takes places as part of a succession conflict between Henry IV of Castile and his half-brother Alfonso, Prince of Asturias. Read more
• 1308 — At the conclusion of the interrogation of the leaders of the Knights Templar, the three papal investigators, Cardinals Bérenger Frédol, Etienne de Suisy and Landolfo Brancacci, write the "Chinon Parchment", in which they affirm that the accused Templars had confessed, done penance, and were absolved of heresy. Read more
• 1191 — Believing Saladin had reneged on ransom promises, Richard I of England initiates the massacre at Ayyadieh, beheading 2,700 captive Muslim soldiers and another 300 women and children seized at the Fall of Acre. Read more
• 1119 — King Henry I of England defeats king Louis VI of France in the battle of Brémule. Read more
• 1083 — The first King of Hungary, Stephen I, and his son, Prince Emeric, are canonized, a date now celebrated as a National Day in Hungary. Read more
• 1057 — An army under Isaac I Komnenos defeat forces loyal to rival emperor Michael VI Bringas in the battle of Hades. Read more
• 917 — Battle of Acheloos: Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria decisively defeats a Byzantine army. Read more

Born on August 20

• 2003 — Prince Gabriel of Belgium Read more
• 1998 — Lieke Klaver, Dutch track and field athlete Read more
• 1997 — Kaho Minagawa, Japanese rhythmic gymnast Read more
• 1997 — Daniel Vladař, Czech ice hockey player Read more
• 1996 — Bunty Afoa, New Zealand rugby league player Read more
• 1995 — Liana Liberato, American actress Read more
• 1994 — Mitchell Trubisky, American football player Read more
• 1993 — Tonisha Rock-Yaw, Barbadian netball player Read more
• 1992 — Carolina Horta, Brazilian beach volleyball player Read more
• 1992 — Demi Lovato, American singer-songwriter and actress Read more
• 1992 — Alex Newell, American actor and singer Read more
• 1992 — Deniss Rakels, Latvian footballer Read more
• 1992 — Callum Skinner, Scottish track cyclist Read more
• 1991 — Marko Djokovic, Serbian tennis player Read more
• 1991 — Jyrki Jokipakka, Finnish hockey player Read more
• 1991 — Cory Joseph, Canadian basketball player Read more
• 1990 — Macauley Chrisantus, Nigerian footballer Read more
• 1990 — Culoe De Song, South African music producer and DJ Read more
• 1990 — Leigh Griffiths, Scottish footballer Read more
• 1990 — Bradley Klahn, American tennis player Read more
• 1990 — Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Dutch swimmer Read more
• 1989 — Kirko Bangz, American rapper and producer Read more
• 1989 — Silas Kiplagat, Kenyan runner Read more
• 1989 — Slavcho Shokolarov, Bulgarian footballer Read more
• 1989 — Judd Trump, English snooker player Read more
• 1989 — Dean Winnard, English footballer Read more
• 1988 — Jerryd Bayless, American basketball player Read more
• 1988 — Sarah R, Lotfi, American director, producer, and screenwriter Read more
• 1988 — José Zamora, Spanish footballer Read more
• 1987 — Stefan Aigner, German footballer Read more
• 1987 — Gunther, Austrian wrestler Read more
• 1987 — Vedran Janjetović, Croatian-Australian footballer Read more
• 1987 — Sido Jombati, Portuguese footballer Read more
• 1987 — Egon Kaur, Estonian race car driver Read more
• 1986 — Andrew Surman, South African-English footballer Read more
• 1985 — Brant Daugherty, American actor Read more
• 1985 — Thomas Domingo, French rugby player Read more
• 1985 — Joe Vitale, American ice hockey player Read more
• 1985 — Stephen Ward, Irish footballer Read more
• 1984 — Aílton José Almeida, Brazilian footballer Read more

Died on August 20

• 2024 — Al Attles, American basketball player and coach (born 1936) Read more
• 2022 — Darya Dugina, Russian journalist (born 1992) Read more
• 2021 — Igor Vovkovinskiy, Ukrainian-American law student and actor, American tallest person (born 1982) Read more
• 2020 — Chi Chi DeVayne, American Drag Queen (born 1985) Read more
• 2018 — Uri Avnery, Israeli writer, politician and peace activist (born 1923) Read more
• 2018 — Jennifer Ramírez Rivero, Venezuelan model (born 1978) Read more
• 2017 — Jerry Lewis, American actor and comedian (born 1926) Read more
• 2015 — Egon Bahr, German journalist and politician, Federal Minister for Special Affairs of Germany (born 1922) Read more
• 2015 — Paul Kibblewhite, New Zealand chemist and engineer (born 1941) Read more
• 2014 — Anton Buslov, Russian astrophysicist and journalist (born 1983) Read more
• 2014 — Lois Mai Chan, Taiwanese-American librarian, author, and academic (born 1934) Read more
• 2014 — Boris Dubin, Russian sociologist and academic (born 1946) Read more
• 2014 — B. K. S. Iyengar, Indian yoga instructor and author, founded Iyengar Yoga (born 1918) Read more
• 2014 — Buddy MacMaster, Canadian singer-songwriter and fiddler (born 1924) Read more
• 2014 — Sava Stojkov, Serbian painter and educator (born 1925) Read more
• 2014 — Edmund Szoka, American cardinal (born 1927) Read more
• 2013 — Sathima Bea Benjamin, South African singer-songwriter (born 1936) Read more
• 2013 — Narendra Dabholkar, Indian author and activist (born 1945) Read more
• 2013 — Elmore Leonard, American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter (born 1925) Read more
• 2013 — Marian McPartland, English-American pianist and composer (born 1918) Read more
• 2013 — Ted Post, American director and screenwriter (born 1918) Read more
• 2012 — Phyllis Diller, American actress and comedian (born 1917) Read more
• 2012 — Daryl Hine, Canadian-American poet and academic (born 1936) Read more
• 2012 — Dom Mintoff, Maltese journalist and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Malta (born 1916) Read more
• 2012 — Mika Yamamoto, Japanese journalist (born 1967) Read more
• 2012 — Meles Zenawi, Ethiopian soldier and politician, Prime Minister of Ethiopia (born 1955) Read more
• 2011 — Ram Sharan Sharma, Indian historian and academic (born 1919) Read more
• 2010 — Đặng Phong, Vietnamese economist and historian (born 1937) Read more
• 2009 — Larry Knechtel, American keyboardist and bass player (born 1940) Read more
• 2009 — Karla Kuskin, American author and illustrator (born 1932) Read more
• 2008 — Ed Freeman, American soldier and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1927) Read more
• 2008 — Hua Guofeng, Chinese politician, 2nd Premier of the People's Republic of China (born 1921) Read more
• 2008 — Stephanie Tubbs Jones, American lawyer and politician (born 1949) Read more
• 2008 — Gene Upshaw, American football player (born 1945) Read more
• 2007 — Leona Helmsley, American businesswoman (born 1920) Read more
• 2006 — Bryan Budd, Northern Ireland-born English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1977) Read more
• 2006 — Joe Rosenthal, American photographer and journalist (born 1911) Read more
• 2006 — S. Sivamaharajah, Sri Lankan Tamil newspaper publisher and politician (born 1938) Read more
• 2005 — Thomas Herrion, American football player (born 1981) Read more
• 2005 — Krzysztof Raczkowski, Polish drummer and songwriter (born 1970) Read more

Holidays & observances

Christian feast day: Amadour; Christian feast day: Bernard of Clairvaux; Christian feast day: Blessed Georg Häfner; Christian feast day: Heliodorus of Bet Zabdai; Christian feast day: Maria De Mattias; Christian feast day: Oswine of Deira; Christian feast day: Philibert of Jumièges; Christian feast day: Samuel (prophet); Christian feast day: William and Catherine Booth (Church of England); Christian feast day: August 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Feast of Asmá’ (Baháʼí Faith, only if Baháʼí Naw-Rúz falls on March 21); Indian Akshay Urja Day (India); Independence Restoration Day (Estonia), re-declaration of the independence of Estonia from the Soviet Union in 1991.; Meitei Language Day, also known as Manipuri Language Day, the day on which Meitei (Manipuri) was included in the scheduled languages' list and made one of the official languages of India.; Revolution of the King and the People (Morocco); Saint Stephen's Day (Hungary); World Mosquito Day

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