August 20

Events

 * - : forces led by  take control of  and  away from the, marking the first great wave of  conquests and the rapid advance of  outside.
 * - : Tsar invades  and drives the  out.
 * - The foundation of the, is established as a  kingdom by.
 * - becomes the 24th  of the.
 * - Former  and his   were brutally murdered by an angry mob in.
 * - -  troops force a confederacy of, , , , , , , and  warriors into a disorganized retreat.
 * - : The "", exploring the, suffers its only death when  dies, apparently from acute.
 * - President formally declared the  over.
 * - 's  debuts in.
 * - imprison  at.
 * - primary school law is amended to provide for four years of mandatory schooling.
 * - : forces occupy.
 * - The first commercial station, , begins operations in.
 * -  company,  is established.
 * - hits his 23rd career grand slam - a record that still stands.
 * - Exiled n revolutionary is fatally wounded in  by an assassin's ice axe. He dies the next day.
 * - The begins with a major  offensive.
 * - The publicly acknowledged it had tested a.
 * - In, a force of  from the  region of  raid two rural settlements and kill 77  nationals.
 * - breaks from the  federation, declaring independence.
 * - 200,000 troops and 5,000 s invade  to end the "" of political liberalization.
 * - All four Beatles were together in the recording studio for the final time as they finished the LP.
 * - Congress votes to reduce aid to South Vietnam from $1 Billion to $700 Million. Majority of the cuts were for military supplies.
 * - : launches the  planetary probe toward.
 * - : The launches the  spacecraft.
 * - The rail route between  and  is restored when the  opens.
 * - : A multinational force lands in to oversee the  withdrawal from.
 * - In, employee  guns down 14 of his co-workers and then commits.
 * - "Black Saturday" of the in
 * 1988  -  becomes a member of the.
 * 1988  - : A  is agreed to after almost eight years of war.
 * -, : More than 100,000 people rally outside the 's parliament building protesting the aiming to depose.
 * 1991  -  secedes from the.
 * - After rounds of secret negotiations in, the were signed, followed by a public ceremony in  the next month.
 * - in ; over 60 people killed, 15 kidnapped.
 * - The states  cannot legally secede from  without the federal government's approval.
 * 1998 - : The  launches  attacks against alleged  camps in  and a suspected chemical plant in  in retaliation for the  bombings of  embassies in  and . The  in  is destroyed in the attack.
 * - A group of s opposed to the regime of took over the Iraqi  in  for five hours before releasing their hostages and giving up.

Births

 * -, French church leader (d. )
 * -, Italian composer (d. )
 * -, French dramatist (d. )
 * -, French Jesuit preacher (d. )
 * -, British mathematician (d. )
 * -, Czech astronomer (d. )
 * 1719  -, French soldier and diplomat (d. )
 * -, South American revolutionary (d. )
 * -, Swedish chemist (d. )
 * -, 23rd (d. )
 * -, Polish Catholic Saint (d. )
 * -, Polish writer (d. )
 * -, Sorbian writer (d. )
 * -, French statesman (d. )
 * -, Finnish architect (d. )
 * -, English poet (d. )
 * -, American writer (d. )
 * -, Norwegian writer (d. )
 * -, Swedish author and historian (d. )
 * -, Italian writer, laureate (d. )
 * -, German-born author, linguist, and poet (d. )
 * 1905  -, American musician (d. )
 * -, baseball player and manager (d. )
 * -, Finnish architect (d. )
 * -, American neurobiologist, recipient of the (d. )
 * -, Estonian–German chess player (d. )
 * -, American novelist (d. )
 * -, American singer (d. )
 * -, American and Canadian football player and coach
 * -, English video blogger
 * -, Canadian conductor
 * -, British actor (d. )
 * 1932  -, Russian novelist
 * -, Finnish beauty queen
 * -, American politician
 * -, Japanese chemist, laureate
 * -, Russian film director
 * -, Spanish singer and actor (d. )
 * -, English comedian
 * -, French politician
 * -, Filipino actor and presidential candidate (d. )
 * -, American politician
 * -, and of  (d. )
 * 1941  -, American football coach
 * 1941  -, British journalist
 * -, American singer, songwriter, and actor
 * 1942  -, American baseball player
 * -, Scottish actor
 * -, (d. )
 * -, American journalist
 * 1946  -, German musician
 * 1946  -, Indian businessman
 * -, English conceptual artist
 * -, English singer
 * 1948  -, Australian actor
 * -, Irish musician (d. )
 * 1949  -, Greek composer and singer (d. )
 * -, American author
 * -, American musician
 * 1952  -, American musician
 * -, American disc jockey, music video producer (d. )
 * 1954  -, American television broadcaster
 * 1954  -, American actor
 * -, Hong Kong singer and writer
 * -, American actress
 * -, rugby player
 * -, Australian author
 * -, English comedian
 * -, English actress
 * 1962  -, American actor
 * 1962  -, South Korean tennis player
 * -, American rapper
 * -, American guitarist ( and ) (d. )
 * -, baseball player
 * 1967  -, American actor
 * -, Japanese voice actress and singer
 * -, American professional wrestler
 * -, American computer game programmer
 * 1970  -, American singer
 * -, English footballer
 * 1971  -, Vietnamese American actor
 * 1971  -, British comedian
 * -, baseball player
 * -, American rapper (d. )
 * 1974  -, Russian violinist
 * -, American actress
 * 1975  -, Australian musician
 * -, American author
 * -, American hockey player
 * -, Argentine rugby player
 * 1977  -, Argentine rugby player
 * 1977  -, Icelandic footballer
 * 1977  -, Cuban model and actress
 * -, baseball player
 * -, British actress
 * 1980   -, American actor
 * -, French footballer
 * -, Australian footballer
 * 1982  -, Ethiopian footballer
 * 1982  -, Brazilian footballer
 * -, Japanese actor
 * -, Canadian actor
 * -, Romanian gymnast

Deaths

 * - of, disciple of
 * -, Dutch founder of the Brethren of the Common Life (b. )
 * -, Spanish conquistador (b. )
 * -, Portuguese historian (b. )
 * -, Spanish composer (b. )
 * -, German poet (b. )
 * -, English Puritan preacher (b. )
 * -, English diplomat, poet, and philosopher (b. )
 * -, Dutch politician (b. )
 * 1672  -, Dutch politician (b. )
 * -, English informer (b. )
 * -, English playwright (b. )
 * -, French organist and composer (b. )
 * -, Spanish historian (b. )
 * -, French explorer (b. )
 * - (b. )
 * -, Governor of Newfoundland (b. )
 * -, French poet (b. )
 * -, French statesman (b. )
 * -, English founder of the Salvation Army (b. )
 * - (b. )
 * -, German scientist, (b. )
 * -, German chemist, (b. )
 * -, American admiral (b. )
 * -, Australian cricketer (b. )
 * -, American physicist, (b. )
 * -, Martyr (b. )
 * -, Pakistani Air Force pilot (b. )
 * -, American singer (b. )
 * -, Swedish actress (b. )
 * -, Canadian poet (b. )
 * -, India-born English game warden and lion expert (b. )
 * -, Dutch philosopher (b. )
 * -, American physicist (b. )
 * 1997  -, French-Canadian political scientist (b. )
 * -, Danish singer (b. )
 * - Sir, English astronomer and science fiction writer (b. )
 * 2001  -, American actress (b. )
 * -, American football player (b. )
 * 2005  -, Polish drummer (b. )
 * -, French-Canadian singer, comedian and actor (b. )
 * 2006  -, American photographer (b. )
 * -, American hotel operator and real estate investor (b. )
 * -, American martial artist, bodyguard, trainer, student of and  (b. )
 * -, American martial artist, bodyguard, trainer, student of and  (b. )

Holidays and observances

 * - Saint
 * - Feast of  - First day of the ninth month of the.
 * - 's day, the main national holiday in.
 * - 's day, the main national holiday in.
 * - 's day, the main national holiday in.