Joe Biden
Joe Biden gives his acceptance speech virtually for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
What happened on August 20
32 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 917 to 2024.
Standout on August 20
2020
Joe Biden
Joe Biden gives his acceptance speech virtually for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
About August 20
August 20 is the 232nd day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 232 of 365 (233 in leap years)133 days left in the year (133 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Thursday in 2026, Friday in 2027, Sunday in 2028, Monday in 2029, Tuesday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 34 of 2026 · Q3
- Zodiac sign
- ♌ Leo (July 23 – August 22)
- Season
- Summer in the north · Winter in the south
- August birthstone
- Peridot / Spinel / Sardonyxstrength, good fortune and calm
- August birth flower
- Gladiolus / Poppystrength of character and remembrance
- Next occurrence
- In 297 days
- Roman numerals
- XX.VIIIday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 30thBunty Afoa1996
- 20thSri Lankan civil war2006
- 10thAugust 2016 Gaziantep bombing2016
- 5thIgor Vovkovinskiy2021
August 20 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- August 2016 Gaziantep bombing
- 25 years ago2001
- Nothing recorded
- 50 years ago1976
- Nothing recorded
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on August 20 — ages this year
- 2003Prince Gabriel of Belgiumturns 23
- 1998Lieke Klaverturns 28
- 1997Kaho Minagawaturns 29
- 1997Daniel Vladařturns 29
- 1996Bunty Afoaturns 30
- 1995Liana Liberatoturns 31
Historical events 32
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Silent Sam
Silent Sam, a Confederate monument on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was toppled by protestors.
August 2016 Gaziantep bombing
Fifty-four people are killed when a suicide bomber detonates himself at a Kurdish wedding party in Gaziantep, Turkey.
Hiroshima Prefecture
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.
2012 Yare prison riot
A prison riot in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, kills at least 20 people.
First Air Flight 6560
First Air Flight 6560 crashes 1 mile (1.6 km) from the Resolute Bay runway, killing 12 of the 15 aboard.
Spanair Flight 5022
Spanair Flight 5022 crashed just after take-off from Madrid's Barajas Airport, killing 154 people.
China Airlines Flight 120
China Airlines Flight 120 catches fire and explodes after landing at Naha Airport in Okinawa, Japan.
Sri Lankan civil war
Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil politician and former MP S. Sivamaharajah is shot dead at his home in Tellippalai.
Saddam Hussein
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.
1998 United States embassy bombings
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.
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada rules that Quebec cannot legally secede from Canada without the federal government's approval.
Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory
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.
Souhane massacre
Souhane massacre in Algeria; over 60 people are killed and 15 kidnapped.
Firozabad rail collision
The Firozabad rail disaster kills 358 people in Firozabad, India.
Meitei language
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.
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
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.
Estonia
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.
Dredging
After colliding with the dredger Bowbelle on the River Thames in London, the pleasure boat Marchioness sank in thirty seconds, killing 51 people.
Marchioness disaster
The pleasure boat Marchioness sinks on the River Thames following a collision. Fifty-one people are killed.
O-Bahn Busway
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).
Yellowstone fires of 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.
Iran–Iraq War
Iran–Iraq War: A ceasefire is agreed after almost eight years of war.
The Troubles
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.
Korean War
Korean War: United Nations forces repelled an attempt by North Korea to capture the city of Taegu.
National Football League
The American Professional Football Conference, a predecessor of the National Football League, was established in Canton, Ohio.
Washington (state)
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.
Pluto
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.
Celtic Park
Celtic Park, the largest football stadium in Scotland and home of Celtic F.C., opened.
War of the Spanish Succession
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.
Siege of Pensacola (1707)
The first Siege of Pensacola came to an end with the British and Creek abandoning their attempt to capture Pensacola in Spanish Florida.
Byzantine–Bulgarian wars
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.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
Igor Vovkovinskiy
Igor Vovkovinskiy, Ukrainian-American law student and actor, American tallest person (born 1982)
Egon Bahr
Egon Bahr, German journalist and politician, Federal Minister for Special Affairs of Germany (born 1922)
B. K. S. Iyengar
B. K. S. Iyengar, Indian yoga instructor and author, founded Iyengar Yoga (born 1918)
Lois Mai Chan
Lois Mai Chan, Taiwanese-American librarian, author, and academic (born 1934)
Elmore Leonard
Elmore Leonard, American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter (born 1925)
Holidays & observances 8
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Saint Amadour
Christian feast day: Amadour
Philibert of Jumièges
Christian feast day: Philibert of Jumièges
Samuel
Christian feast day: Samuel (prophet)
Heliodorus of Bet Zabdai
Christian feast day: Heliodorus of Bet Zabdai
Oswine of Deira
Christian feast day: Oswine of Deira
Maria De Mattias
Christian feast day: Maria De Mattias
Bernard of Clairvaux
Christian feast day: Bernard of Clairvaux
Beatification
Christian feast day: Blessed Georg Häfner
Spread across the centuries
- 10th century1
- 18th century2
- 19th century1
- 20th century37
- 21st century31
Earliest: Byzantine–Bulgarian wars (917). Most recent: Al Attles (2024).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about August 20
What day of the year is August 20?
August 20 is the 232nd day of the year, with 133 days left after it.
What star sign is August 20?
August 20 falls under Leo (July 23 – August 22), a fire sign ruled by Sun. The birthstone for the month is Peridot or Spinel or Sardonyx.
How many things happened on August 20?
We record 80 entries for August 20: 32 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 917 to 2024.
Who was born on August 20?
Prince Gabriel of Belgium (2003) is among the notable births on August 20. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the August 20 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like August 20
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.