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On This Day

August 20

YEAR 2020

Joe Biden gives his acceptance speech virtually for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

Joe Biden gives his acceptance speech virtually for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

YEAR 2011

First Air Flight 6560 crashes 1 mile from the Resolute Bay runway, killing 12 of the 15 aboard.

First Air Flight 6560 crashes 1 mile from the Resolute Bay runway, killing 12 of the 15 aboard.

YEAR 1995

The Firozabad rail disaster kills 358 people in Firozabad, India.

The Firozabad rail disaster kills 358 people in Firozabad, India.

YEAR 1992

In India, Meitei language (officially known as Manipuri language) was included in the scheduled languages' list and made one of the official languages...

In India, Meitei language (officially known as Manipuri language) was included in the scheduled languages' list and made one of the official languages of the Indian Government.

YEAR 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...

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.

YEAR 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 c...

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.

YEAR 1977

Voyager program: NASA launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft.

Voyager program: NASA launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft.

YEAR 1975

Viking program: NASA launches the Viking 1 planetary probe toward Mars.

Viking program: NASA launches the Viking 1 planetary probe toward Mars.

YEAR 1962

The NS Savannah, the world's first nuclear-powered civilian ship, embarks on its maiden voyage.

The NS Savannah, the world's first nuclear-powered civilian ship, embarks on its maiden voyage.

YEAR 1960

Senegal breaks from the Mali Federation, declaring its independence.

Senegal breaks from the Mali Federation, declaring its independence.

YEAR 1944

World War II: One hundred sixty-eight captured allied airmen, including Phil Lamason, accused by the Gestapo of being "terror fliers", arrive at Buche...

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.

YEAR 1944

World War II: The Battle of Romania begins with a major Soviet Union offensive.

World War II: The Battle of Romania begins with a major Soviet Union offensive.

YEAR 1940

In Mexico City, exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky is fatally wounded with an ice axe by Ramón Mercader. He dies the next day.

In Mexico City, exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky is fatally wounded with an ice axe by Ramón Mercader. He dies the next day.

YEAR 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...

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".

YEAR 1940

World War II: The Eighth Route Army launches the Hundred Regiments Offensive, a successful campaign to disrupt Japanese war infrastructure and logisti...

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.

YEAR 1920

The first commercial radio station, 8MK (now WWJ), begins operations in Detroit.

The first commercial radio station, 8MK (now WWJ), begins operations in Detroit.

YEAR 1914

World War I: Brussels is captured during the German invasion of Belgium.

World War I: Brussels is captured during the German invasion of Belgium.

YEAR 1905

Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and others establish the Tongmenghui, a Republican, anti-Qing revolutionary organisation, in Tokyo, Japan.

Sun Yat-sen, Song Jiaoren, and others establish the Tongmenghui, a Republican, anti-Qing revolutionary organisation, in Tokyo, Japan.

YEAR 1866

President Andrew Johnson formally declares the American Civil War over.

President Andrew Johnson formally declares the American Civil War over.

YEAR 1858

Charles Darwin first publishes his theory of evolution through natural selection in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, a...

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.