Summary of the Day ✨ 20 August (20/08)
Joe Biden accepted the Democratic presidential nomination in a virtual address as the nation grappled with multiple tragedies, including a deadly suicide bombing at a Kurdish wedding in Turkey, catastrophic landslides in Japan that killed 72 people, a prison riot in Venezuela claiming 20 lives, and a plane crash in Canada that killed 12 passengers.
Historical Events 📜
- 2020: Joe Biden gives his acceptance speech virtually for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
- 2016: Fifty-four people are killed when a suicide bomber detonates himself at a Kurdish wedding party in Gaziantep, Turkey.
- 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.
- 2012: A prison riot in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, kills at least 20 people.
- 2011: First Air Flight 6560 crashes 1 mile from the Resolute Bay runway, killing 12 of the 15 aboard.
- 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.
- 2007: China Airlines Flight 120 catches fire and explodes after landing at Naha Airport in Okinawa, Japan.
- 2006: Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil politician and former MP S. Sivamaharajah is shot dead at his home in Tellippalai.
- 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.
- 1998: The Supreme Court of Canada rules that Quebec cannot legally secede from Canada without the federal government’s approval.
- 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.
- 1997: Souhane massacre in Algeria; over 60 people are killed and 15 kidnapped.
- 1995: The Firozabad rail disaster kills 358 people in Firozabad, India.
- 1992: 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.
- 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.
Famous Births 👶
- 2003: Prince Gabriel of Belgium
- 1998: Lieke Klaver, Dutch track and field athlete
- 1997: Kaho Minagawa, Japanese rhythmic gymnast
- 1997: Daniel Vladař, Czech ice hockey player
- 1996: Bunty Afoa, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1995: Liana Liberato, American actress
- 1994: Mitchell Trubisky, American football player
- 1993: Tonisha Rock-Yaw, Barbadian netball player
- 1992: Matt Eisenhuth, Australian rugby league player
- 1992: Carolina Horta, Brazilian beach volleyball player
- 1992: Demi Lovato, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1992: Alex Newell, American actor and singer
- 1992: Deniss Rakels, Latvian footballer
- 1992: Callum Skinner, Scottish track cyclist
- 1991: Marko Djokovic, Serbian tennis player
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2024: Al Attles, American basketball player and coach (born 1936)
- 2022: Darya Dugina, Russian journalist (born 1992)
- 2021: Igor Vovkovinskiy, Ukrainian-American law student and actor, American tallest person (born 1982)
- 2018: Uri Avnery, Israeli writer, politician and peace activist (born 1923)
- 2018: Jennifer Ramírez Rivero, Venezuelan model (born 1978)
- 2017: Jerry Lewis, American actor and comedian (born 1926)
- 2015: Egon Bahr, German journalist and politician, Federal Minister for Special Affairs of Germany (born 1922)
- 2015: Paul Kibblewhite, New Zealand chemist and engineer (born 1941)
- 2015: Frank Wilkes, Australian soldier and politician (born 1922)
- 2014: Anton Buslov, Russian astrophysicist and journalist (born 1983)
- 2014: Lois Mai Chan, Taiwanese-American librarian, author, and academic (born 1934)
- 2014: Boris Dubin, Russian sociologist and academic (born 1946)
- 2014: B. K. S. Iyengar, Indian yoga instructor and author, founded Iyengar Yoga (born 1918)
- 2014: Buddy MacMaster, Canadian singer-songwriter and fiddler (born 1924)
- 2014: Sava Stojkov, Serbian painter and educator (born 1925)
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)