1858 – Charles Darwin first published his theory of evolution on the 20th August 1858, through natural selection in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London.
1866 – President Andrew Johnson formally declared the American Civil War over on the 20th August 1866.
1882 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky‘s 1812 Overture debuted in Moscow, Russia on the 20th August 1882.
1910 – The Great Fire of 1910 (aka the Big Blowup or the Big Burn) occurred on the 20th August 1910, in northeast Washington, northern Idaho (the panhandle), and western Montana, burning approximately 3 million acres (12,000 km2).
1920 – The 1st commercial radio station, 8MK (now WWJ), began on the 20th August 1920, in Detroit, Michigan.
1923 – Jim Reeves, American singer-songwriter was born on the 20th August 1923 (died 1964).
1926 – Japan‘s public broadcasting company, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK) was established on the 20th August 1926.
1927 – Peter Oakley the English video blogger was born on the 20th August 1927. Peter Oakley’s website: www.askGeriatric.com. Peter Oakley aka Geriatric1927 had over 2 million views of his 1st YouTube video..
1938 – Lou Gehrig hit his 23rd career grand slam on the 20th August 1938, a record that still stands in 2013.
1940 – In Mexico City, exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky was fatally wounded on the 20th August 1940, with an ice axe by Ramón Mercader. He died the next day.
1940 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made the 4th of his famous wartime speeches on the 20th August 1940, containing the line “Never was so much owed by so many to so few“.
1941 – Dave Brock the English singer-songwriter and guitarist from Hawkwind was born on the 20th August 1941.
1942 – Isaac Hayes the American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor was born on the 20th August 1942 (died 2008).
1947 – Alan Lee the English illustrator was born on the 20th August 1947.
1947 – James Pankow the American trombone player and songwriter from the band Chicago was born on the 20th August 1947.
1948 – Robert Plant the English singer-songwriter from Led Zeppelin was born on the 20th August 1948.
1948 – John Noble the Australian actor was born on the 20th August 1948.
1949 – Phil Lynott the Irish singer-songwriter from Thin Lizzy was born on the 20th August 1949 (died 1986).
1952 – Doug Fieger the American singer-songwriter and guitarist from The Knack and Sky was born on the 20th August 1952 (died 2010).
1962 – The NS Savannah, the world’s 1st nuclear-powered civilian ship embarked on its maiden voyage on the 20th August 1962.
1970 – Fred Durst the American singer-songwriter from Limp Bizkit was born on the 20th August 1970.
1974 – Amy Adams the American actress and singer was born on the 20th August 1974.
1975 – NASA launched the Viking 1 planetary probe toward Mars on the 20th August 1975.
1977 – NASA launched the Voyager 2 spacecraft on the 20th August 1977.
1978 ~ Kris Smith the English model, ex-professional rugby league player and television presenter on The Daily Edition was born on the 20th August 1978. The Daily Edition Facebook
1988 – “Black Saturday” of the Yellowstone fire in Yellowstone National Park was on the 20th August 1988.
1989 – The O-Bahn Busway in Adelaide, the world’s longest guided busway, opened on the 20th August 1989.
Today in History for August 20th ~ video presented by the Associated Press…