August 20: What Happened on This Day in History

• 2013: Russian police conducted a targeted operation against suspected Islamist militants in the North Caucasus region, neutralizing nine suspected insurgents during a security intervention.
• 2008: Hua Guofeng, the former chairman of China's Communist Party from 1976 to 1981, passed away in Beijing at the age of 87. Born in 1921, Guofeng was a significant political figure during a transitional period in Chinese leadership.
• 2006: Joe Rosenthal, renowned American photographer famous for capturing the iconic Iwo Jima flag-raising photograph during World War II, passed away. He was a significant photojournalist who documented pivotal moments in American military history.
• 1990: Gene Michael was appointed as Vice President and General Manager of the New York Yankees, replacing Harding Peterson in a significant organizational leadership change.
• 1987: Catalina Ponor, a renowned Romanian gymnast, was born on August 20, 1987. She would later become a prominent figure in international gymnastics, representing Romania in multiple Olympic Games and winning several medals for her exceptional skills and performances.
• 1986: On August 20, 1986, postal worker Patrick Sherrill committed a horrific mass shooting at the United States Postal Service facility in Edmond, Oklahoma, killing 14 of his co-workers before taking his own life. This tragic event became known as the 'postal worker rampage' and significantly impacted workplace violence discussions in the United States.
• 1983: On August 20, 1983, the United Democratic Front (UDF), a pivotal anti-apartheid umbrella organization, was officially launched at the Rocklands Community Centre in Cape Town. The UDF represented a significant milestone in the struggle against racial segregation, bringing together hundreds of civil society organizations, churches, student groups, and community associations in a unified resistance movement against the apartheid regime.
• 1978: Tatyana Providokhina sets a female world record in the 1-kilometer running event, showcasing exceptional athletic achievement.
• 1977: The United States launched the Voyager 2 spacecraft as part of the groundbreaking Voyager program, initiating one of the most ambitious interplanetary exploration missions in human history. The spacecraft was designed to conduct detailed studies of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, providing unprecedented scientific insights into our solar system's outer planets and their moons.
• 1975: NASA launched the Viking 1 spacecraft, a pioneering robotic planetary probe designed to explore Mars. This mission was a critical milestone in space exploration, aimed at studying the Martian surface and searching for potential signs of life. Viking 1 was part of the Viking Program, which represented the first successful American attempt to land a spacecraft on Mars and conduct scientific investigations.

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August 20th marks the 232nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (or the 233rd in case of leap years).

There are 133 days remaining until the end of the year.

August 20th is the 20th day of the month of August.

What day of the week is August 20?

On August 20th, 2025 the day of the week is Wednesday.

Holidays and Observances on August 20

The zodiac sign associated with August 20th is Leo according to the Western Zodiac.

More about August 20 zodiac

What is special about the Leo sign?

• Leo personality traits and attitude
• Leo most and least compatible signs
• Why August born are so special