Hisdates•ComPage 7: Historical Events In August - 20
Sunday, 17 August 2025
1975 Il-62 crashes south of Damascus, Syria, killing 126 on this day in history. 
1975 Viking 1 launched toward orbit around Mars, soft landing on August - 20.
1976 On August - 20 phyllis Konstam, actress (Murder, Skin Game), dies at 69
1977 On this day in history nASA launches Voyager 2 towards Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
1978 Gunmen open fire on an Israeli El Al Airline bus in London on this day in history.
1978 On this day in history ivan Jirko, composer, dies at 51
1980 Reinhold Messner of Italy is first to solo ascent Mt Everest on August - 20.
1980 UN Security Council condemns (14-0, US abstains) Israeli declaration that all of Jersualem is its capital on August - 20.
1980 On August - 20 otto Frank, father of Anne Frank, dies at 91
1982 On August - 20 mexican Treasury Secretary Jesus Silva Herzog tells foreign bankers that Mexico cannot repay her $60 billion foreign debt, the first Third World country to default
1982 Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish actress (Zulu), dies of bone cancer at 53 on August - 20.
1983 On this day in history kerwin Duinmeijer, Antillean boy, murdered by racist at 15
1985 Israel ships 96 TOWs to Iran on behalf of the US on August - 20.
1985 On this day in history harchand Singh Longowai, Sikh leader, shot by Sikh extremists
1986 Mail carrier Patrick Sherrill, Edmond Ok, shot 14 fellow workers dead on this day in history.
1986 Donn Bennett, TV host (The Big Idea), dies at 76 on August - 20.
1987 On August - 20 the Canadian federal government slaps a total ban on smoking in public service offices, starting Jan. 1, 1988. Smoking by government employees at all public service counters ends immediately, well maybe not quite??
1988 In the Nepal-India border region a 6.6 quake killed 721, 6,553 injured and 64,470 buildings damaged in eastern Nepal on August - 20.
1989 In Ethiopia a 6.3 earthquake killed 2, injured 2 and damage and rockslides caused in the Galafi-Yoboki area on August - 20.
1990 George Steinbrenner steps down as NY Yankee owner on this day in history.
1990 Iraq moves Western hostages to military installations (human shields) on this day in history.
1990 On August - 20 marc Turfkruijer, Flemish movie journalist/writer, dies
1991 Betty Bowden, British dancer/actress (Vote for Nigel), dies at 86 on August - 20.
1992 On August - 20 ivan Nikolayevich Anikeyev, cosmonaut, dies at 59
1993 On August - 20 bernard Delfgaauw, philosopher (Johnson murderer!), dies at 80
1994 Aleksander Petrovic, film Director, dies at 65 on this day in history.
1995 Hugo Pratt, graphic artist, dies at 68 on this day in history.
1996 On this day in history george Brian Snape, businessman/rugby league entrepreneur, dies at 81
1997 On this day in history hudson Bay Railway, owned by Omnitrax of Denver, Colorado, takes over operation of former CN lines to Flin Flon, Lyn Lake and Churchill.
2011 On August - 20 arab Spring and the Libyan civil war: In the Battle of Tripoli, Libyan rebels take control the nation's capital, effectively overthrowing the government of Muammar Gaddafi.
2012 20 people are killed in a riot in Caracas, Venezuela on this day in history.
2013 On this day in history 9 Islamist militants are killed by Russian police in North Caucasus
2018 On August - 20 measles cases reach record high in Europe with 41,000 infected first six months of 2018 with 37 deaths according to WHO
2018 On this day in history pope Francis releases letter to all Catholics condemning sexual abuse atrocities and clerical cover-ups "We showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them"