Poor Gabriel's Almanac

Interesting things that happened August 20th:

Birthdays on this date:

In 1778 Bernardo O'Higgins, won independence for Chile
In 1833 Benjamin Harrison (in North Bend, OH), 23rd President (1889-1893) (R)
In 1860 Raymond Poincaré, French prime minister (1912), president
In 1873 Eliel Saarinen, Finnish architect
In 1881 Edgar A. Guest, poet
In 1901 Salvatore Quasimodo, Italian poet, critic, translator (Nobel 1959)
In 1921 Jacqueline Susann, writer (Valley of the Dolls)
In 1925 Lola Albright (in Akron, Ohio), singer, actor (Peter Gunn)
In 1933 George Mitchell, US Senator (D-Maine, 1980-95)
In 1938 Jean-Loup Chrétien, first French traveler in space (on Soyuz T-6)
In 1940 Sam Melville, actor (The Rookies, Scarecrow and Mrs. King)
In 1942 Isaac Hayes, composer, musician, actor (South Park [voice])
In 1943 Sylvester McCoy (born Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith), actor, seventh Doctor (Doctor Who)
In 1944 Rajiv Gandhi, PM of India (1984-1991)
In 1946 Connie Chung, TV newscaster (NBC)
In 1951 Guy Lafleur, NHL star
In 1955 Peter Horton, actor (thirtysomething) and director (Grey's Anatomy)

Events worth noting:

+ Feast of St. Bernard, abbot, doctor
+ Kappa Cygnid meteor shower, radiant in Cygnus
In 1866 President Andrew Johnson formally declared the Civil War over.
In 1914 German forces occupied Brussels, Belgium, during World War I.
In 1918 Britain opened its offensive on the Western front during WW I.
In 1920 US's first commercial radio, 8MK (later WWJ), Detroit began daily broadcasting
In 1930 Dumont's first TV Broadcast for home reception, NY city.
In 1940 British PM Churchill said of the Royal Air Force, `Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.', refering to the Battle of Britain.
+ Leon Trotsky assassinated in Mexico City by Ramon Mercader, Stalin's hatchet man.
In 1942 Dimout regulations implemented in San Francisco.
In 1953 Russia publicly acknowledges a test detonation of a hydrogen bomb.
In 1955 First airplane to exceed 1800 mph -- HA Hanes, Palmdale Ca.
+ Hundreds killed in anti-French rioting in Morocco and Algeria.
In 1956 Republicans start convention at the Cow Palace, San Francisco.
In 1960 Senegal gains independence from France.
In 1964 LBJ signs an anti-poverty measure totaling nearly $1 billion.
In 1968 Russia and Warsaw Pact nations invaded Czechoslovakia crushing the "Prague Spring" liberalization drive of Alexander Dubcek. A small force of about 650,000 Soviet-block troops was used.
In 1975 Viking 1 launched toward orbit around Mars, soft landing.
In 1977 Voyager 2 launched for fly-by of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. It carries a record containing greetings.
In 1980 The UN Security Council voted 14-0, with the US abstaining, to condemn Israel's declaration that all of Jersualem was its capital.
In 1986 A mail carrier in Edmond, Okla., shot 14 fellow workers dead.

And remember ...

National Inventors Month
National Simplify Your Life Month
National Civility Month

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Although efforts have been taken to ensure the accuracy of this information, several errors have been found in the past. Don't place any bets on the basis of what you find here. If you spot an error, write to Poor Gabriel at poorgabriel@mystery.com .