Did you know
After appearing on the children's television series Barney & Friends (2002–2004), she starred in the Disney Channel short series As the Bell Rings (2007–2008), and as the titular character on the sitcom Sonny with a Chance (2009–2011).
Famous Birthdays on August 20
1992 — Demi Lovato
American singer-songwriter and actress
August 20 has 291 recorded notable births across history, from 1377 to 2003. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Famous Birthdays
291 source records
1377 – 2003
Leo
Today in history
Major events on August 20
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1858 Charles Darwin first publishes his theory of evolution through natural selection in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, alongside Alfred Russel Wallace's same theory. Source
- 1648 The Battle of Lens is the last major military confrontation of the Thirty Years' War, contributing to the signing of the Peace of Westphalia in October that year. Source
- 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. Source
- 1940 World War II: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes the fourth of his famous wartime speeches, containing the line "Never was so much owed by so many to so few". Source
Did you know
Isaac Hayes was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwriter with his partner David Porter, as well as a session musician and record producer.
Did you know
Sandy Brondello played on Australia's "Opals" national team at four Summer Olympics, has coached the team at two more, and won three medals as a player and one bronze medal as a coach.
Did you know
Noble has also lent his distinctively deep voice to animated and video game projects, most notably as Leland Monroe in Rockstar Games' L.
Did you know
KRS-One rose to prominence as part of the hip-hop group Boogie Down Productions, which he formed with DJ Scott La Rock in the mid-1980s.
More major people born on August 20
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1942
Isaac Hayes
American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor (died 2008)
Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor.
1968
Sandy Brondello
Australian basketball player and coach
Sandra Anne Brondello is an Australian professional basketball coach and former professional basketball player.
1948
John Noble
Australian actor and director
John Noble is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as Denethor in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003), and Dr. Walter Bishop in the Fox science fiction series Fringe (2008–2013).
1965
KRS-One
American rapper and producer
Lawrence Parker, known professionally as KRS-One and Teacha, is an American rapper and singer from the Bronx.
1937
Andrei Konchalovsky
Russian director, producer, and screenwriter
Andrei Sergeyevich Konchalovsky is a Russian film and theatre director, screenwriter, and producer. His filmmaking career spans over 60 years in Soviet, Hollywood, and contemporary Russian cinema.
1992
Alex Newell
American actor and singer
Alex Eugene Newell is an American actor and singer. They are known for their role as Unique Adams on the Fox musical series Glee and Mo on Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, Newell also starred as Asaka in the Broadway…
1982
Mijaín López
Cuban wrestler
Mijaín López Núñez is a Cuban retired Greco-Roman wrestler. Widely considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, López is a five-time Olympic gold medalist, five-time World Champion, for a total of 10 world gold…
1954
Quinn Buckner
American basketball player and coach
William Quinn Buckner is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played collegiate basketball for the Indiana University Hoosiers, and won a national championship in 1976.
1990
Ranomi Kromowidjojo
Dutch swimmer
Ranomi Kromowidjojo is a retired Dutch swimmer of mixed Dutch-Javanese Surinamese origin who mainly specialises in sprint freestyle events.
1984
Laura Georges
French footballer
Laura Stéphanie Georges is a French retired footballer who is the Secretary General of the French Football Federation.
1517
Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle
French cardinal and art collector (died 1586)
Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, Comte de La Baume Saint Amour, typically known as Cardinal Granvelle in English, was a Burgundian statesman, made a cardinal, who followed his father as a leading minister of the Spanish…
1917
Terry Sanford
65th governor of North Carolina (died 1998)
James Terry Sanford was an American lawyer and politician from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford served as the 65th governor of North Carolina from 1961 to 1965, was a two-time U.S.
1933
George J. Mitchell
American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician
George John Mitchell Jr. is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer.
1987
Manny Jacinto
Canadian actor
Manuel Luis Jacinto is a Canadian actor. After several small roles on television, his breakout role came as Jason Mendoza on the NBC sitcom The Good Place (2016–2020).
1934
Sneaky Pete Kleinow
American country-rock pedal-steel guitarist and songwriter (died 2007)
Peter E. "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow was an American country-rock musician and animator.
1939
Fernando Poe Jr.
Filipino actor and politician (died 2004)
Ronald Allan Kelley Poe, known professionally as Fernando Poe Jr., was a Filipino actor, director and screenwriter.
1957
Paul Johnson
American football coach
Paul Clayton Johnson is an American former college football coach.
1927
John Boardman
English archaeologist and historian (died 2024)
Sir John Boardman, was a British classical archaeologist and art historian of ancient Greek art.
1964
Azarias Ruberwa
Congolese lawyer and politician, Vice-President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Azarias Ruberwa Manywa is a Congolese politician, lawyer, and public figure. During the Second Congo War he was Secretary-General of the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (RCD-G) rebel group.