Holidays Calendar for August 20, 2018
Saint Stephen's Day is a public holiday in Hungary celebrated on August 20. It commemorates the first King of Hungary who is credited with laying foundation of the modern Hungarian state by converting Magyars to Christianity.
On August 20, Estonia celebrates Independence Restoration Day. This public holiday commemorates the independence of Estonia from the Soviet Union in 1991, which is viewed as the restoration of the country's sovereignty first proclaimed in 1918.
In Morocco, August 20 is celebrated as King and People's Revolution Day, often referred to simply as Revolution Day. This public holiday commemorates the day King (then Sultan) Mohammed V was exiled from Morocco in 1953.
FALINTIL formation anniversary is an official holiday celebrated on August 20 in East Timor. It honors the Armed Forces for the National Liberation of East Timor (Forças Armadas da Libertação Nacional de Timor-Leste) that fought for the country’s independence.
World Mosquito Day is an annual observance held on August 20. It was created by British medical doctor Sir Donald Ross to commemorate his discovery that female Anopheles mosquitoes are responsible for malaria transmission.
The International Day of Medical Transporters is celebrated annually on August 20. It was created to honor ambulance drivers and other professionals who transport sick, injured, or recovering patients to healthcare facilities in emergency and non-emergency situations.
The government of India is aware about the importance of development or renewable energy sources to provide the state with a sustainable amount of energy. Regarding this the Indian Ministry for New & Renewable Energy Sources established Renewable Energy Day (or Akshay Urja Diwas), annually falling on August 20.
Gai Jatra (gai – cow, jatra – festival) is one of the most famous and popular festivals of Nepal. This festival commemorates the death of people, who died during the last year. During the festival the cows, the sacred animals in Hinduism, are marched in the streets of Nepal.
Meitei Language Day, also referred to as Manipuri Language Day, is observed in the Indian state of Manipur on August 20. It commemorates the day when Meitei became one of the so-called scheduled languages of India.
August 20 is the perfect day to turn on the radio and listen to some music or the news, since it is National Radio Day. This holiday was created to celebrate the communication technology and medium that has been around for over a century and isn’t going anywhere.
Lucena City Charter Day (Araw ng Lungsod ng Lucena) is a special non-working holiday in the Philippine city of Lucena. It is celebrated annually on August 20 to commemorate the day when Lucena was formally inaugurated as a chartered city.
Most Canadian provinces and territories celebrate the so-called Civic Holiday on the first Monday in August. It is a public holiday similar to the August bank holiday in the UK. However, there are certain exceptions. Yukon, for example, celebrates Discovery Day on the third Monday of August.
August 20 is National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day in the United States. Pecan pie is a well-known specialty of cuisine of the Southern United States. Chocolate gives this famous dessert a new shade of flavor.
August 20 is the perfect day to have scrambled eggs with a side of bacon for breakfast, a bacon sandwich for lunch and pasta carbonara with bacon for dinner because it is National Bacon Lover’s Day.
Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (SHAAD) is observed annually on August 20. It was launched by the Southern AIDS Coalition to raise awareness about HIV in Southern communities and improve access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment.
Festivals on August 20, 2018
- MTV Video Music Awards in New York, USA
- Boston’s Trinidad Style Carnival in Boston, USA
- Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, Norway
- Michigan Renaissance Festival in Holly, USA
- Eurovision Young Musicians in Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival in West Newton, USA
- Minnesota Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, USA
- Great Week of Bilbao in Bilbao, Spain
- Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, Canada
- IndyFringe in Indianapolis, USA
- Worldcon in San Jose, USA
- Edmonton International Fringe Festival in Edmonton, Canada
- Zürcher Theater Spektakel in Zurich, Switzerland
- Pluk de Nacht Film Festival in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Edinburgh International Book Festival in Edinburgh, United Kingdom
This Day in History
- 2014 Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan was struck by a series of landslides following torrential rain that killed at least 74 people and injured about 70.
- 2012 Armed prisoners in the Yare I prison complex near Caracas, Venezuela launched a riot that killed about 25 people, including one visitor.
- 2001 Died: Kim Stanley, American actress of stage and screen. She was the narrator in Robert Mulligan's drama film To Kill a Mockingbird.
- 2001 Died: Fred Hoyle, English astronomer best known for the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis. He is credited with coining the term "Bing Bang".
- 1998 The United States launched cruise missile strikes on Afghanistan and Sudan in retaliation for the bombings of American embassies.
- 1992 Born: Alex Newell, American actor and singer. In 2023, they became the first open non-binary actor to win the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
- 1992 Born: Demi Lovato, American actress, singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in the Disney Channel television film Camp Rock.
- 1988 The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Iraq agreed on a ceasefire, ending the Iran–Iraq War that began in September 1980.
- 1988 The Provisional Irish Republican Army carried out a roadside bomb attack on a bus carrying British soldiers in Northern Ireland, killing 8 people.
- 1983 Born: Andrew Garfield, English and American actor. He came to international attention in 2010 with the supporting role of Eduardo Saverin in David Fincher's drama The Social Network.
- 1981 Born: Ben Barnes, English actor. He is best known for his roles as Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia film series, Dorian Gray in Dorian Gray, and The Darkling in Shadow and Bone.
- 1980 Died: Joe Dassin, American-born French singer-songwriter. His best known songs include "Les Champs-Élysées" and "Et si tu n’existais pas".
- 1977 NASA launched the Voyager 2 space probe to study the outer Solar System and eventually interstellar space. It was launched before Voyager 1.
- 1975 NASA launched the Viking 1 spacecraft toward Mars. It became the first spacecraft to successfully land on Mars and perform its mission.
- 1974 Born: Amy Adams, American actress. Her notable film credits include Enchanted and its sequel Disenchanted, American Hustle, Big Eyes, Arrival, Man of Steel, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
- 1974 Born: Misha Collins (born Dmitri Tippens Krushnic), American actor and director best known for his role as Castiel on the series Supernatural.
- 1971 Born: Ke Huy Quan, American actor and stunt choreographer. He first rose to prominence as a child actor with is roles in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies.
- 1971 Died: Rashid Minhas, pilot in the Pakistan Air Force. He is the only PAF officer to receive the highest valor award, the Nishan-e-Haider.
- 1970 Born: Fred Durst, American musician, singer-songwriter, producer and film director best known as the lead vocalist of the band Limp Bizkit.
- 1962 Born: James Marsters, American actor, musician, singer, comic book writer, and audiobook narrator. He is best known for his role as Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
- 1962 The world's first nuclear-powered merchant ship NS Savannah embarked on its maiden voyage. She sailed to Savannah, her home port.
- 1961 Died: Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist who was awarded the 1946 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the physics of high pressures.
- 1944 Born: Rajiv Gandhi, Indian politician who served as the 7th Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He was the son of Indira Gandhi.
- 1943 Born: Sylvester McCoy, Scottish actor. He is best known for his roles as the Seventh Doctor in Doctor Who and as Radagast in The Hobbit film series.
- 1941 Born: Slobodan Milošević, Serbian and Yugoslav politician who rose to power in 1987 and served as President of Serbia and President of Yugoslavia.
- 1937 Born: Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky, Soviet, Russian and American film director, film producer, screenwriter, social and political activist.
- 1936 Born: Hideki Shirakawa, Japanese chemist who was awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, sharing it with two American scientists.
- 1918 Born: Jacqueline Susann, American novelist and actress best known for her iconic best-selling novel Valley of the Dolls first published in 1966.
- 1917 Died: Adolf von Baeyer, German chemist who was awarded the 1905 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on organic dyes, namely indigo.
- 1915 Died: Paul Ehrlich, German physician who was awarded the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, sharing it with Ilya Mechnikov.
- 1914 Died: Pope Pius X (born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto), Pope from 1930 until his death. He was beautified in 1951 and canonized in 1954.
- 1912 Died: Tomás Luis de Victoria, British Methodist preacher best known for founding The Salvation Army and serving as its first General.
- 1901 Born: Salvatore Quasimodo, renowned Italian writer and poet who was awarded the 1959 Nobel Prize in Literature for his lyrical poetry.
- 1890 Born: Howard Phillips Lovecraft, American author best known for his influential works of horror fiction. The Call of Cthulhu is one of his best known works.
- 1854 Died: Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, German philosopher who made a significant contribution to the development of German idealism.
- 1794 The Battle of Fallen Timbers was fought during the Northwest Indian War. It was the final battle of the war, which resulted in American victory.