eso ha pasado un 20 Agosto

1910 : Huge fire in the U.S.


On August 20, 1910, a forest fire spreads in the states of Washington, Idaho and Montana. The summer is particularly dry and hundreds of smaller fires join and form a huge fire. In two days, 12,000 km2 of forest and several cities are destroyed by fire. 87 people including 78 firefighters are killed.

1940 : Assassination of Trotsky in Mexico


On August 20, 1940, Leon Trotsky was fatally wounded in Mexico by a Mexican Communist appointed by Stalin.
Trotsky was deported twice by the Russian authorities of the czar in 1900 and 1905 and had escaped both times (in 1902 and 1907). He then lived in various countries and was regularly expelled prior to participating in the 1917 Revolution in Russia. He became the heir of Lenin.
However, when Lenin died, Stalin managed to take power. Because of his criticism of Stalinist methods, Trotsky was gradually expelled from all his functions before being exiled to Central Asia and eventually being banned from the country in 1929.
He later lived in different countries before receiving political asylum in Mexico in 1936.

1968 : Soviet Union invades Czechoslovakia


On August 20, 1968, 5000 Soviet tanks and 200,000 soldiers from the Eastern bloc invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the reforms of the Prague Spring. The first secretary of the Czech Communist Party, Alexander Dubcek, had initiated major reforms to democratize the political and economic system. The Soviet Union, fearing the end of communism in Czechoslovakia, decided to intervene to regain control of the country.

1995 : A train explodes in colliding with another in India


On 20 August 1995, at 2 am, a train collided with a cow near Firozabad, India. The brakes were damaged during the accident, and the train stopped on the track. However, the signalman did not stop the next train which arrived at high speed with 1300 passengers onboard and which exploded as it hit the first train. 358 people were killed and over 400 injured.

Actualidad del día : 20 Agosto

Restoration of Independence Day in Estonia
August 20 is the Restoration of Independence Day in Estonia, which commemorates the restoration of its independence it had lost in 1939 against the Soviet Union and has recovered in 1991.
Revolution of the King and People in Morocco
August 20 is a national holiday in Morocco which celebrates the Revolution of the King and the People (Thawratou Maliki wa el Chaab). This festival commemorates the deportation of Mohammed V to Madagascar in 1953 after being deposed by France. This event marks the beginning of the resistance of the Moroccan people that will lead to the country's independence and the return of the sovereign.

Cita del día : 20 Agosto

Joseph Staline
The people who cast the votes don't decide an election, the people who count the votes do.

Cumpleaños : 20 Agosto

Benjamin Harrison, 23o Presidente de los Estados Unidos (1833)
Raymond Poincaré, Político francés (1860)
H. P. Lovecraft, Escritor americano (1890)
Salvatore Quasimodo, Escritor italiano, Premio Nobel de Literatura (1901)
Roger Wolcott Sperry, Neuropsicólogo estadounidense, Premio Nobel de Medicina (1913)
Walter Bernstein, Guionista americano (1919)
Armi Kuusela, Reina de la belleza de Finlandia, Miss Universe 1952 (1934)
Hideki Shirakawa, Químico japonés, Premio Nobel (1936)
Slobodan Milošević, Tercero presidente de la República Federativa de Yugoslavia, primero presidente de Serbia, acusado de crímenes de guerra y crímenes contra la humanidad (1941)
Rajiv Gandhi, Sexto Primer Ministro de la India (1944)
Connie Chung, Periodista estadounidense (1946)
Laurent Fabius, Político francés (1946)
Robert Plant, Músico inglés (Led Zeppelin) (1948)
James Marsters, Actor americano (1962)
Fred Durst, Músico estadounidense (Limp Bizkit) (1970)
Maxim Vengerov, Violinista ruso (1974)
Felipe Contepomi, Jugador de rugby argentino (1977)
Manuel Contepomi, Jugador de rugby argentino (1977)
Joshua Kennedy, Futbolista australiano (1982)
Andrew Garfield, Actor americano (1983)
Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Nadadora holandesa (1990)
Demi Lovato, Actriz y cantante estadounidense (1992)

Nos han dejado un 20 Agosto

Jules Laforgue, Poeta francés (1887)
Paul Ehrlich, Inmunólogo alemán, Premio Nobel de Fisiología o Medicina (1915)
Adolf von Baeyer, Químico alemán, premio Nobel (1917)
Percy Williams Bridgman, Físico americano, Premio Nobel (1961)
Joe Dassin, Cantante estadounidense (1980)
George Adamson, Conservacionista de la fauna silvestre inglés (1989)
Hugo Pratt, Dibujante italiano (Corto Maltese) (1995)
Joe Rosenthal, Fotógrafo americano (2006)
Otras fechas
Vue mer : crédit photo Aseed