Who was born on August 20?
August 20 is packed with notable birthdays. Explore 116 famous birthdays, sorted by recent English Wikipedia pageviews. Top ranked names include Agnes Chan, Al López, Alan Lee, Alban Bushi, Albert Chmielowski. Filter by actor, musician, athlete, and more — or open any other calendar day.
August 20
116 people
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Agnes Chan
Agnes Miling Kaneko Chan (traditional Chinese: 陳美齡; simplified Chinese: 陈美龄;Japanese: 金子 陳美齢) is a Hong-Kong-born Japanese singer, television personality, university professor, essayist and novelist. Since 1998, Chan has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and supports the Japan Committee for UNICEF. In Japan she is professionally known as Agnes Chan (アグネス・チャン), Agnes being her Christian name.
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Al López
Alfonso Ramón López (August 20, 1908 – October 30, 2005) was a Spanish-American professional baseball catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn Robins / Dodgers, Boston Bees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Cleveland Indians between 1928 and 1947, and was the manager for the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox from 1951 to 1965 and during portions of the 1968 and 1969 seasons. Due to his Spanish ancestry and "gentlemanly" nature, he was nicknamed "El Señor". As a player, López was a two-time All-Star known for his defensive skills, leadership, and durability, as he established a major league record for career games played at catcher (1,918) that stood for decades. As a manager, his .584 career winning percentage ranks fourth best in major league history among managers of at least 2,000 games. His 1954 Cleveland Indians and 1959 Chicago White Sox teams were the only squads to interrupt the New York Yankees' string of American League pennants from 1949 to 1964, inclusive. Over the course of 18 full seasons as a baseball manager (15 in the major leagues and 3 in the minor leagues), López's teams never finished with a losing record. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977. Al López's parents immigrated to the United States from Spain shortly before his birth, and he grew up in the immigrant community of Ybor City in Tampa, Florida. He retired with his family to his hometown after his baseball career, and his accomplishments were commemorated in Tampa in the name of a baseball stadium (Al López Field) and a public park which bears his name and features his statue. His childhood home was moved next door to the Ybor City State Museum and is the site of the Tampa Baseball Museum.
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Alan Lee
Alan Lee (born 20 August 1947) is an English book illustrator and film conceptual designer. He is best known for his artwork inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novels, and for his work on the concept design of Peter Jackson's film adaptations of Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series.
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Alban Bushi
Alban Bushi (born 20 August 1973) is an Albanian professional football coach and former player who is the manager of Albania under-21 and under-20 team. He is nicknamed "Loku". A forward, Bushi played for 12 clubs in six countries during his 19-year career. He started his career with capital club Tirana where he had an impressive goal-per-game ratio; he also had three short spells on loan with Szegedi in Hungary, FC Remscheid in Germany and Flamurtari Vlorë in Albania. He then went off to Greece to play for a short time at Apollon Athens. Following that he enjoyed a decent time at Litex Lovech before spending the next four years in Turkey by representing Adanaspor, İstanbulspor, and Trabzonspor. Bushi returned to Albania in the middle of 2004 to play for one season with Partizani Tirana before returning to Greece, where he would spend the next five years at Levadiakos. At the end of his career, Bushi returned to Albania once again to represent Tirana, stating that it was a "moral debt" to end his career where it started. He retired from football in November 2010. Bushi also had a successful international career, being part of Albania national team for 12 years. With 14 goals, he was Albania's all-time leading top scorer from 2004 until Erjon Bogdani overtook him in 2011. He retired from international football in 2007.
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Albert Chmielowski
Albert Chmielowski (20 August 1845 – 25 December 1916) – born Adam Hilary Bernard Chmielowski – was a Polish Franciscan tertiary, painter, and disabled veteran of the Uprising of 1863. He was founder of both the Albertine Brothers and Albertine Sisters who are servants of the homeless and destitute.
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Alberto Martín
Alberto Martín Magret (Spanish pronunciation: [alˈβeɾto maɾˈtim maˈɣɾet]; born 20 August 1978) is a retired tennis player from Spain. He won three singles titles and reached five Masters Series quarterfinals on clay.
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Amanda Sonia Berry
Amanda Sonia Berry (born 20 August 1961) is an English businesswoman. She was CEO of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) from December 2000 to October 2022, as well as CEO of the Royal Foundation from June 2022 to February 2026.
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Amy Adams
Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received various accolades including two Golden Globes, and has been nominated for six Academy Awards, seven British Academy Film Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. Adams began her career as a dancer in dinner theater, which she pursued from 1994 to 1998, and made her film debut with a supporting part in the dark comedy Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999). She made guest appearances on television and took "mean girl" parts in low-budget feature films. Her first major role was in Steven Spielberg's biopic Catch Me If You Can (2002), but she was unemployed for a year afterward. Her breakthrough came when she played a loquacious pregnant woman in the independent comedy-drama Junebug (2005), for which she received her first Academy Award nomination. The musical fantasy film Enchanted (2007), in which Adams played cheerful princess-to-be Giselle, was her first success in a leading role. She followed it by playing other naïve, optimistic women in films like the drama Doubt (2008) and Sunshine Cleaning (2008) and subsequently played more assertive parts to positive reviews in the sports film The Fighter (2010) and the psychological drama The Master (2012). From 2013 to 2017, she portrayed Lois Lane in superhero films set in the DC Extended Universe. She won two consecutive Golden Globes for Best Actress for playing a seductive con artist in the crime film American Hustle (2013) and painter Margaret Keane in the biopic Big Eyes (2014). Further acclaim came for playing a linguist in the science fiction film Arrival (2016), a self-harming reporter in the HBO miniseries Sharp Objects (2018), and Lynne Cheney in the satire Vice (2018). On stage, Adams starred in a Public Theater revival of Into the Woods in 2012 and a West End revival of The Glass Menagerie in 2022. In 2014, she was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time, and featured in the Forbes Celebrity 100 list.
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Andrew Greenwood
Andrew Greenwood (20 August 1847 – 12 February 1889) was an English professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1869 to 1880. He was born and died in Huddersfield, West Riding of Yorkshire. He was a member of the England team which played in the first two Test matches, retrospectively recognised. Greenwood was a right-handed batsman who scored 4,307 career runs in 141 first-class matches at an average of 18.32 runs per completed innings with a highest score of 111, his sole century. He scored 18 half-centuries. He rarely bowled but has been noted for his fielding. He was generally an outfielder and completed 70 catches.
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Andrew Surman
Andrew Ronald Edward Surman (born 20 August 1986) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He made over 100 appearances for both Southampton and Bournemouth. Surman also played for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Walsall, Norwich City and Milton Keynes Dons over the course of a 17-year professional career.
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André Morell
Cecil André Mesritz (20 August 1909 – 28 November 1978), known professionally as André Morell, was an English actor. He appeared frequently in theatre, film and on television from the 1930s to the 1970s. His best known screen roles were as Professor Bernard Quatermass in the BBC Television serial Quatermass and the Pit (1958–59), and as Doctor Watson in the Hammer Film Productions version of The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959). He also appeared in David Lean's film classics The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Ben-Hur (1959), in several of Hammer's horror films throughout the 1960s and in the acclaimed ITV historical drama The Caesars (1968). His obituary in The Times newspaper described him as possessing a "commanding presence with a rich, responsive voice ... whether in the classical or modern theatre he was authoritative and dependable."
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Andy Benes
Andrew Charles Benes (born August 20, 1967) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most prominently as a member of the San Diego Padres, who selected Benes as the first overall pick in the 1988 MLB draft. With the Padres, he was named to the National League (NL) All-Star team in 1993 and led the league in strikeouts in 1994. He also played for the Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
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Anthony Ainley
Anthony Ainley (born Anthony Holmes; 20 August 1932 – 3 May 2004) was a British actor. He is best known for portraying the Master in the BBC television series Doctor Who from 1981 to 1989.
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Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle
Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle (20 August 1517 – 21 September 1586), 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 Habsburgs. Granvelle was one of the most influential European politicians during the time which immediately followed the appearance of Protestantism in Europe; "the dominating Imperial statesman of the whole century". He was also a notable art collector, the "greatest private collector of his time, the friend and patron of Titian and Leoni and many other artists".
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Azarias Ruberwa
Azarias Ruberwa Manywa (born August 20, 1964) 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. Following the war, he was one of the vice-presidents in the transitional government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 2003 and 2006. He has also been the leader and president of RCD-G's political party since 2003. He is a member of the Banyamulenge community of South Kivu who belong to the Tutsi ethnic group.
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Aílton José Almeida
Aílton José Almeida (born 20 August 1984), simply known as Aílton (Brazilian Portuguese: [aˈiwtõ]), is a Brazilian former footballer who played as a forward.
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Ben Barnes
Benjamin Thomas Barnes (born 20 August 1981) is an English actor and singer. He is best known for his roles as Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia film series (2008–2010), Logan Delos in the HBO science fiction series Westworld (2016–2020), Billy Russo/Jigsaw in the Marvel series The Punisher (2017–2019), The Darkling in the Netflix series Shadow and Bone (2021–2023), and Tim Jamieson in the MGM+ supernatural series The Institute (2025). He also played young Dunstan Thorn in Stardust (2007), the title role in Dorian Gray (2009), Neil McCormick in Killing Bono (2011), Alejandro in The Big Wedding (2013), Tom Ward in Seventh Son (2014), Samuel Adams in Sons of Liberty (2015) and Benjamin Greene in Gold Digger (2019). Also known for his contributions to the soundtracks of films in which he appeared, Barnes released his debut single "11:11" in September 2021. This preceded the release of his debut extended play, Songs For You. His debut album, Where The Light Gets In, was released on January 10, 2025.
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Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833 – March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a great-grandson of Benjamin Harrison V, a Founding Father. A Union army veteran and a Republican, he defeated Democratic Party incumbent Grover Cleveland to win the presidency in the 1888 United States presidential election by winning the Electoral College while losing the popular vote. He was defeated by Cleveland in the 1892 United States presidential election, becoming the first president to be succeeded in office by his predecessor. Harrison was born on a farm by the Ohio River and graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. After moving to Indianapolis, he established himself as a prominent local attorney, Presbyterian church leader, and politician. During the American Civil War, he served in the Union Army as a colonel, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a brevet brigadier general of volunteers in 1865. Harrison unsuccessfully ran for governor of Indiana in 1876. In 1881, the Republican-controlled Indiana General Assembly elected Harrison to a six-year term in the Senate, where he served from 1881 to 1887. Hallmarks of Harrison's administration were unprecedented economic legislation, including the McKinley Tariff, which imposed historic protective trade rates, and the Sherman Antitrust Act. Harrison also facilitated the creation of the national forest reserves through an amendment to the Land Revision Act of 1891. During his administration six western states were admitted to the Union. In addition, Harrison substantially strengthened and modernized the U.S. Navy and conducted an active foreign policy. His proposals to secure federal education funding as well as voting rights enforcement for African Americans were unsuccessful. Due in large part to surplus revenues from the tariffs, federal spending reached $1 billion for the first time during his term. The spending issue in part led to the Republicans' defeat in the 1890 midterm elections. Cleveland defeated Harrison for reelection in 1892, due to the growing unpopularity of high tariffs and high federal spending. Harrison returned to private life and his law practice in Indianapolis. In 1899, he represented Venezuela in its British Guiana boundary dispute with the United Kingdom. Harrison traveled to the court in Paris as part of the case and after a brief stay returned to Indianapolis. He died at his home in Indianapolis in 1901 of complications from influenza.
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Bernard Tancred
Augustus Bernard Tancred (20 August 1865 – 23 November 1911) was a 19th-century South African Test cricketer. His brothers, Vincent and Louis, also played Test cricket for South Africa.
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Bernard de Bury
Bernard de Bury or Buri (20 August 1720 – 19 November 1785) was a French musician and court composer of the late Baroque era.
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Bernardo O'Higgins
Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (Spanish pronunciation: [beɾˈnaɾðo oˈ(x)iɣins] ; 20 August 1778 – 24 October 1842) was a Chilean military officer, statesman and a major leader of Chile's successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire. He was the second Supreme Director of Chile from 1817 to 1823, the first holder of the title to head a fully independent Chilean state, and is considered one of Chile's founding fathers. Born in Chillán, O'Higgins was of Irish and Basque-Spanish descent and the illegitimate son of Ambrosio O'Higgins, 1st Marquess of Osorno, who would later become the Governor of Chile and subsequently Viceroy of Peru. While studying in London, he became acquainted with Francisco de Miranda, developed a sense of nationalist pride, and became a member of the revolutionary Lautaro Lodge. Returning to Chile in 1802 following his father's death, he inherited a large estate and settled down as a wealthy landowner. In 1810, a national junta was established following the deposition of King Ferdinand VII of Spain by Napoleon. O'Higgins was elected to the first National Congress of Chile a year later. He soon became embroiled in a conflict with José Miguel Carrera, who espoused a more specifically Chilean brand of nationalism. Their divide ultimately contributed to O'Higgins' disastrous defeat at Rancagua at the hands of the Royalists, leading to the fall of the Patria Vieja. Following the reassertion of Spanish rule, O'Higgins went into exile in the newly independent Argentina, where he met General José de San Martín and helped assemble the Army of the Andes. In 1817, San Martín and O'Higgins crossed the Andes into Chile and achieved a decisive victory over the royalists at the Battle of Chacabuco. They then re-entered Santiago, where O'Higgins was proclaimed Supreme Director after San Martín declined the post. A year later, Chile formally proclaimed itself an independent republic, and independence was all but assured with the patriot victory at Maipú. As Supreme Director, O'Higgins sought to create working institutions for the newly independent nation and improve its agriculture. He founded the modern Chilean Navy, and supported San Martín's forces in the liberation of Peru. His push for radical reforms on the other hand antagonized the aristocracy, the church and ultimately the business community. Widespread discontent forced his resignation in 1823, after which he went into exile in Peru, where he died in 1842.
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Billy Gardell
William Gardell Jr. (born August 20, 1969) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Gardell played Chicago police officer Mike Biggs on Mike & Molly. He also had a recurring role as Billy Colivida on Yes, Dear, and appeared in a dozen episodes of My Name Is Earl as a police officer. Gardell voiced Santa in Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas, as well as starring on Sullivan & Son in the recurring role of Lyle Winkler. From 2019 to 2024, Gardell played Bob Wheeler in the CBS sitcom series Bob Hearts Abishola.
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Brant Daugherty
Brant David Daugherty (born August 20, 1985) is an American actor, known for his recurring role as Noel Kahn on the teen drama television series Pretty Little Liars. In 2013, he had a recurring role as Brian in the NBC daytime drama Days of Our Lives.
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Brett Angell
Brett Ashley Mark Angell (born 20 August 1968) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was striker and although notably spending time in the Premier League with Everton and Sunderland, he spent the rest of his career in the Football League with lengthy spells at Stockport County, Southend United and Walsall. He also played professionally for Portsmouth, Cheltenham Town, Derby County, Sheffield United, West Bromwich Albion, Notts County, Preston North End, Rushden & Diamonds, Port Vale and Queens Park Rangers. He retired in 2003 after scoring 200 goals in 540 games in all competitions. With Southend, he was promoted out of the Third Division 1990–91, and was also named on the PFA Team of the Year. He won promotion out of the Second Division with Stockport County and was later inducted into the club's Hall of Fame. He topped the Second Division with Preston North End in 1999–2000. He won his fourth promotion with Walsall after winning the Second Division play-off final in 2001. He was also listed in the 2006 book Cheltenham Town Football Club 50 Greats. Following retirement, Angell moved into coaching, where he worked in the youth academies of both Bolton Wanderers and Portsmouth. He was appointed head coach of the New Zealand side Hawke's Bay United in September 2014.
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Bunty Afoa
Iulio "Bunty" Afoa (born 20 August 1996) is a Samoan international rugby league footballer who plays for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League (NRL). Bunty was previously the longest-serving player at the New Zealand Warriors, with an unbroken sequence that stretched across 10 seasons.
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Chris Drury
Christopher Ellis Drury (born August 20, 1976) is an American professional ice hockey executive and former player. He has served as the president and general manager for the New York Rangers since May 5, 2021. He previously served as the general manager of the Rangers American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. Drury is a Hobey Baker Award-winner with Boston University, a Calder Memorial Trophy winner with the Colorado Avalanche, a Stanley Cup champion with the Avalanche, a two-time Olympic silver medalist with the United States and a former captain of the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015. As a child, he also won the Little League Baseball World Series Championship with his hometown team from Trumbull, Connecticut.
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Christian Mayer
Christian Mayer (20 August 1719 Mederitz – 16 April 1783 in Mannheim) was a Moravian-German Catholic priest, astronomer and teacher.
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Cléber Luis Alberti
Cléber Luis Alberti or simply Cléber (born August 20, 1982) is a goalkeeper player from Brazil, who plays for Portuguese Liga de Honra side GD Estoril. He made his professional debut for Atlético-PR in a 0-0 draw at home to Goiás in the Campeonato Brasileiro on October 5, 2002. [1]
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Dave Brock
David Anthony Brock (born 20 August 1941) is an English musician and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the founder, the sole constant member and the musical focus of the space rock group Hawkwind. Brock was honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the annual Progressive Music Awards in 2013.
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Derrick Alston
Derrick Samuel Alston Sr. (born August 20, 1972) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as an assistant coach for the Perth Wildcats of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL).
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Dino Campana
Dino Campana (20 August 1885 – 1 March 1932) was an Italian visionary poet. His fame rests on his only published book of poetry, the Canti Orfici ("Orphic Songs"), as well as his wild and erratic personality, including his ill-fated love affair with Sibilla Aleramo. He is often seen as an Italian example of a poète maudit.
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Dom Duff
Dominique Le Duff (born 20 August 1960) is a Breton singer-songwriter.
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Don King
Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his flamboyant and charismatic style, who was involved in some of the most famous boxing matches in history. King's career highlights include, among multiple other enterprises, promoting "The Rumble in the Jungle" and the "Thrilla in Manila". King has promoted some of the most prominent names in boxing: Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Tomasz Adamek, Roberto Duran, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Chris Byrd, John Ruiz, Julio César Chávez, Ricardo Mayorga, Bernard Hopkins, Félix Trinidad, Roy Jones Jr., Azumah Nelson, Chris Eubank, Gerald McClellan, Marco Antonio Barrera, Salvador Sanchez, Wilfred Benitez, Wilfredo Gomez and Christy Martin. King is not without controversy as many of these same boxers sued him for allegedly defrauding them. Mike Tyson was quoted as saying, "He did more bad to black fighters than any white promoter ever in the history of boxing." King has been charged with killing two people in incidents that were 13 years apart. In 1954, King shot a man in the back after spotting him trying to rob one of his gambling houses; this incident was ruled a justifiable homicide. Then, in 1967 King was convicted of second-degree murder for stomping one of his employees to death because he owed him $600. For this, he served three years and eleven months in prison, being released after the conviction was reduced on appeal to voluntary manslaughter.
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Edgar Guest
Edgar Albert Guest (20 August 1881 – 5 August 1959) was a British-born American poet who became known as the People's Poet. His poems often had an inspirational and optimistic view of everyday life.
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Eero Saarinen
Eero Saarinen (, Finnish: [ˈeːro ˈsɑːrinen]; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer. Saarinen's work includes the General Motors Technical Center, the Dulles International Airport Main Terminal, the TWA Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center, the Gateway Arch, and the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center. During his career, Saarinen was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects and served on the National Institute of Arts and Letters. Born in Hvitträsk, Finland, he was the son of Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, and immigrated to the United States as a teenager. Saarinen grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, studying at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, where his father taught. Saarinen became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1940, a year after marrying the sculptor Lilian Swann, with whom he had two children. After divorcing Swann in 1954, Saarinen married Aline Bernstein Louchheim. In 1961, Saarinen died while undergoing an operation for a brain tumor.
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Eliel Saarinen
Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (, Finnish: [ˈeliel ˈsɑːrinen]; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish and American architect, designer, and urban planner. Saarinen worked in a diverse range of styles in his native Finland and, after emigrating in 1923, the United States. He was the father of architect Eero Saarinen and designer Pipsan Saarinen Swanson. Through his rejected 1922 design of the Chicago Tribune building he indirectly played a significant role in the influence and development of Art Deco architecture.
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Ellen Roosevelt
Ellen Crosby Roosevelt (August 20, 1868 – September 26, 1954) was an American tennis player. Roosevelt was a daughter of John Aspinwall Roosevelt, an estate proprietor, and Ellen Murray Crosby. She started playing tennis with her sister Grace in 1879 when her father installed a tennis court at their mansion. She won the women's singles title at the 1890 U.S. Championships defeating the 1888 and 1889 champion Bertha Townsend in the final in two sets. The same year, she won the doubles title with her sister. They were the first pair of sisters to win the U.S. Championships and remained the only pair to do so until the Williams sisters equalled their achievement in 1999. At the 1893 U.S. Championships, she won the mixed doubles title with Oliver Campbell. Her other career singles highlights include winning the Staten Island Ladies Club Open in 1890. She was a first cousin of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and she was posthumously inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1975.
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Els Callens
Els Callens (born 20 August 1970) is a former professional female tennis player from Belgium. Callens became professional in January 1990. Her biggest achievement came in 2000 during the Summer Olympic Games in Sydney where she won the bronze medal in women's doubles, partnering Dominique Van Roost-Monami. She retired on 26 October 2005, after losing her second-round match at the Gaz de France Stars tournament in Hasselt. She started a comeback, and finally retired from professional tennis in 2011. Nowadays, she works as sports commentator for the Belgian public broadcast Eén.
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Fernando Poe Jr.
Ronald Allan Kelley Poe (August 20, 1939 – December 14, 2004), known professionally as Fernando Poe Jr., was a Filipino actor, director and screenwriter. Nicknamed "Da King" and often referred to by his initials FPJ, he has been described as a cultural icon, having dominated the Philippine box-office from the 1960s to 1990s through his leading roles in action films. For his career that spanned nearly five decades, he has received numerous honors including the Order of National Artists of the Philippines in 2006 and the CCP Centennial Honors for the Arts in 1999. Poe appeared in around 300 films from 1955 to 2003. Poe entered the film industry as a stuntman following the death of his father, actor Fernando Poe Sr., and made his film debut in 1955 with Anak ni Palaris, a sequel to a film that starred his father. His breakout came in the 1956 film Lo Waist Gang and went on to star in action films that portrayed him as the "champion and defender of the poor and oppressed". His notable films include: Only the Brave Know Hell (1965), Lino Brocka's Santiago! (1970), Celso Ad. Castillo's Asedillo (1971), Bato sa Buhangin (1976), Durugin si Totoy Bato (1979), Eddie Romero's Aguila (1980); his self-directed Ang Panday (1980) and its sequels; Roman Rapido and Isang Bala Ka Lang! (both 1983), the 1986 films Iyo ang Tondo, Kanya ang Cavite, Muslim .357, and Batang Quiapo; Kahit Konting Pagtingin (1990), Ang Probinsyano (1996), Isusumbong Kita sa Tatay Ko... (1999), Ang Dalubhasa (2000), and Batas ng Lansangan (2002). Poe's accolades include five FAMAS Awards for Best Actor—a joint record that inducted him into the FAMAS Hall of Fame in 1988. He also won Best Director for his films Ang Padrino (1984) and Kahit Butas ng Karayom, Papasukin Ko (1995). In 2004, FAMAS posthumously granted him the Natatanging Alagad ng Sining Award. Poe was also posthumously declared a National Artist of the Philippines in 2006 (accepted by his family in 2012). Poe ran for president of the Philippines in the 2004 election. He lost to the incumbent Gloria Macapagal Arroyo by just over one million votes (3.48%)—the closest margin by percentage between the winner and runner-up in the history of Philippine presidential elections. Seven months after the election, Poe died of a stroke; hundreds of thousands attended his wake and funeral. Poe was married to actress Susan Roces, who played his onscreen love interest in 17 films. He is the father of Senator Grace Poe and actress Lovi Poe.
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Finlay Calder
Finlay Calder OBE (born 20 August 1957) is a Scotland international former rugby union player.
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Frank Rosolino
Frank Rosolino (August 20, 1926 – November 26, 1978) was an American jazz trombonist.
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George Griffith
George Chetwynd Griffith-Jones (20 August 1857 – 4 June 1906) was a British writer. He was active mainly in the science fiction genre—or as it was known at the time, scientific romance—in particular writing many future-war stories and playing a significant role in shaping that emerging subgenre. For a short period of time, he was the leading science fiction author in his home country both in terms of popularity and commercial success. Griffith grew up with his parents and older brother, receiving home-schooling and moving frequently during his childhood due to his father's career as a clergyman. Following his father's death when Griffith was 14 years old, he went to school for a little over a year before leaving England and travelling the world, returning at the age of 19. He then worked as a teacher for ten years before pursuing a career in writing. After an initial setback that left Griffith without the means to provide for himself, he was hired by the publisher C. Arthur Pearson in 1890. Griffith made his literary breakthrough with his debut novel The Angel of the Revolution (1893), which was serialized in Pearson's Weekly before being published in book format. He signed a contract of exclusivity with Pearson and followed it up with the likewise successful sequel Olga Romanoff (1894). Griffith was highly active as a writer throughout the 1890s, producing numerous serials and short stories for Pearson's various publications. He also wrote non-fiction for Pearson and went on various travel assignments. Among these were an 1894 publicity stunt in which he circumnavigated the world in 65 days, an 1895 journey to South America where he covered the various revolutionary movements active there at the time, and an 1896 trip to Southern Africa that resulted in Griffith writing the novel Briton or Boer? (1897) anticipating the outbreak of the Boer War (1899–1902). Griffith's career declined in the latter part of the 1890s, and he was surpassed by H. G. Wells as the favourite science fiction writer of both Pearson and the reading public. His last outright success was A Honeymoon in Space (1901), and he parted ways with Pearson shortly thereafter. With his health in decline, likely due to alcoholism, he continued writing prolifically up until his death at the age of 48. Griffith was both successful and influential as a writer at the peak of his career, but he has since descended into obscurity. Retrospective assessments have found his works to have been timely and prescient—in particular with regard to the importance of aerial warfare—but not timeless, and he is commonly regarded as a relatively poor writer, especially when compared to his main rival, Wells. He regularly incorporated his personal viewpoints into his fiction, and anti-American sentiments expressed in this way ensured that he never established a readership in the United States as publishers there would not print his works. He was irreligious and in his youth advocated fiercely for secularism. Politically, Griffith was early an outspoken socialist, though he is believed to have gradually shifted towards more right-leaning sympathies later in his life. Socially, he has been described as embodying Victorian ideals, including social conservatism and staunch pro-British views.
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George Zuverink
George Zuverink (August 20, 1924 – September 8, 2014) was a professional baseball player. He was a right-handed pitcher over parts of eight Major League Baseball seasons (1951–1952, 1954–1959) with the Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Redlegs, Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles. For his career, he compiled a 32–36 record in 265 appearances, mostly as a relief pitcher, with a 3.54 earned run average and 223 strikeouts. Zuverink died in Tempe, Arizona from pneumonia as a result from a fractured hip he suffered from a fall in May 2014. He was 90 years old.
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Gerry Bertier
Gerry Bertier ( GHERR-ee; August 20, 1953 – March 20, 1981) was a high school American football player and Paralympian. He became known for his participation on the 1971 Virginia State Champion football T. C. Williams High School team, and their portrayal in the Disney film Remember the Titans. Bertier was also the nephew of Howie Livingston. After the conclusion of the 1971 season, Bertier was involved in an automobile crash that left him paralyzed from the chest down. Despite this injury, Bertier attended Northern Virginia Community College and remained an active athlete, participating in the Paralympics. In 2006, Bertier's family started the "Bertier #42 Foundation", dedicated to raising money for research on spinal cord injuries. There is also a gymnasium at Alexandria City High School (formerly T.C. Williams High School) that bears his name.
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Gostha Pal
Gostha Behari Pal (20 August 1896 – 8 April 1976) was an Indian footballer who played primarily as a defender. Nicknamed "the Chinese wall", Pal was the captain of the India national team, who played during the 1920s and 30s. Spending most of his career in Mohun Bagan, Pal was a defender and a well-known player, along with Balaidas Chaterjee, who played for the century-old club.
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Greg Bear
Gregory Dale Bear (August 20, 1951 – November 19, 2022) was an American science fiction writer. His work covered themes of conflict, consciousness, and accelerated evolution. The Forge of God and Anvil of Stars established his reputation. As time went on these works were rolled into lengthier trilogies and series. Along with Forge, popular series have included parallel universes in The Way and evolutionary themes in Darwin's Children. He won numerous awards over the course of his career. His most awarded novel was Moving Mars, which won a Nebula Award. His last work was the 2021 novel The Unfinished Land. Greg Bear wrote over 50 books in total. He was one of the five co-founders of San Diego Comic-Con.
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H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft (US: ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of weird, horror, fantasy, and science fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos, but his legacy is also apparent in terms like "Lovecraftian horror" and an enduring fandom. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Lovecraft spent most of his life in New England. Following the institutionalization of his father in 1893, he lived affluently until his family's wealth dissipated after the death of his grandfather. Lovecraft then lived with his mother with reduced financial security until she too was institutionalized in 1919. He began to write essays for the United Amateur Press Association and in 1913 wrote a critical letter to a pulp magazine that ultimately led to his involvement in pulp fiction. He became active in the speculative fiction community and was published in several pulp magazines. Marrying Sonia Greene in 1924, Lovecraft moved to New York City and later became a central figure in a wider group of authors known as the "Lovecraft Circle". Friends in New York encouraged him to submit to Weird Tales, which became his most prominent publisher. Lovecraft's time in New York took a toll on his mental state and financial conditions. He returned to Providence in 1926 and remained active as a writer for 11 years, until his death at the age of 46. It was during this final period that Lovecraft produced some of his most popular works, including The Call of Cthulhu, At the Mountains of Madness, The Shadow over Innsmouth, and The Shadow Out of Time. Lovecraft's literary corpus is rooted in cosmicism, which was simultaneously his personal philosophy and the main theme of his fiction. Cosmicism posits that humanity is an insignificant part of the cosmos. He incorporated fantasy and science fiction elements into his stories, representing the fragility of anthropocentrism. This was tied to his ambivalent views on knowledge. His works were largely set in a fictionalized version of New England. Civilizational decline also plays a major role in his works, as he believed that the West was in decline during his lifetime. Lovecraft's early political views were conservative and traditionalist; additionally, he held a number of racist views for much of his adult life. Following the Great Depression, Lovecraft's political views became more socialist while still remaining elitist and aristocratic. Throughout his adult life, Lovecraft was never able to support himself from his earnings as an author and editor. He was virtually unknown during his lifetime, and was almost exclusively published in pulp magazines before his death. A scholarly revival of Lovecraft's work began in the 1970s, and he is now regarded as one of the most significant 20th-century authors of supernatural horror fiction. Many direct adaptations and spiritual successors followed. Works inspired by Lovecraft, adaptations or original works, began to form the basis of the Cthulhu Mythos, which utilizes Lovecraft's characters, setting, and themes.
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H. R. Van Dongen
Henry Richard Van Dongen (August 20, 1920 - February 27, 2010), often professionally known as H.R. Van Dongen, was an American artist best known for his science fiction magazine and book covers.
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Hamza Abdullah
Hamza Muhammad Abdullah (born August 20, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL draft. He played college football for the Washington State Cougars. Abdullah was also a member of the Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns, and Arizona Cardinals. He is the older brother of former NFL safety Husain Abdullah.
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Henry Every
Henry Every, also known as Henry Avery (born 20 August 1659; disappeared June 1696), sometimes erroneously given as Jack Avery or John Avery, was an English pirate who operated in the Atlantic and Indian oceans in the mid-1690s. He probably used several aliases throughout his career, including Benjamin Bridgeman, and was known as Long Ben to his crewmen and associates. Dubbed the Arch Pirate and the King of Pirates by contemporaries, Every was infamous for being one of the very few major pirate captains to escape with his loot without being arrested or killed in battle, and for being the perpetrator of what has been called the most profitable act of piracy in history. Although Every's career as a pirate lasted only two years, his exploits captured the public's imagination, inspired others to take up piracy, and spawned works of literature. He began his pirate career while he was first mate aboard the warship Charles II. As the ship lay anchored in the northern Spanish harbour of Corunna, the crew grew discontented as Spain failed to deliver a letter of marque and Charles II's owners failed to pay their wages, so they mutinied. Charles II was renamed the Fancy and the crew elected Every its captain. Every's most famous raid was on a 25-ship convoy of Grand Mughal vessels making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, including the treasure-laden Ghanjah dhow Ganj-i-Sawai and its escort, Fateh Muhammed. On 7 September 1695, joining forces with several pirate vessels, Every commanded the small pirate squadron. They captured up to £600,000 in precious metals and jewels (equivalent to around £107.6 million in 2025). This caused considerable damage to England's fragile relations with the Mughals. A combined bounty of £1,000—an immense sum at the time—was offered by the Privy Council and the East India Company for his capture. This is considered the first worldwide manhunt in recorded history. Although a number of his crew were subsequently arrested, Every himself eluded capture, vanishing from all records in 1696; his whereabouts and activities after this period are unknown. Unconfirmed accounts state he may have changed his name and retired, quietly living out the rest of his life in either Britain or on an unidentified tropical island, while alternative accounts consider Every may have squandered his riches. He is considered to have died sometime between 1699 and 1714; his treasure has never been recovered.
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Hideki Shirakawa
Hideki Shirakawa (白川 英樹, Shirakawa Hideki; born August 20, 1936) is a Japanese chemist, engineer, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tsukuba and Zhejiang University. He is best known for his discovery of conductive polymers. He was co-recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly with Alan MacDiarmid and Alan Heeger.
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Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He 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. Hayes and Porter were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 in recognition of writing scores of songs for themselves, the duo Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, and others. In 2002, Hayes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. During the late 1960s, Hayes also began a career as a recording artist. He released several successful soul albums such as Hot Buttered Soul (1969) and Black Moses (1971). In addition to his work in popular music, Hayes worked as a film composer. Hayes wrote the musical score for the film Shaft (1971). For the "Theme from Shaft", he was awarded the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1972, making him the third black person, after Hattie McDaniel and Sidney Poitier, to win an Academy Award in any competitive field covered by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Hayes also won two Grammy Awards that same year. Later, he won his third Grammy for his album Black Moses. In 1992, Hayes was crowned honorary king of the Ada region of Ghana in recognition of his humanitarian work there. He acted in films and television, such as in the movies Truck Turner (1974), Escape from New York (1981) and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988), and as Gandolf "Gandy" Fitch in the TV series The Rockford Files (1974–1980). Hayes also voiced the character Chef in the Comedy Central animated series South Park from its debut in 1997 until his controversial departure in 2006. On August 5, 2003, Hayes was honored as a BMI Icon at the 2003 BMI Urban Awards for his enduring influence on generations of musicians. Throughout his songwriting career, Hayes received five BMI R&B Awards, two BMI Pop Awards, two BMI Urban Awards and six Million-Air citations.
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Ivo Rojnica
Ivo Rojnica (20 August 1915 – 1 December 2007) was a Croatian Ustaše official and intelligence agent who was active in the World War II Axis puppet state known as the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) from 1941 to 1945. After the war, he escaped to Argentina, where he reinvented himself as a businessman and diplomat. Having joined the fascist, Croatian nationalist Ustaše movement in 1939, Rojnica was appointed as the commissioner (Croatian: Stožernik) of Dubrovnik shortly after the establishment of the NDH in April 1941. In this capacity, he oversaw the implementation of the Ustaše movement's repressive anti-Serb and anti-Semitic measures there. In June 1941, he issued a decree limiting the freedom of movement of Dubrovnik's Jewish and Serb inhabitants. At least 58 individuals were executed on Rojnica's orders between May and December 1941. Upon completing his tenure, he engaged in intelligence work for the rest of the war, and received a decoration from Ustaše leader Ante Pavelić. In May 1945, Rojnica fled to Italy, and was arrested by the British Army the following year. Fearing extradition to Yugoslavia, he feigned a mental breakdown and was transferred to a poorly guarded psychiatric hospital from which he escaped. Rojnica emigrated to Argentina under a pseudonym in 1947 and was granted Argentine citizenship in 1951. Three years later, he petitioned to be recognized under a Hispanicized variant of his real name. Opening a textile factory, he distinguished himself as a successful businessman and an active member of the country's Croatian émigré community, co-founding several cultural societies and publications. In recognition of his charitable activities, he was awarded the Order of St. Gregory the Great by the Holy See. However, he was also suspected of financing several Croatian nationalist aircraft hijackings in the early to mid-1970s. A close associate and supporter of the President of Argentina, Carlos Menem, Rojnica was appointed as the Authorized Representative of the President of Croatia to Argentina and Latin America in 1991. During the Yugoslav Wars, he financed the smuggling of Argentine weaponry to Croatia in violation of a United Nations arms embargo. In February 1993, the Government of Croatia announced its intention to appoint him as the country's ambassador to Argentina. The move caused a public outcry and the Croatian government ultimately reversed its decision. Rojnica died in Buenos Aires in 2007, at the age of 92, having never been indicted or stood trial.
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Jacopo Peri
Jacopo Peri (Italian: [ˈjaːkopo ˈpɛːri]; 20 August 1561 – 12 August 1633) was an Italian composer, singer, and instrumentalist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. He wrote what is considered the first opera, the mostly lost Dafne (c. 1597), and also the earliest extant opera, Euridice (1600). He is sometimes known by the byname ll Zazzerino (lit. 'the blond one').
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Jacqueline Susann
Jacqueline Susann (August 20, 1918 – September 21, 1974) was an American novelist and actress. Her novel Valley of the Dolls (1966) is one of the best-selling books in publishing history. With her two subsequent works, The Love Machine (1969) and Once Is Not Enough (1973), Susann became the first author to have three novels top The New York Times Best Seller list consecutively.
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Jakub Bart-Ćišinski
Jakub Bart-Ćišinski (Polish: [ˈjakub ˈbart t͡ɕiˈɕij̃ski] ; 20 August 1856 in Kuckau – 16 October 1909 in Panschwitz), also known as Łužičan, Jakub Bart Kukowski, was a Sorbian poet, writer and playwright, translator of Czech, Polish, Italian and German literature. He produced his works in Upper Sorbian. He is also an inventor of modern Upper Sorbian poetic language. He has been described as "the classical writer of Sorbian literature." As a Sorbian writer, he felt that writing the Sorbian language and using it for literature and for education would be important for preserving the vitality and distinctiveness of Sorbian culture. But he also realized that it was a double-edged sword, in that education would reduce the isolation of Sorbian culture, making it more vulnerable to outside (mostly German) influence.
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James Marsters
James Wesley Marsters (born August 20, 1962) is an American actor, musician and comic book writer. He is best known for his role as the British punk vampire Spike in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off, Angel. Since then, he has played the alien supervillain Brainiac along with Professor Milton Fine and Brainiac 5 on the Superman-inspired series Smallville, Captain John Hart on Torchwood and terrorist Barnabas Greeley in Syfy's Caprica. He appeared in a supporting role in the film P.S. I Love You, as Victor Hesse in the 2010 reboot of Hawaii Five-0, and Victor Stein in the Marvel series Runaways. He is also the voice of Zamasu along with Future Zamasu for the Funimation dub of the Dragon Ball franchise. He made a guest appearance in the show Supernatural as a warlock business tycoon in a tumultuous marriage with a witch (played by Buffy castmate Charisma Carpenter). He starred in the critically acclaimed two-part indie film A Bread Factory by director Patrick Wang. He also voiced the roles of Lex Luthor in the film Superman: Doomsday and the video game DC Universe Online, Sergei in Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, Mister Fantastic in The Super Hero Squad Show, Korvac in Ultimate Spider-Man, Captain Faro Argyus in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Louis 'Match' Morris in Real Heroes: Firefighter, Nosferatu in DuckTales and various voices in Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated. He is sometimes credited in various anime series and video games as David Gray and Sam Majesters in the series Dragon Ball Super and the video game Dragon Ball FighterZ respectively.
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James Prinsep
James Prinsep (20 August 1799 – 22 April 1840) was an English scholar, orientalist and antiquary. He was the founding editor of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal and is best remembered for deciphering the Kharosthi and Brahmi scripts of ancient India. He studied, documented and illustrated many aspects of numismatics, metallurgy, and meteorology apart from pursuing his career in India as an assay master at the mint in Benares.
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Jean Gebser
Jean Gebser (born Hans Karl Hermann Rudolph Gebser, German: [ˈɡeːpsɐ]; August 20, 1905 – May 14, 1973) was a Swiss philosopher, linguist, and poet who described the structures of human consciousness.
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Jean-Loup Chrétien
Jean-Loup Jacques Marie Chrétien (born 20 August 1938) is a French retired Général de Brigade (brigadier general) in the Armée de l'Air (French air force), and a former CNES spationaut. He flew on two Franco-Soviet space missions and a NASA Space Shuttle mission. Chrétien was the first Frenchman and the first western European in space.
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Jerryd Bayless
Jerryd Andrew Bayless (born August 20, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He played a year of college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats after playing high school basketball at St. Mary's High School in Phoenix. He was selected 11th overall in the 2008 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers and was then traded to the Portland Trail Blazers.
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Jim Reeves
James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923 – July 31, 1964) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. One of the earliest pioneers and practitioners of the Nashville sound, he played a central role in the sonic development of country music in the 1960s. Known as "Gentleman Jim", his songs continued to chart for years after his death in a plane crash. He is a member of both the Country Music and Texas Country Music Halls of Fame.
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Joan Allen
Joan Allen (born August 20, 1956) is an American actress. Known for her work on stage and screen, she has received various accolades, including a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. She began her career with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1977, won the 1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for And a Nightingale Sang, and won the 1988 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her Broadway debut in Burn This. In the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, Allen received international recognition for a string of critically acclaimed performances. She is also a three-time Academy Award nominee, receiving Best Supporting Actress nominations for Nixon (1995) and The Crucible (1996), and a Best Actress nomination for The Contender (2000). Allen's other film roles include Manhunter (1986), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), The Ice Storm (1997), Face/Off (1997), Pleasantville (1998), The Bourne Supremacy (2004), The Upside of Anger (2005), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), Death Race (2008), and The Bourne Legacy (2012). She won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 2015 film Room. She has also starred in the Broadway plays The Heidi Chronicles (1988), Impressionism (2009), and The Waverly Gallery (2018).
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John Boardman
Sir John Boardman, (; 20 August 1927 – 23 May 2024) was a British classical archaeologist and art historian of ancient Greek art. Educated at Chigwell School in Essex and at Magdalene College, Cambridge, Boardman worked as assistant director of the British School at Athens between 1952 and 1955 before taking up a position as an assistant keeper at the Ashmolean Museum, part of the University of Oxford. He succeeded John Beazley as Lincoln Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art at the university in 1978, remaining in post until his retirement in 1994. Boardman's academic work focused on the art and archaeology of ancient Greece, with a particular focus on Greek colonisation, jewellery and vase-painting. He was made a Fellow of the British Academy, which awarded him its Kenyon Medal in 1995. He was also awarded the Onassis Prize for Humanities in 2009.
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John Emburey
John Ernest Emburey (born 20 August 1952) is a former English first-class cricketer who played for Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Western Province, Berkshire and England. He was a part of the English squad which finished as runners-up at the 1987 Cricket World Cup. According to cricket writer Colin Bateman, Emburey's participation in two South African rebel tours "cost him six lost years as far as Test cricket was concerned ... and, more significantly, probably an extended run as England captain, a job for which he was better suited than some who held the position post-Mike Brearley".
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John H. Michaelis
John Hersey Michaelis (20 August 1912 – 31 October 1985) was a United States Army four-star general who served as Commander in Chief, United Nations Command/Commander, United States Forces Korea/Commanding General, Eighth United States Army from 1969 to 1972.
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John Noble
John Noble (born 20 August 1948) 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). His other television credits include the supernatural drama Sleepy Hollow (2013–2017) and the police procedural Elementary (2015–2019). Noble has also lent his distinctively deep voice to animated and video game projects, most notably as Leland Monroe in Rockstar Games' L.A. Noire (2011), Unicron in the animated series Transformers: Prime (2010–2013), and Scarecrow in the DC Comics game Batman: Arkham Knight (2015).
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Jöns Jacob Berzelius
Jöns Jacob Berzelius (Swedish: [jœ̌ns ˈjɑ̂ːkɔb bæˈʂěːlɪɵs]; 20 August 1779 – 7 August 1848) was a Swedish chemist. Berzelius is considered, along with Robert Boyle, John Dalton, and Antoine Lavoisier, to be one of the founders of modern chemistry. Berzelius became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1808 and served from 1818 as its principal functionary. He is known in Sweden as the "Father of Swedish Chemistry". During his lifetime he did not customarily use his first given name, and was universally known simply as Jacob Berzelius. Although Berzelius began his career as a physician, his enduring contributions were in the fields of electrochemistry, chemical bonding and stoichiometry. In particular, he is noted for his determination of atomic weights and his experiments that led to a more complete understanding of the principles of stoichiometry, which is the branch of chemistry pertaining to the quantitative relationships between elements in chemical compounds and chemical reactions and that these occur in definite proportions. This understanding came to be known as the "Law of Constant Proportions". Berzelius was a strict empiricist, expecting that any new theory must be consistent with the sum of contemporary chemical knowledge. He developed improved methods of chemical analysis, which were required to develop the basic data in support of his work on stoichiometry. He investigated isomerism, allotropy, and catalysis, phenomena that owe their names to him. Berzelius was among the first to articulate the differences between inorganic compounds and organic compounds. Among the many minerals and elements he studied, he is credited with discovering cerium and selenium, and with being the first to isolate silicon and thorium. Following on his interest in mineralogy, Berzelius synthesized and chemically characterized new compounds of these and other elements. Berzelius demonstrated the use of an electrochemical cell to decompose certain chemical compounds into pairs of electrically opposite constituents. From this research, he articulated a theory that came to be known as electrochemical dualism, contending that chemical compounds are oxide salts, bonded together by electrostatic interactions. This theory, while useful in some contexts, came to be seen as insufficient. Berzelius's work with atomic weights and his theory of electrochemical dualism led to his development of a modern system of chemical formula notation that showed the composition of any compound both qualitatively and quantitatively. His system abbreviated the Latin names of the elements with one or two letters and applied superscripts to designate the number of atoms of each element present in the compound. Later, chemists changed to use of subscripts rather than superscripts.
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KRS-One
Lawrence Parker (born August 20, 1965), known professionally as KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper and singer from the Bronx. He 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. KRS-One is known for his songs "Sound of da Police", "Love's Gonna Get'cha (Material Love)", and "My Philosophy". Boogie Down Productions received numerous awards and critical acclaim in their early years. Following the release of the group's debut album, Criminal Minded, fellow artist Scott La Rock was shot and killed, but KRS-One continued the group, effectively as a solo project. He began releasing records under his own name in 1993. He is politically active, having started the "Stop the Violence Movement" after La Rock's death. He is also a vegan activist, expressed in songs such as "Beef". He is widely considered an influence on many hip-hop artists.
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Kaho Minagawa
Kaho Minagawa (Japanese: 皆川夏穂; born 20 August 1997) is a retired Japanese individual rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2017 Asian Championships All-around silver medalist. She trained in Novogorsk in Moscow, Russia. She is the first Japanese individual rhythmic gymnast to win a medal at the World Cup series.
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Keith Froome
George Keith Froome (1920–1978) was an Australian rugby league player. He was a halfback for the Australian national team. He played in eight Tests between 1948 and 1949 as captain on two occasions.
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Kevin Heffernan
Kevin Heffernan (20 August 1929 – 25 January 2013) was an Irish Gaelic footballer and manager who played as a left corner-forward at senior level for the Dublin county team. Heffernan made his debut during the 1948 championship, and was a regular member of the starting fifteen until his retirement after the 1962 championship. During that time he won one All-Ireland SFC medal, four Leinster SFC medals and three National League medals. An All-Ireland SFC runner-up on one occasion, Heffernan captained the team to the 1958 All-Ireland SFC title. At club level, Heffernan had a lengthy career with St Vincent's. He won fifteen county football championship medals and six county hurling championship medals. In retirement from playing, Heffernan became involved in coaching and team management. As Dublin manager, he revived the county team and steered them to three All-Ireland SFC titles between 1974 and 1983. Heffernan had a number of personal achievements. In 1974, he became the only non-player to be honoured as the Texaco Footballer of the Year. In 1984, he was named in the left corner-forward position on the GAA's Team of the Century. He was confirmed in this position when the Team of the Millennium was named in 1999.
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Kirko Bangz
Kirk Jerel Randle (born August 20, 1989), better known by his stage name Kirko Bangz, is an American rapper. He is best known for his 2011 single "Drank in My Cup", which peaked at number 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His guest appearance on Meek Mill's 2012 single, "Young & Gettin' It", peaked at number 86. As his following releases have failed to chart, he has been regarded as a one-hit wonder.
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Liana Liberato
Liana Daine Liberato (born August 20, 1995) is an American actress. She played the younger version of the female lead in the 2014 film The Best of Me and starred in the drama films The Last Sin Eater (2007) and Trust (2010), the thriller films Trespass (2011) and Erased (2012), and the horrors Haunt (2013) and The Beach House (2019). In 2017, she was part of the ensemble cast of the drama Novitiate and in 2018 she starred in the comedy Banana Split. From 2018 to 2019, Liberato starred in the leading role on the Hulu thriller series Light as a Feather as McKenna Brady, for which she received two nominations for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Digital Daytime Drama Series (2019) and Outstanding Principal Performance in a Daytime Program (2020). In 2023, she would appear in Scream VI, Totally Killer, the Peacock comedy thriller series Based on a True Story, and Criminal Minds (2024).
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Lieke Klaver
Lieke Klaver (pronounced [ˈlikə] [ˈklaːvər] ; born 20 August 1998) is a Dutch track and field athlete who competes in sprinting. She specializes in the 200 metres and in the 400 metres. In the 4 × 400 metres relay, she is the 2023 World Champion and the 2024 World Indoor Champion with the Dutch women's team and the 2024 Olympic Champion with the Dutch mixed team. Klaver represented the Netherlands at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She won silver medals in the 400 metres short track at the 2024 World Indoor Championships and at the 2023 European Indoor Championships and a bronze medal in the 400 metres at the 2024 European Championships. She also took four national titles (outdoor and indoor). She has won eleven major medals as part of the Dutch 4 × 400 m relay teams, either women's or mixed, including silver for the mixed relays at the 2022 World Championships and the 2024 World Athletics Relays and gold for the women's relays at the 2023 World Championships and 2024 World Indoor Championships.
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Louis Bourdaloue
Louis Bourdaloue (20 August 1632 – 13 May 1704) was a French Jesuit and preacher.
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Macauley Chrisantus
Macauley Chrisantus (born 20 August 1990) is a Nigerian professional footballer who last played as a striker for Lynx.
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Marcin Adamski
Marcin Adamski (born 20 August 1975) is a Polish football executive, manager and former player. He is currently the chairman of III liga club Flota Świnoujście.
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Mario Bernardi
Mario Bernardi, (20 August 1930 – 2 June 2013) was a Canadian conductor and pianist. He conducted 75 different operas and over 450 other works with the National Arts Centre Orchestra.
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Marko Djokovic
Marko Djokovic (Serbian Cyrillic: Марко Ђоковић, romanized: Marko Đoković, pronounced [mâːrkɔ d͡ʑɔ̂ːkɔʋit͡ɕ]; born 20 August 1991) is a Serbian former tennis player. He is the middle of the three children of Dijana and Srđan Đoković, younger brother of Novak and elder to Djordje Djokovic. Djokovic was included as a fifth player in a Serbian Davis Cup team for a quarterfinal tie against Croatia in the 2010 Davis Cup.
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Matt Eisenhuth
Matt Eisenhuth (born 20 August 1992) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who last played as a lock for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL. He previously played for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League.
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Miguel Albaladejo
Miguel Albaladejo (Pilar de la Horadada, Alicante, 20 August 1966) is a Spanish screenwriter and film director.
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Mitchell Trubisky
Mitchell David Trubisky ( troo-BISS-kee; born August 20, 1994) is an American professional football quarterback for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels, receiving third-team All-ACC honors in 2016. Trubisky was selected second overall by the Chicago Bears in the 2017 NFL draft. As the Bears' starting quarterback for four seasons, Trubisky's most successful year was in 2018 when he led the team to their first division title since 2010, earning him Pro Bowl honors. He also helped Chicago make the playoffs a second time in 2020. Due to inconsistent play, he was not re-signed by the Bears when his rookie contract expired the following year. After one year as a backup with the Buffalo Bills, Trubisky spent two seasons alternating as the starter and backup with Pittsburgh Steelers before rejoining the Bills for two more seasons as a backup. Trubisky joined the Titans in 2026.
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Mufaddal Saifuddin
Mufaddal Saifuddin (Arabic: مُفضّل سيفُ ٱلدّين; born 20 August 1946) is the 53rd al-Dai al-Mutlaq and leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community, a Tayyibi, Musta'li, Ismaili, Shia Muslim denomination. He succeeded his father, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, upon the latter’s death in January 2014. Born in Surat, India, Saifuddin was educated at Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah and pursued further studies in Cairo. During his father’s tenure, he held senior educational and administrative roles within the community. As leader, he has conceived community welfare initiatives such as Faiz al-Mawaid al-Burhaniyah and Project Rise, as well as restoration projects of Fatimid-era monuments in Egypt and the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Project, an urban redevelopment project in Mumbai's Bhendi Bazaar. Saifuddin serves as Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia, and has received state honours including Kenya’s Chief of the Order of the Golden Heart, Egypt’s Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile, and Pakistan’s Nishan-e-Pakistan. A direct descendant of the Islamic Prophet Mohammed, Saifuddin's lineage traces back through Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, continuing back through to Imam Hussein to Ali ibn Abi Talib and his wife, Fatima al-Zahra, the daughter of the Prophet.
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Nenad Bjelica
Nenad Bjelica (Croatian pronunciation: [něnaːd bjělitsa]; born 20 August 1971) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb.
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Nigel Dodds
Nigel Alexander Dodds, Baron Dodds of Duncairn, (born 20 August 1958), is a Northern Irish unionist politician serving as Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) in the House of Lords since 2021. He previously served as deputy leader of the DUP from 2008 to 2021 and leader of the DUP in the House of Commons from 2010 to 2019. Born in Derry and raised in County Fermanagh, Dodds originally practised as a barrister. He has been Lord Mayor of Belfast twice, and served as General Secretary of the DUP from 1993 to 2008. Dodds served as a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly from 1998 to 2010. He served in three ministerial portfolios in the Northern Ireland Executive, lastly as Minister of Finance and Personnel from 2008 to 2009, a position he assumed shortly after he became Deputy Leader. He became Member of Parliament for the Belfast North constituency at the 2001 UK general election and served in that role until he was defeated by John Finucane of Sinn Féin in 2019. In July 2020, he was nominated for a peerage in the House of Lords and announced in September 2020 that he would take the title Lord Dodds of Duncairn.
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Nikolas Asimos
Nikolas Asimos (Greek: Νικόλας Άσιμος; 20 August 1949 – 17 March 1988) was a Greek composer, singer and performance artist. His real surname was Asimopoulos (Ασημόπουλος). Asimos was a very special case of a counter-culture artist, mostly because of his lifestyle. His behavior and songs were often received as provocative by the general public. He was a person with strong political opinions. Ideologically, he could be categorized as an anarchist but he never accepted being put in a specific political ideology.
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Paolo Bianco
Paolo Bianco (born 20 August 1977) is an Italian professional football coach and a former player who is the head coach of Serie B club Pisa. He played for several Serie A clubs as a defender.
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Paul Felix Schmidt
Paul Felix Schmidt (20 August [O.S. 7 August] 1916 – 11 August 1984) was an Estonian and German chess player, writer and chemist.
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Paul Tillich
Paul Johannes Tillich (; German: [ˈtɪlɪç]; August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German and American Christian existentialist philosopher, religious socialist, and Lutheran theologian who was one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century. Tillich taught at German universities before migrating to the United States in 1933, where he taught at Union Theological Seminary, Harvard University, and the University of Chicago. For the general public, Tillich wrote the well-received The Courage to Be (1952) and Dynamics of Faith (1957). His major three-volume Systematic Theology (1951–1963) was for theologians; in many points it was an answer to existentialist critique of Christianity. Tillich's work attracted scholarship from other influential thinkers like Karl Barth, Reinhold Niebuhr, H. Richard Niebuhr, George Lindbeck, Erich Przywara, James Luther Adams, Cardinal Avery Dulles, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Sallie McFague, Richard John Neuhaus, David Novak, Thomas Merton, Michael Novak, and Martin Luther King Jr. According to H. Richard Niebuhr, "[t]he reading of Systematic Theology can be a great voyage of discovery into a rich and deep, and inclusive and yet elaborated, vision and understanding of human life in the presence of the mystery of God." John Herman Randall Jr. lauded the Systematic Theology as "beyond doubt the richest, most suggestive, and most challenging philosophical theology our day has produced." Tillich also authored many works in ethics, the philosophy of history, and comparative religion. His ideas continue to be studied and discussed at international conferences and seminars.
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Phan Khôi
Phan Khôi (October 06, 1887 – January 16, 1959) was an intellectual leader who inspired a North Vietnamese variety of the Chinese Hundred Flowers Campaign, in which scholars were permitted to criticize the government, but for which he himself was ultimately persecuted by the Worker's Party of Vietnam.
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Quinn Buckner
William Quinn Buckner (born August 20, 1954) 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. He was a captain of the last undefeated NCAA Division I basketball champion and of the 1976 Olympics gold medal team. Buckner was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 7th pick of the 1976 NBA draft. He had a ten-year NBA career for three teams: the Bucks, the Boston Celtics, and the Indiana Pacers. In 1984, he won an NBA title with the Celtics. Buckner is one of only eight players to achieve a basketball Triple Crown: winning an NCAA championship, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal. He is one of only three players to win a high school state championship (in Illinois), NCAA championship, an NBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal. After his playing career, Buckner was the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks for one year, from 1993 to 1994. He spent several years as the play-by-play announcer on 989 Sports for college basketball games. Currently, he is a color analyst for the Pacers television broadcast team on FanDuel Sports Network Indiana.
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Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Ratna Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian aircraft pilot and politician who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989 for two terms. He took office after the assassination of his mother, then–prime minister Indira Gandhi, to become the youngest Indian prime minister at the age of 40. He served until his defeat at the 1989 election, and then became Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, resigning in December 1990, six months before his own assassination. Gandhi was not related to Mahatma Gandhi. Instead, he was from the politically powerful Nehru–Gandhi family, which had been associated with the Indian National Congress party. For much of his childhood, his maternal grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru was prime minister. Gandhi attended The Doon School, an elite boarding institution, and then the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. He returned to India in 1966 and became a professional pilot for the state-owned Indian Airlines. In 1968, he married Sonia Maino; the couple settled in Delhi for a domestic life with their children Rahul and Priyanka. For much of the 1970s, his mother was prime minister and his younger brother Sanjay an MP; despite this, Gandhi remained apolitical. After Sanjay died in a plane crash in 1980, Gandhi reluctantly entered politics at the behest of his mother. The following year he won his brother's Parliamentary seat of Amethi and became a member of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's Parliament. As part of his political grooming, Rajiv was made general secretary of the Congress party and given significant responsibility in organising the 1982 Asian Games. On the morning of 31 October 1984, his mother (the then prime minister) was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star, an Indian military action to remove Sikh separatist activists from the Golden Temple. Later that day, Gandhi was appointed prime minister. His leadership was tested over the next few days as organised mobs rioted against the Sikh community, resulting in anti-Sikh massacres in Delhi. That December, the Congress party won the largest Lok Sabha majority to date, 414 seats out of 541. Gandhi's period in office was mired in controversies such as Bhopal disaster, Bofors scandal and Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum. In 1988, he reversed the coup in Maldives, antagonising militant Tamil groups such as PLOTE, intervening and then sending peacekeeping troops to Sri Lanka in 1987, leading to open conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). His party was defeated in the 1989 election. Gandhi remained Congress president until the elections in 1991. While campaigning for the elections, he was assassinated by a suicide bomber from the LTTE. In 1991, the Indian government posthumously awarded Gandhi the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award. At the India Leadership Conclave in 2009, the Revolutionary Leader of Modern India award was conferred posthumously on Gandhi.
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Raymond Poincaré
Raymond Nicolas Landry Poincaré (French: [ʁɛmɔ̃ pwɛ̃kaʁe]; 20 August 1860 – 15 October 1934) was a French statesman who served as President of France from 1913 to 1920, and three times as Prime Minister of France. He was a conservative leader, primarily committed to political and social stability. Trained in law, Poincaré was elected as a Deputy in 1887 and served in the cabinets of Dupuy and Ribot. In 1902, he co-founded the Democratic Republican Alliance, the most important centre-right party under the Third Republic, becoming prime minister in 1912 and serving as President of the Republic for 1913–1920. Attempting to exercise influence from a traditionally figurehead role, he visited Russia in 1912 and 1914 to repair relations with Russia which had been strained by the Bosnian Crisis of 1908 and the Agadir Crisis of 1911. He likewise played an important role during the July Crisis of 1914 which ultimately led to France's participation in World War I. From 1917 onward, he exercised less influence after his political rival Georges Clemenceau had become prime minister. At the Paris Peace Conference, he favoured Allied occupation of the Rhineland. In 1922 Poincaré returned to power as prime minister. In 1923 he ordered the Occupation of the Ruhr to enforce payment of German reparations. By this time Poincaré was seen, especially in the English-speaking world, as an aggressive figure (Poincaré-la-Guerre) who had helped to cause the war in 1914 and who now favoured punitive anti-German policies. His government was defeated by the Cartel des Gauches at the elections of 1924. He served a third term as prime minister in 1926–1929. Poincaré was an International Member of both the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Nicknamed Le Lion ("the Lion"), Poincaré is honored as a victorious wartime leader in France.
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Roger Gale
Sir Roger James Gale (born 20 August 1943) is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Herne Bay and Sandwich, previously North Thanet, since 1983. He had a career in journalism and broadcasting from 1964, around the same time as he joined the Conservative Party, until 1983. He was a prominent and vocal critic of Boris Johnson during his leadership of the Conservative Party. He is the oldest MP elected in the 2024 general election.
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Roger Wolcott Sperry
Roger Wolcott Sperry (August 20, 1913 – April 17, 1994) was an American neuropsychologist, neurobiologist, cognitive neuroscientist, who, together with David H. Hubel and Torsten Nils Wiesel, won the 1981 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work with split-brain research. A Review of General Psychology survey, published in 2002, ranked Sperry as the 44th most cited psychologist of the 20th century.
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Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, medical doctor, and former politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas's 14th congressional district from 1997 to 2013. On three occasions, he sought the presidency of the United States, first as the Libertarian Party nominee in 1988, and then as a candidate for the Republican Party in 2008 and 2012. A self-described constitutionalist, Paul is a critic of several of the federal government's policies, especially the existence of the Federal Reserve and tax policy, as well as the military–industrial complex, the war on drugs, and the war on terror. He has also been a vocal critic of mass surveillance policies such as the Patriot Act and the NSA surveillance programs. In 1976, Paul formed the Foundation for Rational Economics and Education (FREE), and in 1985 was named the first chairman of the conservative PAC Citizens for a Sound Economy, both free-market groups focused on limited government. He has been characterized as the "intellectual godfather" of the Tea Party movement, a fiscally conservative political movement started in 2007 and popularized in 2009 that is largely opposed to interventionism. Paul served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force from 1963 to 1968, and worked as an obstetrician-gynecologist from the 1960s to the 1980s. When his son, Rand Paul, was elected as a U.S. senator from Kentucky in 2011, Paul became the first U.S. representative in history to serve concurrently with a child in the Senate. He is a senior fellow and distinguished counselor of the Mises Institute, and has published a number of books and promoted the ideas of economists of the Austrian School, such as Murray Rothbard, Friedrich Hayek, and Ludwig von Mises, during his political campaigns. He has cited President Grover Cleveland as his preferred model of presidency. After the popularity and grassroots enthusiasm of his 2008 presidential bid, Paul announced in July 2011 that he would not seek reelection to Congress in order to focus on his 2012 bid for the presidency. Finishing in the top four with delegates in both races (while winning four states in the 2012 primaries), he refused to endorse the Republican nominations of John McCain and Mitt Romney during their respective 2008 and 2012 campaigns against Barack Obama. At both the 2008 and 2012 Republican National Conventions, Paul received the second-highest number of delegates, behind only McCain and Romney, respectively. Paul remained active after his retirement from electoral politics, giving speeches promoting libertarian and libertarian-conservative ideas on college campuses. He also continues to provide political commentary through The Ron Paul Liberty Report, a web show he co-hosts on YouTube. At 81, and despite not running, Paul received one electoral vote from a Texas faithless elector in the 2016 presidential election, making him the oldest person to receive an Electoral College vote.
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Roy Gardner
Sir Roy Alan Gardner (born 20 August 1945) is a British businessman. He is a former director of English football clubs Manchester United and Plymouth Argyle. While at Manchester United, he was involved in the sale of the club to American businessman Malcolm Glazer before resigning in protest at the sale. His time as chairman of Plymouth Argyle resulted in the club entering administration with debts of over £17 million and accusations of financial mismanagement.
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Rubén Hinojosa
Rubén Eloy Hinojosa (born August 20, 1940) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 15th congressional district, from 1997 to 2017. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district stretched from Seguin (east of San Antonio), to McAllen on the Mexican border. Much of the region was rural although Hidalgo County is part of the third-fastest-growing metropolitan statistical area in the country. Hinojosa served on the Financial Services and Education committees.
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Rudolf Bultmann
Rudolf Karl Bultmann (; German: [ˈbʊltman]; 20 August 1884 – 30 July 1976) was a German Lutheran theologian and professor of the New Testament at the University of Marburg. He was one of the major figures of early 20th-century biblical studies. A prominent critic of liberal theology, Bultmann instead argued for an existentialist interpretation of the New Testament. His hermeneutical approach to the New Testament led him to be a proponent of dialectical theology. Bultmann is known for his belief that the historical analysis of the New Testament is both futile and unnecessary, given that the earliest Christian literature showed little interest in specific locations. Bultmann argued that all that matters is the "thatness," not the "whatness" of Jesus, i.e. only that Jesus existed, preached, and died by crucifixion matters, not what happened throughout his life. Bultmann relied on demythologization, an approach interpreting the mythological elements in the New Testament existentially. Bultmann contended that only faith in the kerygma, or proclamation, of the New Testament was necessary for Christian faith, not any particular facts regarding the historical Jesus.
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Salvatore Quasimodo
Salvatore Quasimodo (Italian: [salvaˈtoːre kwaˈziːmodo]; 20 August 1901 – 14 June 1968) was an Italian poet and translator, awarded the 1959 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his lyrical poetry, which with classical fire expresses the tragic experience of life in our own times". Along with Giuseppe Ungaretti and Eugenio Montale, he was one of the foremost Italian poets of the 20th century.
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Sarah Borwell
Sarah Leah Borwell (born 20 August 1979) is an English former professional tennis player who enjoyed her greatest success in doubles. She was the British number one in doubles. Her career-high doubles ranking is 65, set on 9 August 2010, and her career-high singles ranking is 199, which she reached on 10 July 2006.
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Shahrukh Mirza
Shah Rukh or Shahrukh Mirza (Uzbek: Shohrux, from Classical Persian: شاهرخ, romanized: Shāhrukh; 20 August 1377 – 13 March 1447) was the ruler of the Timurid Empire between 1405 and 1447. He was the son of the Central Asian conqueror Timur (Tamerlane), who founded the Timurid dynasty in 1370. However, Shah Rukh ruled only over the eastern portion of the empire established by his father, comprising most of Persia and Transoxiana, the western territories having been lost to invaders in the aftermath of Timur's death. In spite of this, Shah Rukh's empire remained a cohesive dominion of considerable extent throughout his reign, as well as a dominant power in Asia. Shah Rukh controlled the main trade routes between Asia and Europe, including the legendary Silk Road, and became immensely wealthy as a result. He chose to have his capital not in Samarqand as his father had done, but in Herat. This was to become the political centre of the Timurid empire and residence of his principal successors, though both cities benefited from the wealth and privilege of Shah Rukh's court. Shah Rukh was a great patron of the arts and sciences, which flourished under his rule. He spent his reign focusing on the stability of his lands, as well as maintaining political and economic relations with neighbouring kingdoms. In the view of historians Thomas W. Lentz and Glenn D. Lowry, "unlike his father, Shahrukh ruled the Timurid empire, not as a Turco-Mongol warlord-conqueror, but as an Islamic sultan. In dynastic chronicles he is exalted as a man of great piety, diplomacy, and modesty—a model Islamic ruler who repaired much of the physical and psychological damage caused by his father."
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Sneaky Pete Kleinow
Peter E. "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow (August 20, 1934 – January 6, 2007) was an American country-rock musician and animator. He was a member of the band the Flying Burrito Brothers, and worked extensively as a session musician, playing pedal steel guitar for Joan Baez, Jackson Browne, The Byrds, Leonard Cohen, Joe Cocker, Rita Coolidge, Eagles, The Everly Brothers, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, The Steve Miller Band, Joni Mitchell, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Spencer Davis, Little Richard, Linda Ronstadt, Jimmie Spheeris and many others. He is a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. Kleinow is also noteworthy for having composed the Gumby theme song as well as being an animator on the 1960s iteration of the show.
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Stefan Aigner
Stefan Aigner (born 20 August 1987) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Aigner spent most of his career in Germany, apart from a brief spell in USA with Colorado Rapids. He has played in 274 matches in Germany's top two divisions and has played in the Europa League.
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Stelvio Cipriani
Stelvio Cipriani (20 August 1937 – 1 October 2018), also known as Viostel, was an Italian composer, mostly of motion picture soundtracks, conductor and pianist.
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Tarjei Vesaas
Tarjei Vesaas (Norwegian pronunciation: ['tɑrjæɪ 'veːsoːs]) (20 August 1897 – 15 March 1970) was a Norwegian poet and novelist. Vesaas is widely considered to be one of Norway's greatest writers of the twentieth century and perhaps its most important since World War II. Vesaas' work is characterized by simple, terse, and symbolic prose. His stories often feature rural people who go through severe psychological changes. These works are characterized by their usage of the demanding Norwegian landscape and themes such as guilt and death. His mastery of the Nynorsk written language has contributed to its acceptance as a medium of world class literature. A prolific author, he won a number of awards, including the Gyldendal's Endowment in 1943 and the Dobloug Prize in 1957. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature on 57 occasions—once in 1946, and then every year between 1950 and 1970, often receiving multiple nominations per year. His novels have been translated into 28 languages. Several of his books have been translated into English—many of them published by Peter Owen Publishers—among them Spring Night, The Birds, Through Naked Branches, and The Ice Palace.
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Ted Donaldson
Ted Donaldson (August 20, 1933 – March 1, 2023) was an American actor.
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Terry Sanford
James Terry Sanford (August 20, 1917 – April 18, 1998) 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. presidential candidate in the 1970s, and served as a U.S. senator from 1986 to 1993. He was a strong proponent of public education and introduced several reforms and new programs in North Carolina's schools and institutions of higher education as the state's governor. From 1970 to 1985, Sanford served as the president of Duke University. Born in Laurinburg, North Carolina, Sanford became a Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1939. During World War II he joined the United States Army and saw combat in the European Theater. Following the war, Sanford attended and graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law and began a legal career in the late 1940s, soon becoming involved in politics. He served one term in the North Carolina Senate and managed W. Kerr Scott's U.S. Senate campaign in 1954 before running for governor in 1960. Focusing on improving education and economic opportunity, he defeated segregationist I. Beverly Lake Sr. in the Democratic primary and was subsequently elected governor in the general election. Taking office in 1961, he pushed a controversial tax increase through the state legislature to double public spending on schools and created a commission to study further education. Growing increasingly anxious about opportunities for black students, he became the first Southern governor to call for an end to racially discriminatory employment practices in 1963 and used law enforcement to protect civil rights demonstrators. He also created the North Carolina Fund to alleviate poverty and lobbied for a major environmental research facility to be located at the Research Triangle Park, while also presiding over reforms in other areas such as medical assistance and health and safety during his time as governor. Leaving the governorship in 1965, Sanford remained active in Democratic Party politics and engaged in the practice of law before being hired as President of Duke University in 1970. While there, he increased the school's fundraising, managed student protests, and created new institutions to study public policy issues. Retiring in 1985, he successfully ran for a U.S. Senate seat the following year. In Congress he maintained a liberal voting record, cofounding the International Commission for Central American Recovery and Development, objecting to the passage of a Flag Desecration Amendment, and criticizing American involvement in the Gulf War. Defeated in a bid for re-election in 1992, he spent his later years practicing law, writing, and teaching at Duke before he died of cancer in 1998. He is remembered in North Carolina as the "education governor" and served as a role model for several other Southern governors.
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Thomas Corneille
Thomas Corneille (20 August 1625 – 8 December 1709) was a French lexicographer and dramatist.
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Thomas Simpson
Thomas Simpson FRS (20 August 1710 – 14 May 1761) was a British mathematician and inventor known for the eponymous Simpson's rule to approximate definite integrals. The attribution, as often in mathematics, can be debated: this rule had been found 100 years earlier by Johannes Kepler, and in German it is called Keplersche Fassregel, or roughly "Kepler's Barrel Rule".
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Tonisha Rock-Yaw
Tonisha Rock-Yaw (born 20 August 1993) is a Barbadian netball player who represents Barbados internationally and plays in the positions of centre and wing defense. She made her maiden World Cup appearance representing Barbados at the 2019 Netball World Cup. She also represented Barbados at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which also marked her maiden Commonwealth Games appearance.
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Tôn Đức Thắng
Tôn Đức Thắng (Vietnamese: [ton˧˧ ʔɗɨk̚˧˦ tʰaŋ˧˦]; 20 August 1888 – 30 March 1980) was the second President of Vietnam under the leadership of Communist Party General Secretary Lê Duẩn. The position of president is ceremonial and Tôn was never a major policymaker or even a member of the Politburo, Vietnam's ruling council. He served as president, initially of Democratic Republic of Vietnam from September 2, 1969, and later of a united Vietnam, until his death in 1980. Known in Vietnam as Uncle Tôn (Bác Tôn), Tôn Đức Thắng was a Vietnamese revolutionary and communist political figure. He was chairman of the National Assembly's Standing Committee (1955–1960) and served as the Vice President to Hồ Chí Minh from 1960 to 1969, succeeding him as president after Ho's death. He died at the age of 91; he was the oldest head of a state with the title of "president" (subsequently surpassed by Hastings Banda).
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Uwe Bialon
Uwe Bialon (born 20 August 1963) is a German professional football manager and former player. He made his single Bundesliga appearance for VfB Stuttgart on 23 October 1982 in a 5–2 win over VfL Bochum.
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Vilhelm Moberg
Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg (20 August 1898 – 8 August 1973) was a Swedish journalist, author, playwright, historian, and debater. His literary career, spanning more than 45 years, is associated with his four‑volume series The Emigrants. The novels, published between 1949 and 1959, deal with the Swedish emigration to the United States in the 19th century. They have been adapted for a total of three movies (two in the 1970s and one in 2021), and a musical. Among his other works are Raskens (1927) and Ride This Night (1941), a historical novel of a 17th‑century rebellion in Småland, acknowledged for its subliminal but widely recognised criticism of the Hitler regime. A prominent public intellectual and debater in Sweden, Moberg was recognized for his vocal criticism of the Swedish monarchy (most notably after the Haijby affair), describing it as a servile government by divine mandate, and publicly supporting its replacement with a Swiss‑style confederal republic. He spoke out aggressively against the policies of Nazi Germany, the Greek military junta, and the Soviet Union, and his works were among those destroyed in Nazi book burnings. In 1971, he scolded Prime Minister Olof Palme for refusing to present the Nobel Prize in Literature to its recipient Alexander Solzhenitsyn – who was refused permission to attend the ceremony in Stockholm – through the Swedish embassy in Moscow. Moberg's suicide by self‑inflicted drowning drew much attention. He had had a long struggle with depression and writer's block.
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Walter Bernstein
Walter Bernstein (August 20, 1919 – January 23, 2021) was an American screenwriter and film producer who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studios in the 1950s because of his views on communism. Some of his notable works included The Front (1976), Yanks (1979), and Little Miss Marker (1980). He was a recipient of Writers Guild of America Awards including the Ian McLellan Hunter Award and the Evelyn F. Burkey Award.
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