Today is Thursday, Aug. 20, the 233rd day of 2020. There are 133 days left in the year.
Today in history
On Aug. 20, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Economic Opportunity Act, a nearly $1 billion anti-poverty measure.
Also on this date:
- In 1862, the New York Tribune published an open letter by editor Horace Greeley calling on President Abraham Lincoln to take more aggressive measures to free the slaves and end the South’s rebellion.
- In 1920, pioneering American radio station 8MK in Detroit (later WWJ) began daily broadcasting.
- In 1940, exiled Communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky was assassinated in Coyoacan, Mexico, by Ramon Mercader, a Spanish Communist agent working at the behest of Josef Stalin. (Trotsky died the next day.)
- In 1953, the Soviet Union publicly acknowledged it had tested a hydrogen bomb.
- In 1955, hundreds of people were killed in anti-French rioting in Morocco and Algeria.
- In 1968, the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact nations began invading Czechoslovakia to crush the “Prague Spring” liberalization drive.
Fun fact
The Vermont Novelty Toaster Corporation sells a “selfie toaster” that will print your selfie onto a piece of toast.
Record setters
The oldest manatee in captivity ever was Snooty, age 69 years, 2 days, when he passed away July 23, 2017. Snooty lived at the South Florida Museum in Bradenton, Fla.
Guinness World Records
Trending words
“Quiescent:” adjective; (kwy-ESS-unt). Definition: Marked by inactivity or repose: tranquilly at rest, or causing no trouble or symptoms.
— Merriam-Webster
Today’s birthdays
Writer-producer-director Walter Bernstein is 101. Boxing promoter Don King is 89. Former Sen. George Mitchell, D-Maine, is 87. Former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is 85. Former MLB All-Star Graig Nettles is 76. Broadcast journalist Connie Chung is 74. Musician Jimmy Pankow (Chicago) is 73. Actor Ray Wise is 73. Actor John Noble is 72. Rock singer Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) is 72. Country singer Rudy Gatlin is 68. Singer-songwriter John Hiatt is 68. Actor-director Peter Horton is 67. TV weatherman Al Roker is 66. Actor Jay Acovone is 65. Actor Joan Allen is 64. Movie director David O. Russell is 62. TV personality Asha Blake is 59. Actor James Marsters is 58. Rapper KRS-One is 55. Actor Colin Cunningham is 54. Actor Billy Gardell is 51. Rock singer Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit) is 50. Actor Jonathan Ke Quan is 50. Rock musician Brad Avery is 49. Actor Misha Collins is 46. Rock singer Monique Powell (Save Ferris) is 45. Jazz/pop singer-pianist Jamie Cullum is 41. Actor Ben Barnes is 39. Actor Meghan Ory is 38. Actor Andrew Garfield is 37. Actor Brant Daugherty is 35. Actor-singer Demi Lovato is 28. Actor Christopher Paul Richards is 17.
The Edge is compiled by Dallas Marshall. She can be contacted at dmarshall@lmtribune.com.
