First Confidential

THIS DAY IN HISTORY - AUGUST 20th

This Day in History

August 20th, 14

Roman Empire Decline and Fall of Rome Agrippa Postumus, adoptive-son of the late Roman Emperor Augustus, is executed by his guards while in exile under mysterious circumstances

Roman Empire:
14 - Agrippa Postumus, adoptive-son of the late Roman Emperor Augustus, is executed by his guards while in exile under mysterious circumstances.

Wikipedia  Image: Relief from a 3rd-century sarcophagus depicting a battle between Romans and Germanic warriors; the central figure is perhaps the emperor Hostilian / Depiction of the Menorah on the Arch of Titus in Rome
Painting: Polyphemus and Galatea in a landscape, Roman fresco from the imperial villa of Agrippa Postumus at Boscotrecase, Italy, last decade of the 1st century bce; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
Photograph by AlkaliSoaps. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, Rogers Fund, 1920

August 20th, 636

Byzantine Empire Collage Battle of Yarmouk: Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take control of Syria and Palestine away from the Byzantine Battle of Acheloos: Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria decisively defeats a Byzantine army

Byzantine Empire (East Roman Empire):
636 - Byzantine-Arab Wars; Battle of Yarmouk - Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take control of Syria and Palestine away from the Byzantine.
917 - "Battle of Acheloos:" Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria decisively defeats a Byzantine army.

Wikipedia  Image: The Baptism of Constantine painted by Raphael's pupils (1520–1524, fresco, Vatican City, Apostolic Palace); Mural of Saints Cyril and Methodius, 19th century, Troyan Monastery, Bulgaria; Justinian I depicted on one of the famous mosaics of the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna; The Greek fire was first used by the Byzantine Navy during the Byzantine-Arab Wars (from the Madrid Skylitzes, Biblioteca Nacional de España, Madrid); Alexios I, founder of the Komnenos dynasty.
Painting: Byzantine-Arab Wars, Muslim conquest of Syria, Battle of Yarmouk. The Bulgarian victory at Anchialus.

August 20th, 1000

Saint Stephen< (He greatly expanded Hungarian control over the Carpathian Basin during his lifetime, broadly established Christianity in the region, and is generally regarded as the founder of the Kingdom of Hungary); Statue of Saint Stephen, Fisherman's Bastion, Budapest, Hungary. David Noton/Getty Images

The foundation of the Hungarian state by Saint Stephen, celebrated as a National Day in Hungary.

Wikipedia  Image: Saint Stephen (He greatly expanded Hungarian control over the Carpathian Basin during his lifetime, broadly established Christianity in the region, and is generally regarded as the founder of the Kingdom of Hungary); Statue of Saint Stephen, Fisherman's Bastion, Budapest, Hungary. David Noton/Getty Images.

August 20th, 1858

Charles Darwin first publishes his theory of evolution through natural selection in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, alongside Alfred Russel Wallace's same theory

Charles Darwin first publishes his theory of evolution through natural selection in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, alongside Alfred Russel Wallace's same theory.

Wikipedia  Image: Charles Darwin, while still a young man joined the scientific elite; Evolutionary tree in mid-July 1837 Darwin started his "B" notebook on Transmutation of Species, and on page 36 wrote "I think" above his first evolutionary tree; The hominoids are descendants of a common ancestor.

August 20th, 1866

Lincoln Memorial: an American national monument built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln - located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. across from the Washington Monument American Civil War: Battle of Antietam; Stone Bridge at Antietam Battlefield - Sharpsburg, Maryland American Civil War, Battle of Mobile Bay: at Mobile Bay near Mobile, Alabama, Admiral David Farragut leads a Union flotilla through Confederate defenses and seals one of the last major Southern ports

American Civil War:
1866 - The American Civil War is formally declared over by U.S. President Andrew Johnson.

Wikipedia  Image: ● Lincoln Memorial; an American national monument built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln - located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. across from the Washington Monument.
● The northern army led by George McClellan and the southern army led by Robert E. Lee met at Antietam Creek, Maryland in September, 1862. It was a bloody battle where 13,000 Confederates and 12,000 Union troops died in just one day. McClellan had hesitated to attack before the battle thus letting the southern troops regroup. Also, he had saved reserves and refused to use them at the end of the battle thinking that Lee was holding reserves for a counterattack, even though those reserves didn't exist. The Union victory stopped Lee's northward advance and was a turning point in the war.
● Battle of Antietam / Stone Bridge at Antietam Battlefield - Sharpsburg, Maryland
● Battle of Mobile Bay (1890) by Xanthus Russell Smith.
● Although photography was still in its infancy, war correspondents produced thousands of images, bringing the harsh realities of the frontlines to those on the home front in a new and visceral way. The Atlantic.

August 20th, 1910

The Great Fire of 1910 (commonly referred to as the Big Blowup or the Big Burn) occurred in northeast Washington, northern Idaho (the panhandle), and western Montana, burning approximately 3 million acres'

Great Fire of 1910: (commonly referred to as the Big Blowup or the Big Burn) occurred in northeast Washington state, northern Idaho (the panhandle), and western Montana , burning approximately 3 million acres.

Wikipedia  Photo: U.S. Forest Service, forest fires.

August 20th, 1920

The first commercial radio station, 8MK (now WWJ), begins operations in Detroit, Michigan

The first commercial radio station, 8MK (now WWJ AM), begins operations in Detroit, Michigan.

Wikipedia  Photo: 8MK in Detroit, Michigan going on the air August 20, 1920. The Station was located in the Detroit News Building.

August 20th, 1938

Lou Gehrig hits his 23rd career grand slam - a record that still stands

Lou Gehrig hits his 23rd career grand slam - a record that still stands.

Wikipedia  Photos: “Luckiest man on the face of the earth” Lou Gehrig, New York Yankees / Lou Gehrig with Babe Ruth

August 20th, 1940

In Mexico City exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky is fatally wounded with an ice axe by Ramon Mercader. He dies the next da

Mexico City: exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky is fatally wounded with an ice axe by Ramon Mercader. He dies the next day.

Wikipedia  Photo: Leon Trotsky had not been struck down by a Stalinist assassin's icepick in August, 1940

August 20th, 1950

Korean War Collage

Korean War:
1950 - Battle of Taegu; United Nations repel an offensive by North Korean divisions attempting to cross the Nakdong River and assault the city of Taegu.

Wikipedia  Photo: Korean War Collage credit, The Big Picture, Boston Globe - (Associated Press; U.S. Department of Defense / SGT. F.C. Kerr; AP Photo; U.S. Department of Defense / TSGT. Charles B. Tyler; U.S. Department of Defense / TSGT. Charles B. Tyler; U.S. Department of Defense / TSGT. Robert H. Mosier; AP Photo / Max Desfor; U.S. Department of Defense / CPL. P. McDonald; AP Photo / Max Desfor; AP Photo/George Sweers; U.S. Navy / Maj. R.V. Spencer, UAF; AP Photo / Max Desfor).

August 20th, 1977

Voyager Program: NASA launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft

Voyager Program: NASA launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft to explore the planets of the outer solar system and the interplanetary environment.

Wikipedia  Photo: Voyager 2, NASA

August 20th, 1988

Bison Herd, Yellowstone National Park, credit National Park Service

"Black Saturday" of the Yellowstone fire in Yellowstone National Park.

Wikipedia  Photo: Yellowstone National Park; ● Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. ● Great Fountain Geyser in Yellowstone, the first U.S. national park, erupts every 9 to 15 hours, shooting water up to 220 feet high ● Bison Herd, Yellowstone National Park

August 20th, 1991

Estonia: Tornimäe business quarter in Tallinn ● Lighthouse by Baltic Sea Stony Coast in Pärnu County, Estonia ● Approximately 7,000 swamps in Estonia which cover up to 22.3% of Estonian territory ● Osmussaar (Swedish: Odensholm) is one of many islands in the territorial waters of Estonia ● The Northern coast of Estonia consists mainly of limestone cliffs ● Estonia is famous for its countless of manors which used to house the ruling German elite ● Estonialandscape.

Estonia annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940, issues a decision on the re-establishment of independence on the basis of historical continuity of her pre-World War II statehood.

Wikipedia  Photo: Estonia: Tornimäe business quarter in Tallinn ● Lighthouse by Baltic Sea Stony Coast in Pärnu County, Estonia ● Approximately 7,000 swamps in Estonia which cover up to 22.3% of Estonian territory ● Osmussaar (Swedish: Odensholm) is one of many islands in the territorial waters of Estonia ● The Northern coast of Estonia consists mainly of limestone cliffs ● Estonia is famous for its countless of manors which used to house the ruling German elite ● Estonialandscape

August 20th, 2008

Airliners Crash: ● Pan AM 747 ● U.S. Airways flight 1549 also known as the 'Miracle on the Hudson' navigates an exit ramp near Burlington, New Jersey, June 5, 2011 ● Passengers stand on the wings of a U.S. Airways plane as a ferry pulls up to it after it landed in the Hudson River in New York, Reuters ● US Airways plane crashes into New York Hudson River, Photo: AP

Aviation accidents and incidents:
2008 - Spanair Flight 5022 from Madrid, Spain to Gran Canaria, skids off the runway and crashes at Barajas Airport. 146 people are killed in the crash, and 8 more die later. Only 18 people survive.

Wikipedia  Photo: ● Pan AM 747 ● U.S. Airways flight 1549 also known as the "Miracle on the Hudson" navigates an exit ramp near Burlington, New Jersey, June 5, 2011 ● Passengers stand on the wings of a U.S. Airways plane as a ferry pulls up to it after it landed in the Hudson River in New York, Reuters ● US Airways plane crashes into New York Hudson River, Photo: AP

August 20th, 2016

List of modern conflicts in the Middle East

Modern conflicts in the Middle East, social unrest and terrorist attacks:
2016 - Gaziantep bombing; 54 people are killed when a suicide bomber detonates himself at a Kurdish wedding party in Gaziantep, Turkey.

Wikipedia  Photo: Middle East satellite image, NASA. ● Camels are seen early morning on a beach in the Marina area of Dubai October 16, 2008. (Steve Crisp, Reuters) ● A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad burns during clashes between rebels and Syrian troops in Selehattin, near Aleppo, on July 23, 2012. (Bulent Kilic, AFP / GettyImages) ● Egyptians gather in their thousands in Tahrir Square to mark the one year anniversary of the revolution on Jan. 25, 2012 in Cairo Egypt. Tens of thousands have gathered in the square on the first anniversary of the Arab uprising which toppled President Hosni Mubarak. (Jeff J Mitchell, Getty Images) ● Black smoke rises above the Tehran skyline as supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi burn tires and other material in the streets as they fight running battles with police to protest the declared results of the Iranian presidential election in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, June 13, 2009. (Ben Curtis, AP) ● The Iron Dome defense system fires to interecpt incoming missiles from Gaza in the port town of Ashdod, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2012. (Tsafrir Abayov, AP)