What Happened on August 20?

August 20 is World Mosquito Day — recalling Ronald Ross's malaria discovery — on the same date NASA launched Voyager 2 in 1977, Tchaikovsky premiered the 1812 Overture in 1882, and Warsaw Pact tanks entered Czechoslovakia in 1968.

• 1619 — The first recorded Africans arrive in English Virginia

  About August 20, 1619, a privateer ship brought "20 and odd" Africans to Point Comfort, Virginia — a foundational moment in American slavery's history. Read the full story →

• 1882 — Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture premieres in Moscow

  On August 20, 1882, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's thunderous 1812 Overture debuted in Moscow — complete with cannons in the score. Read the full story →

• 1897 — Ronald Ross confirms mosquitoes transmit malaria parasites

  On August 20, 1897, British doctor Ronald Ross found malaria parasites developing inside a mosquito — proving insects spread the deadly disease. Read the full story →

• 1940 — Churchill praises the RAF: "Never in the field of human conflict..."

  On August 20, 1940, Winston Churchill told Parliament that RAF fighter pilots deserved a nation's thanks with his famous "Never was so much owed by so many to so few" line. Read the full story →

• 1968 — Warsaw Pact forces invade Czechoslovakia

  On the night of August 20–21, 1968, Soviet-led Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia to crush the Prague Spring reform movement. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901) · Robert Plant (1948) · Amy Adams (1974) · Connie Chung (1946)

Days & observances

World Mosquito Day · National Lemonade Day · National Radio Day · National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day