August 20th
1882
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture debuts in Moscow.
1938
Lou Gehrig hits his 23rd career grand slam – a record that still stands.
1977
The space probe Voyager 2 was launched. It continues to explore to this day, and is now more than 7 billion miles from Earth.
1980
Italian Reinhold Messner made the first successful solo ascent of Mount Everest and without oxygen.
1989
The first episode of "Saved By The Bell" aired on NBC.
2006
Former Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal, who had taken the iconic Iwo Jima flag-raising picture during World War II, died at age 94.
Birthdays
78 Don King Boxing promoter
65 Graig Nettles Baseball player (New York Yankees)
63 Connie Chung Broadcast journalist
61 Robert Plant Rock singer (Led Zeppelin)
55 Al Roker TV weatherman
47 James Marsters Actor ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel")
41 Mikey202 Cigar Asylum Inmate
39 Fred Durst Rock singer (Limp Bizkit)
33 Chris Drury Hockey player
67 Benjamin Harrison 8/20/1833 - 3/13/1901 23rd president of the United States
97 Al Lopez 8/20/1908 - 1/30/2005 Baseball Hall of Famer
65 Isaac Hayes 8/20/1942 - 8/10/2008 Singer-songwriter, actor and musician
38 Dimebag Darrell 8/20/1966 - 12/8/2004 Guitarist, best known as a founding member of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan