Today in History for 20th August 2022

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Historical Events

1672 - Former Grand Pensionary of Holland Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelis are brutally murdered by an angry mob in The Hague
1920 - Allen Woodring wins Oympic 200 m dash wearing borrowed shoes
1944 - US and British forces destroy German 7th Army at Falaise-Argentan Gap
1949 - Las Lajas Sanctuary, a basilica built inside the Guáitara River in Colombia, is completed after 33 years
1996 - India defeat Pakistan in Under-15 World Challenge Final at Lord's
2016 - Canoeists Max Rendschmidt and Marcus Gross part of winning German crew in K-4 100m at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics; wrap up K-2 / K-4 1,000m double

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Famous Birthdays

1719 - Christian Mayer, Czech Catholic priest and astronomer, born in Modřice, Moravia (d. 1783)
1719 - Charles-François de Broglie, French soldier and diplomat, marquis de Ruffec, born in Paris (d. 1791)
1778 - Bernardo O'Higgins, Chillán, Chile, South American independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule (1817-1823 Supreme Director of Chile)
1927 - Yootha Joyce, British actress (Man About the House, George and Mildred), born in Wandsworth, London (d. 1980)
1941 - Jo Ramírez, Mexican motor racing team manager and author, born in Mexico City, Mexico
1946 - N.R. Narayana Murthy, Indian industrialist and co-founder (Infosys), born in Shidlaghatta, Kolar district, India

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Famous Deaths

1910 - Arthur Coquard, French composer, dies at 64
1990 - Marc Turfkruijer, Flemish movie journalist and writer, dies at 90
1993 - Sydney Arnold, British comic actor (The Meaning of Life, Top Secret!, Miss Jones and Son), dies at 93
1995 - William Kennedy, baseball player, dies at 76
2016 - Brian Rix [Lord Rix], British actor and activist (Mencap), dies at 92
2019 - Russ Conway, American sports journalist (Eagleson NHL scandal), dies of heart disease at 70

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