Today in History for 20th August 2026

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Historical Events

1900 - Japan's primary school law is amended to provide four years of mandatory schooling
1915 - Chicago White Sox acquire "Shoeless" Joe Jackson from Cleveland for Robert Roth, Larry Chappell, Ed Klepfer, and $31,500; Jackson becomes involved in the "Black Sox Scandal" in 1919
1958 - Chicago Cubs use first baseman Dale Long as their first major league lefty catcher since 1906
2011 - Senior Players Championship Men's Golf, Westchester CC: Fred Couples wins the first of two Champions Tour major titles with a birdie on the third playoff hole against John Cook
2023 - Guatemala's presidential election is won by anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arévalo, who defeats former first lady Sandra Torres

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Famous Birthdays

1811 - Gilman Marston, American Brigadier General (Union Army) and politician (R-NH), born in Orford, New Hampshire (d. 1890)
1832 - Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, American aeronaut and inventor, born in Jefferson Mills, Coos County, New Hampshire (d. 1913)
1937 - George Thoma, German cross country ski jumper (Olympic gold 1960), born in Newstadt, Germany
1968 - Klas Ingesson, Swedish footballer and manager, born in Ödeshög, Sweden (d. 2014)
1987 - Zakir Khan, Indian comedian (On Air with AIB), born in Indore, India

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Famous Deaths

1672 - Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician and naval commander (Raid on the Medway - Chatham Dockyard), lynched at 49
1707 - Nicolas Gigault, French Baroque organist and composer, dies at about 80
1986 - Donn Bennett, TV host (The Big Idea), dies at 76
1994 - Kalman Kahana, Polish co-founder of state Israel, dies at 81
2005 - Krzysztof Raczkowski, Polish heavy metal drummer, dies of heart failure at 34

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