The Grand Pensionary of Holland, Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelis de Witt were lynched on August 20, 1672, after an angry mob took the two from a prison, where Cornelis was being held on charges of treason, and killed them both. William of Orange (later William III of England & Scotland) became Stadtholder of Holland a month before the killings and remained in the position until his death in 1702. Learn more about Johan de Witt from the Rijksmuseum.

On August 20, 1980, the UN Security Council passed by 14-0 a resolution condemning an Israeli declaration that all of Jerusalem is its capital. The US abstained.

On August 20, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Economic Opportunity Act. The bill approved $1 billion for social programs to combat poverty. It was central to President Johnson's Great Society legislation program. Learn more about President Johnson's War on Poverty from NPR.