At A Glance

20 August 1972 at a glance

Day of the week
20 August 1972 was a Sunday.
UK Number One
The UK Number One single was “School's Out” by Alice Cooper.
Top Film of 1972
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1972 was The Godfather.
Star sign
The star sign for 20 August is Leo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 20 August 1972 fell in the Year of the Rat.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 20 August 1972 was Waxing Gibbous.

On this day: 20 August

  • 1960 Senegal breaks from the Mali Federation, declaring its independence.
  • 1962 The NS Savannah, the world's first nuclear-powered civilian ship, embarks on its maiden voyage.
  • 1968 Cold War: Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia, crushing the Prague Spring. East German participation is limited to a few specialists due to memories of the recent war. Only Albania and Romania refuse to participate.
  • 1975 Viking program: NASA launches the Viking 1 planetary probe toward Mars.
  • 1977 Voyager program: NASA launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft.

Famous people born on 20 August

  • Andrew Garfield, American-English actor (born 1983)
  • Amy Adams, American actress (born 1974)
  • Demi Lovato, American singer-songwriter and actress (born 1992)
  • Ke Huy Quan, Vietnamese-American actor (born 1971)

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Events of 1972 in the United Kingdom

A selection from Wikipedia's '1972 in the United Kingdom'. Not a complete list.

  • 1 April – William Whitelaw is appointed as the first Northern Ireland Secretary.
  • 4 April – First broadcast of the long-running BBC Television children's programme Newsround.
  • 12 May – The Crown Court is established by the Courts Act 1971 to replace the courts of Assize and Quarter Sessions in England and Wales. Property qualifications requiring jurors to be householders are abolished.

Life in 1972

Prime Minister

Edward Heath

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Pint of Beer

18p

Loaf of Bread

11p

Average House

£7,374

Weekly Wage

£36.10

Or

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Famous Faces Born in the 1970s

Well-known people born in the same decade as you, not on your birthday.

Sources: Wikidata and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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