At A Glance

20 August 1977 at a glance

Day of the week
20 August 1977 was a Saturday.
Billboard Hot 100 No. 1
The Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 was “Best of My Love” by The Emotions.
Top Film of 1977
The highest-grossing film worldwide released in 1977 was Star Wars.
Bestselling Novel of 1977
“The Silmarillion” by J. R. R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien was No. 1 on Publishers Weekly's US fiction list for 1977.
Top-Rated TV Show
“Laverne & Shirley” (ABC) was No. 1 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1977–78 season.
Star sign
The star sign for 20 August is Leo.
Chinese zodiac
In the Chinese zodiac, 20 August 1977 fell in the Year of the Snake.
Birthstone
The birthstone for August is Peridot.
Moon phase
The moon phase on 20 August 1977 was Waxing Crescent.

On this day: 20 August

  • 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.
  • 1988 "Black Saturday" of the Yellowstone fire in Yellowstone National Park.
  • 1988 Iran–Iraq War: A ceasefire is agreed after almost eight years of war.

Famous people born on August 20

  • 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)

Choose your country: the charts, news and leaders change to match.

Events of 1977 in the United States

A selection from Wikipedia's '1977 in the United States'. Not a complete list.

  • January 9 – Rock band Toto is founded by David Paich and Jeff Porcaro in Van Nuys, Los Angeles.
  • February 4 – Fleetwood Mac's Grammy Award-winning album Rumours is released.
  • March 15 – Tenor Luciano Pavarotti and the PBS opera series Live from the Met both make their American television debuts. Pavarotti stars in a complete production of Puccini's La Boheme. Also debuting is the ABC sitcom Three's Company.
More events of 1977 →Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Life in the US in 1977

President

Jimmy Carter

Gas (per gallon)

$0.62

Loaf of Bread

$0.37

Average House

$48,800

Weekly Wage

$218

Or

Browse by Year

The 1940s
1940194119421943194419451946194719481949
The 1950s
1950195119521953195419551956195719581959
The 1960s
1960196119621963196419651966196719681969
The 1970s
1970197119721973197419751976197719781979
The 1980s
1980198119821983198419851986198719881989
The 1990s
1990199119921993199419951996199719981999
The 2000s
2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
The 2010s
2010201120122013201420152016201720182019
The 2020s
20202021202220232024

Famous Faces Born in the 1970s

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

Keri Russell23 March 1976ActressView their day →Tupac Shakur16 June 1971Rapper & actorView their day →Zoe Saldaña19 June 1978ActressView their day →Christopher Nolan30 July 1970FilmmakerView their day →Jon Bernthal20 September 1976ActorView their day →Jason Sudeikis18 September 1975Actor & comedianView their day →Milo Ventimiglia8 July 1977ActorView their day →Sarah Paulson17 December 1974ActressView their day →

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

About The Day You Were Born

Ever wondered what was happening in the world when you took your first breath? Our birthday lookup tool reveals the fascinating history of your special day.

About The Birthday Chronicle and where our data comes from →