August 20, 1792, Danville established the 1st Post Office with Thomas Barbeeas as Postmaster, nearly two years before Harrodsburg, Washington, Lexington, Bairdstown (later Bardstown), Bourbontown (later Paris), Frankfort, and Louisville.
On August 20, 1794, Gen. “Mad Anthony” Wayne came upon the wily enemy posted in thick brushwood with guns and the Battle of Fallen Timbers began near Toledo. Reportedly, 33 white men and several more Natives died. Some historians attribute this battle to establishing a lasting peace on the Kentucky border. The Story of Kentucky by Cherry and Stickles pg 171.
On August 20, 1889, Morris Race Track opened in Westchester County, NY. Described as “the finest race track in the world,” horse and buggy brought people to the track until new train tracks enabled fans direct access from the New York City area. Hall of Fame jockey Isaac Murphy rode on opening day.
August 20, 1913, John C. C. Mayo returned to Paintsville from an overseas trip. Johnson County’s most prominent resident received an elaborate reception from the locals but kept his diagnosis of Bright’s disease quiet.
August 20, 1920, Chief of Police Robert Philpot, Irvine Police Department died from gunshots while arresting a man for bootlegging.
August 20, 1951, Army CPL Robert L. Johnson from Floyd County died in the Korean War.
August 20, 1962, a nose decided the 93rd Travers Stakes. Bill Shoemaker rode Jaipur, and Manual Ycaza rode Ridan. Almost from the outset, both horses were at each other’s throats. For the entire 1 1/4 mile, they were never more than a half-length apart, and for the last mile, their heads were bobbing side by side.
August 20, 1968, Army PFC Albert D. Smith from Glasgow in Barren County died in the Vietnam War.
On August 20, 1974, the state picked a trustee to monitor the activities of Kentucky corporations run by the Jacobs. The Buffalo, NY, family had owned concession stands throughout the state for 40 years. They owned 100% of Louisville’s Commonwealth Park and 84.1% of Latonia and ran both concessions. They also owned 23 beer and 17 liquor licenses. In 1972, the Feds convicted one of the family’s corporations of a felony of illegally taking control of a Las Vegas Casino.
August 20, 1976, Sheriff William Donald Cobb, Hart County Sheriff’s Department, died in an automobile accident while in a high speed pursuit.
August 20, 1982, the Kentucky State Police arrested Harlan County Sheriff Paul Browning, Jr. for arson, conspiracy to murder a county magistrate and a county school board member.
On August 20, 1984, the Knott County Courthouse auctioned 112-year-old state-issued land patents. They may be worthless, or they could be worth millions; the courts had not decided. Since the 1960s, twenty different people have owned the patents. The grants helped start the Knott County Land Grab.
August 20, 1992, after a 13-month study that cost $376,000, the Army Corps of Engineers recommended dropping the idea of damming Eagle Creek in Owen County. Many locals worried about losing their homes to the proposed Eagle Creek Lake.
August 20, 1994, the GI $750,000 Travers Stakes is won by a nose.
August 20, 2013, Kentucky’s ACLU Chapter warned Kentucky school districts would face a court challenge if they didn’t start following federal guidelines on distributing bibles to students.
August 20, 2016, the great filly Songbird, won Saratoga’s GI $600,000 Alabama Stakes for three-year-old fillies.
August 20, 2019, a report claimed the number of coal jobs in Eastern Kentucky dropped significantly in the 2nd quarter of 2019. Jobs dropped 15.2% compared to the same period in 2018. Preliminary numbers showed 3,367 people were employed in the coal industry in Eastern Kentucky from April through June 2019.
On August 20, 2020, the Kentucky State Fair, a rite of passage for many Kentucky families from the Commonwealth, fell victim to the pandemic. As a result, only competitors in the World’s Championship Horse Show and Youth Livestock competition attended. Meanwhile, Mayor G. Fischer announced he would not participate in the September 6 Kentucky Derby due to the virus and racial justice demonstrations in Louisville.
On August 20, 2023, the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 862 which represents about 12,000 workers at Louisville’s two Ford assembly plants, prepared for a strike. The drama would play out for the next two months.