On this Day... August 20

CEBU, Philippines - In 1833, one of America's smallest Presidents was born in Ohio, as were all successful Republican presidential candidates between the Civil War and 1900. Five-foot-six-inch Benjamin "Little Ben" Harrison was the grandson of President William Henry Harrison, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Though tiny, as an orator he could "raise crowds to passion" - but in private he was cold and difficult to converse with. According to one senator, talking to him "was like talking to a hitching post." During his presidency, the nation's 23rd, the Edison Company installed electricity in the White House. But Harrison and his wife were so scared of it they never touched a switch!

.In 1968, Russia invaded Czechoslovakia an hour before midnight, taking the country completely by surprise. Alarmed by Secretary Dubeck's "socialism with a human face," Leonid Brezhnev sent in tanks and more than 200,000 Russian troops. The freedom Dubeck had sought in his "Prague Spring" shattered within three months of their inception. When last heard of, the ousted leader was working for the Forestry Commission in Bratislava - unable to see his friends and under constant surveillance by the secret police whose power he'd sought to limit.

- from Today's the Day! By Jeremy Beadle

In Christian history -

.In 1874, Theodore Tilton, American newspaper editor, poet, and abolitionist, filed charges against renowned Congregational clergyman Henry Ward Beecher for alleged adultery with Mrs. Tilton. Beecher was exonerated by the Congregational Council in 1876, after a sensational trial ended with a hung jury.

- from This Day in Christian History

By William D. Blake         

In the Philippines -

. In 1899, an agreement was signed in Jolo between United States General John C. Bates and the Sultan of Sulu, Hadji Mohammed Jamalul Kiram II. Known as the "Bates Treaty," this promised to uphold mutual respect between the U.S. and the Sultanate of Sulu to respect Moro autonomy, and to not give or sell Sulu or any part of it to any other nation, as well as for the Sultan and his datus (tribal chiefs) to receive monthly payments in return for flying the American flag and for allowing the U.S. the right to occupy lands on the islands. The treaty, obviously for the U.S. authorities, was a way to stem resistance while they were fighting rebellion in Luzon. As for the Muslims, who did not wish to come under American sovereignty, "recognizing the folly of armed resistance" exerted influence to prevent another useless and bloody war. On March 1904, this treaty was abrogated unilaterally by the United States.

- www.kahimyang.info

In Cebu -

.In 1572, an Ecce Homo image was discovered in a grave that was opened in Cebu.

.In 1804, Augustinian Joaquin Encabo de la Virgen de Sopetran was appointed as the 13th Bishop of Cebu.

.In 1902, Col. Charles G. Penny assumed command of the U.S. garrison in Cebu, succeeding Lt. Col. Theodore F. Forbes.

- from Cebuano Studies Center, University of San Carlos