Top: Burst‐rate history of SGR 1806−20 as observed with BATSE. The hashed region starts at the end of the CGRO mission. Middle: The frequency history of SGR 1806−20, covering 7.1 yr. Plotting symbols mark individual frequency measurements, and solid lines denote phase‐connected timing solutions. The dashed line marks the average spin‐down rate prior to burst activation in 1998. Bottom: The frequency‐derivative history over the same time span. Dotted lines denote average frequency derivative levels between widely spaced frequency measurements. Solid lines mark phase‐coherent timing solutions, and triangles mark instantaneous torque measurements, both using RXTE PCA data.