20 October - Definition and Overview

October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 72 days remaining.

Events

1700-1899

• 1740 - Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony refuse to honour the Pragmatic Sanction and the War of the Austrian Succession begins.
• 1803 - United States Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase
• 1827 - Battle of Navarino - a combined Turkish and Egyptian armada is destroyed by an allied British, French, and Russian naval force in the port of Navarino in Pylos, Greece. The most important result of this battle is the end of the Greek Liberation War and the affirmation of independence of modern Greece.
• 1883 - Peru and Chile signed the Treaty of Ancón, by which the Tarapacá province was ceded to the latter, bringing an end to Peru's involvement in the War of the Pacific.

1900-1999

• 1935 - The Long March ends
• 1944 - The Soviet army captures Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia
• 1944 - Liquid natural gas leaks from storange tanks in Cleveland, then explodes; the explosion and resulting fire level 30 blocks and kill 130.
• 1947 - The House Un-American Activities Committee begins its investigation into Communist infiltration of Hollywood, resulting in a blacklist that prevents some from working in the industry for years.
• 1968 - Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy marries Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.
• 1971 - The Nepal stock exchange collapses.
• 1973 - The Saturday Night Massacre: President Nixon fires Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus after they refuse to fire Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox, who is finally fired by Robert Bork.
• 1973 - The Sydney Opera House opens.
• 1973 - The Six Million Dollar Man premieres on ABC.
• 1977 - A plane carrying Lynyrd Skynyrd crashes in Mississippi, killing several band members, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines.
• 1986 - Yitzhak Shamir begins his second office term as Israel's prime minister
• 1991 - The Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3469 homes and apartments, causing more than 2 billion USD in damage.

2000-2099

• 2004 - The Boston Red Sox defeat the New York Yankees in the 2004 ALCS and enter the World Series for the first time since 1986 They become the first team in baseball to win a best of 7 series after losing the first 3.

Births

1400-1899

• 1469 - Guru Nanak Dev ji, The Founder of the Sikh religion.
• 1632 - Sir Christopher Wren, architect (d. 1723)
• 1759 - Chauncey Goodrich, U.S. Senator from Connecticut (d. 1815)
• 1808 - Karl Andree, German geographer (d. 1875)
• 1819 - The Báb, prophet founder of the Bábí Faith, a religion which was to become the precursor to the Bahá'í Faith (d. 1850)
• 1822 - Thomas Hughes, novelist (d. 1896)
• 1854 - Arthur Rimbaud, poet (d. 1891)
• 1858 - John Burns, English politician (d. 1943)
• 1859 - John Dewey, philosopher (d. 1952)
• 1874 - Charles Ives, composer (d. 1954)
• 1882 - Bela Lugosi, actor (d. 1956)
• 1889 - Margaret Dumont, actress (d. 1965)
• 1890 - Jelly Roll Morton, composer, musician (d. 1941)
• 1891 - Jomo Kenyatta, President of Kenya (d. 1978)

1900-1999

• 1900 - Wayne Morse, Senator from Oregon (d. 1974)
• 1904 - Anna Neagle, actress (d. 1986)
• 1904 - Tommy Clement Douglas, politician: founder of public healthcare in Canada (d. 1986)
• 1905 - Frederic Dannay (Ellery Queen), mystery novelist (d. 1982)
• 1907 - Arlene Francis, television personality (d. 2001)
• 1909 - Adela Holban (Baiut, Maramures, Romania)
• 1913 - Grandpa Jones, country music performer (d. 1998)
• 1918 - Robert Lochner, journalist, creator of Kennedy's "ish been oin bear-lee-ner" (d. 2003)
• 1923 - Herschel Bernardi, actor (d. 1986)
• 1925 - Art Buchwald, newspaper columnist
• 1928 - Joyce Brothers, psychologist, television personality
• 1931 - Mickey Mantle, baseball star (d. 1995)
• 1932 - Rosey Brown, Pro Football Hall of Famer (d. 2004)
• 1935 - Jerry Orbach, actor (Law & Order) (d. 2004)
• 1937 - Juan Marichal, baseball star
• 1949 - Valeri Borzov, Ukrainian athlete
• 1953 - Tom Petty, musician
• 1955 - Aaron Pryor, world boxing champion
• 1958 - Viggo Mortensen, actor
• 1966 - Stefan Raab, German entertainer
• 1969 - Juan Gonzalez, baseball player
• 1971 - Dannii Minogue, singer
• 1971 - Snoop Dogg, rapper
• 1977 - Elena Berezhnaya, figure skating star
• 1978 - Virender Sehwag, Indian cricketer
• 1981 - Willis McGahee, American football player

Deaths

400-1899

• 460 - Aelia Eudocia, East Roman Empress

1900-1999

• 1910 - David B. Hill, a Governor of New York
• 1920 - Max Bruch, composer
• 1930 - William Kogut, convicted murderer
• 1936 - Anne Sullivan, teacher
• 1964 - Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States (b. 1874)
• 1967 - Yoshida Shigeru, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1878)
• 1972 - Harlow Shapley, American astronomer (b. 1885)
• 1977 - Steve Gaines, musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
• 1977 - Ronnie VanZant, musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
• 1984 - Paul Dirac, physicist (b. 1902)
• 1989 - Anthony Quayle, actor
• 1990 - Joel McCrea, actor
• 1994 - Burt Lancaster, actor

2000-2099

• 2002 - Barbara Berjer, soap opera actress

Holidays

October 19 - October 21 - November 20 - September 20 - more historical anniversaries