What happened on October 20? There are more than 283 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About October 20
October 20 is the 294th day of the year 2024. There are 72 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday. This day falls under the 42nd week of the year 2024.
On this day in Fentress, Texas 78622 sunrise will occur at 07:35 AM and sunset will occur at 06:56 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Libra. The modern birthstone for this month is Opal while the mystical birthstone is Jasper.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 101 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 26 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For October 20
- 1548The city of Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Our Lady of Peace) is founded by Alonso de Mendoza by appointment of the king of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.
- 1720Caribbean pirate Calico Jack is captured by the Royal Navy.
- 1740Maria 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.
- 1781Patent of Toleration, providing limited freedom of worship, is approved in Habsburg Monarchy.
- 1803The United States Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase.
- 1818The Convention of 1818 signed between the United States and the United Kingdom which, among other things, settled the Canada – United States border on the 49th parallel for most of its length.
- 1827Battle of Navarino – a combined Turkish and Egyptian armada is defeated by British, French, and Russian naval force in the port of Navarino in Pylos, Greece.
- 1873Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and Rutgers universities draft the first code of American football rules.
- 1883Peru and Chile sign the Treaty of Ancón, by which the Tarapacá province is ceded to the latter, bringing an end to Peru’s involvement in the War of the Pacific.
- 1904Chile and Bolivia sign the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, delimiting the border between the two countries.
- 1910The hull of the RMS Olympic, sister-ship to the ill-fated RMS Titanic, is launched from the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
- 1917The Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet, in charge of preparation and carrying out the Russian Revolution, holds its first meeting.
- 1935The Long March ends.
- 1939Pope Pius XII publishes his first major encyclical entitled Summi Pontificatus.
- 1941World War II: Thousands of civilians in Kragujevac in German-occupied Serbia are killed in the Kragujevac massacre.
- 1943The cargo vessel Sinfra is attacked by Allied aircraft at Suda Bay, Crete, and sunk. 2,098 Italian prisoners of war drown with it.
- 1944General Douglas MacArthur fulfills his promise to return to the Philippines when he commands an Allied assault on the islands, reclaiming them from the Japanese during the Second World War.
- 1944Liquid natural gas leaks from storage tanks in Cleveland, then explodes; the explosion and resulting fire level 30 blocks and kill 130.
- 1944The Soviet Army and Yugoslav Partisans liberate Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia
- 1947The 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.
- 1947United States of America and Pakistan establish diplomatic relations for the first time.
- 1951The “Johnny Bright Incident” occurs in Stillwater, Oklahoma
- 1952Governor Evelyn Baring declares a state of emergency in Kenya and begins arresting hundreds of suspected leaders of the Mau Mau Uprising, including Jomo Kenyatta, the future first President of Kenya.
- 1961The Soviet Union performs the first armed test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, launching an R-13 from a Golf class submarine.
- 1962China launches simultaneous offensives in Ladakh and across the McMahon Line, beginning the Sino-Indian War.
- 1967A purported bigfoot is filmed by Patterson and Gimlin.
- 1968Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy marries Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.
- 1970Siad Barre declares Somalia a socialist state.
- 1971The Nepal Stock Exchange collapses.
- 1973“Saturday Night Massacre”: President Richard Nixon fires U.S. Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus after they refuse to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox, who is finally fired by Robert Bork.
- 1973The Sydney Opera House opens.
- 1976The ferry George Prince‘’is struck by a ship while crossing the Mississippi River between Destrehan and Luling, Louisiana. Seventy-eight passengers and crew die and only 18 people aboard the ferry survive.
- 1977A plane carrying Lynyrd Skynyrd crashes in Mississippi, killing lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines along with backup singer Cassie Gaines, the road manager, pilot, and co-pilot.
- 1981Two police officers and an armored car guard are killed during an armed robbery in Rockland County, NY, carried out by members of the Black Liberation Army and Weather Underground.
- 1982During the UEFA Cup match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem, 66 people are crushed to death in the Luzhniki disaster.
- 1991A 6.8 Mw earthquake strikes the Uttarkashi region of India, killing more than 1,000 people.
- 1991The Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3,469 homes and apartments, causing more than $2 billion in damage.
- 2011The former leader of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, and his son Moatassem Gaddafi are killed shortly after the battle of Sirte (2011) while in the custody of NTC fighters.
Who Were Born On October 20?
- 1463Alessandro Achillini, Italian philosopher (d. 1512)
- 1496Claude, Duke of Guise, French soldier (d. 1550)
- 1616Thomas Bartholin, Danish physician, mathematician, and theologian (d. 1680)
- 1620Aelbert Cuyp, Dutch painter (d. 1691)
- 1632Sir Christopher Wren, English architect (d. 1723)
- 1656Nicolas de Largillière, French painter (d. 1746)
- 1660Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English statesman (d. 1723)
- 1677Stanisław I Leszczyński, King of Poland (d. 1766)
- 1700Charlotte Aglaé of Orléans, Duchess of Modena (d. 1761)
- 1711Timothy Ruggles, American politician (d. 1795)
- 1719Gottfried Achenwall, German statistician (d. 1772)
- 1740Isabelle de Charrière, Dutch writer (d. 1805)
- 1759Chauncey Goodrich, American politician (d. 1815)
- 1780Pauline Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte (d. 1825)
- 1784Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, British statesman (d. 1865)
- 1785George Ormerod, British historian and antiquarian (d. 1873)
- 1801Melchior Berri, Swiss architect (d. 1854)
- 1808Karl Andree, German geographer (d. 1875)
- 1819Báb, Persian founder of Bábism and a central figure in the Bahá'í Faith (d. 1850)
- 1819Carl Mikuli, Polish pianist (d. 1897)
- 1822Thomas Hughes, English novelist (d. 1896)
- 1832Constantin Lipsius, German architect (d. 1894)
- 1854Arthur Rimbaud, French poet (d. 1891)
- 1858John Burns, English politician (d. 1943)
- 1859John Dewey, American philosopher (d. 1952)
- 1864James F. Hinkle, American politician (d. 1951)
- 1873Nellie McClung, Canadian feminist (d. 1951)
- 1874Charles Ives, American composer (d. 1954)
- 1882Bela Lugosi, Hungarian-born American actor (d. 1956)
- 1889Margaret Dumont, American actress (d. 1965)
- 1891James Chadwick, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
- 1891Jomo Kenyatta, Kenyan politician (d. 1978)
- 1893Charley Chase, American comedian (d. 1940)
- 1894Olive Thomas, American actress (d. 1920)
- 1895Rex Ingram, American actor (d. 1969)
- 1897Crown Prince Euimin of Korea (d. 1970)
- 1900Wayne Morse, American politician (d. 1974)
- 1904Anna Neagle, English actress (d. 1986)
- 1904Tommy Clement Douglas, Canadian politician (d. 1986)
- 1905Arnold Luhaäär, Estonian weightlifter (d. 1965)
- 1905Frederic Dannay, American novelist (d. 1982)
- 1907Arlene Francis, American actress and television personality (d. 2001)
- 1909Carla Laemmle, American actress
- 1909Sugiyama Yasushi, Japanese painter (d. 1993)
- 1910Bob Sheppard, American sports public address announcer (d. 2010)
- 1913Grandpa Jones, American banjo player and singer (d. 1998)
- 1913J. Michael Hagopian, Turkish-born American documentarian (d. 2010)
- 1914Fayard Nicholas, American dancer (d. 2006)
- 1917Jean-Pierre Melville, French director (d. 1973)
- 1918Robert Lochner, German journalist (d. 2003)
- 1919Tracy Hall, American inventor (d. 2008)
- 1921Hans Warren, Dutch writer (d. 2001)
- 1922John Anderson, American actor (d. 1992)
- 1923Robert Craft, American conductor
- 1925Art Buchwald, American humorist (d. 2007)
- 1925Roger Hanin, French actor
- 1925Tom Dowd, American recording engineer (d. 2002)
- 1927Gunturu Seshendra Sarma, Indian poet (d. 2007)
- 1931Mickey Mantle, American baseball player (d. 1995)
- 1931Richard Caliguiri, American politician (d. 1988)
- 1932Rosey Brown, American football player (d. 2004)
- 1932William Christopher, American actor
- 1934Bill Chase, American trumpet player (d. 1974)
- 1934Eddie Harris, American jazz saxophonist (d. 1996)
- 1934Empress Michiko of Japan
- 1935Barrie Chase, American dancer
- 1935Jerry Orbach, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1937Juan Marichal, Dominican baseball player
- 1937Wanda Jackson, American rock and rockabilly singer
- 1938Iain Macmillan, Scottish photographer (d. 2006)
- 1940Kathy Kirby, British singer (d. 2011)
- 1940Robert Pinsky, American poet and Poet Laureate of the United States
- 1942Bart Zoet, Dutch cyclist (d. 1992)
- 1942Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, German biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1942Earl Hindman, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1943Dunja Vejzovic, Croatian soprano
- 1944David Mancuso, American disc jockey
- 1944Nalin de Silva, Sri Lankan theoretical physicist and political analyst
- 1946Elfriede Jelinek, Austrian writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1946Lewis Grizzard, American writer and humorist (d. 1994)
- 1946Lucien Van Impe, Belgian cyclist
- 1946Richard Loncraine, British film director
- 1948Melih Gökçek, Turkish politician
- 1948Piet Hein Donner, Dutch politician and minister
- 1950Tom Petty, American musician
- 1951Al Greenwood, American rock musician (Foreigner)
- 1951Claudio Ranieri, Italian football player and manager
- 1951Ken Ham, Australian evangelist and businessman
- 1951Leif Pagrotsky, Swedish politician
- 1951Patrick Hall, British politician
- 1952Melanie Mayron, American actress
- 1953Bill Nunn, American actor
- 1953Keith Hernandez, American baseball player
- 1954Günter Müller, German percussionist
- 1954Steve Orich, American composer
- 1955Aaron Pryor, American boxer
- 1955David Profumo, English novelist
- 1955Robert ten Brink, Dutch TV personality and actor
- 1955Thomas Newman, American composer
- 1956Danny Boyle, English film director
- 1957Chris Cowdrey, English cricketer
- 1957Hilda Solis, American politician
- 1957Susanna Haavisto, Finnish actress and singer
- 1958Dave Finlay, Irish professional wrestler
- 1958Dave Krieg, American football player
- 1958Ivo Pogorelic, Croatian pianist
- 1958Lynn Flewelling, American fantasy author
- 1958Mark King, English musician and singer (Level 42)
- 1958Scott Hall, American professional wrestler
- 1958Valerie Faris, American film director
- 1958Viggo Mortensen, American actor
- 1959Mark Little, Australian actor and comedian
- 1960Konstantin Aseev, Russian chess player (d. 2004)
- 1960Lepa Brena, Yugoslav singer
- 1961Ian Rush, Welsh footballer
- 1961Michie Tomizawa, Japanese voice actress
- 1962Dave Wong, Hong Kong/Taiwanese singer-songwriter
- 1962David M. Evans, American screenwriter and film director
- 1963Julie Payette, Canadian astronaut
- 1963Nikos Tsiantakis, Greek footballer
- 1963Stan Valckx, Dutch retired footballer and general football manager
- 1965Jil Caplan, French singer and songwriter
- 1965Mikhail Shtalenkov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1965Norman Blake, Scottish musician
- 1965William Zabka, American actor
- 1966Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Jordanian militant and Al-Qaeda figure (d. 2006)
- 1966Allan Donald, South African cricketer
- 1966Fred Coury, American drummer (Cinderella)
- 1966Patrick Volkerding, American computer operating systems developer
- 1966Stefan Raab, German entertainer
- 1967Elizabeth Carling, English actress and singer
- 1967Luck Mervil, Québécois actor and singer
- 1967Luigi Lo Cascio, Italian actor
- 1967Marco Ngai, Hong Kong actor
- 1968Susan Tully, English actress (Eastenders)
- 1969Juan González, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1969Lambros Papakostas, Greek high jumper
- 1969Laurie Daley, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1970Chavo Guerrero, Jr., American professional wrestler
- 1970Michelle Malkin, American political commentator and author
- 1970Sander Boschker, Dutch footballer
- 1971Dannii Minogue, Australian singer
- 1971Eddie Jones, American basketball player
- 1971Kamiel Maase, Dutch long-distance runner
- 1971Matt Norman, Australian director/producer
- 1971Snoop Dogg, American rapper
- 1972Pie Geelen, Dutch swimmer
- 1972Will Greenwood, England rugby union player
- 1976Nicola Legrottaglie, Italian footballer
- 1976Nikolaos Bacharidis, Greek footballer
- 1976Tom Wisniewski, American guitarist (MxPx)
- 1977Leila Josefowicz, Canadian classical violinist
- 1977Matt Jansen, English footballer
- 1977Sam Witwer, American actor
- 1978Paul Wilson, Scottish bass player (Snow Patrol)
- 1978Virender Sehwag, Indian cricketer
- 1979John Krasinski, American actor
- 1979Paul Ifill, Barbadian footballer
- 1979Paul O'Connell, Irish rugby union player
- 1980Gary Jarman, English musician
- 1980Jose Veras, Dominican baseball player
- 1980Niall Matter, Canadian actor
- 1981Dimitrios Papadopoulos, Greek footballer
- 1981Willis McGahee, American football player
- 1982Becky Brewerton, Welsh golfer
- 1982Kristian Bak Nielsen, Dutch footballer
- 1983Luis Saritama, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1983Takayuki Yamada, Japanese actor
- 1984Andrew Trimble, Northern Irish rugby player
- 1984Florent Sinama-Pongolle, French footballer
- 1985Alphonso Smith, American football player
- 1985Dominic McGuire, American basketball player
- 1985James Sutton, British racing driver
- 1985Jennifer Nicole Freeman, American actress
- 1986Priyanka Sharma, Indian actress
- 1986Wanlop Saechio, Thai footballer
- 1987Raphael Hackl, German rugby player
- 1988Candice Swanepoel, South African model
- 1988Risa Niigaki, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
- 1989Colin Wilson, Canadian-American ice hockey player
- 1992Ksenia Semenova, Russian gymnast
- 1994Morgan Featherstone, Australian model
- 1995Zhenwei Wang, Chinese actor and martial artist
Who Died On October 20?
- 460Aelia Eudocia, Byzantine Empress
- 1139Henry X, Duke of Bavaria
- 1570João de Barros, Portuguese historian (b. 1496)
- 1631Michael Maestlin, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1550)
- 1640John Ball, English Puritan clergyman (b. 1585)
- 1652Antonio Coello, Spanish writer (b. 1611)
- 1713Archibald Pitcairne, Scottish physician (b. 1652)
- 1740Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1685)
- 1842Grace Darling, English heroine (b. 1815)
- 1865Champ Ferguson, Confederate guerrilla (b. 1821)
- 1870Michael William Balfe, Irish composer (b. 1808)
- 1890Sir Richard Francis Burton, British explorer and writer (b. 1821)
- 1900Naim Frashëri, Albanian poet (b. 1846)
- 1907Said Pasha Kurd, Kurdish statesman (b. 1834)
- 1910David B. Hill, Governor of New York (b. 1843)
- 1926Eugene Debs, American labor leader and Socialist presidential candidate (b. 1855)
- 1935Arthur Henderson, Scottish politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1863)
- 1936Anne Sullivan, American teacher (b. 1866)
- 1940Gunnar Asplund, Swedish architect (b. 1885)
- 1953Werner Baumbach, German bomber pilot (b. 1916)
- 1957Michalis Dorizas, Greek Olympic medalist (b. 1890)
- 1964Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States (b. 1874)
- 1967Yoshida Shigeru, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1878)
- 1968Bud Flanagan, British wartime entertainer (b. 1896)
- 1972Harlow Shapley, American astronomer (b. 1885)
- 1977Members of the American rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd killed in a plane crash: Cassie Gaines (b. 1948)
- 1977Members of the American rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd killed in a plane crash: Ronnie Van Zant (b. 1948)
- 1977Members of the American rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd killed in a plane crash: Steve Gaines (b. 1949)
- 1978Gunnar Nilsson, Swedish race car driver (b. 1948)
- 1983Peter Dudley, British actor (b. 1935)
- 1983Yves Thériault, French Canadian author (b. 1915)
- 1984Carl Ferdinand Cori, Austrian-born biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1896)
- 1984Paul Dirac, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
- 1987Andrey Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician (b. 1903)
- 1988Sheila Scott, English aviatrix (b. 1922)
- 1989Anthony Quayle, English actor (b. 1913)
- 1990Joel McCrea, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1992Werner Torkanowsky, German conductor (b. 1926)
- 1993Sugiyama Yasushi, Japanese painter (b. 1909)
- 1994Burt Lancaster, American actor (b. 1913)
- 1995Christopher Stone, American actor (b. 1942)
- 1999Calvin Griffith, Former owner of Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins (b. 1911)
- 1999Jack Lynch, Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1917)
- 2001Ted Ammon, American financier (b. 1949)
- 2002Barbara Berjer, American actress (b. 1920)
- 2002Bernard Fresson, French actor (b. 1931)
- 2003Jack Elam, American actor (b. 1918)
- 2003Miodrag Petrović, Serbian actor (b. 1924)
- 2004Anthony Hecht, American poet (b. 1923)
- 2004Chuck Hiller, American baseball player (b. 1934)
- 2005Endon Mahmood, First Lady of Malaysia (b. 1941)
- 2005Eva Svankmajerova, Czech artist (b. 1940)
- 2005Shirley Horn, American singer (b. 1934)
- 2006Jane Wyatt, American actress (b. 1910)
- 2007Max McGee, American football player (b. 1932)
- 2007Paul Raven, British bass-player (Killing Joke, Ministry) (b. 1961)
- 2008Gene Hickerson, American football player (b. 1935)
- 2010Bob Guccione, American publisher (Penthouse magazine) (b. 1930)
- 2010Parthasarathy Sharma, Indian cricketer (b. 1948)
- 2011Moatassem Gaddafi, Son of Moammar Gaddafi and National Security Adviser of Libya (b. 1977)
- 2011Muammar Gaddafi, Ruler of Libya (b. 1942)
- 2011Tone Pavček, Slovenian poet and translator (b. 1928)
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