October 20......

October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 72 days remaining in the year on this date.

EVENTS

● 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.

● 1752 - Arrival in Philadelphia of the Ship Duke of Wirtemberg, Daniel Montpelier, Commander, from Rotterdam (Holland), last from Cowes (England), with 133 immigrants including Johann Conrad Hesser.

● 1781 - Patent of Tolerance, providing limited freedom of worship, was approved in Habsburg Monarchy.

● 1803 - United States Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase.

● 1818 - The Convention of 1818 signed between the United States and the United Kingdom which, among other things, settled the US-Canada border on the 49th parallel for most of its length.

● 1824 - William H. Seward and Frances Adeline Miller Seward wed.

● 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.

● 1903 - A joint commission ruled in favor of the United States in a boundary dispute between Alaska and Canada.

● 1910 - The hull of the RMS Olympic, sister-ship to the ill-fated RMS Titanic, is launched from the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland.

● 1935 - The Long March ends

● 1944 - The Soviet army and Yugoslav Partisans liberate Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia

● 1944 - Liquid natural gas leaks from storage tanks in Cleveland, then explodes; the explosion and resulting fire level 30 blocks and kill 130.

● 1944 - General 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. 2 1/2 years after he'd said, ''I shall return.''

● 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.

● 1951 - The "Johnny Bright Incident" occurred in Stillwater, Oklahoma

● 1955 - Publication of The Return of the King, being the last part of The Lord of the Rings

● 1967 - A purported bigfoot is filmed by Patterson and Gimlin

● 1967 - Thousands join anti-war movement; Thousands of demonstrators in Oakland, California, hold the biggest protest yet against the Vietnam War.

● 1967 - Seven men were convicted in Meridian, Miss., of violating the civil rights of three murdered civil rights workers.

● 1968 - Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy marries Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.

● 1971 - The Nepal stock exchange collapses.

● 1973 - Dalai Lama makes first UK visit; The leader of Tibet's Buddhists arrives in Britain where he will stay for 10 days to "administer vows".

● 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 and then President Nixon abolished the office of special Watergate prosecutor.

● 1973 - The Sydney Opera House opens.

● 1973 - The Six Million Dollar Man premieres on ABC.

● 1977 - A plane carrying Lynyrd Skynyrd crashes near McComb, Mississippi, killing three including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines.

● 1979 - The John F Kennedy library is opened in Boston, Massachusetts.

● 1982 - St. Louis Cardinals defeat Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 to win their 9th World Series Championship.

● 1983 - Grenada's prime minister 'assassinated'; Eyewitnesses say the prime minister and seven of his colleagues have been killed during a hardline military coup.

● 1984 - The Monterey Bay Aquarium opens in Monterey Bay, California.

● 1988 - New law could erode right to silence; The British Government announces plans to change the law so that remaining silent could incriminate rather than protect a suspect.

● 1989 - The Senate convicted U.S. District Judge Alcee L. Hastings of perjury and conspiracy and removed him from office. (The conviction was later overturned.)

● 1991 - The Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3,469 homes and apartments, causing more than $2 billion in damage.

● 1992 - In the first World Series game to be played outside the United States, the host Toronto Blue Jays beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2.

● 2004 - Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is sworn in as the President of Indonesia.

● 2000 - British activist freed from Burma; Human rights activist James Mawdsley is released from prison in Burma where he has been held since 1999.

● 2000 - Egyptian-born Ali Mohamed, a U.S. citizen who'd served in the Army, pleaded guilty in New York to helping plan the deadly U.S. embassy bombings in Africa in 1998 that killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.

● 2001 - Tests found traces of anthrax in a mail-bundling machine at a House office building a few blocks from the Capitol.

● 2004 - Boston Red Sox defeated the New York Yankees 10-3 in Game 7 of the 2004 American League Championship Series, becoming the first team in baseball history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit in a best-of-seven series.

● 2004 - A U.S. Army staff sergeant, Ivan ''Chip'' Frederick, pleaded guilty to abusing Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison. (Frederick was sentenced to eight years in prison.)

● 2004 - ABC announced it was dropping the Miss America beauty pageant.

● 2005 - House Majority Leader Tom DeLay turned himself in at the sheriff's office in Travis County, Texas, where he was fingerprinted, photographed and released on $10,000 bail on conspiracy and money-laundering charges.

● 2005 - A defense lawyer in Saddam Hussein's mass murder trial was abducted from his office and found murdered hours later.

BIRTHS

● 1435 - Andrea Della Robbia, Italian sculptor (d. 1525)

● 1463 - Alessandro Achillini, Italian philosopher (d. 1512)

● 1469 - Guru Nanak Dev, founder of Sikhism (d. 1539)

● 1496 - Claude, Duke of Guise, French soldier (d. 1550)

● 1616 - Thomas Bartholin, Danish physician, mathematician, and theologian (d. 1680)

● 1620 - Aelbert Cuyp, Dutch painter (d. 1691)

● 1632 - Sir Christopher Wren, English architect (d. 1723)

● 1656 - Nicolas de Largillière, French painter (d. 1746)

● 1660 - Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English statesman (d. 1723)

● 1677 - Stanislaus I Leszczyński, King of Poland (d. 1766)

● 1711 - Timothy Ruggles, American-born Tory politician (d. 1795)

● 1719 - Gottfried Achenwall, German statistician (d. 1772)

● 1759 - Chauncey Goodrich, U.S. Senator from Connecticut (d. 1815)

● 1808 - Karl Andree, German geographer (d. 1875)

● 1819 - The Báb, Persian founder of the Bábí Faith (d. 1850)

● 1819 - Carl Mikuli, Polish pianist (d. 1897)

● 1822 - Thomas Hughes, English novelist (d. 1896)

● 1825 - Daniel Sickles, American politician, soldier, diplomat (d. 1914)

● 1854 - Arthur Rimbaud, French poet (d. 1891)

● 1858 - John Burns, English politician (d. 1943)

● 1859 - John Dewey, American philosopher (d. 1952)

● 1874 - Charles Ives, American composer (d. 1954)

● 1882(84? NYT) - Bela Lugosi, Hungarian-born actor (d. 1956)

● 1889 - Margaret Dumont, American actress (d. 1965)

● 1890 - Jelly Roll Morton, American composer (d. 1941)

● 1891 - James Chadwick, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)

● 1891 - Jomo Kenyatta, President of Kenya (d. 1978)

● 1893 - Charley Chase, American comedian (d. 1940)

● 1894 - Olive Thomas, American actress (d. 1920)

● 1897 - Crown Prince Eun of Korea (d. 1970)

● 1900 - Wayne Morse, U.S. Senator from Oregon (d. 1974)

● 1904 - Dame Anna Neagle, English actress and dancer (d. 1986)

● 1904 - Tommy Clement Douglas, Canadian politician (d. 1986)

● 1905 - Ellery Queen, pseudonym of two American writers (d. 1982)

● 1907 - Arlene Francis, American television personality (d. 2001)

● 1913 - Grandpa Jones, American banjo player and singer (d. 1998)

● 1918 - Robert Lochner, German journalist (d. 2003)

● 1925 - Art Buchwald, American newspaper columnist

● 1931 - Mickey Mantle in Spavinaw, OK, American professional baseball player and Hall of Fame member (d. 1995)

● 1932 - Rosey Brown, American football player (d. 2004)

● 1932 - William Christopher, American actor (M*A*S*H)

● 1935 - Jerry Orbach, American actor (d. 2004)

● 1937 - Juan Marichal, baseball player and Hall of Fame member

● 1937 - Wanda Jackson, American rock and rockabilly singer

● 1938 - Iain MacMillan, Abbey Road Photographer (d. 2006)

● 1940 - Kathy Kirby, British singer

● 1942 - Earl Hindman, American actor (d. 2003)

● 1942 - Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, German biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

● 1944 - David Mancuso, American disc jockey

● 1946 - Elfriede Jelinek, Austrian writer, Nobel Prize laureate

● 1946 - Lucien Van Impe, Belgian cyclist

● 1946 - Lewis Grizzard, American columnist (d. 1994)

● 1949 - Valeri Borzov, Ukrainian athlete

● 1950 - Tom Petty, American musician

● 1951 - Claudio Ranieri, Italian football player and manager

● 1952 - Melanie Mayron, Actress

● 1953 - Keith Hernandez, baseball player

● 1954 - Steve Orich, Orchestrator

● 1955 - Aaron Pryor, American boxer

● 1956 - Danny Boyle, English film director

● 1958 - Dave Finlay, Northern Irish professional wrestler

● 1958 - Lynn Flewelling, American fantasy author

● 1958 - Dave Krieg, American football player

● 1958 - Viggo Mortensen, American actor

● 1958 - Ivo Pogorelic, Croatian pianist

● 1958 - Scott Hall, American professional wrestler

● 1960 - Konstantin Aseev, Russian chess player (d. 2004)

● 1961 - Ian Rush, Welsh footballer

● 1961 - Michie Tomizawa, Japanese Voice Actress

● 1963 - Julie Payette, Canadian astronaut

● 1964 - David Ryan, Rock musician (The Lemonheads)

● 1964 - Jim Sonefeld, Rock musician (Hootie & The Blowfish)

● 1965 - William Zabka, American actor

● 1966 - Allan Donald, South African cricketer

● 1966 - Stefan Raab, German entertainer

● 1966 - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Al-Qaeda leader and terrorist (d. 2006)

● 1967 - Doug Eldridge, Rock musician (Oleander)

● 1969 - Juan Gonzalez, baseball player

● 1969 - Laurie Daley, Australian rugby league player

● 1970 - Chavo Guerrero, Jr., American professional wrestler

● 1971 - Dannii Minogue, Australian singer

● 1971 - Snoop Dogg, American rapper

● 1976 - Tom Wisniewski, American guitarist (MxPx)

● 1976 - Jeff Loberg, Country musician

● 1977 - Matt Jansen, English footballer

● 1978 - Virender Sehwag, Indian cricketer

● 1979 - John Krasinski, American actor

● 1981 - Willis McGahee, American football player

● 1983 - Alex Nackman, musician/singer/guitarist

● 1983 - Takayuki Yamada, Japanese Actor

● 1983 - Luis Saritama, Ecuadorian footballer

● 1984 - Scott Fuller, radio personality

● 1984 - Florent Sinama-Pongolle, French footballer

● 1985 - Jennifer Nicole Freeman, American actress (''My Wife and Kids'')

● 1985 - James Sutton, British Racing Driver

● 1986 - Snoop Dogg, American Rapper

● 1988 - Risa Niigaki, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)

DEATHS

● 460 - Aelia Eudocia, Byzantine Empress

● 1570 - João de Barros, Portuguese historian (b. 1496)

● 1631 - Michael Maestlin, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1550)

● 1640 - John Ball, English Puritan clergyman (b. 1585)

● 1652 - Antonio Coello, Spanish writer

● 1713 - Archibald Pitcairne, Scottish physician (b. 1652)

● 1740 - Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1685)

● 1865 - Champ Ferguson, Confederate guerilla

● 1890 - Sir Richard Burton, British explorer and writer (b. 1821)

● 1900 - Naim Frashëri, Albanian poet (b. 1846)

● 1910 - David B. Hill, Governor of New York (b. 1843)

● 1920 - Max Bruch, German composer (b. 1838)

● 1926 - Eugene Debs, American labor leader and Socialist presidential candidate (b. 1855)

● 1935 - Arthur Henderson, Scottish politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1863)

● 1936 - Anne Sullivan, American teacher (b. 1866)

● 1964 - Herbert Hoover in New York City, 31st President of the United States (b. 1874)

● 1967 - Yoshida Shigeru, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1878)

● 1968 - Bud Flanagan, British wartime entertainer (b. 1896)

● 1972 - Harlow Shapley, American astronomer (b. 1885)

● 1977 - Members of the American rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd killed in a plane crash:

● Cassie Gaines (b. 1948)

● Steve Gaines (b. 1949)

● Ronnie Van Zant (b. 1948)

● 1983 - Peter Dudley, British actor

● 1984 - Carl Ferdinand Cori, Austrian-born biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1896)

● 1984 - Paul Dirac, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)

● 1987 - Andrey Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician (b. 1903)

● 1989 - Anthony Quayle, English actor (b. 1913)

● 1990 - Joel McCrea, American actor (b. 1905)

● 1994 - Burt Lancaster, American actor (b. 1913)

● 1995 - Christopher Stone, American actor (b. 1942)

● 2001 - Ted Ammon, American financier (b. 1949)

● 2002 - Barbara Berjer, American actress (b. 1920)

● 2003 - Jack Elam, American actor (b. 1918)

● 2004 - Anthony Hecht, American poet (b. 1923)

● 2004 - Chuck Hiller, baseball player (b. 1934)

● 2005 - Shirley Horn, American singer (b. 1934)

● 2005 - Endon Mahmood, First Lady of Malaysia (breast cancer) (b. 1941)

● 2005 - Eva Svankmajerova, Czech artist (b. 1940)

HOLIDAYS AND OBSERVANCES

● October 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
● Fixed commemorations
● All fixed commemorations below are observed on November 2 by Old Calendarists
● Saints:
● Greatmartyr Artemius at Antioch (363)
● Venerable Gerasimus of Cephalonia, the "New Ascetic" (1579)
● Martyrs Eboras and Eunos of Persia (341)
● Saint Matrona of Chios (1462)
● Martyr Zebinas of Caesarea in Palestine (308)
● Greatmartyr Artemius of Verkolsk (1542)
● Martyr Ignatius of Mount Athos
● Repose of Hieromonk Theodosius of Svyatokorsk Monastery (1850)
● Repose of Abbot Theodosius (Popov) of Optina (1903)

● Bahá'í Faith - Holy Day - Birth of the Báb

● French Republican Calendar - Orge (Barley) Day, twenty-ninth day in the Month of Vendémiaire


Click on this LINK to see original Wikipedia list with many having links with details.

Additional facts taken from:

On this day in the New York Times

The BBC’s Take on the day

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