October 20

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

Table of contents

1 Events

Events

1600 - Battle of Sekigahara sets Tokugawa clan as Japan's shoguns
1740 - Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria
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.
1935 - The Long March ends
1944 - The Soviet army captures Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia
1947 - The House Un-American Activities Committee begins its investigation into Communist infiltration of Hollywood
1973 - The Saturday Night Massacre
1973 - The Sydney Opera House opens
1977 - A plane carrying Lynyrd Skynyrd crashes in Mississippi, killing several band members, including lead singer/guitarist Ronnie Van Zandt
1991 - Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3469 homes and apartments

1469 - Guru Nanak Dev ji, The Founder of the Sikh religion.
1632 - Sir Christopher Wren, architect (d. 1723)
1819 - The Báb - Prophet founder of the Babi Faith (d. 1850)
1822 - Thomas Hughes, novelist (d. 1896)
1853 - 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 - Wayne Morse, Senator from Oregon (d. 1974)
1904 - Anna Neagle, actress (d. 1986)
1905 - Frederic Dannay (Ellery Queen), mystery novelist (d. 1982)
1907 - Arlene Francis, television personality (d. 2001)
1913 - Grandpa Jones, country music performer (d. 1998)
1918 - Robert Lochner, journalist, creater 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)
1937 - Juan Marichal, baseball star
1953 - Tom Petty, musician
1955 - Aaron Pryor, world boxing champion
1958 - Viggo Mortensen, actor
1969 - Juan Gonzalez, baseball player
1971 - Dannii Minogue, singer
1971 - Snoop Dogg, musician
1977 - Elena Berezhnaya, figure skating star
1978 - Virender Sehwag, Indian cricketer