On This Day — October 20

Famous events, births, and deaths from October 20 in history, plus the public holidays, religious observances, sports, and national days happening on this date today.

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34 events · 232 births · 98 deaths recorded for October 20.

🕰️ Notable Events on October 20

2011 — Libyan Civil War: National Transitional Council rebel forces capture ousted Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in his hometown of Sirte and kill him shortly thereafter. Wikipedia ↗
1991 — A 6.8 Mw earthquake strikes the Uttarkashi region of India, killing more than 1,000 people. Wikipedia ↗
1982 — During the UEFA Cup match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem, 66 people are crushed to death in the Luzhniki disaster. Wikipedia ↗
1981 — Two police officers and an armored car guard are killed during an armed robbery in Rockland County, New York, carried out by members of the Black Liberation Army and Weather Underground. Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd's plane crashes. Wikipedia ↗
1976 — The 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. Wikipedia ↗
1973 — "Saturday Night Massacre": United States 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. Wikipedia ↗
1973 — The Sydney Opera House is opened by Elizabeth II after 14 years of construction. Wikipedia ↗
1968 — Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy marries Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis. Wikipedia ↗
1962 — People's Republic of China launches simultaneous offensives in Ladakh and across the McMahon Line, igniting the Sino-Indian War. Wikipedia ↗
1961 — The Soviet Union performs the first armed test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, launching an R-13 from a Golf-class submarine. Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Governor 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. Wikipedia ↗
1951 — The "Johnny Bright incident" occurs in Stillwater, Oklahoma Wikipedia ↗
1947 — The House Un-American Activities Committee begins its investigation into Communist infiltration of the cinema of the United States, resulting in a blacklist that prevents some from working in the industry for years. Wikipedia ↗
1947 — The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan establish diplomatic relations for the first time. Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam decides that October 20 is Vietnam Women's Day. Wikipedia ↗
1944 — The Soviet Army and Yugoslav Partisans liberate Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia Wikipedia ↗
1944 — Liquefied natural gas leaks from storage tanks in Cleveland and then explodes; the explosion and resulting fire level 30 blocks and kill 130. Wikipedia ↗
1944 — American 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. Wikipedia ↗
1941 — World War II: Thousands of civilians in Kragujevac in German-occupied Serbia are murdered in the Kragujevac massacre. Wikipedia ↗
1935 — The Long March, a mammoth retreat undertaken by the armed forces of the Chinese Communist Party a year prior, ends. Wikipedia ↗
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, Northern Ireland. Wikipedia ↗
1904 — Chile and Bolivia sign the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, delimiting the border between the two countries. Wikipedia ↗
1883 — Peru 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. Wikipedia ↗
1873 — Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and Rutgers universities draft the first code of American football rules. Wikipedia ↗
1827 — In the Battle of Navarino, a combined Turkish and Egyptian fleet is defeated by British, French, and Russian naval forces in the last significant battle fought with wooden sailing ships. Wikipedia ↗
1818 — The Convention of 1818 is signed between the United States and the United Kingdom, which settles the Canada-United States border on the 49th parallel for most of its length. Wikipedia ↗
1803 — The United States Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase. Wikipedia ↗
1781 — The Patent of Toleration, providing limited freedom of worship, is approved in Habsburg Monarchy. Wikipedia ↗
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. Wikipedia ↗
1720 — Caribbean pirate Calico Jack is captured by the Royal Navy. Wikipedia ↗
1572 — Relief of Goes: Cristóbal de Mondragón, with 3000 soldiers of the Spanish Tercios, relieves the siege of the city. Wikipedia ↗
1568 — Battle of Jodoigne: the Spanish Duke of Alba defeats a Dutch rebel force under William the Silent. Wikipedia ↗
1548 — The 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. Wikipedia ↗

🎂 Notable Births on October 20

1994 — Corey Oates, Australian rugby league player Wikipedia ↗
1992 — Mattia De Sciglio, Italian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1992 — Ksenia Semyonova, Russian gymnast Wikipedia ↗
1992 — Ferhat Yazgan, Turkish footballer Wikipedia ↗
1990 — Sam Mataora, Cook Islands rugby league player Wikipedia ↗
1989 — Jess Glynne, English singer-songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1989 — Colin Wilson, Canadian-American ice hockey player Wikipedia ↗
1988 — Candice Swanepoel, South African model Wikipedia ↗
1987 — Raphael Hackl, German rugby player Wikipedia ↗
1986 — Wanlop Saechio, Thai footballer Wikipedia ↗
1986 — Elyse Taylor, Australian model Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Jennifer Freeman, American actress Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Dominic McGuire, American basketball player Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Alphonso Smith, American football player Wikipedia ↗
1985 — James Sutton, English race car driver Wikipedia ↗
1984 — Mitch Lucker, American singer-songwriter (d. 2012) Wikipedia ↗
1984 — Florent Sinama Pongolle, French footballer Wikipedia ↗
1984 — Andrew Trimble, Irish rugby player Wikipedia ↗
1983 — Flavio Cipolla, Italian tennis player Wikipedia ↗
1983 — Luis Saritama, Ecuadorian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1983 — Michel Vorm, Dutch footballer Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Kristian Bak Nielsen, Danish footballer Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Becky Brewerton, Welsh golfer Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Katie Featherston, American actress Wikipedia ↗
1981 — Dimitris Papadopoulos, Greek footballer Wikipedia ↗
1981 — Francisco Javier Rodríguez, Mexican footballer Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Gary Jarman, English singer-songwriter and bass player Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Chad Robinson, Australian rugby league player (d. 2016) Wikipedia ↗
1980 — José Veras, Dominican baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1979 — Vasyl Baranov, Ukrainian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1979 — Paul Ifill, English footballer Wikipedia ↗
1979 — John Krasinski, American actor, director, and producer Wikipedia ↗
1979 — Paul O'Connell, Irish rugby player Wikipedia ↗
1979 — Paul Terek, American decathlete Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Virender Sehwag, Indian cricketer Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Paul Wilson, Scottish bass player and songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Matt Jansen, English footballer and manager Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Leila Josefowicz, Canadian-American violinist Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Erko Saviauk, Estonian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1976 — Nikolaos Bacharidis, Greek footballer Wikipedia ↗
1976 — Dan Fogler, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1976 — Nicola Legrottaglie, Italian footballer and manager Wikipedia ↗
1974 — Bashar Rahal, Emirati-American actor and producer Wikipedia ↗
1974 — Ed Hale, American singer-songwriter, writer and socio-political activist Wikipedia ↗
1972 — Pie Geelen, Dutch swimmer Wikipedia ↗
1972 — Will Greenwood, English rugby player and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1972 — Brian Schatz, American academic and politician, 11th Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Snoop Dogg, American rapper, producer, and actor Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Eddie Jones, American basketball player Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Kamiel Maase, Dutch runner Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Dannii Minogue, Australian singer-songwriter and actress Wikipedia ↗
1970 — Sander Boschker, Dutch footballer Wikipedia ↗
1970 — Neil Heywood, English-Chinese businessman (d. 2011) Wikipedia ↗
1970 — Aapo Ilves, Estonian poet and illustrator Wikipedia ↗
1970 — Michelle Malkin, American blogger and author Wikipedia ↗
1969 — Laurie Daley, Australian rugby league player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1969 — Juan González, Puerto Rican-American baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1969 — Labros Papakostas, Greek high jumper Wikipedia ↗
1968 — Susan Tully, English actress, director, and producer Wikipedia ↗
1967 — Elizabeth Carling, English actress and singer Wikipedia ↗
1967 — Kerrod Walters, Australian rugby league player Wikipedia ↗
1967 — Kevin Walters, Australian rugby league player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1966 — Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Jordanian militant Islamist (d. 2006) Wikipedia ↗
1966 — Allan Donald, South African cricketer and coach Wikipedia ↗
1966 — Patrick Volkerding, American computer scientist and engineer, founded Slackware Wikipedia ↗
1965 — Norman Blake, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist Wikipedia ↗
1965 — Jonathan I. Schwartz, American businessman Wikipedia ↗
1965 — Mikhail Shtalenkov, Russian ice hockey player Wikipedia ↗
1965 — William Zabka, American actor and producer Wikipedia ↗
1964 — Kamala Harris, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Attorney General of California Wikipedia ↗
1964 — Tomoko Yamaguchi, Japanese actress and singer Wikipedia ↗
1963 — Julie Payette, Canadian engineer and astronaut Wikipedia ↗
1963 — Nikos Tsiantakis, Greek footballer Wikipedia ↗
1963 — Stan Valckx, Dutch footballer and manager Wikipedia ↗
1962 — David M. Evans, American director and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1962 — Dave Wong, Hong Kong-Taiwanese singer-songwriter and actor Wikipedia ↗
1961 — Audun Kleive, Norwegian drummer and composer Wikipedia ↗
1961 — Kate Mosse, English author and playwright Wikipedia ↗
1961 — Ian Rush, Welsh footballer and manager Wikipedia ↗
1961 — Les Stroud, Canadian director, producer, and harmonica player Wikipedia ↗
1961 — Michie Tomizawa, Japanese voice actress and singer Wikipedia ↗
1960 — Konstantin Aseev, Russian chess player and trainer (d. 2004) Wikipedia ↗
1959 — Mark Little, Australian comedian, actor, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1958 — Valerie Faris, American director and producer Wikipedia ↗
1958 — Lynn Flewelling, American author and academic Wikipedia ↗
1958 — Scott Hall, American wrestler Wikipedia ↗
1958 — Mark King, English singer-songwriter and bass player Wikipedia ↗
1958 — Dave Krieg, American football player Wikipedia ↗
1958 — Viggo Mortensen, American actor and producer Wikipedia ↗
1957 — Jane Bonham-Carter, Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury, English politician Wikipedia ↗
1957 — Chris Cowdrey, English cricketer and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1957 — Hilda Solis, American academic and politician, 25th United States Secretary of Labor Wikipedia ↗
1956 — Danny Boyle, English director, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1956 — Martin Taylor, English guitarist Wikipedia ↗
1955 — Thomas Newman, American composer and conductor Wikipedia ↗
1955 — David Profumo, English author and academic Wikipedia ↗
1955 — Aaron Pryor, American boxer Wikipedia ↗
1954 — Steve Orich, American composer and conductor Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Keith Hernandez, American baseball player and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Richard McWilliam, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded the Upper Deck Company (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Bill Nunn, American actor (d. 2016) Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Melanie Mayron, American actress and director Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Derek Ridgers, English photographer and art director Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Al Greenwood, American keyboard player Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Patrick Hall, English lawyer and politician Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Ken Ham, Australian-American evangelist Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Leif Pagrotsky, Swedish businessman and politician Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Claudio Ranieri, Italian footballer and manager Wikipedia ↗
1950 — Tom Petty, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2017) Wikipedia ↗
1950 — William Russ, American actor and director Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Valeriy Borzov, Ukrainian-Russian sprinter Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Peter Combe, Australian entertainer Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Sandra Dickinson, American-English actress and composer Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Piet Hein Donner, Dutch jurist and politician, Dutch Minister of Justice Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Melih Gökçek, Turkish journalist and politician, Mayor of Ankara Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Diana Gittins, American-English sociologist, author, and academic Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Lewis Grizzard, American comedian and author (d. 1994) Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Elfriede Jelinek, Austrian author and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Richard Loncraine, English director and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Lucien Van Impe, Belgian cyclist Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Chris Woodhead, English civil servant and academic (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1945 — Ric Lee, English drummer (Ten Years After) Wikipedia ↗
1944 — Nalin de Silva, Sri Lankan physicist and philosopher Wikipedia ↗
1944 — David Mancuso, American party planner, created The Loft (d. 2016) Wikipedia ↗
1943 — Dunja Vejzović, Croatian soprano and actress Wikipedia ↗
1942 — Earl Hindman, American actor (d. 2003) Wikipedia ↗
1942 — Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, German biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia ↗
1942 — Bart Zoet, Dutch cyclist (d. 1992) Wikipedia ↗
1940 — Kathy Kirby, English singer (d. 2011) Wikipedia ↗
1940 — Robert Pinsky, American poet and critic Wikipedia ↗
1939 — Patrick Hughes, English painter, illustrator, and photographer Wikipedia ↗
1938 — Emidio Greco, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2012) Wikipedia ↗
1938 — Iain Macmillan, Scottish photographer and educator (d. 2006) Wikipedia ↗
1937 — Cancio Garcia, Filipino lawyer and jurist (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1937 — Wanda Jackson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Wikipedia ↗
1937 — Juan Marichal, Dominican baseball player and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1937 — Emma Tennant, English author Wikipedia ↗
1936 — Bobby Seale, American activist, co-founded the Black Panther Party Wikipedia ↗
1935 — Jerry Orbach, American actor and singer (d. 2004) Wikipedia ↗
1934 — Bill Chase, American trumpet player (d. 1974) Wikipedia ↗
1934 — Eddie Harris, American saxophonist (d. 1996) Wikipedia ↗
1933 — Barrie Chase, American actress and dancer Wikipedia ↗
1932 — Rosey Brown, American football player and coach (d. 2004) Wikipedia ↗
1932 — William Christopher, American actor and singer (d. 2016) Wikipedia ↗
1932 — Rokurō Naya, Japanese voice actor (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1931 — Richard Caliguiri, American lawyer and politician, 54th Mayor of Pittsburgh (d. 1988) Wikipedia ↗
1931 — Mickey Mantle, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1995) Wikipedia ↗
1931 — Ken Morrison, English businessman (d. 2017) Wikipedia ↗
1928 — Michael O'Donnell, English physician, author, and journalist Wikipedia ↗
1927 — Joyce Brothers, American psychologist, author, and actress (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1927 — Gunturu Seshendra Sarma, Indian poet and critic (d. 2007) Wikipedia ↗
1926 — Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, English lieutenant and politician, founded the National Motor Museum (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1925 — Art Buchwald, American soldier and journalist (d. 2007) Wikipedia ↗
1925 — Tom Dowd, American record producer and engineer (d. 2002) Wikipedia ↗
1925 — Roger Hanin, Algerian-French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1924 — Robert Peters, American poet, playwright, and critic (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1923 — Robert Craft, American conductor and musicologist (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1922 — John Anderson, American actor (d. 1992) Wikipedia ↗
1922 — Franco Ventriglia, American opera singer (d. 2012) Wikipedia ↗
1921 — Manny Ayulo, American racing driver (d. 1955) Wikipedia ↗
1921 — Hans Warren, Dutch poet and author (d. 2001) Wikipedia ↗
1920 — Nick Cardy, American illustrator (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1920 — Fanny de Sivers, Estonian-French linguist and academic (d. 2011) Wikipedia ↗
1920 — Siddhartha Shankar Ray, Indian lawyer and politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 2010) Wikipedia ↗
1919 — Tracy Hall, American chemist and academic (d. 2008) Wikipedia ↗
1918 — Martin Drewes, German soldier and pilot (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗