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October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 72 days remaining until the end of the year.
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.1781 - Patent of Toleration , providing limited freedom of worship , was approved in Habsburg Monarchy .1803 - The 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.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 .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 ends1941 - World War II : Thousands of civilians in Kragujevac in German-occupied Serbia are killed in the Kragujevac massacre .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 .
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 1952 - Governor Evelyn Baring declared a state of emergency in Kenya and began arresting hundreds of suspected leaders of the Mau Mau Uprising , including Jomo Kenyatta , the future first President of Kenya .1955 - Publication of The Return of the King The Lord of the Rings 1967 - A purported bigfoot is filmed by Patterson and Gimlin .1968 - Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy marries Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis .1970 - Siad Barre declares Somalia a socialist state .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.
1976 - The ferry George Prince Mississippi River between Destrehan and Luling, LA . Seventy-eight passengers and crew died; only 18 people aboard the ferry survived.1977 - A 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.1979 - The John F Kennedy library is opened in Boston , Massachusetts .1982 - During the UEFA Cup match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem , 66 people are crushed to death in the Luzhniki disaster .1984 - The Monterey Bay Aquarium opens in Monterey Bay, California .1991 - The Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3,469 homes and apartments, causing more than $2 billion in damage.
Births
1463 - Alessandro Achillini , Italian philosopher (d. 1512 )--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 )1700 - Charlotte Aglaé of Orléans , Duchess of Modena (d. 1761 )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 )1780 - Pauline Bonaparte , princess Borghese, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte (d. 1825 )1784 - Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1865 )1785 - George Ormerod , English historian and antiquarian (d. 1873 )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 )1832 - Constantin Lipsius , German architect (d. 1894 )1854 - Arthur Rimbaud , French poet (d. 1891 )1858 - John Burns , English politician (d. 1943 )1859 - John Dewey , American philosopher (d. 1952 )1864 - James F. Hinkle , American politician, sixth Governor of New Mexico (d. 1951 )1874 - Charles Ives , American composer (d. 1954 )1882 - 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 )1895 - Rex Ingram , American actor (d. 1969 )1897 - Crown Prince Eun of Korea (d. 1970 )1900 - Wayne Morse , U.S. Senator from Oregon (d. 1974 )1904 - Anna Neagle , English actress (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 )1909 - Sugiyama Yasushi , Japanese painter (d. 1993 )1913 - Grandpa Jones , American banjo player and singer (d. 1998 )1914 - Fayard Nicholas , American dancer (d. 2006 )1917 - Jean-Pierre Melville , French director (d. 1973 )1918 - Robert Lochner , German journalist (d. 2003 )1919 - Tracy Hall , American inventor (d. 2008 )1922 - John Anderson , American actor (d. 1992 )1923 - Robert Craft , American conductor1925 - Art Buchwald , American humorist (d. 2007 )1925 - Tom Dowd , American recording engineer (d. 2002 )
1925 - Roger Hanin , French actor
1931 - Richard Caliguiri , American politician (d. 1988 )
1931 - Mickey Mantle , American baseball player (d. 1995 )1932 - Rosey Brown , American football player (d. 2004 )1932 - William Christopher , American actor (M*A*S*H )
1934 - Eddie Harris , American jazz saxophonist (d. 1996 )1934 - Michiko , empress of Japan
1935 - Jerry Orbach , American actor (d. 2004 )1937 - Juan Marichal , Dominican baseball player1937 - Wanda Jackson , American rock and rockabilly singer
1938 - Iain Macmillan , Abbey Road 2006 )1940 - Kathy Kirby , British singer1940 - Robert Pinsky , American poet and Poet Laureate of the United States
1942 - Earl Hindman , American actor (d. 2003 )1942 - Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard , German biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
1943 - Dunja Vejzovic , Croatian soprano1944 - David Mancuso , American disc jockey1946 - Lewis Grizzard , American writer and humorist (d. 1994 )1946 - Elfriede Jelinek , Austrian writer, Nobel Prize laureate
1946 - Lucien Van Impe , Belgian cyclist
1949 - Valeri Borzov , Ukrainian athlete1950 - Tom Petty , American musician1951 - Patrick Hall , British politician1951 - Leif Pagrotsky , Swedish politician
1951 - Claudio Ranieri , Italian football player and manager
1953 - Keith Hernandez , American baseball player1953 - Bill Nunn , American actor
1954 - Steve Orich , orchestrator1954 - Günter Müller , German sound artist, improvisor and percussionist1955 - Thomas Newman , American composer1955 - David Profumo , English novelist
1955 - Aaron Pryor , American boxer
1956 - Danny Boyle , English film director1957 - Susanna Haavisto , Finnish actress and singer1958 - Valerie Faris , American film director1958 - Lynn Flewelling , American fantasy author
1958 - Scott Hall , American professional wrestler
1958 - Mark King , English musician and singer (Level 42 )
1958 - Dave Krieg , American football player
1958 - Viggo Mortensen , American actor
1958 - Ivo Pogorelic , Croatian pianist
1958 - Dave Finlay , Irish professional wrestler
1960 - Konstantin Aseev , Russian chess player (d. 2004 )1960 - Lepa Brena , famous Yugoslav singer
1961 - Ian Rush , Welsh footballer1961 - Michie Tomizawa , Japanese voice actress
1962 - David M. Evans , American screenwriter and film director1962 - Dave Wong , Hong Kong/Taiwanese singer-songwriter
1963 - Julie Payette , Canadian astronaut1963 - Nikos Tsiantakis , Greek footballer
1965 - Norman Blake , Scottish musician1965 - Jil Caplan , French singer and songwriter
1965 - Neil Patrick Carrick , American Whistleblower
1965 - Mikhail Shtalenkov , Russian ice hockey player
1965 - William Zabka , American actor
1966 - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi , Al-Qaeda leader (d. 2006 )1966 - Allan Donald , South African cricketer
1966 - Fred Coury , American drummer (Cinderella )1966 - Stefan Raab , German entertainer
1966 - Patrick J. Volkerding , Founder and maintainer of the Slackware Linux distribution
1967 - Luigi Lo Cascio , Italian actor1967 - Luck Mervil , Québécois actor and singer
1967 - Marco Ngai , Hong Kong actor
1969 - Juan González , Puerto Rican baseball player1969 - Laurie Daley , Australian rugby league footballer
1969 - Lambros Papakostas , Greek high jumper
1970 - Chavo Guerrero, Jr. , American professional wrestler1970 - Michelle Malkin , American political commentator and author
1971 - Dannii Minogue , Australian singer1971 - Snoop Dogg , American rapper
1972 - Will Greenwood , England rugby union player1976 - Tom Wisniewski , American guitarist (MxPx )1977 - Matt Jansen , English footballer1977 - Leila Josefowicz , Canadian classical violinist
1977 - Sam Witwer , American actor
1978 - Virender Sehwag , Indian cricketer1978 - Paul Wilson , Irish bass player (Snow Patrol )
1978 - Michael Johns , American Idol (season 7) finalist
1979 - Paul Ifill , Barbadian footballer1979 - John Krasinski , American actor
1979 - Paul O'Connell , Irish rugby player
1980 - Gary Jarman , English musician1980 - Jose Veras , Dominican baseball player1981 - Willis McGahee , American football player1981 - Dimitrios Papadopoulos , Greek footballer
1981 - Francisco Javier Rodríguez , Mexican footballer
1982 - Yasser Al-Qahtani , Saudi footballer1982 - Becky Brewerton , Welsh golfer
1983 - Alex Nackman , musician1983 - Luis Saritama , Ecuadorian footballer
1983 - Takayuki Yamada , Japanese actor
1984 - Florent Sinama-Pongolle , French footballer1984 - Andrew Trimble , Northern Irish rugby player for Irish rugby team
1985 - Jennifer Nicole Freeman , American actress1985 - Dominic McGuire , American basketball player
1985 - James Sutton , British racing driver
1986 - Priyanka Sharma , Indian actress1988 - Risa Niigaki , Japanese singer (Morning Musume)1994 - Morgan Featherstone , Australian model
Deaths
460 - Aelia Eudocia , Byzantine Empress1139 - Henry X, Duke of Bavaria 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 (b. 1611 )1713 - Archibald Pitcairne , Scottish physician (b. 1652 )1740 - Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1685 )1842 - Grace Darling , English heroine (b. 1815 )1865 - Champ Ferguson , Confederate guerrilla (b. 1821 )1890 - Sir Richard Burton , British explorer and writer (b. 1821 )1900 - Naim Frashëri , Albanian poet (b. 1846 )1907 - Said Pasha Kurd , Kurdish statesman (b.1834 )1910 - David B. Hill , Governor of New York (b. 1843 )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 )1940 - Gunnar Asplund , Swedish architect (b. 1885 )1953 - Werner Baumbach , German bomber pilot (b. 1916 )1964 - Herbert Hoover , 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:
1978 - Gunnar Nilsson , Swedish race car driver (b.1948 )1983 - Peter Dudley , British actor (b. 1935 )1983 - Yves Thériault , French Canadian author (b. 1915 )
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 )1988 - Sheila Scott , English aviatrix (b. 1922 )1989 - Anthony Quayle , English actor (b. 1913 )1990 - Joel McCrea , American actor (b. 1905 )1992 - Werner Torkanowsky , German conductor (b. 1926 )1993 - Sugiyama Yasushi , Japanese painter (b. 1909 )1994 - Burt Lancaster , American actor (b. 1913 )1995 - Christopher Stone , American actor (b. 1942 )1999 - Calvin Griffith , Former owner of Washington Senators (b. 1911 )2001 - Ted Ammon , American financier (b. 1949 )2002 - Barbara Berjer , American actress (b. 1920 )2002 - Bernard Fresson , French actor (b. 1931 )
2003 - Jack Elam , American actor (b. 1918 )2003 - Miodrag Petrović , Serbian actor (b. 1924 )
2004 - Anthony Hecht , American poet (b. 1923 )2004 - Chuck Hiller , American baseball player (b. 1934 )
2005 - Shirley Horn , American singer (b. 1934 )2005 - Endon Mahmood , First Lady of Malaysia (b. 1941 )
2005 - Eva Svankmajerova , Czech artist (b. 1940 )
2006 - Jane Wyatt , American actress (b. 1910 )2007 - Max McGee , American football player (b. 1932 )2007 - Paul Raven , British bass-player (Killing Joke , Ministry ) (b. 1961 )
2008 - Gene Hickerson , American football Hall of Famer (b. 1935 )
Holidays and observances
External links
More about October_20: 20 october 2006,
