October 20Birthdays & History

On this day: October 20 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 1568The Spanish Duke of Alba defeats a Dutch rebel force under William the Silent.Europe
2. 1572Eighty Years' War: Three thousand Spanish soldiers wade through fifteen miles of water in one night to effect the relief of Goes.Europe
3. 1740France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony refuse to honour the Pragmatic Sanction, and the War of the Austrian Succession begins.Europe
4. 1774American Revolution: The Continental Association, a nonconsumption and nonimportation agreement against the British Isles and the British West Indies, is adopted by the First Continental Congress.North AmericaEuropeLatin America
5. 1781The Patent of Toleration, providing limited freedom of worship, is approved in Austria.Europe
6. 1803The United States Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase.North America
7. 1818The 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.North AmericaEurope
8. 1827Greek War of Independence: 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.EuropeMiddle East
9. 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.Latin America
10. 1904Chile and Bolivia sign the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, delimiting the border between the two countries.Latin America
11. 1910British ocean liner RMS Olympic is launched.Europe
12. 1935The Long March, a mammoth retreat undertaken by the armed forces of the Chinese Communist Party a year prior, ends.Asia
13. 1941World War II: Thousands of civilians in German-occupied Serbia are murdered in the Kragujevac massacre.Europe
14. 1944World War II: American general Douglas MacArthur fulfills his promise to return to the Philippines when he comes ashore during the Battle of Leyte.North AmericaAsia
15. 1944World War II: The Soviet Red Army and Yugoslav Partisans liberate Belgrade.Europe
16. 1944Liquefied natural gas leaks from storage tanks in Cleveland and then explodes, leveling 30 blocks and killing 130 people.North America
17. 1947Cold War: The House Un-American Activities Committee begins its investigation into Communist infiltration of the Hollywood film industry, resulting in a blacklist that prevents some from working in the industry for years.North America
18. 1948A KLM Lockheed L-049 Constellation crashes on approach to Glasgow Prestwick Airport, killing 40.Europe
19. 1951The "Johnny Bright incident" occurs during a football game between the Drake Bulldogs and Oklahoma A&M Aggies.North America
20. 1952The Governor of Kenya Evelyn Baring declares a state of emergency and begins arresting hundreds of suspected leaders of the Mau Mau Uprising.Africa
21. 1961The Soviet Navy performs the first armed test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, launching an R-13 from a Golf-class submarine.Europe
22. 1962China launches simultaneous offensives in Ladakh and across the McMahon Line, igniting the Sino-Indian War.AsiaNorth America
23. 1973The Sydney Opera House is opened by Elizabeth II after 14 years of construction.Oceania
24. 1973Watergate scandal: "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 special prosecutor Archibald Cox, who is finally fired by Solicitor General Robert Bork.North America
25. 1976The Luling–Destrehan Ferry MV George Prince is struck by the Norwegian freighter SS Frosta while crossing the Mississippi River in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. Seventy-eight passengers and crew die, and only 18 people aboard the ferry survive.EuropeNorth America
26. 1977A plane carrying the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd crashes in woodland in Mississippi, United States. Six people, including three band members, are killed.North America
27. 1981Two police officers and a Brink's armored car guard are killed during an armed robbery carried out by members of the Black Liberation Army and Weather Underground in Nanuet, New York.North America
28. 1982During the UEFA Cup match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem, 66 people are crushed to death in the Luzhniki disaster.Europe
29. 1986Aeroflot Flight 6502 crashes while landing at Kuibyshev Airport (now Kuromoch International Airport) in Kuibyshev (now present-day Samara, Russia), killing 70 people.Europe
30. 1991A 6.8 Mw earthquake strikes the Uttarkashi region of India, killing more than 1,000 people.Asia
31. 1991A massive firestorm breaks out in the hills of Oakland and Berkeley, California killing 25 people and destroying more than 3,000 homes, apartments and condominiums.North America
32. 1995Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-73.North America
33. 2002Top Gear, the revived popular British TV motoring magazine, premieres on BBC.Europe
34. 2003The Sloan Great Wall, once the largest cosmic structures known to humanity, is discovered by students at Princeton University.North America
35. 2005The general conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) passes the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.World
36. 2011Libyan Crisis: Rebel forces capture Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi and his son Mutassim in his hometown of Sirte and kill them shortly thereafter, ending the first Libyan civil war.Africa
37. 2017Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) declare victory in the Raqqa campaign.Middle East
38. 2022Liz Truss steps down as British Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party amid the country's political crisis, serving for the least time of any British Prime Minister (49 days).Europe

Source: Wikipedia "October 20" / CC BY-SA 4.0