Monday, December 2, 2024 (Week 49)

October 20 in History

What happened on October 20 in history?

A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on october 20 in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened on october 20 in history.

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2011
In the Libyan civil war, rebels capture deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi in his hometown of Sirte, killing him soon afterward.
1991
The Oakland Hills firestorm destroys nearly 3,500 homes and apartments and kills 25 people.
1977
A charter plane crashes in Mississippi, killing three members of popular Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, along with their assistant road manager, the pilot and co-pilot.
1973
Arab oil-producing nations ban oil exports to the United States, following the outbreak of Arab-Israeli war.
1968
Jacqueline Kennedy marries Aristotle Onassis.
1947
The House Un-American Activities Committee opens public hearings on alleged communist infiltration in Hollywood. Among those denounced as having un-American tendencies are: Katherine Hepburn, Charles Chaplin and Edward G. Robinson. Among those called to testify is Screen Actors Guild President Ronald Reagan, who denies that leftists ever controlled the Guild and refuses to label anyone a communist.
1945
Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon form the Arab League to present a unified front against the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine.
1944
U.S. troops land on Leyte in the Philippines, keeping General MacArthur’s pledge “I shall return.”
1941
German troops reach the approaches to Moscow.
1938
Czechoslovakia, complying with Nazi policy, outlaws the Communist Party and begins persecuting Jews.
1924
Baseball’s first ‘colored World Series’ is held in Kansas City, Mo.
1904
Bolivia and Chile sign a treaty ending the War of the Pacific. The treaty recognizes Chile’s possession of the coast, but provides for construction of a railway to link La Paz, Bolivia, to Arica, on the coast.
1903
The Joint Commission, set up on January 24 by Great Britain and the United States to arbitrate the disputed Alaskan boundary, rules in favor of the United States. The deciding vote is Britain’s, which embitters Canada. The United States gains ports on the panhandle coast of Alaska.
1870
The Summer Palace in Beijing, China, is burnt to the ground by a Franco-British expeditionary force.
1818
The United States and Britain establish the 49th Parallel as the boundary between Canada and the United States.
1805
Austrian general Karl Mac surrenders to Napoleon‘s army at the battle of Ulm.
1714
George I of England crowned.
1709
Marlborough and Eugene of Savoy take Mons in the Netherlands.
1587
In France, Huguenot Henri de Navarre routs Duke de Joyeuse’s larger Catholic force at Coutras.