Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index 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 2 Births 3 Deaths 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 Births 1632 - Sir Christopher Wren, architect († 1723) 1853 - Arthur Rimbaud, poet († 1891) 1859 - John Dewey, philosopher († 1952) 1874 - Charles Ives, composer († 1954) 1882 - Bela Lugosi, actor († 1956) 1889 - Margaret Dumont, actress († 1965) 1890 - Jelly Roll Morton, composer, musician († 1941) 1891 - Jomo Kenyatta, President of Kenya († 1978) 1900 - Wayne Morse, Senator from Oregon († 1974) 1904 - Anna Neagle, actress († 1986) 1905 - Frederic Dannay (Ellery Queen), mystery novelist († 1982) 1907 - Arlene Francis, television personality († 2001) 1913 - Grandpa Jones, country music performer († 1998) 1918 - Robert Lochner, journalist, creater of Kennedy's "ish been oin bear-lee-ner" († 2003) 1923 - Herschel Bernardi, actor († 1986) 1925 - Art Buchwald, newspaper columnist 1928 - Joyce Brothers, psychologist, television personality 1931 - Mickey Mantle, baseball star († 1995) 1935 - Jerry Orbach, actor 1937 - Juan Marichal, baseball star 1953 - Tom Petty, musician 1955 - Aaron Pryor, world boxing champion 1958 - Viggo Mortensen, actor 1971 - Snoop Dogg, musician 1977 - Elena Berezhnaya, figure skating star Deaths 460 - Aelia Eudocia, East Roman Empress 1920 - Max Bruch, composer 1964 - Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States 1977 - Steve Gaines, musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd) 1977 - Ronnie VanZant, musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd) 1984 - Paul Dirac, physicist 1989 - Anthony Quayle, actor 1990 - Joel McCrea, actor 1994 - Burt Lancaster, actor See Also: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December October 19 - October 21 - November 20 - September 20 - more historical anniversaries This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.