History of 20 October
1903 – A joint commission ruled in favor of the U.S. concerning a dispute over the boundary between Canada and the District of Alaska.
1910 – A baseball with a cork center was used in a World Series game for the first time.
1930 – “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” debuted on NBC radio.
1935 – Mao Zedong arrived in Hanoi after his Long March that took just over a year. He then set up the Chinese Communist Headquarters.
1942 – Pierre Laval told the French labor that they must serve in Germany.
1944 – Allied forces invaded the Philippines.
1944 – During World War II, the Yugoslav cities of Belgrade and Dubrovnik were liberated.
1947 – Hollywood came under scrutiny as the House Un-American Activities Committee opened hearings into alleged Communist influence within the motion picture industry.
1952 – The Mau Mau uprising against white settlers began in Kenya.
1955 – “No Time for Sergeants” opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre. The show starred Andy Griffith and Don Knotts made his Broadway debut. The last show was on September 14, 1957.
1957 – Walter Cronkite began hosting “The 20th Century.” The show aired until January 4, 1970.
1968 – Jackie Lee Bouvier Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis.
1979 – The John F. Kennedy Library in Boston was dedicated.
1984 – The U.S. State Department reduced the number of Americans assigned to the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon.
1993 – Attorney General Janet Reno warned the TV industry to limit the violence in their programs.
1994 – The website WhiteHouse.gov was launched.
1995 – Britain, France, and the U.S. announced a treaty that banned atomic blasts in the South Pacific.
2003 – A 40-year-old man went over Niagara Falls without safety devices and survived. He was charged with illegally performing a stunt.
2009 – European astronomers discover 32 exoplanets.
2011 – Libyan Civil War: Rebel forces capture Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in his hometown of Sirte and kill him shortly thereafter.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Dimitris Papadopoulos, Greek footballer
- 1981 – Francisco Javier Rodríguez, Mexican footballer
- 1982 – Kristian Bak Nielsen, Danish footballer
- 1982 – Becky Brewerton, Welsh golfer
- 1983 – Flavio Cipolla, an Italian tennis player
- 1983 – Luis Saritama, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1983 – Michel Vorm, Dutch footballer
- 1984 – Mitch Lucker, American singer-songwriter (d. 2012)
- 1984 – Florent Sinama Pongolle, French footballer
- 1984 – Andrew Trimble, Irish rugby player
- 1985 – Dominic McGuire, American basketball player
- 1985 – Alphonso Smith, American football player
- 1985 – James Sutton, English race car driver
- 1986 – Wanlop Saechio, Thai footballer
- 1986 – Elyse Taylor, Australian model
- 1987 – Raphael Hackl, German rugby player
- 1988 – Candice Swanepoel, South African supermodel, and philanthropist
- 1989 – Jess Glynne, English singer-songwriter
- 1990 – Sam Mataora, Cook Islands rugby league player
- 1992 – Ksenia Semyonova, Russian gymnast
- 1992 – Ferhat Yazgan, Turkish footballer
- 1996 – Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, Indonesian badminton player
- 1998 – Jordan Ridley, Australian rules footballer