October 20

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[edit] Births

• 1469 - Guru Nanak Dev ji, The Founder of the Sikh religion.
• 1632 - Sir Christopher Wren, architect (died 1723)
• 1759 - Chauncey Goodrich, U.S. Senator from Connecticut (died 1815)
• 1808 - Karl Andree, German geographer (died 1875)
• 1819 - The Báb, prophet founder of the Bábí Faith, precursor to the Bahá'í Faith (died 1850)
• 1822 - Thomas Hughes, novelist (died 1896)
• 1854 - Arthur Rimbaud, French poet (died 1891)
• 1858 - John Burns, English politician (died 1943)
• 1859 - John Dewey, American philosopher (died 1952)
• 1874 - Charles Ives, American composer (died 1954)
• 1882 - Bela Lugosi, actor (died 1956)
• 1889 - Margaret Dumont, actress (died 1965)
• 1890 - Jelly Roll Morton, composer, musician (died 1941)
• 1891 - Jomo Kenyatta, President of Kenya (died 1978)
• 1893 - Charley Chase, early film comedian (died 1940)
• 1897 - Crown Prince Eun of Korea (died 1970)
• 1900 - Wayne Morse, Senator from Oregon (died 1974)
• 1904 - Anna Neagle, actress (died 1986)
• 1904 - Tommy Clement Douglas, politician: founder of public healthcare in Canada (died 1986)
• 1905 - Frederic Dannay (Ellery Queen), mystery novelist (died 1982)
• 1907 - Arlene Francis, television personality (died 2001)
• 1909 - Adela Holban (Baiut, Maramures, Romania)
• 1913 - Grandpa Jones, country music performer (died 1998)
• 1918 - Robert Lochner, journalist, creator of Kennedy's "ish been oin bear-lee-ner" (died 2003)
• 1923 - Herschel Bernardi, actor (died 1986)
• 1925 - Art Buchwald, newspaper columnist
• 1928 - Joyce Brothers, psychologist, television personality
• 1931 - Mickey Mantle, baseball star (died 1995)
• 1932 - Rosey Brown, Pro Football Hall of Famer (died 2004)
• 1932 - William Christopher, actor
• 1935 - Jerry Orbach, actor (Law & Order) (died 2004)
• 1937 - Juan Marichal, baseball star
• 1949 - Valeri Borzov, Ukrainian athlete
• 1953 - Tom Petty, musician
• 1955 - Aaron Pryor, world boxing champion
• 1958 - Viggo Mortensen, actor
• 1958 - Ivo Pogorelic, Croatian pianist
• 1960 - Konstantin Aseev, chess player (died 2004)
• 1963 - Julie Payette, Canadian Astronaut
• 1965 - William Zabka, American actor
• 1966 - Stefan Raab, German entertainer
• 1966 - Allan Donald, South African cricketer
• 1969 - Juan Gonzalez, baseball player
• 1971 - Dannii Minogue, singer
• 1971 - Snoop Dogg, rapper
• 1977 - Elena Berezhnaya, figure skating star
• 1978 - Virender Sehwag, Indian cricketer
• 1981 - Willis McGahee, American football player

[edit] Deaths

[edit] 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.
• 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
• 1944 - Liquid natural gas leaks from storange tanks in Cleveland, Ohio, then explodes; the explosion and resulting fire level 30 blocks and kill 130.
• 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.
• 1968 - Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy marries Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.
• 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.
• 1973 - The Six Million Dollar Man premieres on ABC.
• 1977 - A plane carrying Lynyrd Skynyrd crashes in Mississippi, killing several band members, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines.
• 1982 - St. Louis Cardinals defeat Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 to win 9th World Series Championship.
• 1986 - Yitzhak Shamir begins his second office term as Israel's prime minister
• 1991 - The Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3469 homes and apartments, causing more than $2 billion in damage.