All Events

Historical Events on October 20

  • Maria Theresa

    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.

  • Yale University

    1873

    Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and Rutgers universities draft the first code of American football rules.

  • Peru

    1883

    Peru 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.

  • World War II

    1941

    World War II: Thousands of civilians in Kragujevac in German-occupied Serbia are murdered in the Kragujevac massacre.

  • Liquefied natural gas

    1944

    Liquefied natural gas leaks from storage tanks in Cleveland and then explodes; the explosion and resulting fire level 30 blocks and kill 130.

  • Douglas MacArthur

    1944

    American general Douglas MacArthur fulfills his promise to return to the Philippines when he commands an Allied assault on the islands, reclaiming them from the Japanese during the Second World War.

  • Pakistan-United States relations

    1947

    The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan establish diplomatic relations for the first time.

  • Ladakh

    1962

    People's Republic of China launches simultaneous offensives in Ladakh and across the McMahon Line, igniting the Sino-Indian War.

  • Libyan Civil War (2011)

    2011

    Libyan Civil War: National Transitional Council rebel forces capture ousted Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in his hometown of Sirte and kill him shortly thereafter.

All Births

Famous Birthdays on October 20

All Deaths

Famous Deaths on October 20

19. October

21. October