What Happened on Oct 20

Siege Of Antioch

The Siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098. The first siege, by the crusaders against the Muslim city, lasted from... Read more

Álvaro De Mendaña De Neyra Discovers The Wake Islands

Wake Island, annexed in 1899 (the claim is currently disputed by the Marshall Islands.) Read more

The Association

The Continental Association, often known simply as the "Association", was a system created by the First Continental Congress in 1774 for... Read more

The United States Senate Ratifies The Louisiana Purchase Treaty

On October 20, 1803, the Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase Treaty by a vote of twenty-four to seven. The agreement, which provided for the... Read more

Battleship 'Imperatritsa Mariya' Magazine Explosion

The second class, the three-ship Imperatritsa Maria-class, were true dreadnoughts. Displacing 22,600 tons, armed with 12 X 12-inch guns, and... Read more

"Shoulder Arms" (film) is Released

Shoulder Arms is Charlie Chaplin's second film for First National Pictures. Released in 1918, it is a silent comedy set in France during World War... Read more

East Ohio Gas Company Explosion

On October 20, 1944, a natural gas storage tank at the East Ohio Gas Co. plant in Cleveland, Ohio, exploded. The plant was located north of St.... Read more

The RuSHA Trial (or, officially, The United States of America vs. Ulrich Greifelt, et al.)

The RuSHA Trial (or, officially, The United States of America vs. Ulrich Greifelt, et al.) was the eighth of the twelve trials for war crimes the... Read more

KLM Constellation Air Disaster

Take-off from Schiphol was planned at 20:00 on 20 October 1948 for a flight to New York via Prestwick, with as alternative Shannon, Ireland. The... Read more

"Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King" Is Released

The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two... Read more

Cordozar Calvin Broadus is Born

Snoop Dogg got his name from his mother who jokingly remarked that he looked like the Peanuts character Snoopy. Snoop is known primarily for his... Read more

Elvis Presley releases Elvis Sings The Wonderful World of Christmas

Elvis Sings The Wonderful World Of Christmas is a 1971 album by Elvis Presley, and Elvis' second Christmas album. The album was released in October... Read more

"Zoot Allures" by Frank Zappa Is Released

Zoot Allures is a 1976 rock album by Frank Zappa. This was Zappa's only release on the Warner Bros. Records label. Due to a lawsuit with his former... Read more

U2 releases debut album "Boy"

Boy is the debut album from Irish rock band U2, released October 20, 1980. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the album received generally positive... Read more

1981 World Series

The 1981 World Series matched the New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, marking their third meeting in the Series in five years. The... Read more

Luzhniki Disaster

On the evening of 20 October 1982 Spartak were playing Dutch club Haarlem for a place in the last 16 of the Uefa Cup. They would win the match on... Read more

"Mickey's Christmas Carol" First Airs

Mickey's Christmas Carol is a twenty-four minute animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and originally released in the United... Read more

Nine Inch Nails releases Pretty Hate Machine

Pretty Hate Machine is the debut album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released October 20, 1989, on TVT Records. Pretty Hate... Read more

Madonna Releases Erotica

Erotica is a concept album about sexuality and relationships. Each track explores a different facet of sexuality, usually involving sexual... Read more

1996 World Series

1996 World Series The 1996 season witnessed what would eventually become the fourth installment of the New York Yankees dynasty. To date, the... Read more

U2 releases "Please" single

"Please" is the fourth single from U2's 1997 album, Pop. As "Sunday Bloody Sunday", the song is about The Troubles in Northern Ireland. The... Read more

FDA Approves ViiV Healthcare's Lexiva

Lexiva is an antiviral medication in a group of HIV medicines called protease (PRO-tee-ayz) inhibitors. Lexiva prevents human immunodeficiency... Read more

King Diamond releases The Puppet Master

The Puppet Master is an album by King Diamond released in 2003. A limited edition includes a DVD on which King Diamond is telling the story of The... Read more

Boston Red Sox defeat New York Yankees, 10-3

NEW YORK -- Every once in a while an Oscar winner gets up there and wings an acceptance speech because "I never thought I'd win, so I didn't... Read more

"Flags Of Our Fathers" Is Released

Flags of Our Fathers is a 2006 American war film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles, Jr. and Paul... Read more