All Events

Historical Events on October 20

  • War of the Austrian Succession

    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.

  • Princeton University

    1873

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

  • Treaty of Ancón

    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.

  • Kragujevac massacre

    1941

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

  • Battle of Leyte

    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.

  • Mau Mau Uprising

    1952

    Governor Evelyn Baring declares a state of emergency in Kenya and begins arresting hundreds of suspected leaders of the Mau Mau Uprising, including Jomo Kenyatta, the future first President of Kenya.

  • McMahon Line

    1962

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

  • Jacqueline Kennedy

    1968

    Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy marries Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.

  • Death of Muammar Gaddafi

    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