A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on October 20th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
On October 20, 1803, Ludwig van Beethoven, one of history’s greatest composers (and a favorite here at History and Headlines!) was hard at work on his vastly important “Symphony No. 3 in E Flat Major,” better known as “Sinfonia Eroica” (“Heroic Symphony”).
On October 20, 1827, and international coalition of British, French and Russian ships fought against a fleet of Turkish Ottoman and Egyptian ships in the Battle of Navarino, the last major naval battle fought by wooden sailing ships.
On October 20, 1944, during the height of World War II, the Midwestern US city of Cleveland, Ohio, then the 6th biggest city in America (1940 census), was rocked by a massive explosion of liquid natural gas and a subsequent fire, causing the city to suffer 30 city blocks flattened with 130 people killed.
On October 20, 1944, Army and Naval forces of the United States landed on the Philippine island of Leyte in an amphibious assault to reclaim the islands from the Japanese who had taken the Philippines from the US and Philippine forces led by General Douglas MacArthur in 1942.
On October 20, 1967, Roger Patterson shot his famous footage of a bigfoot at Bluff Creek, California.
On October 20, 1968, former First Lady of the United States and widow of President John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy married Greek billionaire Aristotle Onassis.
On October 20, 2011, the former King of Kings of Africa’s gruesome murder was recorded and posted all over the internet.
On October 20, 2016, former Redflex Traffic Systems CEO Karen L. Finley was sentenced to 14 months in Federal prison for her part in attempting to bribe Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, Ohio municipal officials into contracting with her company that installs and administers red light and photo radar traffic cameras.
On October 20, 2017, an eye popping new disaster film from the people (Jerry Bruckheimer) that brought us Flashdance, Top Gun, Armageddon, The Rock, Beverly Hills Cop, National Treasure, and Pirates of the Caribbean opened across the US.
On October 20, 2022, British Prime Minister Liz Truss was obliged to step down after only 49 days as head of government, the shortest reign of any British Prime Minister.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Which event that occurred on today’s date would you like to learn more about?
If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.