Discover what happened on October 20 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

October 20

Discover what happened on October 20 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

October 20 Archives - History.com

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1947

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1944

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1935

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1803

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1853

1994

1774

America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian - the U.S. president - would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

The continent of Asia, home to the majority of the world's population and countries as diverse as China, South Korea and India, has thousands of years of rich history.&nbsp;

Asian History

Theater

Film

Pacific Theater

Communism

The U.S. government, with its three branches of government and a system of checks and balances, is responsible for governing the 50 states and all districts and territories of the United States.

U.S. Government and Politics

Sports and recreation are an integral part of human history, from the ancient Olympics to the Kentucky Derby, Jackie Robinson, Negro League Baseball, the Super Bowl and more.

Sports

American Revolution

The Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions around the globe, as a small fledgling nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.

Videos

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History.com Editors

Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.

Art, Literature, and Film History

<a href="https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history">World War II</a> was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

World War II

China

Though the 19th century saw the rise of populism, the labor movement and Jacksonian democracy, it also ushered in the Gilded Age, when men like Cornelius Vanderbilt and J. P. Morgan wielded control over politics and business.

19th Century

The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led the two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster.

Cold War

Africa is a large and diverse continent that stretches from South Africa northward to the Mediterranean Sea. The continent makes up one-fifth of the total land surface of Earth.&nbsp;Widely recognized as the birthplace of humankind, Africa saw the rise of great kingdoms, faced the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonization and Apartheid.

This Day In History: October 20

Congress investigates Communists in Hollywood

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Libyan dictator Muammar al‑Qaddafi is killed

General MacArthur returns to the Philippines

Sydney Opera House opens

Mao’s Long March concludes

Watergate special prosecutor dismissed, starting “Saturday Night Massacre”

Dick Fosbury flops to an Olympic high jump record

President Kennedy secretly plans blockade of Cuba

U.S. Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase

Three members of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd die in a Mississippi plane crash

French poet Arthur Rimbaud is born

Actor Burt Lancaster dies

Congress creates the Continental Association

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