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Congress investigates Communists in Hollywood

Born on This Day

Mickey Mantle

1931 - 1995

Baseball legend who hit 536 home runs and led the New York Yankees to seven World Series wins in the 1950s and ’60s.

Kamala Harris

1964 -

First woman, Black American and Indian American to become U.S. vice president.

Snoop Dogg

1971 -

Hip-hop legend and key figure in the gangsta rap era of the 1990s thanks to hits like “Gin and Juice.”

Mickey MantleGetty Images

Kamala HarrisGetty Images

Snoop DoggNBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

1967

OCT20

The mythical ape man “Bigfoot” is filmed in northern California, capturing the imagination of true believers worldwide. When a prominent Bigfoot researcher later sent the FBI a hair sample, they concluded it was of “deer family origin.”

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on October 20th

Congress creates the Continental Association

On October 20, 1774, the First Continental Congress creates the Continental Association, which calls for a complete ban on all trade between America and Great Britain of all goods, wares or merchandise. The creation of the association was in response to the Coercive Acts—or “Intolerable Acts” as they were known to the colonists—which were established […]

U.S. Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase

On October 20, 1803, the U.S. Senate approves a treaty with France providing for the purchase of the territory of Louisiana, which would double the size of the United States. At the end of 18th century, the Spanish technically owned Louisiana, the huge region west of the Mississippi that had once been claimed by France […]

French poet Arthur Rimbaud is born

On October 20, 1854, Arthur Rimbaud is born in Charleville, France. His father, an army officer, deserted the family when Rimbaud was six. Rimbaud was a brilliant student, and his first poem was published in a French review when he was 16. The following year, he rebelled and ran away to Paris. He joined the […]

Mao’s Long March concludes

Just over a year after the start of the Long March, Mao Zedong arrives in Shensi Province in northwest China with 4,000 survivors and sets up Chinese Communist headquarters. The epic flight from Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist forces lasted 368 days and covered 6,000 miles. Civil war in China between the Nationalists and the Communists broke […]

General MacArthur returns to the Philippines

After advancing island by island across the Pacific Ocean, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur wades ashore onto the Philippine island of Leyte, fulfilling his promise to return to the area he was forced to flee in 1942. The son of an American Civil War hero, MacArthur served as chief U.S. military adviser to the Philippines before […]

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“Monster Mash” hits No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart

On October 20, 1962, the quirky and spooky song “Monster Mash” hits No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, just in time for Halloween.

President Kennedy secretly plans blockade of Cuba

On October 20, 1962, the White House press corps is told that President John F. Kennedy has a cold; in reality, he is holding secret meetings with advisors on the eve of ordering a blockade of Cuba. Kennedy was scheduled to attend the Seattle Century 21 World’s Fair when his press secretary announced that he […]

Dick Fosbury flops to an Olympic high jump record

On October 20, 1968, 21-year-old Oregonian Dick Fosbury wins gold—and sets an Olympic record—when he high-jumps 7 feet 4 1/4 inches at the Mexico City Games. It was the first American victory in the event since 1956. It was also the international debut of Fosbury’s unique jumping style, known as the “Fosbury Flop.” The Flop, […]

Watergate special prosecutor dismissed in so-called “Saturday Night Massacre”

On October 20, 1973, solicitor General Robert Bork dismisses Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox; Attorney General Richardson and Deputy Attorney General Ruckelshaus resign in protest. Collectively, the dismissals and resignations become known as the “Saturday Night Massacre.” Cox had conducted a detailed investigation of the Watergate break-in that revealed that the burglary was just one of […]

Sydney Opera House opens

After 15 years of construction, the Sydney Opera House is dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II on October 20, 1973. The $80 million structure, designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon and funded by the profits of the Opera House Lotteries, was built on Bennelong Point, in Sydney, Australia. Famous for its geometric roof shells, the structure contains […]

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

On October 20, 1977, during a flight from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the tour plane for Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd crashes in a heavily wooded area of southwestern Mississippi during a failed emergency landing attempt. The accident killed band-members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines as well as the band’s […]

Actor Burt Lancaster dies

On October 20, 1994, Burt Lancaster, a former circus performer who rose to fame as a Hollywood leading man with some 70 movies to his credit, including From Here to Eternity and Atlantic City, in a career that spanned more than four decades, dies of a heart attack at the age of 80 in Century […]

Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi is killed

On October 20, 2011, Muammar al-Qaddafi, the longest-serving leader in Africa and the Arab world, is captured and killed by rebel forces near his hometown of Sirte. The eccentric 69-year-old dictator, who came to power in a 1969 coup, headed a government that was accused of numerous human rights violations against its own people and was […]

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