On this day in history

October 20

27 births · 18 deaths · 5 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

Sino-Indian War

64 years ago

Born this day

1964

Kamala Harris

Turns 62

Oldest record

929th

Siege of Antioch

event anniversary

Famous births27

1632 · 394 yrs

Christopher Wren

Sir Christopher Wren (30 October 1632 – 8 March 1723) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who is one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ArtDied aged 89

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Photo: Godfrey Kneller · Public domain

1670 · 356 yrs

Stanisław Leszczyński

Stanisław I Leszczyński (Stanisław Bogusław; 20 October 1677 – 23 February 1766), also Anglicised and Latinised as Stanislaus, was twice King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and at various times Prince of Deux-Ponts, Duke of Bar and Duke of Lorraine.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 95

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Photo: Jean-Baptiste van Loo · Public domain

1740 · 286 yrs

Isabelle de Charrière

Isabelle de Charrière (French:; née Isabella Agneta Elisabeth van Tuyll van Serooskerken; 20 October 1740 – 27 December 1805), also known as Madame de Charrière and in the Netherlands as Belle van Zuylen (Dutch:), was a Dutch and Swiss writer of the Enlightenment who lived the latter half of her life in Colombier,…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 65

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Photo: Maurice Quentin de La Tour · Public domain

1784 · 242 yrs

Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston

Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was an Anglo-Irish nobleman and statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to his death in 1865.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsDied aged 80

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Photo: Herbert Watkins · Public domain

1819 · 207 yrs

Báb

The Báb (born ʻAlí-Muḥammad Shírází;; Persian: علی‌محمد شیرازی; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850) was an Iranian religious leader who founded Bábism, and is also one of the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 30

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Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1854 · 172 yrs

Arthur Rimbaud

Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (UK:, US:; French:; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 37

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Photo: Étienne Carjat · Public domain

1859 · 167 yrs

John Dewey

John Dewey (October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the first half of the twentieth century.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyDied aged 92

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Photo: Unknown · Public domain

1882 · 144 yrs

Bela Lugosi

Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), better known by his stage name Bela Lugosi was a Hungarian–American actor.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 144

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Photo: Fortepan adományozó SALY NOÉMI · Public domain

1891 · 135 yrs

James Chadwick

Sir James Chadwick (20 October 1891 – 24 July 1974) was a British experimental physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1935 for his discovery of the neutron. In 1941, he wrote the final draft of the MAUD Report, which inspired the U.S. government to begin serious atomic bomb research efforts.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 135

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Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory · Attribution

1893 · 133 yrs

Jomo Kenyatta

Jomo Kenyatta (c. 1897 – 22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 133

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Photo: Pridan Moshe · Public domain

1928 · 98 yrs

Li Peng

Li Peng (Chinese: 李鹏; pinyin: Lǐ Péng; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the premier of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, from 1998 to 2003.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 98

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Photo: World Economic Forum from Cologny, Switzerland. cropped by Shizhao · CC BY-SA 2.0

1942 · 84 yrs

Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard

Christiane (Janni) Nüsslein-Volhard (German pronunciation:; born 20 October 1942) is a German developmental biologist and a 1995 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate. She is the only woman from Germany to have received a Nobel Prize in the sciences.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceAge 84

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Photo: Rama · CC BY-SA 2.0 fr

Showing 12 of 27

Famous deaths18

1740 · 286 yrs

Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles VI (German: Karl; Latin: Carolus; 1 October 1685 – 20 October 1740) was Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy from 1711 until his death, succeeding his elder brother, Joseph I. He unsuccessfully claimed the throne of Spain following the death of his relative Charles II of Spain.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 55

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Photo: Attributed to Martin van Meytens · Public domain

1888 · 138 yrs

Nikolay Przhevalsky

Nikolay Mikhaylovich Przhevalsky (or Przewalski or Prjevalsky; 12 April 1839 – 1 November 1888) was a Russian geographer and a renowned explorer of Central and East Asia.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryDied aged 49

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Photo: В.Класен · Public domain

1890 · 136 yrs

Richard Francis Burton

Sir Richard Francis Burton (19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, army officer, writer and scholar. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa and South America, as well as his extensive knowledge of languages and cultures, speaking up to 29 different languages.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryDied aged 69

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Photo: Rischgitz/Stringer · Public domain

1924 · 102 yrs

Frances Hodgson Burnett

Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 74

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Photo: Herbert Rose Barraud (1845-1896) · Public domain

1964 · 62 yrs

Herbert Hoover

Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. Hoover's term as president was dominated by the Great Depression.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsDied aged 90

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Photo: Underwood & Underwood · Public domain

1967 · 59 yrs

Shigeru Yoshida

Shigeru Yoshida (吉田茂, Yoshida Shigeru; Japanese pronunciation:, 22 September 1878 – 20 October 1967) was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1946 to 1947 and again from 1948 to 1954, serving through most of the country's occupation after World War II.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 148

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Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1972 · 54 yrs

Harlow Shapley

Harlow Shapley (November 2, 1885 – October 20, 1972) was an American astronomer, who served as head of the Harvard College Observatory from 1921–1952, and political activist during the New Deal and Fair Deal.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 140

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Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1984 · 42 yrs

Paul Dirac

Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac ( dih-RAK; 8 August 1902 – 20 October 1984) was an English theoretical physicist who is considered to be one of the founders of quantum mechanics. Dirac laid the foundations for both quantum electrodynamics and quantum field theory, coining the former term.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 124

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Photo: Nobel Foundation · Public domain

1984 · 42 yrs

Carl Ferdinand Cori

Carl Ferdinand Cori, ForMemRS (December 5, 1896 – October 20, 1984) was an Austrian-American biochemist and pharmacologist.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 129

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Photo: Nobel Foundation · Public domain

1987 · 39 yrs

Andrey Kolmogorov

Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov (Russian: Андре́й Никола́евич Колмого́ров, IPA:, 25 April 1903 – 20 October 1987) was a Soviet mathematician who played a central role in the creation of modern probability theory.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 123

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Photo: Konrad Jacobs · CC BY-SA 2.0 de

1994 · 32 yrs

Burt Lancaster

Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year career in films and television series.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 112

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Photo: Hal Wallis Productions · Public domain

1994 · 32 yrs

Sergei Bondarchuk

Sergei Fyodorovich Bondarchuk (25 September 1920 – 20 October 1994) was a Soviet and Russian actor and filmmaker, born in Ukraine, who was one of the leading figures of Soviet cinema in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 106

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Photo: Stevan Kragujević · CC BY-SA 3.0 rs

Showing 12 of 18

Events5

1097 · 929 yrs

Siege of Antioch

The siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098, on the Crusaders' way to Jerusalem through Syria. Two sieges took place in succession.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

1827 · 199 yrs

Battle of Navarino

The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October (O.S. 8 October) 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829), in Navarino Bay (modern Pylos), on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

1941 · 85 yrs

First Battle of Kharkov

The First Battle of Kharkov was a battle that took place from 20 to 24 October 1941 for control of the city of Kharkov, located in the Ukrainian SSR, during the final stage of Operation Barbarossa. The battle was fought between the German 6th Army, part of Army Group South, and the Soviet Southwestern Front.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

1944 · 82 yrs

Philippines campaign of 1944–1945

The Philippines campaign, codenamed Operation Musketeer I, II, and III, was the American, Filipino, Australian, and Mexican campaign to defeat and expel the Imperial Japanese forces occupying the Philippines during World War II. The Imperial Japanese Army overran all of the Philippines during the first half of 1942.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

1962 · 64 yrs

Sino-Indian War

The Sino-Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo-China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino-Indian border dispute.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

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