OTD
October
20th is the two hundred ninety-third day of the year, and there are 72 days
remaining until the end of the year.
Events
1740
– France, Prussia, Bavaria, and Saxony refuse to honor the Pragmatic Sanction,
and the War of the Austrian Succession begins.
1781
– The Patent of Toleration, providing limited freedom of worship, is approved
in Austria.
1803
– The United States Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase.
1883
– Peru and Chile signed the Treaty of Ancón, in which the Tarapacá province was
ceded to the latter, ending Peru's involvement in the War of the Pacific.
1944
– Liquefied natural gas leaks from storage tanks in Cleveland and then
explodes, leveling 30 blocks and killing 130 people.
1961
– The Soviet Navy performs the first armed test of a submarine-launched
ballistic missile, launching an R-13 from a Golf-class submarine.
1973
– Elizabeth II opens the Sydney Opera House after 14 years of construction.
1982
– During the UEFA Cup match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem, 66
people were crushed to death in the Luzhniki disaster.
2002
– Top Gear, the revived popular British TV motoring magazine, premiered on BBC.
Birthdays
1616
– Thomas Bartholin, Danish physician, mathematician, and theologian (d. 1680)
1632
– Christopher Wren, English physicist, mathematician, and architect, designed
St Paul's Cathedral (d. 1723)
1719
– Gottfried Achenwall, German historian, economist, and jurist (d. 1772)
1882
– Margaret Dumont, American actress (d. 1965)
1891
– James Chadwick, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d.
1974)
1913
– Grandpa Jones, American singer-songwriter and banjo player (d. 1998)
1931
– Mickey Mantle, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1995)
1937
– Wanda Jackson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1950
– Tom Petty, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2017)
1971
– Snoop Dogg, American rapper, producer, and actor
1983
– Michel Vorm, Dutch footballer
Holiday Spotlight
Bridge
Day
Construction
on the New River Gorge Bridge began in June 1974 and was completed three years
later, opening to the public on October 22, 1977. At 876 feet high, it was the
world’s longest single-span arch bridge for 26 years and is now the
fifth-longest. The first Bridge Day was held in 1980, and it has been an annual
event on the third Saturday of October, except in 2001 and 2020. The day's
events include BASE jumps, rappels, and white-water rafting. Bungee jumping was
once part of Bridge Day but was banned in 1994. The event has been the site of
several world records, including the world’s longest bungee jump from a fixed
structure in 1992.
Holidays
And Observance.
Bridge
Day
Dress
Like a Dork Day
Evaluate
Your Life Day
International
Gin and Tonic Day
International
Independent Video Store Day
International
Repair Day
LGBT
Center Awareness Day
National
Fetch Day
National
Seafood Bisque Day
New
Friends Day
Rainforest
Day
Sweetest
Day
World
Pediatric Bone and Joint Day
