What Happened Today In History

About October 20

October 20, 2025 is the 293^rd day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 72 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday.

You can browse the full year calendar in case you need it.

Are you looking for a day of the week calculator? Try it on any date like anniversaries, birthday of someone you know, or any other date that is special to you. You can even try it on historical dates. For example: October 20
(Sponsored by DayOfTheWeek.org)

Libra is the sun sign of a person born on this day. Opal is the modern birthstone for this month. Jasper is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 120 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

What Happened On October 20

• 1720 –
  Caribbean pirate Calico Jack is captured by the Royal Navy.
• 1818 –
  The Convention of 1818 signed between the United States and the United Kingdom which, among other things, settled the Canada – United States border on the 49th parallel for most of its length.
• 1883 –
  Peru and Chile sign the Treaty of Ancón, by which the Tarapacá province is ceded to the latter, bringing an end to Peru’s involvement in the War of the Pacific.
• 1904 –
  Chile and Bolivia sign the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, delimiting the border between the two countries.
• 1917 –
  The Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet, in charge of preparation and carrying out the Russian Revolution, holds its first meeting.
• 1939 –
  Pope Pius XII publishes his first major encyclical entitled Summi Pontificatus.
• 1941 –
  World War II: Thousands of civilians in Kragujevac in German-occupied Serbia are killed in the Kragujevac massacre.
• 1943 –
  The cargo vessel Sinfra is attacked by Allied aircraft at Suda Bay, Crete, and sunk. 2,098 Italian prisoners of war drown with it.
• 1944 –
  General Douglas MacArthur fulfills his promise to return to the Philippines when he commands an Allied assault on the islands, reclaiming them from the Japanese during the Second World War.
• 1944 –
  Liquid natural gas leaks from storage tanks in Cleveland, then explodes; the explosion and resulting fire level 30 blocks and kill 130.
• 1944 –
  The Soviet Army and Yugoslav Partisans liberate Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia
• 1947 –
  The House Un-American Activities Committee begins its investigation into Communist infiltration of Hollywood, resulting in a blacklist that prevents some from working in the industry for years.
• 1962 –
  China launches simultaneous offensives in Ladakh and across the McMahon Line, beginning the Sino-Indian War.
• 1968 –
  Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy marries Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.
• 1970 –
  Siad Barre declares Somalia a socialist state.
• 1971 –
  The Nepal Stock Exchange collapses.
• 1973 –
  The Sydney Opera House opens.
• 1981 –
  Two police officers and an armored car guard are killed during an armed robbery in Rockland County, NY, carried out by members of the Black Liberation Army and Weather Underground.
• 1991 –
  A 6.8 Mw earthquake strikes the Uttarkashi region of India, killing more than 1,000 people.
• 1991 –
  The Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3,469 homes and apartments, causing more than $2 billion in damage.