What are the important events that happened on October 20? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

October 20: Facts & Myths About This Day

October 20 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.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is October 7, 2025 – a Monday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 489,144 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectaenneacontatrigon’ day.

Libra is the zodiac 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.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,686 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

October 20 Historical Events

• 1827 –
  Battle of Navarino – a combined Turkish and Egyptian armada is defeated by British, French, and Russian naval force in the port of Navarino in Pylos, Greece.
• 1939 –
  Pope Pius XII publishes his first major encyclical entitled Summi Pontificatus.
• 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.
• 1971 –
  The Nepal Stock Exchange collapses.
• 1973 –
  “Saturday Night Massacre”: President Richard Nixon fires U.S. Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus after they refuse to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox, who is finally fired by Robert Bork.
• 1973 –
  The Sydney Opera House opens.
• 1976 –
  The ferry George Prince‘’is struck by a ship while crossing the Mississippi River between Destrehan and Luling, Louisiana. Seventy-eight passengers and crew die and only 18 people aboard the ferry survive.
• 1977 –
  A plane carrying Lynyrd Skynyrd crashes in Mississippi, killing lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and guitarist Steve Gaines along with backup singer Cassie Gaines, the road manager, pilot, and co-pilot.
• 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.

Who were born on October 20?

• 1700 –
  Charlotte Aglaé of Orléans, Duchess of Modena (d. 1761)
• 1740 –
  Isabelle de Charrière, Dutch writer (d. 1805)
• 1889 –
  Margaret Dumont, American actress (d. 1965)
• 1932 –
  Rosey Brown, American football player (d. 2004)
• 1943 –
  Dunja Vejzovic, Croatian soprano
• 1946 –
  Elfriede Jelinek, Austrian writer, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1958 –
  Scott Hall, American professional wrestler
• 1965 –
  Mikhail Shtalenkov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1967 –
  Elizabeth Carling, English actress and singer
• 1971 –
  Kamiel Maase, Dutch long-distance runner

Who died on October 20?

• 1842 –
  Grace Darling, English heroine (b. 1815)
• 1936 –
  Anne Sullivan, American teacher (b. 1866)
• 1968 –
  Bud Flanagan, British wartime entertainer (b. 1896)
• 1978 –
  Gunnar Nilsson, Swedish race car driver (b. 1948)
• 1983 –
  Peter Dudley, British actor (b. 1935)
• 1983 –
  Yves Thériault, French Canadian author (b. 1915)
• 1989 –
  Anthony Quayle, English actor (b. 1913)
• 1992 –
  Werner Torkanowsky, German conductor (b. 1926)
• 2001 –
  Ted Ammon, American financier (b. 1949)
• 2004 –
  Chuck Hiller, American baseball player (b. 1934)