October 20 in History

38 events 1568 – 2022

October 20 spans 38 recorded events across recorded history — from 1568 – 2022. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

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Liz Truss steps down as British Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Pa

2022 — Liz Truss steps down as British Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party amid the country's political crisis, serving for the least time of any British Prime Minister (49 days)

Did you know

Liz Truss is the third female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May.

Did you know

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is formally appointed by the British monarch, currently King Charles III.

Did you know

The Conservative Party, which Liz Truss led, is one of the two major political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party.

Did you know

The House of Commons, where the Prime Minister must command confidence, is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Did you know

10 Downing Street, in London, serves as the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.


The Spanish Duke of Alba defeats a Dutch rebel force under William the Silent.
Spanish military officer, statesman and diplomat (1507–1582)
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba, known as the Grand Duke of Alba in Spain and Portugal and as the Iron Duke or shortly 'Alva' in the Netherlands and Belgium, was a Spanish military officer, statesman and diplomat.
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1568
Eighty Years' War: Three thousand Spanish soldiers wade through fifteen miles of water in one night to effect the relief of Goes.
c. 1566/1568–1648 war in Habsburg Netherlands
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, excessive taxation, and the rights and privileges of the Dutch nobility and cities.
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1572
France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony refuse to honour the Pragmatic Sanction, and the War of the Austrian Succession begins.
Holy Roman edict allowing royal inheritance by Charles VI's daughter Maria Theresa
The Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 was an edict issued by Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, on 19 April 1713 to ensure that the Habsburg monarchy, which included the Archduchy of Austria, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Kingdom of Croatia, the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Duchy of Milan, the Kingdom of Naples, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Austrian Netherlands, could be inherited by a daughter undivided.
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1740
American Revolution: The Continental Association, a nonconsumption and nonimportation agreement against the British Isles and the British West Indies, is adopted by the First Continental Congress.
Founding of the United States
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a political movement in the Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain and the United States which the colonies founded. The movement began as a rebellion demanding reform and evolved into a revolution resulting in a complete separation that entirely replaced the social and political order. These changes were the outcome of the associated American Revolutionary War and the consequential sovereign independence of the former colonies as the United States. The Second Continental Congress, as the provisional government, established the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander-in-chief in 1775. The following year, the Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July. Throughout most of the war, the outcome appeared uncertain. However, in 1781, a decisive victory by Washington and the Continental Army in the Siege of Yorktown led King George III and the Fox–North coalition in government to negotiate the cessation of colonial rule and the acknowledgment of American sovereignty, formalized in the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The Constitution took effect in 1789 and the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791.
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1774
The Patent of Toleration, providing limited freedom of worship, is approved in Austria.
1781 edict by Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II
The Patent of Toleration was an edict of toleration issued on 13 October 1781 by the Habsburg emperor Joseph II. Part of the Josephinist reforms, the Patent extended religious freedom to non-Catholic Christians living in the crown lands of the Habsburg monarchy, including Lutherans, Calvinists, and the Eastern Orthodox. Specifically, these members of minority faiths were now legally permitted to hold "private religious exercises" in clandestine churches.
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1781
The United States Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase.
1803 acquisition of region of Middle America land by the U.S. from France
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River's drainage basin west of the river. In return for fifteen million dollars, or approximately eighteen dollars per square mile ($7/km2), the United States nominally acquired a total of 828,000 sq mi of land now in the Central United States. However, France only controlled a small fraction of this area, most of which was inhabited by Native Americans; effectively, for the majority of the area, the United States bought the preemptive right to obtain Indian lands by treaty or by conquest, to the exclusion of other colonial powers.
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1803
The Convention of 1818 is signed between the United States and the United Kingdom, which settles the Canada–United States border on the 49th parallel for most of its length.
Treaty establishing the western US–Canada border
The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary and the restoration of slaves, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, is an international treaty signed in 1818 between the United States and the United Kingdom. This treaty resolved standing boundary issues between the two nations. The treaty allowed for joint occupation and settlement of the Oregon Country, known to the British and in Canadian history as the Columbia District of the Hudson's Bay Company, and including the southern portion of its sister district New Caledonia.
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1818
Greek War of Independence: In the Battle of Navarino, a combined Turkish and Egyptian fleet is defeated by British, French and Russian naval forces in the last significant battle fought with wooden sailing ships.
Greek rebellion against the Ottoman Empire (1821–1829)
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence fought by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire from 1821 to 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted by the British Empire, the Kingdom of France, and the Russian Empire, while the Ottomans were aided by their vassals, especially by the Eyalet of Egypt. The war led to the formation of modern Greece, which in subsequent years would be expanded to its current size. The revolution is commemorated by Greeks around the world as independence day on 25 March.
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1827
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.
1883 territorial settlement between Chile and Peru
The Treaty of Ancón was a peace treaty signed by Chile and Peru on 20 October 1883, in Ancón, near Lima. It was intended to settle the two nations' remaining territorial differences at the conclusion of their involvement in the War of the Pacific and to stabilise post-bellum relations between them.
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1883
Chile and Bolivia sign the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, delimiting the border between the two countries.
1904 border demarcation treaty between Chile and Bolivia
The Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1904 between Chile and Bolivia was signed in Santiago de Chile on 20 October 1904, to delineate the boundary through 96 specified points between Cerro Zapaleri and Cerro Chipe and to regulate the relations between the two countries 20 years after the end of the War of the Pacific.
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1904
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Born on October 20

20 people 1989 – 2003
Carney Chukwuemeka
English footballer
Carney Chibueze Chukwuemeka is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or left winger for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Austria national team.
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2003
Yéremy Pino
Yéremy Pino
Spanish footballer
Yéremy Jesús Pino Santos is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Premier League club Crystal Palace and the Spain national team.
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2002
Paige Bueckers
Paige Bueckers
American basketball player
Paige Madison Bueckers is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for Breeze of Unrivaled. She played college basketball for the UConn…
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2001
Kenneth Walker III
Kenneth Walker III
American football player
Kenneth Walker III is an American professional football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and Michigan State…
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2000
Chuu
Chuu
South Korean singer and television personality
Kim Ji-woo, known professionally as Chuu (츄), is a South Korean singer and actress. She is a former member of the South Korean girl group Loona and its sub-unit, yyxy.
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1999
YoungBoy Never Broke Again
YoungBoy Never Broke Again
American rapper
Kentrell DeSean Gaulden, known professionally as YoungBoy Never Broke Again or NBA YoungBoy, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Gaulden released eight mixtapes from 2015 to 2017, and garnered a regional…
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1999
Jordan Ridley
Australian rules footballer
Jordan Ridley is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was selected by Essendon with their second selection and twenty-second…
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1998
Ademola Lookman
Ademola Lookman
Nigerian footballer
Ademola Lookman Olajade Alade Aylola Lookman is a professional footballer who plays as a winger or second-striker for La Liga club Atlético Madrid. Born in England, he plays for the Nigeria national team.
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1997
Daizen Maeda
Daizen Maeda
Japanese footballer
Daizen Maeda is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Scottish Premiership side Celtic and the Japan national team.
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1997
Nguyễn Tiến Linh
Nguyễn Tiến Linh
Vietnamese footballer
Nguyễn Tiến Linh is a Vietnamese professional footballer who plays as a striker for V.League 1 club Công An Hồ Chí Minh City and the Vietnam national team.
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1997
Andrey Rublev
Andrey Rublev
Russian tennis player
Andrey Andreyevich Rublev is a Russian professional tennis player. He has been ranked by the ATP as high as world No. 5 in singles, which he achieved on 13 September 2021, and No. 44 in doubles, attained on 6 November…
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1997
Anthony Sinisuka Ginting
Anthony Sinisuka Ginting
Indonesian badminton player
Anthony Sinisuka Ginting is an Indonesian badminton player. He first rose to senior prominence when he won the bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games, having won a 2014 Youth Olympic bronze in 2014. At the 2020 Olympics,…
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1996
Humberto Carrillo
Humberto Carrillo
Mexican wrestler
Humberto Garza Carrillo is a Mexican professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Berto. He is one-half of Los Garza with his cousin Angel. He is also a member…
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1995
Festus Talam
Kenyan long-distance runner
Festus Talam is a Kenyan long-distance runner.
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1994
Mattia De Sciglio
Mattia De Sciglio
Italian footballer
Mattia De Sciglio is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a right-back.
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1992
Ksenia Semyonova
Ksenia Semyonova
Russian gymnast
Ksenia Andreyevna Semyonova is a retired Russian artistic gymnast. She is the 2007 world champion on the uneven bars, the 2008 European champion on the uneven bars and the balance beam, and the 2009 European all-around…
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1992
Kyle Wiltjer
Kyle Wiltjer
Canadian-American basketball player
Kyle Gregory Wiltjer is a Canadian-American professional basketball player for Reyer Venezia Mestre of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He spent two seasons of college basketball with the Kentucky Wildcats before…
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1992
Phupoom Pongpanupak
Phupoom Pongpanupak
Thai actor
Phupoom Pongpanupak, better known by his nickname Ken (เคน), is a Thai actor known for his leading role in the Thai television soap opera Saam Num Nua Thong. He is one of the top Thai actors in Thailand known for his…
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1991
Sam Mataora
Sam Mataora
Cook Islands rugby league player
Sam Mataora is a Cook Island professional rugby league footballer. He played for the Canberra Raiders and Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League. His positions were prop and second-row.
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1990
Jamie Collins
Jamie Collins
American football player
Jamie Lee Collins Sr. is an American football coach and former professional linebacker who is the inside linebackers coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10…
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1989
See all birthdays on October 20

Died on October 20

20 people 2013 – 2024
Barbara Dane
Barbara Dane
American folk, blues and jazz singer (born 1927)
Barbara Jean Spillman, known professionally as Barbara Dane, was an American folk, blues and jazz singer, guitarist, record producer, and political activist. She co-founded Paredon Records with Irwin Silber.
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2024
Fethullah Gülen
Fethullah Gülen
Turkish preacher and theologian (born 1941)
Muhammed Fethullah Gülen was a Turkish Muslim scholar, preacher, and leader of the Gülen movement, which as of 2010 had 8-10 million of followers globally and had established a network of over 2,000 STEM focused schools…
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2024
Walter Jacob
Walter Jacob
American Reform rabbi (born 1930)
Walter Jacob was an American Reform rabbi. He was rabbi at the Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh from 1955 to 1997. He served as chairman of organizations such as the Central Conference of American Rabbis and…
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2024
Janusz Olejniczak
Janusz Olejniczak
Polish classical pianist and actor (born 1952)
Janusz Olejniczak was a Polish classical pianist, academic teacher and actor. He made an international career as a pianist, especially with the piano music of Chopin which he played on modern and period instruments. He…
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2024
Paul White
Paul White
Baron Hanningfield, British life peer (born 1940)
Paul Edward Winston White, Baron Hanningfield,, was a British politician and farmer. As a member of the Conservative Party, he served in various leadership roles in local government in Essex and was influential in…
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2024
Lucy Simon
American composer and songwriter (born 1940)
Lucy Elizabeth Simon was an American singer and composer for the theatre and of popular songs. She recorded and performed as a singer and songwriter, and was known for the musicals The Secret Garden (1991) and Doctor…
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2022
James Randi
James Randi
Canadian-American stage magician and author (born 1928)
James Randi was a Canadian-American stage magician, author, and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI),…
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2020
Wim Kok
Wim Kok
Dutch prime minister (born 1938)
Willem "Wim" Kok was a Dutch politician and trade union leader who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 22 August 1994 until 22 July 2002. He was a member of the Labour Party (PvdA).
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2018
Robert E. Kramek
Robert E. Kramek
former United States Coast Guard admiral (born 1939)
Robert Edward Kramek was an admiral of the United States Coast Guard who served as the 20th commandant from 1994 to 1998. During his tenure as commandant, he successfully led the service through difficult budget battles…
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2016
Michael Massee
Michael Massee
American actor (born 1952)
Michael Groo Massee was an American actor. Active on screen for three decades, he frequently portrayed villainous characters. His film roles include Funboy in the dark fantasy The Crow (1994), Newton in the horror…
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2016
Junko Tabei
Junko Tabei
Japanese mountaineer (born 1939)
Junko Tabei was a Japanese mountaineer, author and teacher. She was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest and ascend the Seven Summits, climbing the highest peak on every continent.
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2016
Makis Dendrinos
Greek basketball player and coach (born 1950)
Gerasimos "Makis" Dendrinos was a Greek professional basketball player and basketball coach. He was a 1.80 m tall point guard. His nickname as a player was "Buddha".
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2015
Arno Gruen
Arno Gruen
German-Swiss psychologist and psychoanalyst (born 1923)
Arno Gruen was a Swiss-German psychologist and psychoanalyst.
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2015
Kazimierz Łaski
Kazimierz Łaski
Polish-Austrian economist and academic (born 1921)
Kazimierz Łaski was a Polish-Austrian economist. During the antisemitic purge of 1968 Łaski had to leave Poland and moved to Austria, where he worked for the rest of his life and was widely recognized as a major…
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2015
Michael Meacher
Michael Meacher
English academic and politician, Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (born 1939)
Michael Hugh Meacher was a British politician who served as a government minister under Harold Wilson, James Callaghan and Tony Blair. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Oldham West and…
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2015
Ian Steel
Ian Steel
Scottish cyclist and manager (born 1928)
John "Ian" Steel was a Scottish racing cyclist who in 1952 won the Peace Race, a central European race between Warsaw, Berlin and Prague. He was the only Briton, and the only rider from the English-speaking world to win…
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2015
René Burri
René Burri
Swiss photographer and journalist (born 1933)
René Burri was a Swiss photographer. Burri was a member of Magnum Photos and photographed major political, historical and cultural events and key figures of the second half of the 20th century. He made portraits of Che…
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2014
Oscar de la Renta
Oscar de la Renta
Dominican-American fashion designer (born 1932)
Óscar Arístides de la Renta y Fiallo, known professionally as Óscar de la Renta, was a Dominican fashion designer. Born in Santo Domingo, he was trained by Cristóbal Balenciaga and Antonio del Castillo. De la Renta…
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2014
Christophe de Margerie
Christophe de Margerie
French businessman (born 1951)
Christophe de Margerie was a French businessman. He served as the chairman and chief executive officer of French oil corporation Total.
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2014
Jovanka Broz
Jovanka Broz
Croatian-Serbian colonel (born 1924)
Jovanka Broz was the First Lady of Yugoslavia from 1952 until 1980 as the wife of Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito. She was a lieutenant colonel in the Yugoslav People's Army.
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2013
See all deaths on October 20
Related questions

More questions about October 20

What happened on October 20?

A featured event on this date is 2022: Liz Truss steps down as British Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party amid the country's political crisis, serving for the least time of any British Prime Minister (49 days). This page also lists 38 events from other years on the same day.

Why is October 20 remembered in history?

October 20 brings together events, births, and deaths across many eras, which makes it useful for seeing how one calendar date connects different historical turning points.

Who was born on October 20?

Notable birthdays on this date include Carney Chukwuemeka, Yéremy Pino, Paige Bueckers.

See birthdays

Who died on October 20?

Notable deaths on this date include Barbara Dane, Fethullah Gülen, Walter Jacob.

See deaths
Short answer

What happened on October 20 in history?

On October 20, one notable event in history was 2022: Liz Truss steps down as British Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party amid the country's political crisis, serving for the least time of any British Prime Minister (49 days)..

This date currently highlights 38 recorded events on thisDay.info, spanning 1568 – 2022.

DateOctober 20
Featured year2022
LocationHistorical Location
Events listed38

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