In History: Oct. 20
These are the notable events of Oct. 20 in world, American, and Kansas history.
On Oct. 20…
1714: King George I is crowned.
1803: United States ratifies the Louisiana Purchase.
1818: Convention of 1818 creates a set border between Canada and America at the 49th parallel.
1901: Frank Churchill, music composer for Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, is born.
1904: Chile and Bolivia come to an agreement on their nation’s borders.
1941: Nazi Army reaches the Soviet Union capital Moscow.
1944: Soviet Red Army liberates Belgrade from the Nazis; General Douglass MacArthur fulfills his promise to return and liberate the Philippines from Japan.
1951: Drake quarterback Johnny Bright is assaulted on the field mid-play by Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) tackle Willbanks Smith, the first case of a black athlete being assaulted on the field during a collegiate athletics contest. Smith punched Bright three times in the face, breaking his jaw.
1964: 31st President of the United States, Herbert Hoover, passes away.
1973: The “Saturday Night Massacre,” when President Richard Nixon fires three members of his staff during the Watergate Scandal; Queen Elizabeth II opens the Sydney Opera House.
1977: The Lynyrd Skynyrd band plane crashes in Mississippi, killing three of its members.
2011: The Libyan Civil War comes to a violent end.
2022: Liz Truss steps down as British Prime Minister, serving the shortest term at 49 days.