October 20

Birthdays:

1979 ~ John Krasinski, American actor.

1957 ~ Hilda Solis, 25^th United States Secretary of Labor.  She served during President Obama’s administration.  She served in that office from February 2009 until January 2013.

1953 ~ Keith Hernandez, American baseball player.

1950 ~ Tom Petty (d. Oct. 2, 2017), American musician Heartbreakers frontman who rejuvenated rock ‘n’ roll.  He died of a heart attack 18 days before his 67^th birthday.

1946 ~ Lewis Grizzard (d. Mar. 20, 1994), American humorist.  He died at age 47 of complications following heart surgery.

1946 ~ Elfriede Jelinke, Austrian author and playwright.  She was the recipient of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature.

1942 ~ Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, German biologist and recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

1936 ~ Bobby Seale, American activist and co-founder of the Black Panther Party.

1935 ~ Jerry Orbach (né Jerome Bernard Orbach, d. Dec. 28, 2004), American actor.  He died of prostate cancer at age 69.

1931 ~ Mickey Mantle (d. Aug. 13, 1995), American baseball player.  He died at age 63.

1927 ~ Dr. Joyce Brothers (d. May 13, 2013), American psychologist and newspaper columnist.  She died at age 85.

1925 ~ Art Buchwald (né Arthur Buchwald, d. Jan. 17, 2007), American columnist and humorist.  He died at age 81.

1907 ~ Arlene Francis (d. May 31, 2001), American actress, game show panelist and television personality.  She died at age 93.

1891 ~ Sir James Chadwick (d. July 24, 1974), English physicist and recipient of the 1935 Nobel Prize in Physics.  He died at age 82.

1890 ~ Jelly Roll Morton (né Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, d. July 10, 1941), Louisiana ragtime and Jazz pianist and composer.  He got his start in New Orleans, Louisiana.  He was born in New Orleans, although the date and month of his birth is actually known, he always claimed October 20 at the date of his birth.  He died at age 50 in Los Angeles after having been stabbed and the whites-only hospital refused to treat his injuries.  Although he recovered from his wounds, his recovery was not complete and he ultimately died of respiratory problems that stemmed from the stabbing.  His musical style was risqué, but his music lives on.

1890 ~ Sherman Minton (d. Apr. 9, 1965), Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.  He was appointed to the High Court by President Harry Truman.  He served on the Court from October 1949 until October 1956.  He died at age 74.

1882 ~ Bela Lugosi (né Béla Ferenc Dezsö Blaskó, d. Aug. 16, 1956), Hungarian actor, best known for his roles in early horror films and as portraying Count Dracula on both Broadway and in the film version.  He died at age 73.

1874 ~ Charles Ives (d. May 19, 1954), American composer.  He died at age 79.

1859 ~ John Dewey (d. June 1, 1952), American philosopher and educator.  He was born in Burlington, Vermont.  He died at age 92.

1784 ~ Henry John Temple, 3^rd Viscount Palmerston (d. Oct. 18, 1865), Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.  He served as Prime Minister for two terms.  The first term was from February 1855 through February 1858 and the second term was from June 1859 until his death on this date 6 years later.  He was Prime Minister during the reign of Queen Victoria.  He died 2 days before his 81^st birthday.

1616 ~ Thomas Bartholin (d. Dec. 4, 1680), Danish physician and mathematician.  He died at age 64.

Events the Changed the World:

2011 ~ During the Libyan Civil War, National Transitional Council rebel forces captured ousted Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi (1943 ~ 2011) and killed him in his hometown of Sirte.

1991 ~ A 6.8 Magnitude earthquake hit the Uttarkashi region of India, killing more than 1,000 people.

1981 ~ Two police offers and an armored car guard were killed during an armed robbery in Rockland County, New York.  The robbery was carried out by members of the Black Liberation Army and the Weathermen Underground.

1976 ~ A ferry boat crossing the Mississippi River between Destrehan and Luling, Louisiana was struck by a ship, killing 78 passengers and crew.  Only 18 people on the ferry survived.

1973 ~ The Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia opened.

1973 ~ In what became known as the Saturday Night Massacre, in the wake of the Watergate Scandal, President Richard Nixon (1913 ~ 1994) fired US Attorney General Elliot Richardson (1920 ~ 1999) and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus (b. 1932) after they refused to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox (1912 ~ 2004).  Ultimately, Robert Bork (1927 ~ 2012) fired Cox.

1968 ~ Jacqueline Kennedy (1929 ~ 1994) married Aristotle Onassis (1906 ~ 1975).

1947 ~ The House Un-American Activities Committee began its investigation into Communist infiltration of Hollywood.  The result was the creation of a blacklist that halted the careers of many Hollywood actors and directors.

1904 ~ Chile and Bolivia signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which delimited the boarder between the two countries.

1883 ~ The Treaty of Ancón was signed between Chile and Peru.  Under the terms of this treaty, Peru ceded the Tarapacá province to Chile, thus ending Peru’s involvement in the War of the Pacific.

1818 ~ The Convention of 1818 was signed between the United States and the United Kingdom.  This document settled the border between the United States and Canada, which for most of its length follows the 49^th parallel.

1803 ~ The United States Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase.

Good-Byes:

2014 ~ Oscar de la Renta (b. July 22, 1932), Dominican-American fashion designer who dressed the rich and fabulous.  He died at age 82.

2013 ~ Lawrence Klein (b. Sept. 14, 1920), American economist and recipient of the 1980 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.  He died at age 93.

2012 ~ E. Donnall Thomas (né Edward Donnall Thomas, b. Mar. 15, 1920), American physician and recipient of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He worked closely with his wife, Dorothy “Dottie” Thomas (1922 ~ 2015), on bone marrow transplants.  He died at age 92.

2012 ~ John McConnell (b. Mar. 22, 1915), American activist and creator of Earth Day.  He died at age 97.

2011 ~ Muammar Gaddafi (b. June 7, 1942), Libyan dictator who was murdered after he was caught by rebels in his home town of Sirte, Lybia.  He was the “mad dog” who ruled Libya for 42 years.  His fourth son, Mutassim Gaddafi (b. 1977), was also killed in the raid.  The exact date of his birth is unknown, but this is often given as June 7, 1942, although he could have been born anytime between 1940 and 1943, making him between 68 and 71 at the time of his death.

2011 ~ Jerzy Bielecki (b. Mar. 28, 1921), Polish Catholic social worker who was sent to Auschwitz on suspicion of being a resistance fighter.  While in the concentration camp, he met and fell in love with Cyla Cybulaska, a Polish Jew.  The two escaped from Auschwitz, but were separated for 39 years.  He was 90 years old at the time of his death.

2006 ~ Jane Wyatt (née Jane Waddington, b. Aug. 12, 1911), American actress who played TV’s ideal suburban mom in her role in Father Knows Best.  She died at age 96.

1994 ~ Burt Lancaster (né Burton Stephen Lancaster, b. Nov. 12, 1913), American actor.  He died 2 weeks before his 81^st birthday.

1987 ~ Andrey Kolmogorov (b. Apr. 25, 1903), Russian mathematician.  He died at age 84.

1984 ~ Paul Dirac (b. Aug. 8, 1902), English physicist and recipient of the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in atomic theory.  He died at age 82.

1984 ~ Carl Ferdinand Cori (b. Dec. 5, 1896), Czech biochemist and recipient of the 1947 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.  He died at age 87.

1964 ~ Herbert Hoover (b. Aug. 10, 1874), 31^st President of the United States.  He was President from March 1929 until March 1933.  Prior to being elected President, he served as the 3^rd United States Secretary of Commerce under Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge.  He served in that Office from March 1921 until August 1928.  He died at age 90.

1950 ~ Henry L. Stimson (b. Sept. 21, 1867), 46^th United States Secretary of State.  He served in this Office during the Herbert Hoover administration from March 1929 until March 1933.  He previously served as the 45^th United States Secretary of War during the William Howard Taft administration from May 1911 until March 1913.  He served in this Office as the 54^th United States Secretary of War during the Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S Truman administration from July 1940 until September 1945.  He died a month after his 83^rd birthday.

1936 ~ Anne Sullivan (née Johanna Mansfield Sullivan, b. Apr. 14, 1866), American teacher, instructor and companion to Helen Keller.  She died at age 70.

1935 ~ Arthur Henderson (b. Sept. 13, 1863), British politician and recipient of the 1934 Nobel Peace Prize.  He died at age 72.

1926 ~ Eugene V. Debs (b. Nov. 5, 1855), American politician and union leader.  He died 16 days before his 71^st birthday.

1910 ~ David B. Hill (b. Aug. 29, 1843), 29^th Governor of New York State.  He served as Governor from January 1885 through December 1891.  He died at age 67.

1890 ~ Sir Richard Francis Burton (b. Mar. 19, 1821), British soldier, geographer and diplomat.  He died at age 69.

1740 ~ Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (b. Oct. 1, 1685).  He reigned as the Holy Roman Emperor from October 1711 until his death in October 1740.  He died three weeks after his 55^th birthday.

1631 ~ Michael Maestlin (b. Sept. 30, 1550), German mathematician.  He died 3 weeks after his 81^st birthday.

1187 ~ Pope Urban III.  He was Pope from November 1185 until his death 2 years later.  The date of his birth is unknown.