|
What happened in history on this day: October 20?
Since 1995, I have been collecting information on a variety of topics,
creating several timelines of history.
Here you will find specific events from those databases
for this day, on the topics of personal computers, video games, the Walt Disney Company,
Chevrolet Corvettes, A&W Root Beer, Sweden, and Canadian coins.
On October 20 in ...
- 1989 - The AmiEXPO trade show for Amiga computers is held in Santa Clara, California, over three days.
- 1997 - Apple Computer introduces the MessagePad 2100 handheld computer. It features Newton 2.1 operating system, 4.9 x 3.3 inch 480x320 pixel 16-shade grayscale LCD display, 4 MB RAM, stylus, two Type-II PC Card slots, four AA batteries. Size is 8.3 x 4.7 x 1.1 inches; weight is 1.4 pounds; price is US$999.
- 1997 - The U.S. Justice Department asks a federal court to hold Microsoft in contempt of court because it may be forcing PC makers to distribute Internet Explorer as a condition of selling Windows 95. Microsoft is formally charged with violating the terms of the 1995 Final Judgement. The federal court is asked to impose on Microsoft a US$1 million per day fine until the company stops tying the browser with Windows. [1711.8] [1897.131]
- 2004 - Intel releases the 2.1 GHz Pentium M 765 processor for notebook computers. It features 2 MB of cache. The chip is manufactured using a 90-nanometre manufacturing process. Price is US$637 in 1000-unit quantities.
- 2004 - Sharp Electronics announces it will cease development and retail sales of its handheld computers in the US.
- 2005 - In Santa Clara, California, Intel holds a meeting of 300 top managers. Chief Marketing Officer Eric Kim announces plans to drop the name "Pentium", the "Intel Inside" logo, and the dropped "e" in the corporate logo. Andrew Grove gives his full support to the ideas.
- 2009 - Apple unveils new line of redesigned iMac (starting at US$1199), MacBook (4.7 pounds, starting at US$999), and Mac Mini (US$599) computers, with touch-based mice (no buttons, balls, or wheels) and edge-to-edge glass.
- 1923 - Walt Disney writes again to Virginia Davis' mother, offering $100 per month, rising to $200 by month nine.
- 1924 - The Alice Comedy film Alice Gets in Dutch is shown at the Piccadilly Theatre on Broadway, in New York. This is the first time an Alice film is shown in a first-run Broadway theater.
- 1963 - The NBC TV network airs the Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color show, entitled The Wahoo Bobcat.
- 1974 - The NBC TV network airs The Wonderful World of Disney show, featuring Two Against the Arctic, part one.
- 1983 - Disney premieres the animated short film Mickey's Christmas Carol in England. The film includes the first appearance of Mickey Mouse on film since 1953. The film cost over US$3 million to make.
- 1989 - Buena Vista releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film Gross Anatomy to theaters.
- 1993 - Disney releases the film A Far Off Place on laserdisc for US$39.99.
- 1995 - Buena Vista Pictures generally releases the film Feast of July to theaters in the USA.
- 1995 - Buena Vista Pictures releases the Walt Disney Pictures feature film Frank and Ollie to theaters in the USA. The film is a documentary of the lives and careers of Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston.
- 1997 - The Disney Channel premieres the Bear in the Big Blue House TV show.
- 2001 - The International Food and Wine Festival begins in Epcot, running until November 18.
- 2003 - Disney premieres the animated feature film Brother Bear at the New Amsterdam Theater in New York.
- 2006 - Disney releases the Touchstone film The Prestige to theaters in the USA.
- 1959 - A clay mock-up of project XP-720 (to become 1963 model) is completed and put on display for General Motors' management viewing.
- 1980 - At the Road Atlanta raceway in Braselton, Georgia, the Champion Spark Plug Road Racing Classic final races of the SCCA Club Racing series are held, over seven days. Finishing 1st in B Production class is Jerry Hansen, driving a Corvette. This is Corvette's tenth class win in the last twelve years. The class is discontinued after this year.
- 1988 - The Callaway Sledgehammer Corvette is taken to the Transportation Research Center in Columbus, Ohio, to see if it can run at 250 mph.
- 2007 - At the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Californiia, the Monterey Sports Car Championships race is held, round twelve (final) of the American Le Mans Series.
- Finishing 1st in LMGT1 class and 11th overall is the Corvette Racing #4 Corvette C6.R driven by Oliver Gavin and Olivier Beretta.
- Finishing 2nd in LMGT1 class and 12th overall is the The Corvette Racing #3 Corvette C6.R driven by Jan Magnussen and Johnny O'Connell.
- 1941 - In Russia, German forces take Mozhaisk, forty miles from Moscow.
- 1941 - Canada's prime minister William King and war ministers commit two battalions to the defence of Hong Kong.
- 1941 - Soviet resistance surrounded in Bryansk ceases. Hundreds of thousands of prisoners are taken.
- 1942 - The office of US Alien Property Custodian operating under the "Trading With the Enemy Act" seizes shares of Union Banking Corporation in New York City, on grounds it was financing Adolf Hitler.
- 1944 - Belgrade falls to joint Yugoslav-Soviet forces.
- 1944 - American General Douglas MacArthur and 200,000 troops begin amphibious landings on Leyte in the central Philippines.
- 1944 - Operation Suitcase begins, as Canadian 4th Armored Division advances to take Esschen, 12 km east of Bergen-op-Zoom on the Dutch-Belgium border.
- 1944 - The Japanese navy organizes the first Kamikaze units in the Philippines.
- 1944 - The Japanese army organizes a Kamikaze unit on the Japanese mainland.
- 1944 - (about 1300 hours) At a farm near Ijzendijke, Netherlands, an explosion occurs at a British-Canadian camp of tanks and trucks, likely from 3 tons of liquid nitroglycerine. 41 soldiers are killed, over 50 wounded. Ten armored vehicles are destroyed.
- 1953 - Romania issues a postage stamp marking the 9th anniversary of liberation.
- 1994 - Marshall Islands issues a postage stamp marking the 50th anniversary of the return of General MacArthur to the Philippines.
- 1997 - In Ijzendijke, Netherlands, a monument is erected to the lives lost in an explosion at a British-Canadian armored camp on October 20, 1944.
- 2009 - Turkey issues a postage stamp depicting Namik Kemal Yolga, diplomat who rescued Jews in World War II.
- 1985 - Sega releases the Sega Mark III video game system in Japan.
- 1992 - The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decides to dismiss the appeal by Sega to review the August 28 ruling in favor of Accolade.
- 2008 - Rockstar Games releases the Midnight Club: Los Angeles video game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in the USA.
- 2009 - 2K Games releases the Borderlands video game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the USA.
- 2009 - EA Sports releases the FIFA 10 video game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in the USA.
- 1810 - Jean Baptiste Bernadotte arrives in Sweden, converts to the Lutheran faith, and is given the name Prince Karl Johan.
- 1932 - Prince Gustav Adolf marries Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
- 1987 - A & W Concentrate buys Vernors Inc., maker of Vernors brand ginger ale, for US$10 million.
- 2004 - The 100th A & W Restaurant in Indonesia opens, in Bintaro Utama.
- 2008 - The Royal Canadian Mint issues the 2010 Vancouver Olympics Coin Collection - Inukshuk. The set includes twelve 25-cent Olympic sport circulating coins, and two Lucky Loonies. Price is US$29.95.
- 1785 - The Connecticut General Court authorizes coining up to 10,000 pounds of copper coins with an emblem of Liberty.
- 1857 - Anthony C. Paquet is appointed assistant engraver of the US Mint in Philadelphia.
- 1996 - President Bill Clinton signs into law legislation authorizing production of circulating commemorative coins to honor each of the 50 states.
- 1888 - Chicago and All America baseball teams play exhibition in Auckland, New Zealand.
- 1891 - First International six-day bike race (New York, Madison Square Gardens) begins.
- 1899 - Columbia (US) beats Shamrock (England) in 11th America's Cup.
- 1910 - First appearance of cork-centered baseball in World Series (World Series #7).
- 1946 - Frank Seno returns kickoff 105 yards, Chicago Cardinals versus New York Giants.
- 1955 - New York Yankees begin 16-game exhibition in Japan.
- 1960 - Ralph Houk replaces Casey Stengel as New York Yankees manager.
- 1963 - Jim Brown sets NFL single-season rushing record, 1,863 yards.
- 1973 - US President Richard Nixon proclaims Jim Thorpe greatest athlete of first half century.
- 1976 - New York Nets' Julius "Dr J" Erving sold to the Philadelphia 76ers.
- 1982 - During the UEFA Cup match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem at least 63 people are crushed to death.
- 1984 - New York Islander's Mike Bossy's 30th career hat trick-4 goals.
- 1988 - Gastineau sacks New York Jets, retires from football "for personal reasons".
- 1988 - Los Angeles first to have both NBA and baseball champions as Los Angeles Dodgers beat Oakland Athletics, four games to one in 85th World Series.
- 1988 - Reggie Rogers, Detroit Lions' number one pick, kills three by driving intoxicated.
- 1990 - Cincinnati Reds sweep Oakland Athletics in four games in the 87th World Series.
- 2000 - Toronto Blue Jays signs Carlos Delgado to a Major League record four-year $68 million contract.
- 2004 - The Boston Red Sox defeat the New York Yankees 10-3 in Game 7 of the Major League Baseball's American League Championship Series to win the series 4 games to 3. The Boston Red Sox become the first team in baseball history to come back from a 0-3 deficit to win a series. Overcoming a 3-0 series deficit has only happened twice previously in all of professional sports.
- 2007 - South Africa defeats England at the Rugby World Cup 2007 final in Stade de France, Paris.
- 2021 - At T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, NHL regular season game: Saint Louis Blues beats Vegas Golden Knights by score 3-1.
- 2021 - At Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, NHL regular season game: Philadelphia Flyers beats Boston Bruins by score 6-3.
- 2020 - NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly touches down on Bennu, becoming the agency's first probe to retrieve samples from an asteroid, with its cargo due for return to Earth in 2023.
- 1956 - 58 degrees F (15 degrees C), Esperanza Station, Antarctica (Antarctic record high).
- 2005 - Hurricane Wilma enters the Mexican Caribbean, passing through Cozumel and then the Yucatán Peninsula, staying over Cancún for over 60 hours.
- 2007 - Georgia's governor Sonny Perdue declares a state of emergency due to drought conditions.
- 2007 - (to November 9) Wildfires in Southern California result in the evacuation of more than one million people and destruction of over 1,600 homes and businesses. Total damage estimate is US$1 billion.
- 1785 - The Connecticut General Court authorizes coining up to 10,000 pounds of copper coins with an emblem of Liberty.
- 1803 - US Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase.
- 1817 - First Mississippi showboat leaves Nashville on maiden voyage.
- 1818 - 49th parallel established as the border between US and Canada.
- 1818 - US and Britain agree to joint control of Oregon country.
- 1903 - US wins disputed boundary between the District of Alaska and Canada.
- 1942 - The office of US Alien Property Custodian operating under the "Trading With the Enemy Act" seizes shares of Union Banking Corporation in New York City, on grounds it was financing Adolf Hitler.
- 1942 - "Durham Manifesto" calls for fundamental changes in race relations.
- 1944 - 30 blocks of Cleveland, Ohio, USA burn after a liquid gas factory explodes.
- 1944 - American General Douglas MacArthur and 200,000 troops begin amphibious landings on Leyte in the central Philippines.
- 1947 - The House Un-American Activities Committee begins investigating Communist influence in Hollywood.
- 1960 - First fully mechanized post office opened, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
- 1967 - Seven men are convicted of civil rights violations in Meridian, Mississippi.
- 1973 - Arab oil producers impose total oil embargo on USA.
- 1973 - Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox dismissed by Solicitor General Bork, Attorney General Richardson and Deputy Attorney General Ruckelshaus resign.
- 1977 - A privately-chartered plane crashes in a swamp in Mississippi, killing three members of rock music group Lynyrd Skynyrd: lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines.
- 1979 - John F Kennedy Library dedicated in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 1986 - The US Mint launches the American Eagle 0.9167 fine gold bullion coin program.
- 1987 - Ten die as US Air Force jet crashed into a Ramada Inn near Indianapolis, Indiana.
- 1987 - New York subway gunman Bernhard Goetz sentenced to six months in jail.
- 1988 - Man armed with explosives blows self up in 125 Steet subway station (New York City).
- 1989 - US Senate impeaches US District Judge Alcee L Hastings.
- 1990 - Antiwar protest marches begin in 20 US cities (US-Iraq).
- 1997 - The U.S. Justice Department asks a federal court to hold Microsoft in contempt of court because it may be forcing PC makers to distribute Internet Explorer as a condition of selling Windows 95. Microsoft is formally charged with violating the terms of the 1995 Final Judgement. The federal court is asked to impose on Microsoft a US$1 million per day fine until the company stops tying the browser with Windows.
- 2001 - The Concert for New York City, "a celebration of the strength, resilience, and pride of New York and America" is held, featuring performances by The Who, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Backstreet Boys, Billy Joel, Destiny's Child, Eric Clapton, Adam Sandler, Bon Jovi, Elton John and many more.
- 2004 - Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 crashes in Missouri, killing 13 people and injuring two.
- 2007 - Georgia's governor Sonny Perdue declares a state of emergency due to drought conditions.
- 2007 - Jungle (open) primary election are held for governor and the legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana.
- 2007 - (to November 9) Wildfires in Southern California result in the evacuation of more than one million people and destruction of over 1,600 homes and businesses. Total damage estimate is US$1 billion.
- 2018 - US President Donald Trump announces that the US will "terminate" the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty over alleged Russian violations.
- 2020 - NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly touches down on Bennu, becoming the agency's first probe to retrieve samples from an asteroid, with its cargo due for return to Earth in 2023.
- 2020 - US Department of Justice files a lawsuit versus Alphabet for anti-trust, alleging anticompetitive practices to maintain monopoly in Internet search via Google.
Other history:
- 1818 - 49th parallel established as the border between USA and Canada.
- 1903 - US wins disputed boundary between the District of Alaska and Canada.
- 1944 - 30 blocks of Cleveland, Ohio, USA, burn after a liquid gas factory explodes.
- 2007 - (to November 9) Wildfires in Southern California result in the evacuation of more than 1,000,000 people and destroying over 1,600 homes and businesses.
vvv advertisement vvv
^^^ advertisement ^^^
You can pick a particular day to view that day's events in history.
Bookmark this URL: http://kpolsson.com/today/ and revisit each day.
(this URL will automatically re-direct to the file containing the current day's events)
Or, visit my Timelines of History page.
|