The Sydney Opera House officially opened after 14 years of construction drama
What was supposed to cost $7 million ended up costing $102 million and nearly destroyed its Danish architect's career. The designer resigned in 1966 a...
October 20 in History
Significant events that happened on this day.
Historical Events
1973
1971
Willy Brandt became the first German chancellor to win the Nobel Peace Prize
The prize recognized his "Ostpolitik" policy of reconciliation with Eastern Europe and his dramatic gesture of kneeling at the Warsaw Ghetto memorial....
1968
Jackie Kennedy married Greek shipping billionaire Aristotle Onassis
Just five years after JFK's assassination, America's most famous widow shocked the world by marrying the 62-year-old tycoon on his private Greek islan...
1952
Britain declared a state of emergency in Kenya to combat the Mau Mau uprising
The colonial government's harsh crackdown on the independence movement led to the detention of over 150,000 Kenyans in concentration camps. Decades la...
1947
The House Un-American Activities Committee began its investigation into communism in Hollywood
MajorThis marked the beginning of the Hollywood blacklist era, where screenwriters, directors, and actors were accused of communist sympathies. The "Hollyw...
1944
General Douglas MacArthur fulfilled his promise by returning to the Philippines
MajorAfter famously declaring "I shall return" when forced to flee the islands in 1942, MacArthur dramatically waded ashore at Leyte during the U.S. invasi...
1935
The Long March ended when Mao Zedong's communist forces reached Shaanxi province
MajorAfter trekking 6,000 miles over 368 days to escape Nationalist forces, only 8,000 of the original 80,000 Red Army soldiers survived. This brutal retre...
1904
The Chilean government purchased Easter Island from the descendants of its colonizers
Chile bought the remote Pacific island for 6,000 pounds sterling from the Williamson-Balfour Company, which had been running it as a giant sheep ranch...
1827
The Battle of Navarino became the last major naval battle fought entirely with sailing ships
British, French, and Russian fleets accidentally started a battle with the Ottoman-Egyptian fleet while trying to enforce a ceasefire in the Greek War...
1818
The United States and Britain established the 49th parallel as the border between the U.S. and Canada
The Convention of 1818 created the world's longest undefended border by drawing a line from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains. This incredi...
1803
The United States Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase for $15 million
MajorThe U.S. doubled its size overnight by purchasing 828,000 square miles from France for less than 3 cents per acre. Napoleon needed quick cash for his...
1632
Christopher Wren was born, the architect who would rebuild London after the Great Fire
The man who designed St. Paul's Cathedral and 51 other London churches almost became a full-time astronomer instead. He only turned to architecture in...
