Today in History: Oct. 20

Map shows the vast stretch of land shown April 20, 1953, nearly a million square miles, which the U.S. acquired from France in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and the subsequent westward and southward expansion that brought America to its present continental limits just half a century later, in 1953. The Louisiana Purchase involved total payments of $27,267,622. (AP Photo)
In 1803, the U.S. Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase. This map shows the vast stretch of land shown April 20, 1953, nearly a million square miles, which the U.S. acquired from France in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and the subsequent westward and southward expansion that brought America to its present continental limits just half a century later, in 1953. The Louisiana Purchase involved total payments of $27,267,622. (AP Photo)
Helen Keller (seated) and Anne Sullivan Macy, tutor for Helen Keller, in 1914. (AP Photo/American Foundation for the Blind Archives)
In 1936, Helen Keller’s teacher, Anne Sullivan Macy, died in Forest Hills, New York, at age 70. Pictured here are Keller (seated) and Macy, in 1914. (AP Photo/American Foundation for the Blind Archives)
Gen. Douglas MacArthur is seen on Leyte Island in the Philippines, October 20, 1944, during World War II.  He broadcasts to the residents "I have returned."  He also called on them to aid the American invasion forces. Standing to his left is Philippine President Sergio Osmena. (AP Photo)HC00408
In 1944, during World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur stepped ashore at Leyte in the Philippines, 2 1/2 years after saying, “I shall return.” Standing to his left in this photo is Philippine President Sergio Osmena. (AP Photo)
H.A. Smith (extreme left) and Rep.J.Parnell Thomas (R-NJ) (right centre) stand with hands upraised Oct, 20, 1947 as Smith, committee investigator, is sworn in as the first witness  at a House Un-American Activity Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., dealing with Communist influence in Hollywood. Committee members at the desk at the right are (from left) Rep. Richard B. Vail (R-Ill); John McDowell (R-Pa); Thomas; Richard M. Nixon (R-Calif); and Rep. John J. Delaney (D-NY), a guest at the hearing. (AP Photo)
In 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee opened hearings into alleged Communist influence and infiltration in the U.S. motion picture industry. Pictured here, H.A. Smith (extreme left) and Rep.J.Parnell Thomas (R-NJ) (right centre) stand with hands upraised Oct, 20, 1947 as Smith, committee investigator, is sworn in as the first witness at a House Un-American Activity Committee hearing in Washington, D.C. Committee members at the desk at the right are (from left) Rep. Richard B. Vail (R-Ill); John McDowell (R-Pa); Thomas; Richard M. Nixon (R-Calif); and Rep. John J. Delaney (D-NY), a guest at the hearing. (AP Photo)
With daughter Caroline peeking over her right shoulder, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis leaves the chapel with her new husband, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, after their wedding on the Greek Island of Scorpios, Oct. 20, 1968.  (AP Photo/Jim Pringle)
In 1968, former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. (AP Photo/Jim Pringle)
On Oct. 20, 2011, Moammar Gadhafi, 69, Libya’s dictator for 42 years, was killed as revolutionary fighters overwhelmed his hometown of Sirte (SURT) and captured the last major bastion of resistance two months after his regime fell. (AP Photo/David Sperry)
In 1977, three members of the rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, were killed along with three others in the crash of a chartered plane near McComb, Mississippi. FILE – This Oct. 20, 1977 file photo shows the wreckage of a plane in a wooded area near McComb, Miss., where six people were killed, including three members of the music group Lynyrd Skynyrd. A New York federal appeals court says a new Lynyrd Skynyrd film, “Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash,” can be released despite a dispute over the band’s intentions. A lower court judge decided previously that the film violated a “blood oath” made by band members not to exploit the group’s name after the crash. (AP Photo, File)
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Map shows the vast stretch of land shown April 20, 1953, nearly a million square miles, which the U.S. acquired from France in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and the subsequent westward and southward expansion that brought America to its present continental limits just half a century later, in 1953. The Louisiana Purchase involved total payments of $27,267,622. (AP Photo)
Helen Keller (seated) and Anne Sullivan Macy, tutor for Helen Keller, in 1914. (AP Photo/American Foundation for the Blind Archives)
Gen. Douglas MacArthur is seen on Leyte Island in the Philippines, October 20, 1944, during World War II.  He broadcasts to the residents "I have returned."  He also called on them to aid the American invasion forces. Standing to his left is Philippine President Sergio Osmena. (AP Photo)HC00408
H.A. Smith (extreme left) and Rep.J.Parnell Thomas (R-NJ) (right centre) stand with hands upraised Oct, 20, 1947 as Smith, committee investigator, is sworn in as the first witness  at a House Un-American Activity Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., dealing with Communist influence in Hollywood. Committee members at the desk at the right are (from left) Rep. Richard B. Vail (R-Ill); John McDowell (R-Pa); Thomas; Richard M. Nixon (R-Calif); and Rep. John J. Delaney (D-NY), a guest at the hearing. (AP Photo)
With daughter Caroline peeking over her right shoulder, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis leaves the chapel with her new husband, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, after their wedding on the Greek Island of Scorpios, Oct. 20, 1968.  (AP Photo/Jim Pringle)

Today is Sunday, Oct. 20, the 293rd day of 2019. There are 72 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Oct. 20, 2011, Moammar Gadhafi, 69, Libya’s dictator for 42 years, was killed as revolutionary fighters overwhelmed his hometown of Sirte (SURT) and captured the last major bastion of resistance two months after his regime fell.

On this date:

In 1803, the U.S. Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase.

In 1944, during World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur stepped ashore at Leyte (LAY’-tee) in the Philippines, 2 1/2 years after saying, “I shall return.“

In 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee opened hearings into alleged Communist influence and infiltration in the U.S. motion picture industry.

In 1967, a jury in Meridian, Mississippi, convicted seven men of violating the civil rights of slain civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner; the seven received prison terms ranging from 3 to 10 years.

In 1973, in the so-called “Saturday Night Massacre,“ special Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox was dismissed and Attorney General Elliot L. Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William B. Ruckelshaus resigned.

In 1976, 78 people were killed when the Norwegian tanker Frosta rammed the commuter ferry George Prince on the Mississippi River near New Orleans.

In 1977, three members of the rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, were killed along with three others in the crash of a chartered plane near McComb, Mississippi.

In 1986, the government of Nicaragua formally charged captured American mercenary Eugene Hasenfus with several crimes, including terrorism. (Although convicted and sentenced to prison, Hasenfus was pardoned and released by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.)

In 1990, three members of the rap group 2 Live Crew were acquitted by a jury in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., of violating obscenity laws with an adults-only concert in nearby Hollywood the previous June.

In 1999, the government laid out new rules to protect children’s privacy on the Internet and to shield them from commercial e-mail. Elizabeth Dole abandoned her Republican bid to be America’s first woman president.

In 2001, officials announced that anthrax had been discovered in a House postal facility on Capitol Hill.

In 2004, A U.S. Army staff sergeant, Ivan “Chip“ Frederick, pleaded guilty to abusing Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison. (Frederick was sentenced to eight years in prison; he was paroled in 2007.)

Ten years ago: Ignoring appeals by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and even rock star Sting, Iran sentenced an Iranian-American academic, Kian Tajbakhsh (KEE’-ahn tahj-BAHKSH’), to 12 years in prison for his alleged role in anti-government protests. Afghanistan’s election commission ordered a runoff in the disputed presidential poll. (The runoff was later canceled, and President Hamid Karzai proclaimed the winner.)

Five years ago: The White House said former Nazis should not have been collecting Social Security benefits as they aged overseas; an Associated Press investigation had revealed that millions of dollars had been paid to war-crimes suspects and former SS guards who’d been forced out of the United States. New York’s Metropolitan Opera opened “The Death of Klinghoffer“ amid protests that the work glorified Palestinian terrorists. Fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, 82, died in Kent, Connecticut.

One year ago: Saudi Arabia announced that journalist Jamal Khashoggi (jah-MAHL’ khahr-SHOHK’-jee) had been killed in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul; there was immediate international skepticism over the Saudi account that Khashoggi had died during a “fistfight.” President Donald Trump said the U.S. would pull out of a landmark arms control agreement with the former Soviet Union; he said Russia was violating the pact and that it was keeping the U.S. from developing new weapons. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series to advance to a World Series matchup against the Boston Red Sox.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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