Today In History
Today is Wednesday, Oct. 20, the 293rd day of 2021. There are 72 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
› 1947: The House Un-American Activities Committee opened hearings into alleged communist influence and infiltration in the U.S. motion picture industry.
ON THIS DATE
› 1803: The U.S. Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase.
› 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.
› 1968: Former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.
› 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.
› 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.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Japan’s Empress Michiko is 87. Rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson is 84. Former actor Rev. Mother Dolores Hart is 83. Actor William “Rusty” Russ is
71. Actor Melanie Mayron is 69. Retired MLB AllStar Keith Hernandez is
68. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., is 66. Movie director Danny Boyle is
65. Former Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is 64. Actor Viggo Mortensen is 63. Vice President Kamala Harris is 57. Rock musician Jim Sonefeld (Hootie & The Blowfish) is 57. Rock musician Doug Eldridge (Oleander) is 54. Journalist Sunny Hostin (TV: “The View”) is 53. Political commentator and blogger Michelle Malkin is 51. Actor Kenneth Choi is 50. Rapper Snoop Dogg is 50. Singer Dannii Minogue is 50. Singer Jimi Westbrook (Little Big Town) is 50. Country musician Jeff Loberg is 45. Actor/comedian Dan Fogler is 45. Rock musician Jon Natchez (The War on Drugs) is 45. Actor John Krasinski is 42. Rock musician Daniel Tichenor (Cage the Elephant) is 42. Actor Katie Featherston is 39. Actor Jennifer Nicole Freeman is 36.