Today In History

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 20, the 294th day of 2020. There are 72 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 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.

ON THIS DATE

› 1803: The U.S. Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase.

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

› 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.

› 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.

› 2011: Moammar

Gadhafi, 69, Libya’s dictator for 42 years, was killed as revolutionary fighters overwhelmed his hometown of Sirte.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Japan’s Empress Michiko is 86. Rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson is 83. Former actor Rev. Mother Dolores Hart is 82. Actor William “Rusty” Russ is

70. Actor Melanie Mayron is 68. Retired MLB All-Star Keith Hernandez is 67. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., is 65. Movie director Danny Boyle is

64. Former Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is 63. Actor Viggo Mortensen is 62. Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris is 56. Rock musician Jim Sonefeld (Hootie & The Blowfish) is 56. Rock musician David Ryan is 56. Rock musician Doug Eldridge (Oleander) is 53. Journalist Sunny Hostin (TV: “The View”) is 52. Political commentator and blogger Michelle Malkin is 50. Actor Kenneth Choi is 49. Rapper Snoop Dogg is 49. Singer Dannii Minogue is 49. Singer Jimi Westbrook (country group Little Big Town) is 49. Country musician Jeff Loberg is 44. Actor John Krasinski is 41. Rock musician Daniel Tichenor (Cage the Elephant) is

41. Actor Katie Featherston is 38. Actor Jennifer Nicole Freeman is 35.