EVENTS:
- 1944 – Liquid natural gas leaks from storage tanks in Cleveland, then explodes; the explosion and resulting fire level 30 blocks and kill 130.
- 1946 – Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam decides that October 20 is Vietnam Women’s Day.
- 1961 – The Soviet Union performs the first armed test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, launching an R-13 from a Golf-class submarine.
- 1970 – Siad Barre declares Somalia a socialist state.
- 1982 – During the UEFA Cup match between FC Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem, 66 people are crushed to death in the Luzhniki disaster.
- 1991 – A 6.8 Mw earthquake strikes the Uttarkashi region of India, killing more than 1,000 people.
- 2011 – Libyan Civil War: National Transitional Council rebel forces capture ousted Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in his hometown of Sirte and kill him shortly thereafter.
- 2017 – Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) declare victory in the Raqqa campaign.[13]
- 2022 – Liz Truss steps down as British Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party amid the country’s political crisis, serving for the least time of any British Prime Minister [49 days].
BIRTHS:
- 1891 – James Chadwick, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
- 1920 – Siddhartha Shankar Ray, Indian lawyer and politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 2010)
- 1927 – Gunturu Seshendra Sarma, Indian poet and critic (d. 2007)
- 1942 – Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, German biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1946 – Elfriede Jelinek, Austrian author and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1957 – Chris Cowdrey, English cricketer and sportscaster
- 1966 – Allan Donald, South African cricketer and coach
- 1978 – Virender Sehwag, Indian cricketer
- 1979 – Paul Ifill, English footballer
- 1985 – Alphonso Smith, American football player
- 2000 – Kenneth Walker III, American football player
- 2001 – Paige Bueckers, American basketball player
HOLIDAYS and OBSERVANCES:
- Kenyatta Day (Kenya, until 2010)
- Revolution Day, one of the two Patriotic Days (Guatemala)
- Vietnamese Women’s Day (Vietnam)
- World Osteoporosis Day (international)
- World Statistics Day (international)
