Today in History

Today is Monday, Oct. 20, the 293rd day of 2014. There are 72 days left in the year.

Today's Highlights in History:

On Oct. 20, 1944, during World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur stepped ashore at Leyte in the Philippines, 2 1/2 years after saying, "I shall return." The cities of Belgrade and Dubrovnik were liberated by Russian and Yugoslav troops. The Guatemala Revolution took place as student and military leaders overthrew the military dictatorship. A series of gas storage tank explosions and fires in Cleveland killed 130 people.

On this date:

In 1714, the coronation of Britain's King George I took place in Westminster Abbey.

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

In 1914, "Stay Down Here Where You Belong," an antiwar song by Irving Berlin, was published by Waterson, Berlin & Snyder Co. in New York.

In 1936, Helen Keller's teacher, Anne Sullivan Macy, died in Forest Hills, New York, at age 70.

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

In 1964, the 31st president of the United States, Herbert C. Hoover, died in New York at age 90.

In 1967, seven men were convicted in Meridian, Mississippi, of violating the civil rights of three slain civil rights workers.

In 1968, former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.

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 1981, a bungled armored truck robbery carried out by members of radical groups in Nanuet, New York, left a guard and two police officers dead.

In 1994, actor Burt Lancaster died in Los Angeles at age 80.

In 2011, Moammar Gadhafi, 69, Libya's dictator for 42 years, was killed as revolutionary fighters overwhelmed his hometown of Sirte and captured the last major bastion of resistance two months after his regime fell.

Ten years ago: 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.) After being just three outs from getting swept in the AL championship series three nights earlier, the Boston Red Sox finally beat the New York Yankees, winning Game 7 in a 10-3 shocker to become the first major league team to overcome a 3-0 postseason series deficit.

Five years ago: Ignoring appeals by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and even rock star Sting, Iran sentenced an Iranian-American academic, Kian Tajbakhsh, 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.)

One year ago: A suicide bomber slammed his explosives-laden car into a busy cafe in Baghdad, killing some three dozen people. In Egypt, masked gunmen fired on a Coptic church holding a wedding in the Cairo district of Warraq, killing five people.

Today's Birthdays: Actor William Christopher is 82. Japan's Empress Michiko is 80. Rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson is 77. Former actress Rev. Mother Dolores Hart is 76. Singer Tom Petty is 64. Actor William "Rusty" Russ is 64. Actress Melanie Mayron is 62. Retired MLB All-Star Keith Hernandez is 61. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., is 59. Movie director Danny Boyle is 58. Former Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is 57. Actor Viggo Mortensen is 56. Rock musician Jim Sonefeld (Hootie & The Blowfish) is 50. Rock musician David Ryan is 50. Rock musician Doug Eldridge (Oleander) is 47. Political commentator and blogger Michelle Malkin is 44. Actor Kenneth Choi is 43. Rapper Snoop Lion (formerly Snoop Dogg) is 43. Singer Dannii Minogue is 43. Singer Jimi Westbrook (country goup Little Big Town) is 43. Country musician Jeff Loberg is 38. Actor Sam Witwer is 37. Actor John Krasinski is 35. Rock musician Daniel Tichenor (Cage the Elephant) is 35. Actress Katie Featherston is 32. Actress Jennifer Nicole Freeman is 29.

Thought for Today: "Being a politician is a poor profession. Being a public servant is a noble one." -- President Herbert C. Hoover (1874-1964).

Copyright 2014, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.