Today in History: October 20, MacArthur returns to the Philippines
Fulfilling his promise to return to the Philippines, Gen. Douglas MacArthur wades ashore on Leyte Island Oct. 20, 1944, after U.S. forces recaptured the beach from the Japanese. At left is Lt. Gen. Richard K. Sutherland, MacArthur’s chief of staff, and directly behind MacArthur, in glasses, is Col. Lloyd Lehrbas, the general’s aide. (AP Photo)
Today in history:
On Oct. 20, 1944, Gen. Douglas MacArthur waded ashore in his return to the Philippines against Japanese forces in World War II, fulfilling a promise he made (“I shall return”) after being ordered to evacuate the country in 1942 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Also on this date:
In 1803, the U.S. Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase.
H.A. Smith (extreme left) and Rep. J. Parnell Thomas (R-NJ) (right center) 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)
H.A. Smith (extreme left) and Rep. J. Parnell Thomas (R-NJ) (right center) 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 in the U.S. motion picture industry.
On June 29, 1964, the FBI began distributing these pictures of civil rights workers, from left, Michael Schwerner, 24, of New York, James Cheney, 21, from Mississippi, and Andrew Goodman, 20, of New York, who disappeared near Philadelphia, Miss., June 21, 1964. (AP Photo/FBI)
On June 29, 1964, the FBI began distributing these pictures of civil rights workers, from left, Michael Schwerner, 24, of New York, James Cheney, 21, from Mississippi, and Andrew Goodman, 20, of New York, who disappeared near Philadelphia, Miss., June 21, 1964. (AP Photo/FBI)
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 three to 10 years.
In 1973, in what would become known as the “Saturday Night Massacre,” President Richard M. Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot L. Richardson to fire special Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox; Richardson refused and resigned. Deputy Attorney General William B. Ruckelshaus also refused to fire Cox and resigned. Acting Attorney General Robert Bork fired Cox.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, left, declares open the Sydney Opera House complex, Sydney, Australia, Oct. 20, 1973. Seated on the steps are some of the 15,000 invited guests. (AP Photo)
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, left, declares open the Sydney Opera House complex, Sydney, Australia, Oct. 20, 1973. Seated on the steps are some of the 15,000 invited guests. (AP Photo)
In 1973, the Sydney Opera House was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II.
A tug stands by as rescuers look for survivors from the partially submerged ferry boat “George Prince” after it collided with a tanker at Luling, La. Wednesday morning Oct. 20, 1976. (AP Photo)
A tug stands by as rescuers look for survivors from the partially submerged ferry boat “George Prince” after it collided with a tanker at Luling, La. Wednesday morning Oct. 20, 1976. (AP Photo)
In 1976, 78 people were killed when the Norwegian tanker SS Frosta rammed the commuter ferry George Prince on the Mississippi River near New Orleans.
An etching of Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer Ronnie Van Zant is seen at the Lynyrd Skynyrd Monument, located near the site of the band’s Oct. 20, 1977, plane crash in Gillsburg, Miss., Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020. (Matt Williamson/The Enterprise-Journal via AP)
An etching of Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer Ronnie Van Zant is seen at the Lynyrd Skynyrd Monument, located near the site of the band’s Oct. 20, 1977, plane crash in Gillsburg, Miss., Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020. (Matt Williamson/The Enterprise-Journal via AP)
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.
2 Live Crew leader Luther Campbell, right, jumps from the defense table after a not guilty verdict was returned in the group’s highly publicized obscenity trial in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Oct. 20, 1990. Celebrating with Campbell is attorney Bruce Rogow. (AP Photo/Bill Cooke)
2 Live Crew leader Luther Campbell, right, jumps from the defense table after a not guilty verdict was returned in the group’s highly publicized obscenity trial in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Oct. 20, 1990. Celebrating with Campbell is attorney Bruce Rogow. (AP Photo/Bill Cooke)
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 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.
In 2022, British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned after just 49 days in office when her plan for billions in tax cuts rocked financial markets and battered the value of the pound; Truss also resigned as head of the Conservative Party.
