GMT

Today in History: October 20

1818 The United States and Britain establish the 49th Parallel as the boundary between Canada and the United States.

1903 The Joint Commission, set up on January 24 by Great Britain and the United States to arbitrate the disputed Alaskan boundary, rules in favor of the United States. The deciding vote is Britain's, which embitters Canada. The United States gains ports on the panhandle coast of Alaska.

1944 U.S. troops land on Leyte in the Philippines, keeping General MacArthur's pledge "I shall return."

1945 Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon form the Arab League to present a unified front against the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine.

1947 The House Un-American Activities Committee opens public hearings on alleged communist infiltration in Hollywood. Among those denounced as having un-American tendencies are: Katherine Hepburn, Charles Chaplin and Edward G. Robinson. Among those called to testify is Screen Actors Guild President Ronald Reagan, who denies that leftists ever controlled the Guild and refuses to label anyone a communist.

1968 Jacqueline Kennedy marries Aristotle Onassis.

1973 Arab oil-producing nations ban oil exports to the United States, following the outbreak of Arab-Israeli war.



1977 Charter plane crashes in Mississippi, killing three members of popular Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, along with their assistant road manager, the pilot and co-pilot.



Born on October 20

1948 Tom Petty, singer, songwriter, musician; lead singer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and a founder of the Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch bands; inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2002.

JOTD

Is Google male or female?

Female, because it doesn't let you finish a sentence before making a suggestion.