On this day... October 20:

On this day...

October 20:  Birth of the Báb, a holy day in the Bahá'í Faith 1572 – Eighty Years' War: Soldiers of theSpanish Tercios waded across the river Scheldtat its mouth, walking overnight in water to chest height, to relieve the siege of Goes in theSpanish Netherlands. 1740 – Per the terms of the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, Maria Theresa assumed the throne of the Habsburg Monarchy in Austria. 1944 – World War II: Fulfilling a promise he made 21⁄2 years previous, General Douglas MacArthur landed (pictured) on Leyteto begin the recapture of the entire Philippine Archipelago. 1977 – Three members of the American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrddied when their chartered plane crashed in Gillsburg, Mississippi. 2011 – Libyan Civil War: Muammar Gaddafi, the deposed leader of Libya, was captured during the Battle of Sirte and killed less than an hour later.