On September 20, 2011, the federal government repeals “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a law that had allowed gay people to serve in the U.

A glacial avalanche in Russia buries a village on September 20, 2002, killing more than 100 people.

At the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea on September 20, 1988, American diver Greg Louganis wins the gold medal on the springboard despite nearly knocking himself unconscious during a qualifying round dive.

An optimistic and upbeat President John F.

The first annual Cannes Film Festival opens at the resort city of Cannes on the French Riviera.

Chester Arthur is inaugurated on September 20, 1881, becoming the third person to serve as president in that year.

Upton Sinclair, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and reformer, is born in Baltimore, Maryland on September 20, 1878.

On September 20, 1806, after nearly two-and-a-half years spent exploring the western wilderness, the Corps of Discovery arrived at the frontier village of La Charette, the first white settlement they had seen since leaving behind the outposts of the eastern settlements in 1804.

Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan sets sail from Spain in an effort to find a western sea route to the rich Spice Islands of Indonesia.

A huge tsunami hit Japan on this day, killing up to 31,000 people. It was not the first, nor the last, nor the most deadly. Nor was it the work of an angry god.