TODAY IN HISTORY

Saturday, October  20, 2012 AP Highlight in History:  On Oct. 20, 2011, Moammar Gadhafi, 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. Gadhafi was 69.   AP Photo/Ben Curtis
On this date in: 1803 The U.S. Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase. 1931 Baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle was born in Spavinaw, Okla. AP Photo 1944 Gen. Douglas MacArthur stepped ashore at Leyte in the Philippines, 2 1/2 years after he'd said, "I shall return." 1947 The House Un-American Activities Committee opened hearings into alleged Communist influence in the motion picture industry. 1964 Herbert Hoover, the 31st president of the United States, died at age 90 in New York City. 1968 Former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. 1973 Special Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox and Deputy Attorney General William B. Ruckelshaus were fired and Attorney General Elliot L. Richardson resigned in the so-called Saturday Night Massacre. 1977 Three members of the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd were killed in the crash of a chartered plane near McComb, Miss. 1992 The host Toronto Blue Jays beat the Atlanta Braves 3-2 in the first World Series game played outside the United States. 2000 Egyptian-born Ali Mohamed, a U.S. citizen who'd served in the Army, pleaded guilty in New York to helping plan the U.S. embassy bombings in Africa in 1998 that killed 224 people.		Video HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS DAY IN HISTORY Today's Birthdays: Rapper Snoop Dogg turns 41 years old today. AP Photo/Katy Winn Name Profession Age William Christopher Actor ("M.A.S.H.") 80 Juan Marichal Baseball Hall of Famer 75 Tom Petty Rock singer, musician 62 Sheldon Whitehouse U.S. senator, D-R.I. 57 Danny Boyle Director ("Slumdog Millionaire") 56 Hilda Solis Secretary of labor 55 Viggo Mortensen Actor 54 Actor John Krasinski ("The Office") turns 33 years old today. AP Photo/Dan Steinberg