Which event does this 1973 photograph show?

A concert hall of white shells opens ten years late and fourteen times over budget (1973). Elizabeth II opened the Sydney Opera House on 20 October 1973. The architect, Jorn Utzon, was not invited and was not mentioned in the speeches; he had resigned in 1966 after a fight with the state government over money and never saw the finished building. The shells were only made buildable when he worked out they could all be cut from the surface of one sphere.

Which event does this 1944 photograph show?

A general wades ashore to keep a promise he made two years earlier (1944). Douglas MacArthur waded ashore at Leyte on 20 October 1944, two and a half years after being ordered out of the Philippines, when he had said I shall return. The landing craft had grounded on a sandbar and the beachmaster refused to send a jeep, which is the only reason the famous photograph exists. He liked it so much he reportedly restaged the walk more than once.

Which event does this 1827 photograph show?

Three fleets destroy a fourth in the last great battle fought under sail (1827). British, French and Russian squadrons destroyed an Ottoman and Egyptian fleet in Navarino Bay on 20 October 1827, in the last major battle fought entirely by sailing ships. Nobody had quite intended a battle; the allies had come to enforce a ceasefire in the Greek war of independence. It made Greek independence effectively certain.

Which event does this 1740 photograph show?

A woman of 23 inherits a throne and half of Europe attacks her for it (1740). Charles VI died on 20 October 1740 leaving his lands to his 23-year-old daughter. He had spent years getting the other powers to promise they would accept a female heir; within two months Prussia invaded Silesia anyway and most of the signatories joined in. She kept almost everything, ruled for forty years and had sixteen children.

Which event does this 1968 photograph show?

A former first lady marries a Greek shipping magnate and loses her halo (1968). Jacqueline Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis on his private Greek island on 20 October 1968, five years after her husband was killed and months after his brother Robert was shot too. She said she wanted to get her children out of America. The public reaction was harsh, and much of the reverence she had carried since 1963 evaporated overnight.

What happened on October 20? the opening of the Sydney Opera House, MacArthur returns to the Philippines and 3 more

What happened on October 20

All 5 specimens from this file, spanning 1740 to 1973, with the story behind each photograph.

Reveal the full answer key

Engineering · 1973

A concert hall of white shells opens ten years late and fourteen times over budget

Elizabeth II opened the Sydney Opera House on 20 October 1973. The architect, Jorn Utzon, was not invited and was not mentioned in the speeches; he had resigned in 1966 after a fight with the state government over money and never saw the finished building. The shells were only made buildable when he worked out they could all be cut from the surface of one sphere.
Conflict · 1944

A general wades ashore to keep a promise he made two years earlier

Douglas MacArthur waded ashore at Leyte on 20 October 1944, two and a half years after being ordered out of the Philippines, when he had said I shall return. The landing craft had grounded on a sandbar and the beachmaster refused to send a jeep, which is the only reason the famous photograph exists. He liked it so much he reportedly restaged the walk more than once.
Conflict · 1827

Three fleets destroy a fourth in the last great battle fought under sail

British, French and Russian squadrons destroyed an Ottoman and Egyptian fleet in Navarino Bay on 20 October 1827, in the last major battle fought entirely by sailing ships. Nobody had quite intended a battle; the allies had come to enforce a ceasefire in the Greek war of independence. It made Greek independence effectively certain.
Monarchy · 1740

A woman of 23 inherits a throne and half of Europe attacks her for it

Charles VI died on 20 October 1740 leaving his lands to his 23-year-old daughter. He had spent years getting the other powers to promise they would accept a female heir; within two months Prussia invaded Silesia anyway and most of the signatories joined in. She kept almost everything, ruled for forty years and had sixteen children.
Society · 1968

A former first lady marries a Greek shipping magnate and loses her halo

Jacqueline Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis on his private Greek island on 20 October 1968, five years after her husband was killed and months after his brother Robert was shot too. She said she wanted to get her children out of America. The public reaction was harsh, and much of the reverence she had carried since 1963 evaporated overnight.