Aerial view of Foxboro Stadium

MLS Cup 1996 was the inaugural edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer, the top-level soccer league of the United States. Hosted at Foxboro Stadium (pictured) in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on October 20, 1996, it was contested by D.C. United and the Los Angeles Galaxy to decide the champion of the 1996 season. Los Angeles had placed first and D.C. second in their respective conferences during the regular season. The two teams had identical win–loss records in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The final match, played in heavy rain due to the proximity of Hurricane Lili, had an attendance of 34,643 spectators. Los Angeles took a 2–0 lead early in the second half on goals by Eduardo Hurtado and Chris Armas. D.C. United won 3–2 on a tiebreaking golden goal scored by Eddie Pope in overtime that followed a second-half comeback for the team led by assists from Marco Etcheverry, who was named the man of the match. (Full article...)

Twin Pagodas of Suzhou

• ... that the Twin Pagodas of Suzhou (pictured) have been compared to ink brushes?
• ... that a voyageur shot himself while taking a gun out of his canoe in Abitibi-De-Troyes Provincial Park?
• ... that Leland Kirkemo, the skipper of the ship that recovered the crew of Apollo 13, was played by Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell in the movie?
• ... that in the 2021 case Fedotova and Others v. Russia, the European Court of Human Rights unanimously ruled that lack of legal recognition for same-sex couples violated human rights?
• ... that the facade of 4 Times Square, made partly of glass and partly of stone, was compared to the two-faced god Janus?
• ... that the first prayer of "Hilf, Herr meines Lebens", a Christian song written when its author was age 85, is not to be on earth in vain?
• ... that 1980's Space Encounters video game was the first that Midway Games offered in their "mini myte" arcade game cabinet?
• ... that a comic award jury wrote about the characters of Nicolas Mahler that they "have no eyes, no ears, no mouths – but they undoubtedly have character"?

Sir David Amess

• PAICV candidate José Maria Neves is elected President of Cape Verde.
• British Member of Parliament Sir David Amess (pictured) dies after being stabbed during a constituency meeting.
• Severe Tropical Storm Kompasu kills 40 people in the Philippines and Hong Kong.
• In cricket, the Indian Premier League concludes with Chennai Super Kings defeating Kolkata Knight Riders in the final in Dubai.

October 20

Maria Theresa

• 1097 – Forces of the First Crusade arrived at Antioch, beginning an eight-month siege of the city.
• 1740 – Under the terms of the Pragmatic Sanction, Maria Theresa (pictured) ascended the Habsburg throne.
• 1951 – African-American college football player Johnny Bright was the victim of an on-field assault that eventually provoked changes in NCAA football rules that mandated the use of more protective helmets with face guards.
• 1991 – An earthquake struck the Indian state of Uttarakhand, killing at least 768 people and destroying thousands of homes.
• 2011 – First Libyan Civil War: Deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi was captured by rebel forces during the Battle of Sirte and killed shortly thereafter.