On this day
October 20
October 20, 1926
Eugene V. Debs dies
US socialist and labour leader Eugene V. Debs died. He helped found both the American Railway Union and the Industrial Workers of the World union, and was jailed in 1919 for his opposition to World War I.
October 20, 1981
Brink's armored car robbery in Nyack, NY
Members of the Black Liberation Army and the May 19th Communist Organization attempted to rob a Brink's armored car in Nyack, New York. Two police officers and a Brink's guard were killed in the ensuing shootouts. The arrests and prosecutions of David Gilbert, Judith Clark, Kuwasi Balagoon, Marilyn Buck, Mutulu Shakur, Sekou Odinga, and others produced some of the longest political-prisoner sentences in U.S. history.