What happened on February 20? There are more than 283 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About February 20
February 20 is the 51st day of the year 2024. There are 315 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday. This day falls under the 8th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Copeland, Florida 34137 sunrise occured at 06:56 AM and sunset occured at 06:22 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Pisces. The modern birthstone for this month is Amethyst while the mystical birthstone is Bloodstone.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 344 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 21 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For February 20
- 1339The Milanese army and the St. George’s (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clashed in the Battle of Parabiago.
- 1472Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark.
- 1547Edward VI of England is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.
- 1685René-Robert Cavelier establishes Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France’s claim to Texas.
- 1792The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by President George Washington.
- 1798Louis Alexandre Berthier removes Pope Pius VI from power.
- 1810Andreas Hofer, Tirolean patriot and leader of rebellion against Napoleon’s forces, is executed.
- 1813Manuel Belgrano defeats the royalist army of Pío de Tristán during the Battle of Salta.
- 1835Concepción, Chile is destroyed by an earthquake.
- 1864American Civil War: Battle of Olustee occurs – the largest battle fought in Florida during the war.
- 1872In New York City the Metropolitan Museum of Art opens.
- 1873The University of California opens its first medical school in San Francisco, California.
- 1877Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake receives its première performance at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
- 1877The world’s first professional sports league, the International Association for Professional Base Ball Players is founded in Pittsburgh.
- 1901The legislature of Hawaii Territory convenes for the first time.
- 1909Publication of the Futurist Manifesto in the French journal Le Figaro.
- 1913King O'Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra.
- 1920New Year’s Day in Chinese calendar. Start of the year of the Metal Monkey in Chinese astrology.
- 1931The Congress of the United States approves the construction of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge by the state of California.
- 1933Adolf Hitler secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party’s upcoming election campaign.
- 1933The Congress of the United States proposes the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution that will end Prohibition in the United States.
- 1935Caroline Mikkelsen becomes the first woman to set foot in Antarctica.
- 1942Lieutenant Edward O'Hare becomes America’s first World War II flying ace.
- 1943The Saturday Evening Post publishes the first of Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union address theme of Four Freedoms.
- 1943American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies.
- 1943The Parícutin volcano begins to form in Parícutin, Mexico.
- 1944World War II: The “Big Week” began with American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers.
- 1944World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Island.
- 1952Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League.
- 1959The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate.
- 1962Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth, making three orbits in 4 hours, 55 minutes.
- 1965Ranger 8 crashes into the moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts.
- 1978The last Order of Victory is bestowed upon Leonid Brezhnev.
- 1987Unabomber: In Salt Lake City, a bomb explodes in a computer store.
- 1988The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
- 1989An IRA bomb destroys a section of a British Army barracks in Ternhill, England
- 1991A gigantic statue of Albania’s long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down in the Albanian capital Tirana, by mobs of angry protesters.
- 1998American figure skater Tara Lipinski becomes the youngest gold-medalist at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
- 2003During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the club ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others.
- 2005Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout.
- 2009Two Tamil Tigers aircraft packed with C4 explosives en-route to the national airforce headquarters are shot down by the Sri Lankan military before reaching their target, in a kamikaze style attack.
- 2010In Madeira Island, Portugal, heavy rain causes floods and mudslides, resulting in at least 43 deaths, in the worst disaster in the history of the archipelago.
Who Were Born On February 20?
- 1631Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, English statesman (d. 1712)
- 1633Jan de Baen, Dutch portrait painter (d. 1702)
- 1743Anna Laetitia Barbauld, English poet (d. 1825)
- 1745Henry James Pye, English poet (d. 1813)
- 1751Johann Heinrich Voß, German poet (d. 1826)
- 1753Louis Alexandre Berthier, French marshal (d. 1815)
- 1757John ‘Mad Jack’Fuller, English philanthropist (d. 1834)
- 1759Johann Christian Reil, German physician, founder of psychiatry (d. 1813)
- 1794William Carleton, Irish novelist (d. 1869)
- 1802Charles de Bériot, Belgian violinist (d. 1870)
- 1819Alfred Escher, Swiss politician, railroad entrepreneur (d. 1882)
- 1839Benjamin Waugh, social reformer; founder of the NSPCC (d. 1908)
- 1844Joshua Slocum, Canadian seaman and adventurer (d. 1909)
- 1844Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist (d. 1906)
- 1848Edward Henry Harriman, American railroad executive (d. 1909)
- 1850Nérée Beauchemin, Canadian physician and poet (d. 1931)
- 1866Carl Westman, Swedish architect and designer (d. 1936)
- 1867Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife (d. 1931)
- 1879Hod Stuart, Canadian hockey player (d. 1907)
- 1880Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen, French aristocrat and novelist (d. 1923)
- 1887Vincent Massey, Governor-General of Canada (d. 1967)
- 1888Georges Bernanos, French writer (d. 1948)
- 1893Elizabeth Holloway Marston, American psychologist (d. 1993)
- 1893Russel Crouse, American playwright (d. 1966)
- 1898Jimmy Yancey, American pianist (d. 1951)
- 1899Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, American businessman (d. 1992)
- 1901Cecil Harmsworth King, English newspaper owner (d. 1987)
- 1901Muhammad Naguib, President of Egypt (d. 1984)
- 1902Ansel Adams, American photographer (d. 1984)
- 1904Alexei Kosygin, Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1980)
- 1906Gale Gordon, American television and radio actor (d. 1995)
- 1907Malcolm Atterbury, American actor (d. 1992)
- 1912Pierre Boulle, French author (d. 1994)
- 1913Tommy Henrich, American baseball player (d. 2009)
- 1914John Daly, South African–born broadcaster (d. 2001)
- 1917Juan Vicente Torrealba, Venezuelan harpist and composer
- 1918Leonore Annenberg, American billionaire (d. 2009)
- 1919James O'Meara, British Battle of Britain Spitfire Flying Ace (d. 1974)
- 1920Evgeny Dragunov, Russian weapons designer (d. 1991)
- 1923Forbes Burnham, President of Guyana (d. 1985)
- 1924Gloria Vanderbilt, American socialite and clothing designer
- 1925Heinz Kluncker, German trade union leader (d. 2005)
- 1925Robert Altman, American film director (d. 2006)
- 1925Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna (d. 1990)
- 1926Richard Matheson, American author
- 1927Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban musician (Buena Vista Social Club) (d. 2005)
- 1927Roy Cohn, American lawyer (d. 1986)
- 1927Sidney Poitier, American actor
- 1929Amanda Blake, American actress (d. 1989)
- 1930Willie Cunningham, Northern Irish footballer (d. 2007)
- 1932Adrian Cristobal, Filipino writer (d. 2007)
- 1934Bobby Unser, American racing driver
- 1936Larry Hovis, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1936Marj Dusay, American actress
- 1936Shigeo Nagashima, Japanese baseball player and coach
- 1937Nancy Wilson, American singer
- 1937Robert Huber, German chemist, Nobel laureate
- 1937Roger Penske, American racing driver, race team owner and entrepreneur
- 1938Richard Beymer, American actor
- 1939Frank Arundel, English footballer (d.1994)
- 1940Jimmy Greaves, English footballer
- 1941Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian singer
- 1941Lim Kit Siang, Democratic Socialist opposition party in Malaysia
- 1942Charlie Gillett, British radio DJ
- 1942Claude Miller, French film director and screenwriter
- 1942Mitch McConnell, American politician, senior senator of Kentucky
- 1942Phil Esposito, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1943Antonio Inoki, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1943Mike Leigh, British film director
- 1943Moshe Cotel, American composer and pianist
- 1944Robert de Cotret, Canadian politician (d. 1999)
- 1944Willem van Hanegem, Dutch footballer and coach
- 1945Andrew Bergman, American screenwriter and film director
- 1945Annu Kapoor, Indian actor
- 1945Brion James, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1946Brenda Blethyn, English actress
- 1946J. Geils, American guitarist (The J. Geils Band)
- 1946Richard Cocciante, French-Italian singer and songwriter
- 1946Sandy Duncan, American singer and actress
- 1947André van Duin, Dutch comedian
- 1947Eggert Magnusson, Icelandic football executive
- 1947Peter Osgood, English footballer (d. 2006)
- 1947Peter Strauss, American actor
- 1948Jennifer O'Neill, Brazilian-born actress
- 1948Pierre Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1949Ivana Trump, Czech-born American socialite
- 1949Mab Segrest, American writer and activist
- 1950Ken Shimura, Japanese performer and actor
- 1950Tony Wilson, British journalist and impresario (d. 2007)
- 1950Walter Becker, American guitarist (Steely Dan)
- 1951Edward Albert, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1951Gordon Brown, British Member of Parliament, Prime Minister (2007–2010)
- 1951Phil Neal, English footballer
- 1951Randy California, American guitarist (Spirit) (d. 1997)
- 1953Poison Ivy, American musician (The Cramps)
- 1953Riccardo Chailly, Italian conductor
- 1954Anthony Head, English actor
- 1954Billy Pontoni, Colombian musician
- 1954Jon Brant, American musician (Cheap Trick)
- 1954Patty Hearst, American socialite
- 1956Charlie Adler, American voice actor
- 1956Rick Green, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1957Glen Hanlon, Canadian ice hockey coach
- 1958James Wilby, English actor
- 1959Bill Gullickson, American baseball player
- 1960Joel Hodgson, American comedian (Mystery Science Theater 3000)
- 1960Kee Marcello, Swedish guitarist
- 1961Imogen Stubbs, British actress
- 1962Kenn Nesbitt, American children’s author
- 1963Charles Barkley, American basketball player
- 1963Ian Brown, English singer (The Stone Roses)
- 1963Jon Lynn Christensen, former Nebraska Congressman
- 1963Marilisa Xenogiannakopoulou, Greek politician
- 1964French Stewart, American actor
- 1964Rodney Rowland, American actor
- 1965Ron Eldard, American actor
- 1966Cindy Crawford, American model
- 1967Andrew Shue, American television actor
- 1967David Herman, American comedian
- 1967Katherine Soucie, American voice actress
- 1967Kurt Cobain, American musician (Nirvana) (d. 1994)
- 1967Lili Taylor, American actress
- 1968Ted Hankey, English darts player
- 1969Danis Tanovic, Bosnian film director and screenwriter
- 1969Gedo, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1969Siniša Mihajlović, Serbian footballer
- 1969Tommy Vardell, American football player
- 1969Vaginal Davis, American drag queen and performance artist
- 1971Calpernia Addams, transgender activist
- 1971Jari Litmanen, Finnish footballer
- 1971Shawn McKenzie, American programmer
- 1972Brent Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1972K-OS, Canadian musician/rapper
- 1973Kimberley Davies, Australian actress
- 1973Rohan Alexander, Jamaican-born cricketer
- 1974Ophelie Winter, French actress
- 1975Brian Littrell, American singer (Backstreet Boys)
- 1975Liván Hernández, Cuban baseball player
- 1976Ed Graham, English drummer (The Darkness)
- 1976Gail Kim, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1976Rohan Gavaskar, Left-handed batsman, India ODI 2004 (son of Sunil Gavaskar)
- 1977Amal Hijazi, Lebanese singer and model
- 1977Bartosz Kizierowski, Polish swimmer
- 1977Stephon Marbury, American basketball player
- 1977T.J. Slaughter, American football player
- 1978Jakki Degg, English glamour model/actress
- 1978Jay Hernandez, American actor
- 1978Julia Jentsch, German actress
- 1978Lauren Ambrose, American actress
- 1980Artur Boruc, Polish footballer
- 1980Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby union footballer
- 1981Chris Thile, American musician
- 1981Fred Jackson, American football player
- 1981Tony Hibbert, English footballer
- 1982Jason Hirsh, American baseball player
- 1983Jose Morales, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1983Justin Verlander, American baseball player
- 1984Brian McCann, American baseball player
- 1984Gilles Pagnon, French-German rugby player
- 1984Ramzee Robinson, American football player
- 1985Ryan Sweeney, American baseball player
- 1985Yulia Volkova, Russian singer (t.A.T.u.)
- 1986Diego Reis, Brazilian footballer
- 1988Jiah Khan, Indian actress
- 1988Rihanna, Barbadian singer
- 1989Iga Wyrwal, Polish glamour model
- 1991Giovanni Kyeremateng Italian footballer
Who Died On February 20?
- 702K'inich Kan B'alam II, king of the Maya state of Palenque (b. 635)
- 1154Saint Wulfric of Haselbury Plucknett
- 1171Conan IV, Duke of Brittany (b. 1138)
- 1194King Tancred of Sicily (b. 1138)
- 1258Al-Musta’sim, last Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad (b. 1213)
- 1408Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, English statesman (b. 1342)
- 1431Pope Martin V (b. 1368)
- 1524Tecún Umán, last leader of the K‘iche’(Quiché) Maya people
- 1579Nicholas Bacon, English politician (b. 1509)
- 1618Philip William, Prince of Orange (b. 1554)
- 1626John Dowland, English composer and lutenist (b. 1563)
- 1762Tobias Mayer, German astronomer (b. 1723)
- 1771Jean Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan, French geophysicist (b. 1678)
- 1773King Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia (b. 1701)
- 1778Laura Bassi, Italian scholar (b. 1711)
- 1790Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1741)
- 1803Marie Dumesnil, French actress (b. 1713)
- 1806Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-born American military and political leader (b. 1725)
- 1810Andreas Hofer, Tyrolean national hero (executed) (b. 1767)
- 1862William Wallace Lincoln, son of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln (b. 1850)
- 1871Paul Kane, Irish-born painter (b. 1810)
- 1893P.G.T. Beauregard, American Confederate general (b. 1818)
- 1895Frederick Douglass, American abolitionist writer (b. 1818)
- 1905Jeremiah W. Farnham, American merchant captain
- 1907Henri Moissan, French chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
- 1916Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Swedish writer and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1844)
- 1917Leone Sextus Tollemache, British Army captain (b. 1884)
- 1920Robert Peary, American explorer (b. 1856)
- 1936Max Schreck, German actor (b. 1879)
- 1941Madame Bolduc, Canadian singer and songwriter (b. 1894)
- 1961Percy Grainger, Australian composer (b. 1882)
- 1963Ferenc Fricsay, Hungarian conductor (b. 1914)
- 1963Jacob Gade, Danish composer(b. 1879)
- 1965Fred Immler, German actor (b. 1880)
- 1966Chester Nimitz, American admiral (b. 1885)
- 1968Anthony Asquith, British film director and writer (b. 1902)
- 1969Ernest Ansermet, Swiss conductor (b. 1883)
- 1970Sophie Treadwell, American playwright and journalist (b. 1885)
- 1972Maria Goeppert-Mayer, German physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1906)
- 1972Walter Winchell, American journalist (b. 1897)
- 1974David Monrad Johansen, Norwegian composer (b. 1888)
- 1976Kathryn Kuhlman, American evangelist (b. 1907)
- 1976René Cassin, French judge, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1887)
- 1981Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg, magazine editor, socialite (b. 1904)
- 1983Fritz Köberle, Austrian-Brazilian physician (b. 1910)
- 1985Clarence “Ducky” Nash, American voice actor (b. 1904)
- 1992Dick York, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1992Roberto D'Aubuisson, Salvadoran politician (b. 1944)
- 1993Ernest L. Massad, U.S. Army general (b. 1908)
- 1993Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian automobile manufacturer (b. 1916)
- 1996Solomon Asch, American psychologist (b. 1907)
- 1996Tōru Takemitsu, Japanese composer (b. 1930)
- 1997Zachary Breaux, American jazz guitarist (b. 1960)
- 1999Gene Siskel, American film critic (b. 1946)
- 1999Sarah Kane, English playwright (b. 1971)
- 2000Anatoly Sobchak, Russian politician (b. 1937)
- 2001Donella Meadows, American scientist (b. 1941)
- 2001Rosemary DeCamp, American actress (b. 1910)
- 2003Harry Jacunski, American football player (b. 1915)
- 2003Maurice Blanchot, French author (b. 1907)
- 2003Mushaf Ali Mir, Pakistani Chief of the Air Staff (b. 1947)
- 2003Orville L. Freeman, American politician (b. 1918)
- 2003Ty Longley, American guitarist (Great White) (b. 1971)
- 2005Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (b. 1937)
- 2005John Raitt, American actor (b. 1917)
- 2005Pam Bricker, American jazz singer and Thievery Corporation vocalist (b. 1954)
- 2005Sandra Dee, American actress (b. 1944)
- 2005Tom Willmore, English geometer (b. 1919)
- 2006Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster (b. 1919)
- 2006Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist, writer and traveller (b. 1920)
- 2007Carl-Henning Pedersen, Danish artist, member of the CoBrA movement (b. 1913)
- 2007F. Albert Cotton, American chemist (b. 1930)
- 2008Emily Perry, English actress (b. 1907)
- 2009Larry H. Miller, American businessman and owner of the Utah Jazz (b. 1944)
- 2010Alexander Haig, American soldier and politician (b. 1924)
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