February 20
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February 20 is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 314 days remaining until the end of the year (315 in leap years). This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Monday, Wednesday or Saturday (58 in 400 years each) than on Thursday or Friday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Tuesday or Sunday (56).
Events
- 1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clashed in the Battle of Parabiago.
- 1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark.
- 1547 – Edward VI of England is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.
- 1685 – René-Robert Cavelier establishes Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France's claim to Texas.
- 1792 – The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by United States President George Washington.
- 1798 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier removes Pope Pius VI from power.
- 1810 – Andreas Hofer, Tirolean patriot and leader of rebellion against Napoleon's forces, is executed.
- 1813 – Manuel Belgrano defeats the royalist army of Pío de Tristán during the Battle of Salta.
- 1816 – Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville premieres at the Teatro Argentina in Rome.
- 1835 – Concepción, Chile is destroyed by an earthquake.
- 1846 – Polish insurgents lead an uprising in Kraków to incite a fight for national independence.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Olustee: The largest battle fought in Florida during the war.
- 1865 – End of the Uruguayan War, with a peace agreement between President Tomás Villalba and rebel leader Venancio Flores, setting the scene for the destructive War of the Triple Alliance.
- 1872 – In New York City the Metropolitan Museum of Art opens.
- 1873 – The University of California opens its first medical school in San Francisco.
- 1877 – Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake receives its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
- 1901 – The legislature of Hawaii Territory convenes for the first time.
- 1909 – Publication of the Futurist Manifesto in the French journal Le Figaro.
- 1913 – King O'Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra.
- 1921 – The Young Communist League of Czechoslovakia is founded.
- 1931 – The Congress of the United States approves the construction of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge by the state of California.
- 1933 – The Congress of the United States proposes the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution that will end Prohibition in the United States.
- 1933 – Adolf Hitler secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party's upcoming election campaign.
- 1935 – Caroline Mikkelsen becomes the first woman to set foot in Antarctica.
- 1942 – Lieutenant Edward O'Hare becomes America's first World War II flying ace.
- 1943 – American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies.
- 1943 – The 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.
- 1944 – World War II: The "Big Week" began with American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers.
- 1944 – World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Island.
- 1952 – Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League.
- 1956 – The United States Merchant Marine Academy becomes a permanent Service Academy.
- 1959 – The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate.
- 1962 – Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes.
- 1965 – Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts.
- 1967 – Intergovernmental Group on Indonesia convenes its first meeting in Amsterdam.
- 1971 – The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert.
- 1979 – Earthquake cracks Sinila volcanic crater in Dieng Plateau, releases poisonous H2S gas and kills 149 villagers in Indonesian province of Central Java.
- 1986 – The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for ten of those years.
- 1988 – The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
- 1991 – A gigantic statue of Albania's long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down in the Albanian capital Tirana, by mobs of angry protesters.
- 1998 – American figure skater Tara Lipinski becomes the youngest gold-medalist at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
- 2003 – During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the Station nightclub ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others.
- 2005 – Spain 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.
- 2009 – Two 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.
- 2010 – In 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.
- 2013 – The smallest extrasolar planet, Kepler-37b is discovered.
- 2014 – Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters died in Ukraine's capital Kiev, many reportedly killed by snipers.
- 2015 – Two trains collide in the Swiss town of Rafz resulting in as many as 49 people injured and Swiss Federal Railways cancelling some services.
- 2016 – Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.
Births
- 1631 – Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, English politician, Treasurer of the Navy (d. 1712)
- 1633 – Jan de Baen, Dutch painter (d. 1702)
- 1705 – Nicolas Chédeville, French musette player and composer (d. 1782)
- 1726 – William Prescott, American colonel (d. 1795)
- 1745 – Henry James Pye, English poet and politician (d. 1813)
- 1751 – Johann Heinrich Voss, German poet, translator, and academic (d. 1826)
- 1753 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1815)
- 1759 – Johann Christian Reil, German physician, physiologist, and anatomist (d. 1813)
- 1792 – Eliza Courtney, French daughter of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (d. 1859)
- 1794 – William Carleton, Irish author (d. 1869)
- 1802 – Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1870)
- 1819 – Alfred Escher, Swiss businessman and politician (d. 1882)
- 1839 – Benjamin Waugh, English activist, founded the NSPCC (d. 1908)
- 1844 – Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1906)
- 1844 – Joshua Slocum, Canadian sailor and adventurer (d. 1909)
- 1848 – E. H. Harriman, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1909)
- 1857 – A. P. Lucas, English cricketer (d. 1923)
- 1866 – Carl Westman, Swedish architect, designed the Stockholm Court House and Röhsska Museum (d. 1936)
- 1867 – Louise, Princess Royal of England (d. 1931)
- 1870 – Jay Johnson Morrow, American engineer and politician, 3rd Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (d. 1937)
- 1874 – Mary Garden, Scottish-American soprano and actress (d. 1967)
- 1879 – Hod Stuart, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1907)
- 1880 – Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen, French author and poet (d. 1923)
- 1887 – Vincent Massey, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor General of Canada (d. 1967)
- 1888 – Georges Bernanos, French soldier and author (d. 1948)
- 1889 – Hulusi Behçet, Turkish dermatologist and physician (d. 1948)
- 1893 – Elizabeth Holloway Marston, American psychologist and author (d. 1993)
- 1895 – Louis Zborowski, English race car driver and engineer (d. 1924)
- 1899 – Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1992)
- 1901 – René Dubos, French-American biologist and author (d. 1982)
- 1901 – Louis Kahn, American architect, designed the Salk Institute, the Kimbell Art Museum and the Bangladesh Parliament Building (d. 1974)
- 1901 – Muhammad Naguib, Egyptian general and politician, 1st President of Egypt (d. 1984)
- 1901 – Ramakrishna Ranga Rao of Bobbili, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th Chief Minister of Madras Presidency (d. 1978)
- 1902 – Ansel Adams, American photographer and environmentalist (d. 1984)
- 1904 – Alexei Kosygin, Russian soldier and politician, 8th Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1980)
- 1906 – Gale Gordon, American actor and singer (d. 1995)
- 1912 – Pierre Boulle, French soldier and author (d. 1994)
- 1913 – Tommy Henrich, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2009)
- 1914 – John Charles Daly, South African–American journalist and game show host (d. 1991)
- 1916 – Jean Erdman, American dancer and choreographer
- 1918 – Leonore Annenberg, American businesswoman and diplomat (d. 2009)
- 1919 – James O'Meara, English soldier and pilot (d. 1974)
- 1920 – Karl Albrecht, German businessman, co-founded Aldi (d. 2014)
- 1921 – Buddy Rogers, American wrestler (d. 1992)
- 1923 – Victor G. Atiyeh, American businessman and politician, 32nd Governor of Oregon (d. 2014)
- 1923 – Forbes Burnham, Guyanese lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Guyana (d. 1985)
- 1923 – Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek actress (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Gloria Vanderbilt, American actress and fashion designer
- 1925 – Robert Altman, American director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
- 1925 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna (d. 1990)
- 1926 – Matthew Bucksbaum, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded General Growth Properties (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Gillian Lynne, English ballerina, choreographer, and director
- 1926 – Richard Matheson, American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1926 – María de la Purísima Salvat Romero, Spanish Roman Catholic nun; later canonized (d. 1998)
- 1927 – Roy Cohn, American lawyer and activist (d. 1986)
- 1927 – Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban singer (d. 2005)
- 1927 – Sidney Poitier, American actor, director, and diplomat
- 1928 – Roy Face, American baseball player and carpenter
- 1928 – Jean Kennedy Smith, American diplomat, 25th United States Ambassador to Ireland
- 1929 – Amanda Blake, American actress (d. 1989)
- 1931 – John Milnor, American mathematician and academic
- 1932 – Adrian Cristobal, Filipino journalist and author (d. 2007)
- 1934 – Bobby Unser, American race car driver
- 1936 – Marj Dusay, American actress
- 1936 – Larry Hovis, American actor and singer (d. 2003)
- 1936 – Shigeo Nagashima, Japanese baseball player and coach
- 1937 – David Ackles, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1999)
- 1937 – Robert Huber, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 – Roger Penske, American race car driver and businessman
- 1937 – Nancy Wilson, American singer and actress
- 1938 – Richard Beymer, American actor, director, and cinematographer
- 1938 – Wiley W. Hilburn, American journalist and academic (d. 2014)
- 1940 – Jimmy Greaves, English footballer and sportscaster
- 1941 – Lim Kit Siang, Malaysian lawyer and politician
- 1941 – Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1942 – Phil Esposito, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
- 1942 – Mitch McConnell, American soldier, lawyer, and politician
- 1942 – Claude Miller, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
- 1943 – Antonio Inoki, Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and politician
- 1943 – Mike Leigh, English director and screenwriter
- 1944 – Robert de Cotret, Canadian economist and politician, 56th Secretary of State for Canada (d. 1999)
- 1944 – Lew Soloff, American trumpet player, composer, and actor (d. 2015)
- 1944 – Willem van Hanegem, Dutch footballer and coach
- 1945 – Alan Hull, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)
- 1946 – Brenda Blethyn, English actress
- 1946 – Sandy Duncan, American actress, singer, and dancer
- 1946 – J. Geils, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1947 – Peter Osgood, English footballer (d. 2006)
- 1947 – Peter Strauss, American actor and producer
- 1948 – Pierre Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1948 – Jennifer O'Neill, Brazilian-American model and actress
- 1949 – Ivana Trump, Czech-American skier and model
- 1950 – Walter Becker, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1950 – Peter Marinello, Scottish footballer
- 1950 – Tony Wilson, English journalist and businessman (d. 2007)
- 1951 – Edward Albert, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1951 – Gordon Brown, Scottish historian and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- 1951 – Randy California, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1997)
- 1951 – Phil Neal, English footballer and manager
- 1953 – Poison Ivy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1954 – Jon Brant, American bass player
- 1954 – Anthony Head, English actor
- 1954 – Patty Hearst, American actress and author
- 1957 – Glen Hanlon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1959 – Scott Brayton, American race car driver (d. 1996)
- 1959 – David Corn, American journalist and author
- 1959 – Bill Gullickson, American baseball player
- 1960 – Joel Hodgson, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
- 1960 – Kee Marcello, Swedish guitarist
- 1960 – Cándido Muatetema Rivas, Equatoguinean politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea (d. 2014)
- 1962 – Dwayne McDuffie, American author, screenwriter, and producer, co-founded Milestone Media (d. 2011)
- 1963 – Charles Barkley, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1963 – Ian Brown, English singer-songwriter
- 1963 – Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Health
- 1964 – Willie Garson, American actor and director
- 1964 – Tom Harris, Scottish journalist and politician
- 1964 – French Stewart, American actor
- 1966 – Cindy Crawford, American model and businesswoman
- 1967 – Paul Accola, Swiss alpine skier
- 1967 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1994)
- 1967 – David Herman, American comedian and actor
- 1967 – Andrew Shue, American actor and activist, founded Do Something
- 1967 – Lili Taylor, American actress
- 1967 – Tom Waddle, American football player and sportscaster
- 1969 – Gedo, Japanese wrestler
- 1969 – Kjell Ove Hauge, Norwegian school principal and track and field athlete
- 1969 – Siniša Mihajlović, Serbian footballer and manager
- 1969 – Danis Tanović, Bosnian director and screenwriter
- 1971 – Calpernia Addams, American actress, author, and activist
- 1971 – Jari Litmanen, Finnish footballer
- 1971 – Joost van der Westhuizen, South African rugby player
- 1972 – Neil Primrose, Scottish drummer
- 1974 – Karim Bagheri, Iranian footballer and manager
- 1975 – Liván Hernández, Cuban baseball player
- 1975 – Brian Littrell, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1975 – Niclas Wallin, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1977 – Ed Graham, English drummer
- 1977 – Stephon Marbury, American basketball player
- 1978 – Lauren Ambrose, American actress and producer
- 1978 – Chelsea Peretti, American comedian, writer, and actress
- 1980 – Artur Boruc, Polish footballer
- 1980 – Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby player
- 1980 – Luis Gabriel Rey, Colombian footballer
- 1981 – Tony Hibbert, English footballer
- 1981 – Fred Jackson, American football player
- 1981 – Chris Thile, American singer-songwriter and mandolin player
- 1982 – Jason Hirsh, American baseball player
- 1983 – Jose Morales, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
- 1983 – Justin Verlander, American baseball player
- 1984 – Brian McCann, American baseball player
- 1984 – Trevor Noah, South African comedian, actor, and television host
- 1984 – Ramzee Robinson, American football player
- 1985 – Ryan Sweeney, American baseball player
- 1985 – Julia Volkova, Russian singer and actress
- 1987 – Miles Teller, American actor
- 1988 – Rihanna, Barbadian-American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1988 – Jiah Khan, American-Indian actress and singer (d. 2013)
- 1988 – Ki Bo-bae, South Korean archer
- 1991 – Giovanni Kyeremateng, Italian footballer
- 1991 – Antonio Pedroza, English-Mexican footballer
- 1991 – Angelique van der Meet, Dutch tennis player
Deaths
- 1054 – Yaroslav the Wise, Russian husband of Ingegerd Olofsdotter of Sweden (b. 978)
- 1171 – Conan IV, Duke of Brittany (b. 1138)
- 1194 – Tancred, King of Sicily (b. 1138)
- 1258 – Al-Musta'sim, Iraqi caliph (b. 1213)
- 1408 – Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, English politician, Earl Marshal of the United Kingdom (b. 1342)
- 1431 – Pope Martin V (b. 1368)
- 1524 – Tecun Uman, Mayan ruler (b. 1500)
- 1579 – Nicholas Bacon, English politician (b. 1509)
- 1618 – Philip William, Prince of Orange (b. 1554)
- 1626 – John Dowland, English lute player and composer (b. 1563)
- 1762 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer and academic (b. 1723)
- 1771 – Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan, French geophysicist and astronomer (b. 1678)
- 1773 – Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia (b. 1701)
- 1778 – Laura Bassi, Italian physicist and scholar (b. 1711)
- 1790 – Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1741)
- 1806 – Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-American general and politician (b. 1725)
- 1810 – Andreas Hofer, Italian rebel leader (b. 1767)
- 1862 – William Wallace Lincoln, American son of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1850)
- 1871 – Paul Kane, Irish-Canadian painter (b. 1810)
- 1893 – P. G. T. Beauregard, American general (b. 1818)
- 1895 – Frederick Douglass, American author and activist (b. 1818)
- 1900 – Washakie, American tribal leader (b. 1798)
- 1907 – Henri Moissan, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
- 1910 – Boutros Ghali, Egyptian educator and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1846)
- 1916 – Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Swedish journalist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1844)
- 1920 – Jacinta Marto, Portuguese saint (b. 1910)
- 1920 – Robert Peary, American admiral and explorer (b. 1856)
- 1936 – Max Schreck, German actor (b. 1879)
- 1941 – La Bolduc, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1894)
- 1957 – Sadri Maksudi Arsal, Turkish scholar and politician (b. 1878)
- 1961 – Percy Grainger, Australian-American pianist and composer (b. 1882)
- 1963 – Jacob Gade, Danish violinist and composer(b. 1879)
- 1966 – Chester W. Nimitz, American admiral (b. 1885)
- 1968 – Anthony Asquith, English director and screenwriter (b. 1902)
- 1969 – Ernest Ansermet, Swiss conductor (b. 1883)
- 1972 – Maria Goeppert-Mayer, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
- 1972 – Walter Winchell, American journalist and actor (b. 1897)
- 1976 – René Cassin, French lawyer and judge, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
- 1981 – Nicolas de Gunzburg, French-American banker and publisher (b. 1904)
- 1987 – Wayne Boring, American illustrator (b. 1905)
- 1992 – A. J. Casson, Canadian painter (b. 1898)
- 1992 – Dick York, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1993 – Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian businessman, founded Lamborghini (b. 1916)
- 1993 – Ernest L. Massad, American general (b. 1908)
- 1996 – Solomon Asch, American psychologist and academic (b. 1907)
- 1996 – Toru Takemitsu, Japanese pianist, guitarist, and composer (b. 1930)
- 1999 – Sarah Kane, English playwright (b. 1971)
- 1999 – Gene Siskel, American journalist and critic (b. 1946)
- 2000 – Anatoly Sobchak, Russian lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Saint Petersburg (b. 1937)
- 2001 – Rosemary DeCamp, American actress (b. 1910)
- 2001 – Donella Meadows, American environmentalist, author, and academic (b. 1941)
- 2003 – Mushaf Ali Mir, Pakistani air marshal (b. 1947)
- 2003 – Maurice Blanchot, French philosopher and author (b. 1907)
- 2003 – Orville Freeman, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 29th Governor of Minnesota (b. 1918)
- 2003 – Ty Longley, American singer and guitarist (b. 1971)
- 2005 – Sandra Dee, American actress (b. 1942)
- 2005 – John Raitt, American actor and singer (b. 1917)
- 2005 – Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (b. 1937)
- 2006 – Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster (b. 1919)
- 2006 – Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist and author (b. 1920)
- 2008 – Emily Perry, English actress and dancer (b. 1907)
- 2009 – Larry H. Miller, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1944)
- 2010 – Alexander Haig, American general and politician, 59th United States Secretary of State (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Knut Torbjørn Eggen, Norwegian footballer and manager (b. 1960)
- 2012 – Katie Hall, American educator and politician (b. 1938)
- 2013 – Kenji Eno, Japanese game designer and composer (b. 1970)
- 2013 – David S. McKay, American biochemist and geologist (b. 1936)
- 2013 – Antonio Roma, Argentinian footballer (b. 1932)
- 2014 – Rafael Addiego Bruno, Uruguayan jurist and politician, President of Uruguay (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Walter D. Ehlers, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Garrick Utley, American journalist (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Govind Pansare, Indian author and activist (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Henry Segerstrom, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1923)
- 2015 – John C. Willke, American physician, author, and activist (b. 1925)
- 2016 – Fernando Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest and politician (b. 1934)
Holidays and observances
- Christian feast day:
- Day of Heavenly Hundred Heroes (Ukraine)
- World Day of Social Justice (International)
External links
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