February 20
February 20 is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 314 days remain until the end of the year (315 in leap years).
Events
- 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment.
- 1547 - Edward VI of England crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.
- 1724 - The premiere of Giulio Cesare, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel, takes place in London.
- 1725 - The second reported case of white men scalping Native Americans takes place in New Hampshire colony.
- 1792 - The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by President George Washington.
- 1798 - Louis Alexandre Berthier removes Pope Pius VI from power.
- 1810 - Andreas Hofer, Tyrolean patriot and leader of rebellion against Napoleon's forces, was executed.
- 1816 - Gioachino Rossini's The Barber of Seville debuts at Teatro Argentina, with a fiasco.
- 1835 - Concepción, Chile is destroyed by an earthquake
- 1864 - Battle of Olustee
- 1872 - In New York City the Metropolitan Museum of Art opens.
- 1873 - The University of California opens its first medical school in San Francisco, California.
- 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 film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, starring Rudolph Valentino, premieres.
- 1931 - California gets the go-ahead by the U.S. Congress to build the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
- 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 Parícutin volcano begins to form in Paricutín, México.
- 1944 - World War II: "Big Week" ended with American bomber raids on Nazi aircraft manufacturing centers.
- 1944 - World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Island.
- 1947 - State of Prussia ceases to exist
- 1952 - Emmett L. Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League.
- 1952 - The film The African Queen opens at the Capitol Theatre in New York City.
- 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 orbits the earth three times in 4 hours, 55 minutes, becoming the first American to orbit the earth.
- 1965 - Ranger 8 crashes into the moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts.
- 1969 - The date that Michel Collin had predicted as the coming of a world wide catastrophe.
- 1976 - The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization disbands.
- 1987 - Unabomber: In Salt Lake City, in the USA, a bomb explodes in a computer store.
- 1991 - A gigantic statue of Albania's long-time dictator, Enver Hoxha, is brought down in the Albanian capital, Tirana, by mobs of angry protesters.
- 1992 - Ross Perot announces his intention to run in the 1992 U.S. presidential election on CNN's Larry King Live.
- 1992 - The FA Premier League is formed and takes over as the professional league in England from season 1992–93.
- 1998 - American figure skater Tara Lipinski becomes the youngest gold-medalist at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
- 1998 - The Nashville Banner daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee, USA publishes its last edition.
- 1999 - First hockey game occurs at the Air Canada Centre. The Toronto Maple Leafs win 3-2 in overtime vs the Montreal Canadiens.
- 2002 - In Reqa Al-Gharbiya, Egypt, a fire on a train injures over 65 and kills at least 370.
- 2003 - In Rhode Island, in the USA, The Station nightclub fire kills about 100 and injures over 200.
- 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.
- 2005 - Robot Chicken premieres on Adult Swim.
Births
- 1631 - Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, English statesman (d. 1712)
- 1745 - Henry James Pye, English poet (d. 1813)
- 1751 - Johann Heinrich Voß, German poet (d. 1826)
- 1753 - Louis Alexandre Berthier, French marshal (d. 1815)
- 1757 - John 'Mad Jack' Fuller, English philanthropist (d. 1834)
- 1794 - William Carleton, Irish novelist (d. 1869)
- 1802 - Charles de Bériot, Belgian violinist (d. 1870)
- 1819 - Alfred Escher, Swiss politician, railroad entrepreneur (d. 1882)
- 1839 - Benjamin Waugh, American minister; founder of the NSPCC (d. 1908)
- 1844 - Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist (d. 1906)
- 1844 - Joshua Slocum, Canadian seaman and adventurer (d. 1909)
- 1848 - Edward Henry Harriman, American railroad executive (d. 1909)
- 1850 - Nérée Beauchemin, Canadian physician and poet (d. 1931)
- 1866 - Carl Westman, Swedish architect and designer (d. 1936)
- 1887 - Vincent Massey, Governor-General of Canada (d. 1967)
- 1888 - Georges Bernanos, French writer (d. 1948)
- 1893 - Russel Crouse, American playwright (d. 1966)
- 1898 - Jimmy Yancey, American pianist (d. 1951)
- 1899 - Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, American businessman (d. 1992)
- 1901 - Cecil Harmsworth King, English newspaper owner (d. 1987)
- 1901 - Muhammad Naguib, President of Egypt (d. 1984)
- 1902 - Ansel Adams, American photographer (d. 1984)
- 1904 - Alexei Kosygin, Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1980)
- 1906 - Gale Gordon, American television and radio actor (d. 1995)
- 1912 - Pierre Boulle, French author (d. 1994)
- 1914 - John Daly, South African-born broadcaster (d. 2001)
- 1923 - Forbes Burnham, President of Guyana (d. 1985)
- 1924 - Gloria Vanderbilt, American socialite and clothing designer
- 1925 - Robert Altman, American film director (d. 2006)
- 1925 - Heinz Kluncker, German trade union leader
- 1926 - Richard Matheson, American author
- 1927 - Roy Cohn, American lawyer (d. 1986)
- 1927 - Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban musician (Buena Vista Social Club) (d. 2005)
- 1927 - Sidney Poitier, American actor
- 1929 - Amanda Blake, American actress (d. 1989)
- 1934 - Bobby Unser, American racing driver
- 1936 - Marj Dusay, American actress
- 1936 - Larry Hovis, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1937 - Robert Huber, German chemist, Nobel laureate
- 1937 - Roger Penske, American racing driver
- 1937 - Nancy Wilson, American singer
- 1938 - Richard Beymer, American actor
- 1939 - Frank Arundel, English footballer
- 1941 - Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian singer
- 1942 - Phil Esposito, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1942 - Charlie Gillett, British radio DJ
- 1943 - Mike Leigh, British film director
- 1943 - Antonio Inoki, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1944 - Martina Newberry, American poet, writer
- 1944 - Willem van Hanegem, Dutch footballer and coach
- 1944 - Robert de Cotret, French Canadian politician (d. 1999)
- 1945 - Brion James, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1946 - Brenda Blethyn, English actress
- 1946 - Sandy Duncan, American singer and actress
- 1946 - J. Geils, American guitarist (The J. Geils Band)
- 1946 - Richard Cocciante, French-Italian singer and songwriter
- 1947 - Peter Osgood, English footballer (d. 2006)
- 1947 - Peter Strauss, American actor
- 1947 - Eggert Magnusson, English football executive
- 1947 - Andre van Duin, Dutch comedian
- 1948 - Jennifer O'Neill, Brazilian-born actress
- 1948 - Pierre Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1949 - Ivana Trump, Czech-born American socialite
- 1950 - Ken Shimura, Japanese performer and actor
- 1950 - Walter Becker, American guitarist (Steely Dan)
- 1951 - Edward Albert, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1951 - Gordon Brown, Scottish politician
- 1951 - Randy California, American guitarist (Spirit) (d. 1997)
- 1953 - Riccardo Chailly, Italian conductor
- 1954 - Anthony Stewart Head, English actor
- 1954 - Patty Hearst, American socialite and kidnapping victim
- 1954 - Jon Brant, American musician (Cheap Trick)
- 1956 - Rick Green, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1959 - Bill Gullickson, American baseball player
- 1960 - Joel Hodgson, American comedian (Mystery Science Theater 3000)
- 1960 - Kee Marcello, Swedish guitarist
- 1963 - Charles Barkley, American basketball player
- 1963 - Ian Brown, English singer (The Stone Roses)
- 1963 - Jon Lynn Christensen, former Nebraska Congressman
- 1964 - French Stewart, American actor
- 1966 - Cindy Crawford, American model
- 1967 - Kurt Cobain, American musician (Nirvana) (d. 1994)
- 1967 - Lili Taylor, American actress
- 1967 - Andrew Shue, American television actor
- 1968 - Ted Hankey, English darts player
- 1969 - Gedo, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1971 - Jari Litmanen, Finnish footballer
- 1972 - Brent Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1972 - K-OS, Canadian musician/rapper
- 1974 - Ophelie Winter, French actress
- 1975 - Liván Hernández, Cuban baseball player
- 1975 - Gail Kim, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1975 - Brian Littrell, American singer (Backstreet Boys)
- 1976 - Ed Graham, English drummer (The Darkness)
- 1977 - Stephon Marbury, American basketball player
- 1977 - T.J. Slaughter, American football player
- 1977 - Bartosz Kizierowski, Polish swimmer
- 1978 - Julia Jentsch, German actress
- 1978 - Lauren Ambrose, American actress
- 1978 - Jay Hernandez, American actor
- 1978 - Jakki Degg, English glamour model/actress
- 1980 - Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby union footballer
- 1980 - Artur Boruc, Polish footballer
- 1981 - Tony Hibbert, English footballer
- 1981 - Chris Thile, American musician
- 1985 - Yulia Volkova, Russian singer (t.A.T.u.)
- 1988 - Rihanna, Barbadian singer
- 1989 - Melanie Leishman, Canadian actress
Deaths
- 702 - K'inich Kan B'alam II, king of the Maya state of Palenque (b. 635)
- 1154 - Saint Wulfric of Haselbury Plucknett
- 1171 - Conan IV, Duke of Brittany (b. 1138)
- 1194 - King Tancred of Sicily
- 1258 - Al-Musta'sim, last Abbasid Caliph of Baghdad
- 1408 - Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, English statesman (b. 1342)
- 1431 - Pope Martin V (b. 1368)
- 1524 - Tecún Umán, last leader of the Quiché-Maya
- 1579 - Nicholas Bacon, English politician (b. 1509)
- 1618 - Philip William, Prince of Orange (b. 1554)
- 1626 - John Dowland, English composer and lutenist (b. 1563)
- 1762 - Tobias Mayer, German astronomer (b. 1723)
- 1771 - Jean Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan, French geophysicist (b. 1678)
- 1773 - King Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia (b. 1701)
- 1778 - Laura Bassi, Italian scholar (b. 1711)
- 1790 - Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1741)
- 1803 - Marie Dumesnil, French actress (b. 1713)
- 1806 - Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-born American military and political leader (b. 1725)
- 1810 - Andreas Hofer, Tyrolean national hero (executed) (b. 1767)
- 1871 - Paul Kane, Irish-born painter (b. 1810)
- 1893 - P.G.T. Beauregard, American Confederate general (b. 1818)
- 1895 - Frederick Douglass, American abolitionist writer (b. 1818)
- 1905 - Jeremiah W. Farnham, American merchant captain
- 1907 - Henri Moissan, French chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
- 1916 - Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Swedish writer and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1844)
- 1920 - Robert Peary, American explorer (b. 1856)
- 1961 - Percy Grainger, Australian composer (b. 1882)
- 1963 - Ferenc Fricsay, Hungarian conductor (b. 1914)
- 1966 - Chester Nimitz, American admiral (b. 1885)
- 1968 - Anthony Asquith, British film director and writer (b. 1902)
- 1969 - Ernest Ansermet, Swiss conductor (b. 1883)
- 1970 - Sophie Treadwell, American playwright and journalist (b. 1885)
- 1972 - Maria Goeppert-Mayer, German physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1906)
- 1972 - Walter Winchell, American journalist (b. 1897)
- 1976 - René Cassin, French judge, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1887)
- 1976 - Kathryn Kuhlman, American evangelist (b. 1907)
- 1980 - J.B. Rhine, American parapsychologist (b. 1895)
- 1981 - Baron Nicolas de Gunzburg, magazine editor, socialite (b. 1904)
- 1983 - Fritz Köberle, Austrian-Brazilian physician (b. 1910)
- 1985 - Clarence "Ducky" Nash, American voice actor (b. 1904)
- 1992 - Roberto D'Aubuisson, Salvadoran politician (b. 1944)
- 1992 - Dick York, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1993 - Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian automobile manufacturer (b. 1916)
- 1996 - Solomon Asch, American psychologist (b. 1907)
- 1996 - Tōru Takemitsu, Japanese composer (b. 1930)
- 1999 - Sarah Kane, English playwright (b. 1971)
- 1999 - Gene Siskel, American film critic (b. 1946)
- 2000 - Anatoly Sobchak, Russian politician (b. 1937)
- 2001 - Rosemary DeCamp, American actress (b. 1910)
- 2003 - Maurice Blanchot, French author (b. 1907)
- 2003 - Orville Freeman, American politician (b. 1918)
- 2003 - Harry Jacunski, American football player
- 2003 - Ty Longley, American guitarist (Great White) (b. 1971)
- 2003 - Mushaf Ali Mir, Pakistani Chief of the Air Staff (b. 1947)
- 2005 - Pam Bricker, American jazz singer and Thievery Corporation vocalist (b. 1954)
- 2005 - Sandra Dee, American actress (b. 1944)
- 2005 - John Raitt, American actor (b. 1917)
- 2005 - Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (b. 1937)
- 2005 - Tom Willmore, English geometer (b. 1919)
- 2006 - Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster (b. 1919)
- 2006 - Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist, writer and traveller (b. 1920)
- 2007 - F. Albert Cotton, American chemist (b. 1930)