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February 20 is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar . There are 314 days remaining, 315 in Leap Year s.
Events
- 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are returned by Norway to Scotland , due to a defaulted Dowry payment.
- 1547 - Edward VI Of England is 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 first reported case of white men Scalping Native American s takes place in New Hampshire colony.
- 1792 - The Postal Service Act , establishing the United States Post Office Department , is signed by President George Washington .
- 1810 - Andreas Hofer , Tyrol ean 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.
- 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 Paricutín volcano begins to form in Paricutín, México.
- Aircraft manufacturing centers.
- 1944 - takes Eniwetok Island.
- 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 programme to design and manufacture Supersonic Jet Fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate.
- , 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 Astronaut s.
- 1976 - The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization disbands.
- , 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 .
- 2001 - FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested and charged with Spying for Russia for 15 years.
- 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.
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 )
- 1819 - Alfred Escher , Swiss politician, railroad entrepreneur (d. 1882 )
- 1839 - Benjamin Waugh , American minister and 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 )
- 1887 - Vincent Massey , Governor-General Of Canada (d. 1967 )
- 1888 - Georges Bernanos , French writer (d. 1948 )
- 1893 - Russel Crouse , American playwright (d. 1966 )
- 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 )
- 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 clothing designer and entrepreneur
- 1925 - Robert Altman , American film director
- 1925 - Heinz Kluncker , German labor union leader
- 1926 - Richard Matheson , American author
- 1927 - Roy Cohn , American lawyer, and anti-Communist (d. 1986 )
- 1927 - Ibrahim Ferrer , Cuban musician ( Buena Vista Social Club ) (d. 2005 )
- 1927 - Sidney Poitier , American actor
- 1931 - Amanda Blake , American actress (d. 1989 )
- 1934 - Bobby Unser , American race car driver
- 1936 - Marj Dusay , American actress
- 1936 - Larry Hovis , American actor (d. 2003 )
- 1937 - Robert Huber , German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 - Roger Penske , American race car driver
- 1937 - Nancy Wilson , American singer
- 1938 - Richard Beymer , American actor
- 1941 - Buffy Sainte-Marie , American singer
- 1942 - Phil Esposito , Canadian hockey player
- 1943 - Mike Leigh , British film director
- 1943 - Antonio Inoki , Japanese professional wrestler
- 1944 - Willem Van Hanegem , Dutch footballer and coach
- 1945 - Brion James , American actor (d. 1999 )
- 1946 - Brenda Blethyn , English actress
- 1946 - Sandy Duncan , American singer and actress
- 1946 - John Geils, Jr. , American guitarist ( J. Geils Band )
- 1947 - Peter Osgood , English footballer
- 1947 - Peter Strauss , American actor
- 1948 - Jennifer O'Neill , Brazilian-born actress
- 1949 - Ivana Trump , Czech skier, model and socialite
- 1950 - Ken Shimura , Japanese television performer and actor
- 1950 - Walter Becker , American jazz-rock guitarist ( Steely Dan )
- 1951 - Edward Albert , American actor
- 1951 - Gordon Brown , British politician
- 1951 - Randy California , guitarist ( Spirit ) (d. 1997 )
- 1954 - Anthony Stewart Head , English actor
- 1954 - Patty Hearst , American socialite and kidnapping victim
- 1954 - Jon Brant , American musician ( Cheap Trick )
- 1960 - Joel Hodgson , American comedian, creator of '' Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''
- 1963 - Charles Barkley , American basketball player
- 1963 - Ian Brown , British singer ( Stone Roses )
- 1966 - Cindy Crawford , American model
- 1967 - Kurt Cobain , American musician ( Nirvana ) (d. 1994 )
- 1967 - Lili Taylor , American actress
- 1971 - Jari Litmanen , Finnish footballer
- 1972 - Brent Gretzky , Canadian Hockey player; brother of Wayne Gretzky
- 1975 - Gail Kim , wrestler
- 1975 - Brian Littrell , American musician ( Backstreet Boys )
- 1976 - Ed Graham , British drummer ( The Darkness )
- 1977 - Stephon Marbury , American basketball player
- 1977 - T.J. Slaughter , American football player
- 1978 - Julia Jentsch , German actress
- 1980 - Imanol Harinordoquy , French rugby player
- 1981 - Tony Hibbert , English footballer
- 1981 - Chris Thile , musician
- 1985 - Yulia Volkova , Russian musician ( T.A.T.u. )
- 1988 - Rihanna , Barbadian R&B singer
Deaths
- 702 - Chan Bahlum 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 )
- 1513 - King Christian II Of Denmark (b. 1455 )
- 1524 - Tecún Umán , last leader of the Quiché -Maya in the northern highlands of Guatemala.
- 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 )
- 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 )
- 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 Prize laureate (b. 1906 )
- 1972 - Walter Winchell , American journalist (b. 1897 )
- 1975 - Robert Strauss , American politician and diplomat (b. 1918 )
- 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 )
- 1985 - Clarence 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 )
- 2005 - Pam Bricker , 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 )
- 2006 - Curt Gowdy , American sportscaster (b. 1919 )
External links
February 19 - February 21 - January 20 - March 20 -- Listing Of All Days
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