February 20

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February 20 in recent years
2009 (Friday)
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2005 (Sunday)
2004 (Friday)
2003 (Thursday)
2002 (Wednesday)
2001 (Tuesday)
2000 (Sunday)

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).

Events

• 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a dowry payment.
• 1547 - Edward VI of England is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.
• 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 - American Civil War: Battle of Olustee occurs - the largest battle fought in Florida during the war.
• 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.
• 1931 - California gets the go-ahead by the U.S. Congress to build the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge.
• 1933 - The Congress of the United States proposes the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, which would end Prohibition in the United States.
• 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 Parícutin volcano begins to form in Parícutin, Mexico.
• 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.
• 1947 - State of Prussia ceases to exist.
• 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.
• 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.
• 1976 - The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization disbands.
• 1987 - Unabomber: In Salt Lake City, Utah, a bomb explodes in a computer store.
• 1989 - An IRA bomb destroys a section of a British Army barracks in Ternhill, England
• 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.
• 1998 - American figure skater Tara Lipinski becomes the youngest gold-medalist at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
• 2002 - In Reqa Al-Gharbiya, Egypt, a fire on a train injures over 65 and kills at least 370.
• 2003 - During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the club ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 300 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.

Births

• 1631 - Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, English statesman (d. 1712)
• 1633 - Jan de Baen, Dutch portrait painter (d. 1702)
• 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)
• 1867 - Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife (d. 1931)
• 1918 - Leonore Annenberg American Billionaire
• 1880 - Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen, French aristocrat and novelist (d. 1923)
• 1887 - Vincent Massey, Governor-General of Canada (d. 1967)
• 1888 - Georges Bernanos, French writer (d. 1948)
• 1893 - Russel Crouse, American playwright (d. 1966)
• 1893 - Elizabeth Holloway Marston, American psychologist (d. 1993)
• 1898 - Enzo Ferrari, Italian automobile manufacturer, designer and racing car driver (d. 1988)
• 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)
• 1907 - Malcolm Atterbury, American actor (d. 1992)
• 1912 - Pierre Boulle, French author (d. 1994)
• 1914 - John Daly, South African-born broadcaster (d. 2001)
• 1920 - Evgeny Dragunov, Russian weapons designer (d. 1991)
• 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)
• 1930 - Willie Cunningham, Northern Irish footballer
• 1932 - Adrian Cristobal, Filipino writer (d. 2007)
• 1934 - Bobby Unser, American racing driver
• 1936 - Marj Dusay, American actress
• 1936 - Larry Hovis, American actor (d. 2003)
• 1936 - Shigeo Nagashima, Japanese baseball player and coach
• 1937 - Robert Huber, German chemist, Nobel laureate
• 1937 - Roger Penske, American racing driver, race team owner and entrepreneur
• 1937 - Nancy Wilson, American singer
• 1938 - Richard Beymer, American actor
• 1939 - Frank Arundel, English footballer
• 1940 - Jimmy Greaves, English footballer
• 1941 - Lim Kit Siang, Democratic Socialist opposition party in Malaysia
• 1941 - Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian singer
• 1942 - Phil Esposito, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1942 - Charlie Gillett, British radio DJ
• 1942 - Mitch McConnell, American politician
• 1942 - Claude Miller, French film director and screenwriter
• 1943 - Moshe Cotel, American composer and pianist
• 1943 - Antonio Inoki, Japanese professional wrestler
• 1943 - Mike Leigh, British film director
• 1944 - Robert de Cotret, French Canadian politician (d. 1999)
• 1944 - Willem van Hanegem, Dutch footballer and coach
• 1945 - Andrew Bergman, American screenwriter and film director
• 1945 - Brion James, American actor (d. 1999)
• 1945 - Annu Kapoor, Indian actor
• 1946 - Brenda Blethyn, English actress
• 1946 - Richard Cocciante, French-Italian singer and songwriter
• 1946 - Sandy Duncan, American singer and actress
• 1946 - J. Geils, American guitarist (The J. Geils Band)
• 1947 - André van Duin, Dutch comedian
• 1947 - Eggert Magnusson, Icelandic football executive
• 1947 - Peter Osgood, English footballer (d. 2006)
• 1947 - Peter Strauss, American actor
• 1948 - Pierre Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1948 - Jennifer O'Neill, Brazilian-born actress
• 1949 - Ivana Trump, Czech-born American socialite
• 1950 - Walter Becker, American guitarist (Steely Dan)
• 1950 - Ken Shimura, Japanese performer and actor
• 1950 - Tony Wilson, British journalist and impresario (d. 2007)
• 1951 - Edward Albert, American actor (d. 2006)
• 1951 - Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• 1951 - Randy California, American guitarist (Spirit) (d. 1997)
• 1951 - Phil Neal, English footballer
• 1953 - Riccardo Chailly, Italian conductor
• 1953 - Poison Ivy, American musician (The Cramps)
• 1954 - Jon Brant, American musician (Cheap Trick)
• 1954 - Anthony Stewart Head, English actor
• 1954 - Patty Hearst, American socialite
• 1956 - Rick Green, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1956 - Charlie Adler, American voice actor
• 1957 - Glen Hanlon, Canadian ice hockey coach
• 1959 - Bill Gullickson, American baseball player
• 1960 - Joel Hodgson, American comedian (Mystery Science Theater 3000)
• 1960 - Kee Marcello, Swedish guitarist
• 1962 - Kenn Nesbitt, American children's author
• 1963 - Charles Barkley, American basketball player
• 1963 - Ian Brown, English singer (The Stone Roses)
• 1963 - Jon Lynn Christensen, former Nebraska Congressman
• 1963 - Marilisa Xenogiannakopoulou, Greek politician
• 1964 - French Stewart, American actor
• 1964 - Rodney Rowland, American actor
• 1966 - Cindy Crawford, American model
• 1967 - Kurt Cobain, American musician (Nirvana) (d. 1994)
• 1967 - Katherine Soucie, American voice actress
• 1967 - Andrew Shue, American television actor
• 1967 - Lili Taylor, American actress
• 1968 - Ted Hankey, English darts player
• 1969 - Vaginal Davis, American drag queen and performance artist
• 1969 - Gedo, Japanese professional wrestler
• 1969 - Danis Tanovic, Bosnian film director and screenwriter
• 1969 - Tommy Vardell, National Football League fullback
• 1971 - Jari Litmanen, Finnish footballer
• 1971 - Shawn McKenzie, American programmer
• 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 - Brian Littrell, American singer (Backstreet Boys)
• 1976 - Rohan Gavaskar, Left-handed batsman, India ODI 2004 (son of Sunil Gavaskar)
• 1976 - Ed Graham, English drummer (The Darkness)
• 1976 - Gail Kim, Canadian professional wrestler
• 1977 - Bartosz Kizierowski, Polish swimmer
• 1977 - Stephon Marbury, American basketball player
• 1977 - T.J. Slaughter, American football player
• 1977 - Amal Hijazi, Lebanese singer and model
• 1978 - Lauren Ambrose, American actress
• 1978 - Jakki Degg, English glamour model/actress
• 1978 - Jay Hernandez, American actor
• 1978 - Julia Jentsch, German actress
• 1980 - Artur Boruc, Polish footballer
• 1980 - Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby union footballer
• 1981 - Tony Hibbert, English footballer
• 1981 - Chris Thile, American musician
• 1982 - Jason Hirsh, American baseball player
• 1983 - Jose Morales, Puerto Rican baseball player
• 1983 - Justin Verlander, American baseball player
• 1985 - Ryan Sweeney, American baseball player
• 1985 - Yulia Volkova, Russian singer (t.A.T.u.)
• 1988 - Rihanna, Barbadian singer
• 1988 - Jiah Khan, Indian actress
• 1989 - Melanie Leishman, Canadian actress