What Happened on February 20
Important Events
- 1792 US postal service created, postage 6-12 cents depending on distance
- 1872 New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art opens
- 1873 British Naval Officer John Moresby discovers the site of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and claims it for Britain
- 1938 UK Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden resigns stating Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain has appeased Nazi Germany
- 1947 Earl Mountbatten of Burma appointed as last viceroy of India to oversee the move to independence
Feb 20 in Film & TV
- 1952 "African Queen" film directed by John Huston, starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn is released in the US
Feb 20 in Music
- 1816 Gioachino Rossini's opera "Barber of Seville" premieres in Rome
Feb 20 in Sport
- 1953 US Court of Appeals rules that Organized Baseball is a sport & not a business, affirming the 25-year-old Supreme Court ruling
Did You Know?
Did You Know?Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a dowry payment
On February 20, 1472
Famous Birthdays
Vincent Massey
(1887 - 1967)- Ansel Adams
(1902 - 1984) - Sidney Poitier
94 Years Old - Charles Barkley
58 Years Old - Kurt Cobain
(1967 - 1994) - Rihanna
33 Years Old
Vincent Massey
Ansel Adams
Sidney Poitier
Charles Barkley
Kurt Cobain
RihannaWould You Believe?
Scientists successfully regenerate the flowering plant, Silene stenophylla from a 31,800 year old piece of fruit, greatly surpassing the previous record of 2,000 years
On February 20, 2012
Famous Weddings
- 1968 Comedian John Cleese (Monty Python) marries actress Connie Booth
- 1977 World No. 1 tennis player Arthur Ashe (33) weds photographer Jeanne Moutoussamy in New York City
- 1980 Actress Susan Dey (LA Law) weds producer Bernard Sofronski
Famous Divorces
- 1974 Cher files for separation from husband Sonny Bono
- 2007 Baywatch actress Carmen Electra (34) divorces rocker Dave Navarro (39) due to irreconcilable differences after less than three years of marriage
Frederick Douglass
Henri Moissan
Robert Peary
Chester NimitzArticles, Photos and Quiz
Final Deadly Performance of a Twisted Actor
From a celebrated family of actors came a young man with a twisted mind whose last performance involved the death of a president.
February 20, 1817John Glenn Orbits Earth
John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, getting into his spacecraft Friendship 7 in 1962
February 20, 1962Weekly Quiz for February 17 - 23
Who was the 1st US President to visit China? What was the name of the Russian royal house that ruled 1613-1917? Who printed the 1st Bible in 1455?
February in History
Britain Joins the European Community
British MPs voted on this day to join the European Communities, as it was then known. It was to be a thorny issue, finally leading to ‘Brexit’ in 2020.
February 17, 1972Buried at Sea: The Casket That Carried JFK
John F. Kennedy's aides struggling to load the casket containing the slain President aboard Air Force One is an enduring image. But what happened to the casket?
February 18, 1966Theory That Put The World To Rights
Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was born on this day. The Church dismissed as heresy his theory that Earth revolved around the sun and not the other way round.
February 19, 1473Wonder of Woolworths Begins its Meteoric Rise
It was a simple idea: opening a store where nothing cost more than five cents. The idea caught on so quickly that Woolworth’s became a retail phenomenon.
February 22, 1878
