Tukuk-OS📅 February 20
18 events · 12 births · 12 deaths
Advertisement
What happened on February 20? Below are the notable events chosen by Wikipedia’s editors for this date, followed by celebrated births, deaths and the observances recognised around the world.
Events
- 2010 — Severe flooding and mudslides on the island of Madeira, Portugal, killed 51 people.
- 2009 — The Tamil Tigers attempted to crash two aircraft laden with C-4 in suicide attacks on Colombo, Sri Lanka, but the planes were shot down before they reached their targets.
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam2009 suicide air raid on ColomboC-4 (explosive)
- 1998 — At the age of 15, American figure skater Tara Lipinski became the then-youngest winner of an Olympic gold medal in the history of the Winter Olympic Games.
- 1992 — Appearing on the talk show Larry King Live, U.S. industrialist Ross Perot announced that he would begin a presidential campaign if "ordinary people" wanted him to run for office.
Larry King LiveRoss PerotRoss Perot 1992 presidential campaign
- 1988 — The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast voted to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous OblastFirst Nagorno-Karabakh War
- 1970 — Wat Phra Dhammakaya, one of the largest Buddhist temples in Thailand, was founded in Pathum Thani.
- 1965 — The NASA spacecraft Ranger 8 spacecraft transmitted 7,137 photographs of the Moon in the final 23 minutes of its mission before crashing as planned into Mare Tranquillitatis.
- 1962 — The Project Mercury stamp, designed by Charles R. Chickering, was released to commemorate the successful space flight of Colonel John Glenn.
- 1959 — Canadian prime minister John Diefenbaker cancelled the Avro CF-105 Arrow (pictured) interceptor-aircraft program amid much political debate.
John DiefenbakerAvro Canada CF-105 ArrowInterceptor aircraft
- 1943 — A fissure opened in a cornfield in the Mexican state of Michoacán and continued to erupt for nine years, forming the cinder cone Parícutin .
- 1943 — The Saturday Evening Post published the first of Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms, among the most widely distributed paintings ever produced, in support of U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt's Four Freedoms.
The Saturday Evening PostNorman RockwellFour Freedoms (Rockwell)
- 1931 — Paraguayan anarchists briefly seized the city of Encarnación as part of a larger plan to initiate a social revolution in the country.
- 1872 — The Metropolitan Museum of Art , today the largest art museum in the United States with a collection of more than two million works, opened in New York.
- 1864 — American Civil War: The Union Army suffered a one-in-three casualty rate at the Battle of Olustee near Lake City, Florida.
- 1846 — Polish insurgents in the Free City of Kraków led an uprising (depicted) attempting to incite a fight for national independence that was put down by the Austrian Empire nine days later.
- 1835 — An earthquake registering approximately 8.5 Mw devastated Concepción, Chile, and triggered a tsunami that destroyed neighbouring Talcahuano.
1835 Concepción earthquakeMoment magnitude scaleConcepción, Chile
- 1816 — The Barber of Seville, an opera buffa composed by Gioachino Rossini, premiered at the Teatro Argentina in Rome to jeers from the audience.
- 1685 — The French colonization of Texas began with the landing of colonists led by Robert de La Salle near Matagorda Bay.
French colonization of TexasRené-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La SalleMatagorda Bay
Births
- 2004 — Jared McCain, American basketball player
- 2003 — Olivia Rodrigo, American actress and singer
- 2002 — Gavin Bazunu, Irish footballer
- 2000 — Josh Sargent, American soccer player
- 1999 — Jarrett Culver, American basketball player
- 1998 — Emam Ashour, Egyptian footballer
- 1996 — Clarke Schmidt, American baseball player
- 1995 — Elle Purrier St. Pierre, American track and field athlete
- 1994 — Kateryna Baindl, Ukrainian tennis player
- 1994 — Luis Severino, Dominican baseball player
- 1993 — Jurickson Profar, Curaçaoan baseball player
- 1991 — Hidilyn Diaz, Filipino weightlifter
Deaths
- 2025 — David Boren, American lawyer and politician, 21st Governor of Oklahoma (born 1941)
- 2025 — Jerry Butler, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1939)
- 2025 — Peter Jason, American actor (born 1944)
- 2024 — Andreas Brehme, German footballer (born 1960)
- 2024 — Yoko Yamamoto, Japanese actress (born 1942)
- 2021 — Nurul Haque Miah, Bangladeshi professor and writer (born 1944)
- 2021 — Mauro Bellugi, Italian footballer (born 1950)
- 2020 — Joaquim Pina Moura, Portuguese Minister of Economy and Treasury and MP (born 1952)
Joaquim Pina MouraMinistry of Economy and Territorial CohesionAssembly of the Republic (Portugal)
- 2017 — Vitaly Churkin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United Nations (born 1952)
- 2017 — Mildred Dresselhaus, American physicist (born 1930)
- 2017 — Steve Hewlett, British journalist (born 1958)
- 2016 — Fernando Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest and politician (born 1934)
Observances & holidays
- Christian feast day: Eleutherius of Tournai
- Christian feast day: Eucherius of Orléans
- Christian feast day: Julia Rodzińska
- Christian feast day: Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto
- Christian feast day: Frederick Douglass (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Christian feast day: Wulfric of Haselbury
- Christian feast day: February 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of Heavenly Hundred Heroes (Ukraine)
- World Day of Social Justice
Advertisement
Advertisement