Skip to main content

John Glenn becomes first American to orbit Earth

Born on This Day

Sidney Poitier

1927 - 2022

Bahamian actor and civil rights activist who was first African American to win a Best Actor Oscar for "Lilies of the Field."

Rihanna

1988 -

Barbadian singer whose hits "Umbrella" and "Diamonds" blended musical genres. Founder of Fenty Beauty.

Cindy Crawford

1966 -

Supermodel known for her signature mole, work with major fashion brands and successful skincare business empire.

Sidney PoitierCorbis via Getty Images

RihannaGetty Images

Cindy CrawfordWireImage

1971

FEB20

In a terrifying technical snafu, radio and TV transmissions go dead after the National Emergency Warning Center accidentally messages that a nuclear attack had begun.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on February 20th

Postal Service Act regulates United States Post Office Department

On February 20, 1792, President George Washington signs legislation renewing the United States Post Office as a cabinet department led by the postmaster general, guaranteeing inexpensive delivery of all newspapers, stipulating the right to privacy and granting Congress the ability to expand postal service to new areas of the nation. William Goddard, a Patriot printer […]

Battle of Olustee

On February 20, 1864, at the Battle of Olustee, the largest conflict fought in Florida during the Civil War, a Confederate force under General Joseph Finegan decisively defeats an army commanded by General Truman Seymour. The victory kept the Confederates in control of Florida’s interior for the rest of the war. Olustee was the climax […]

Frederick Douglass dies of a heart attack

The acclaimed abolitionist collapsed in his front hall.

Amir of Afghanistan is assassinated

Habibullah Khan, the leader of Afghanistan who struggled to keep his country neutral in World War I in the face of strong internal support for Turkey and the Central Powers, is shot and killed while on a hunting trip on February 20, 1919. Habibullah had succeeded his father, Abd-ar-Rahman, as amir in 1901 and immediately […]

Americans hold a Nazi rally in Madison Square Garden

Six and a half months before Adolf Hitler invaded Poland, New York City’s Madison Square Garden hosted a rally to celebrate the rise of Nazism in Germany. Inside, more than 20,000 attendees raised Nazi salutes toward a 30-foot-tall portrait of George Washington flanked by swastikas. Outside, police and some 100,000 protesters gathered. The organization behind […]

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Pilot Edward O’Hare becomes first American WWII flying ace

Lt. Edward O’Hare takes off from the aircraft carrier Lexington in a raid against the Japanese position at Rabaul—and minutes later becomes America’s first WWII flying ace, shooting down five enemy bombers. In mid-February 1942, the Lexington sailed into the Coral Sea. Rabaul, a town at the very tip of New Britain, one of the islands that […]

Atlanta Constitution editor is kidnapped

Reg Murphy, an editor of The Atlanta Constitution, is kidnapped after being lured from his home near the city. William A.H. Williams told the newspaperman that he had 300,000 gallons of heating oil to donate to the poor. The 33-year-old Williams abducted Murphy, who was well known for his anti-Vietnam War stance, at gunpoint. For […]

Ireland allows sale of contraceptives

In a highly controversial vote on February 20, 1985, the Irish government defies the powerful Catholic Church and approves the sale of contraceptives. Up until 1979, Irish law prohibited the importation and sale of contraceptives. In a 1973 case, McGee v. The Attorney General, the Irish Supreme Court found that a constitutional right to marital […]

Kramer on “Seinfeld” adopts a highway

An episode of the hit TV sitcom “Seinfeld” titled “The Pothole” airs for the first time on February 20, 1997; it includes a story line in which the character Kramer adopts a stretch of the fictional Arthur Burghardt Expressway through the real-life Adopt-a-Highway program. The roots of the Adopt-a-Highway program date back to 1984, when […]

Tara Lipinski becomes youngest Olympic figure skating gold medalist

On February 20, 1998, 15-year-old Tara Lipinski wins the gold medal in women’s figure skating at the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, and becomes the youngest gold medalist in her sport. Lipinski donned her first pair of skates at age six. In 1994, at age 12, she won a gold medal at the U.S. […]

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Rhode Island nightclub burns

A fire at a rock concert in a West Warwick, Rhode Island, nightclub kills 100 people and seriously injures almost 200 more on February 20, 2003. It was the deadliest such fire in the United States since 165 people were killed at the Beverly Hill Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, in 1977. On the night […]

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement