What Happened on Feb 20

Joseph Jefferson Is Born

Comic actor Joseph Jefferson, one of the most well-known American stage personalities of the nineteenth century, was born into a family of actors... Read more

Battle of Valverde - First Battle of the New Mexico Campaign

The Battle of Valverde (February 20–February 21, 1862), fought in and around the town of Valverde in the New Mexico Territory, was a major... Read more

Battle of Olustee - Union Fails to Take Florida

Description: In February 1864, the commander of the Department of the South, Maj. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore, launched an expedition into Florida to... Read more

Battle of Fort Myers

The Battle of Fort Myers was fought on February 25, 1865, in Lee County, Florida during the last months of the American Civil War. This small... Read more

Count Vincenzo Pecci (Leo XIII) elected Pope

Pope Leo XIII (2 March 1810 - 20 July 1903), born Count Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, was the 257th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church,... Read more

Frederick Douglass Dies

Speaks at a meeting of the National Council of Women in Washington, D.C. Dies suddenly that evening of heart failure while describing the meeting... Read more

The Publicity Corporation (now Caldwell VanRiper) opened for business.

Our agency surmounted the years and was successful because we had sound aims and sound policies and overall because we employed the right men and... Read more

Reign of Amanullah Khan over the Emirate of Afghanistan

Amanullah Khan (June 1, 1892 – April 25, 1960) was the ruler of the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929, first as Amir and after 1926 as Shah.... Read more

A Young John F. Kennedy Contracts Scarlet Fever

On February 20, 1920 when Jack was not yet three years old, he became sick with scarlet fever, a highly contagious and then potentially... Read more

"The African Queen" Is Released

The African Queen is an American 1951 drama film adapted from the 1935 novel by C. S. Forester. The film was directed by John Huston and produced... Read more

First American to Orbit Earth

On February 20, 1962, John H. Glenn, Jr., became the first American to orbit Earth. An Atlas launch vehicle propelled a Mercury spacecraft into... Read more

George H.W. Bush Elected Chairman of the Harris County Republican Committee

Bush served as Chairman of the Republican Party for Harris County, Texas in 1964, but wanted to be more involved in policy making, so he set his... Read more

Elvis Presley releases How Great Thou Art

How Great Thou Art is a musical album by American entertainer Elvis Presley; it was his first non-soundtrack album recording of new material since... Read more

Elvis Presley releases Elvis Now

Elvis Now is a gold-selling Elvis Presley album from 1972. Despite the "now" in the title, the tracks on this album were recorded anywhere from... Read more

"The Marriage Of Maria Braun" Is Released

The Marriage of Maria Braun (German: Die Ehe der Maria Braun) is a 1979 West German film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. It was nominated for... Read more

"Brazil" Is Released

Brazil is a 1985 film directed by Terry Gilliam. It was written by Gilliam, Charles McKeown, and Tom Stoppard and stars Jonathan Pryce. The film... Read more

MST3K Ep. 104 - "Women of the Prehistoric Planet"

A marooned spaceship on a strange planet leaves only a young boy as the survivor. The boy grows up into manhood, and when the rescue ship comes... Read more

Jay-Z releases first single "Dead Presidents"

"Dead Presidents" is the debut single released in promotion by rapper Jay-Z's from his debut album Reasonable Doubt. Its lyrics about the drug... Read more

"The Pothole" - Season 8 Episode 16 of Seinfeld Premiers

"The Pothole" is the 150th episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 16th episode for the 8th season. It aired on February 20, 1997. Plot... Read more

Passengers of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Die in Plane Crash

The 284 members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard and 18 crew members on the plane were confirmed dead -- making the crash Iran's worst ever... Read more

The Station Nightclub Fire

The Station nightclub fire occurred beginning at 11:07 PM EST, on Thursday, February 20, 2003, at The Station, a glam metal and rock n roll themed... Read more

Fight Night Round 3 released

Fight Night Round 3 is a boxing video game developed by EA Sports. It is the sequel to EA Sports' previous boxing title, Fight Night Round 2, which... Read more

"Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" by T-Pain Is Released

"Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" is a song by American producer/singer-songwriter T-Pain. It was released on February 20, 2007. The song is the... Read more

Bulger Featured on German Equivalent of "America's Most Wanted"

FBI agents from Boston were in Munich yesterday, appealing to the public for help in capturing gangster James "Whitey" Bulger. The 78-year-old... Read more

Governor Pat Quinn calls for Roland Burris' resignation from US Senate

Gov. Pat Quinn on Friday called on fellow Democrat Roland Burris to resign from the Senate, saying the controversy surrounding Burris' appointment... Read more