Vintage News · Odd history for February 20

What Happened On February 20

Q: What happened on February 20?

1824: William Buckland formally announces the name Megalosaurus, the first scientifically validly named non-avian dinosaur species. 1988: The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast voted to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. 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. 2009: Two Tamil Tigers aircraft packed with C4 explosives en route to the national airforce headquarters are shot down by the Sri Lankan military before reaching their target, in a kamikaze style attack. 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. 1988: The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. 1971: The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert. 1962: Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes. 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. 1943: The Saturday Evening Post publishes the first of Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union address theme of Four Freedoms.

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10 odd things that happened on February 20

1824 First ever
William Buckland formally announces the name Megalosaurus, the first scientifically validly named non-avian dinosaur species.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1988 First ever
The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast voted to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1943 First ever
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.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2009 Oddly true
Two Tamil Tigers aircraft packed with C4 explosives en route to the national airforce headquarters are shot down by the Sri Lankan military before reaching their target, in a kamikaze style attack.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2005 First ever
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.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1988 First ever
The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1971 Oddly true
The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1962 First ever
Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1952 First ever
Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1943 First ever
The Saturday Evening Post publishes the first of Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union address theme of Four Freedoms.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2016Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Wikipedia →
2015Two trains collide in the Swiss town of Rafz resulting in as many as 49 people injured and Swiss Federal Railways cancelling some services. Wikipedia →
2014Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters die in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, many reportedly killed by snipers. Wikipedia →
2010In Madeira Island, Portugal, heavy rain causes floods and mudslides, resulting in at least 43 deaths, in the worst disaster in the history of the archipelago. Wikipedia →
2009Two Tamil Tigers aircraft packed with C4 explosives en route to the national airforce headquarters are shot down by the Sri Lankan military before reaching their target, in a kamikaze style attack. Wikipedia →
2005Spain 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. Wikipedia →
2003During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the Station nightclub ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others. Wikipedia →
2002A cooking gas cylinder explodes on board an Egyptian National Railways train in El Ayyat, causing a fire and killing over 370 people. Wikipedia →
1998American figure skater Tara Lipinski, at the age of 15, becomes the youngest Olympic figure skating gold-medalist at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Wikipedia →
1991In the Albanian capital Tirana, a gigantic statue of Albania's long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down by mobs of angry protesters. Wikipedia →
1988The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. Wikipedia →
1986The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for ten of those years. Wikipedia →
1979An earthquake cracks open the Sinila volcanic crater on the Dieng Plateau, releasing poisonous H2S gas and killing 149 villagers in the Indonesian province of Central Java. Wikipedia →
1971The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert. Wikipedia →
1968The China Academy of Space Technology, China's main arm for the research, development, and creation of space satellites, is established in Beijing. Wikipedia →
1965Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts. Wikipedia →
1962Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes. Wikipedia →
1959The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate. Wikipedia →
1956The United States Merchant Marine Academy becomes a permanent Service Academy. Wikipedia →
1952Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League. Wikipedia →
1944World War II: The "Big Week" begins with American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers. Wikipedia →
1944World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Atoll. Wikipedia →
1943World War II: American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies. Wikipedia →
1943The Saturday Evening Post publishes the first of Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union address theme of Four Freedoms. Wikipedia →
1942World War II: Lieutenant Edward O'Hare becomes America's first World War II flying ace. Wikipedia →
1939Madison Square Garden Nazi rally: The largest ever pro-Nazi rally in United States history is convened in Madison Square Garden, New York City, with 20,000 members and sympathizers of the German American Bund present. Wikipedia →
1935Caroline Mikkelsen becomes the first woman to set foot in Antarctica. Wikipedia →
1933The U.S. Congress approves the Blaine Act to repeal federal Prohibition in the United States, sending the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution to state ratifying conventions for approval. Wikipedia →
1933Adolf Hitler secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party's upcoming election campaign. Wikipedia →
1931The U.S. Congress approves the construction of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge by the state of California. Wikipedia →
1931An anarchist uprising in Encarnación, Paraguay briefly transforms the city into a revolutionary commune. Wikipedia →
1920An earthquake kills between 114 and 130 in Georgia and heavily damages the town of Gori. Wikipedia →
1913King O'Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra. Wikipedia →
1909Publication of the Futurist Manifesto in the French journal Le Figaro. Wikipedia →
1905The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of Massachusetts's mandatory smallpox vaccination program in Jacobson v. Massachusetts. Wikipedia →
1901The legislature of Hawaii Territory convenes for the first time. Wikipedia →
189420 February bombings by Désiré Pauwels during the Ère des attentats (1892-1894). Wikipedia →
1877Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake receives its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. Wikipedia →
1872The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City. Wikipedia →
1865End of the Uruguayan War, with a peace agreement between President Tomás Villalba and rebel leader Venancio Flores, setting the scene for the destructive War of the Triple Alliance. Wikipedia →
1864American Civil War: Battle of Olustee: The largest battle fought in Florida during the war. Wikipedia →
1846Polish insurgents lead an uprising in Kraków to incite a fight for national independence. Wikipedia →
1835The 1835 Concepción earthquake destroys Concepción, Chile. Wikipedia →
1824William Buckland formally announces the name Megalosaurus, the first scientifically validly named non-avian dinosaur species. Wikipedia →
1816Gioachino Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville premieres at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. Wikipedia →
1813Manuel Belgrano defeats the royalist army of Pío de Tristán during the Battle of Salta. Wikipedia →
1798Louis-Alexandre Berthier removes Pope Pius VI from power. Wikipedia →
1792The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by United States President George Washington. Wikipedia →
1685René-Robert Cavelier establishes Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France's claim to Texas. Wikipedia →
1553Yohannan Sulaqa professes his Catholic belief and is ordained as bishop shortly after; this marks the beginning of the Chaldean Catholic Church. Wikipedia →
1547Edward VI is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey. Wikipedia →
1521Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León sets out from San Juan, Puerto Rico, for Florida with about 200 prospective colonists. Wikipedia →
1472Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark. Wikipedia →
1339The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated. Wikipedia →

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.