This Day in History
20 Feb 1472
Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland due to a dowry payment
20 Feb 1525
Swiss & German mercenaries desert Francois Is army
20 Feb 1547
King Edward VI of England crowned following the death of his father Henry VIII
20 Feb 1613
Gerard Reynst appointed Governor-General of Dutch East Indies
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An American orbits earth
From Cape Canaveral Florida John Hershel Glenn Jr. is successfully launched into space aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft on the first orbital flight by an Am...
American colonists practice scalping
In the American colonies a posse of New Hampshire volunteers comes across a band of encamped Native Americans and takes 10 scalps in the first si...
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 1...
Pilot O’Hare becomes first American WWII flying ace
On this day Lt. Edward OHare takes off from the aircraft carrier Lexington in a raid against the Japanese position at Rabaul-and minutes later becomes ...
Hearings begin on American policy in Vietnam
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee begins hearings to investigate American policy in Vietnam. This was a direct result of the Tet Offensive in which ...
Tara Lipinski becomes youngest Olympic figure skating gold medalist
On February 20 1998 15-year-old Tara Lipinski wins the gold medal in womens figure skating at the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano Japan and becomes t...
George Washington signs the Postal Service Act
On this day in 1792 President George Washington signs legislation creating the U.S. Postal Service.Prior to the American Revolution correspondence between pa...
Ansel Adams is born
The famous western photographer Ansel Adams is born in San Francisco. Adams dramatic black and white images of Yosemite and the West are some of the mo...
Fire engulfs nightclub during Great White show
The most famous contract rider in rock-and-roll history may be the one Van Halen used that stipulated that There will be no brown M&Ms in the backstage area...
Dylan Thomas arrives in New York
On this day in 1950 Welsh poet Dylan Thomas arrives in New York for his first reading tour of the United States. His four U.S. tours were wildly successful but...
John Singleton nominated for Best Director Oscar
In his debut film Boyz N the Hood (1991) John Singleton depicted life on the streets of his native Los Angelesnot the famously sunny palm-tree-lined ...
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 this day in 2003. It was the deadl...
Atlanta Constitution editor is kidnapped
Reg Murphyan editor of The Atlanta Constitution is kidnapped after being lured from his home near the city. William Williams told the newspaperman that he had...
Battle of Olustee
On this day in 1864 at the Battle of Olusteethe largestconflict fought in Florida during the Civil War a Confederate force under General Joseph Finegan decis...
SEATO disbands
After operating for 22 years the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization concludes its final military exercise and quietly shuts down. SEATO had been one of the bu...
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