On This Day

What Happened on February 20 in History

9 events that happened on February 20, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.

The Young Republic and the Civil War Era

1864
Confederate troops defeat a Union force at the Battle of Olustee, the largest battle in Florida.
Union soldiers advancing from Jacksonville met entrenched Confederates near Olustee and were driven back with heavy losses. Black regiments, including the 54th Massachusetts, helped cover the Union retreat.
Source: battlefields.org; history.com
1895
Frederick Douglass, abolitionist and statesman, dies at his home in Washington, D.C.
Douglass had escaped slavery as a young man and became one of the most powerful speakers and writers of the antislavery movement. In later life he held federal posts and campaigned for civil rights and women's suffrage.
Source: nps.gov; history.com

1905
The Supreme Court upholds compulsory smallpox vaccination in Jacobson v. Massachusetts.
A Cambridge man had refused a required vaccination and challenged the fine he received. The Court ruled that states may use their police power to protect public health, a precedent still cited in debates over vaccine rules.
Source: law.cornell.edu; millercenter.org
1919
Habibullah Khan, ruler of Afghanistan, is assassinated while on a hunting trip.
The amir had kept Afghanistan neutral during World War I despite strong pressure at home to side with Turkey and the Central Powers. His son Amanullah soon took power and led the country to full independence from British influence later that year.
Source: history.com
1939
A pro-Nazi rally fills Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The German American Bund staged the event under banners of George Washington and swastikas. Thousands of protesters gathered outside, and a large police force kept the two sides apart.
Source: history.com
1944
Allied air forces begin Big Week, a series of heavy raids on Germany's aircraft industry.
American bombers based in Britain and Italy, joined by the Royal Air Force at night, struck aircraft factories over six days. Losses were heavy on both sides, but the campaign wore down the German fighter force months before the D-Day landings.
Source: millercenter.org

1962
John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth.
Glenn circled the planet three times in the Mercury capsule Friendship 7 in a flight lasting just under five hours. A warning about the heat shield made the return tense, but he splashed down safely in the Atlantic and became a national hero.
Source: history.com; archive.nytimes.com
1965
NASA's Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon as planned after sending back thousands of pictures.
The probe photographed the Sea of Tranquility during its final approach. Those images helped planners judge the area that Apollo 11 would later use for the first crewed landing.
Source: science.nasa.gov; nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

2003
A fire at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, kills 100 people.
Pyrotechnics set off during a rock concert ignited foam on the walls, and the club filled with flames and smoke within minutes. The disaster led to tougher fire codes for nightclubs across the country.
Source: history.com