A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on February 20th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
On February 20, 1864, the Union and Confederate armies fought the Battle of Olustee, the largest land battle of the American Civil War (1861-1865) in Florida.
On February 20, 1905, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that states have the authority to require mandatory vaccinations against disease, well over a century before the controversy over the Covid vaccine in 2020 and 2021.
On February 20, 1942, the United States was still reeling from the sneak attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and was in desperate need of victories after island after allied island fell to the seemingly unstoppable Japanese Navy and Army.
On February 20, 1952, Los Angeles-native Emmett Ashford became the first African-American umpire to work in integrated (mainly white) professional baseball when he left his Post Office job to work for the International Southwestern League.
On February 20, 1987, one man’s hatred of modern technology led him to blow up a computer store!
On February 20, 1998, at the Winter Olympics held in Nagano, Japan, American figure skater Tara Lipinski won the Women’s Gold Medal for Ladies Singles in figure skating, becoming the youngest Olympian, at the age of 15, to win a Gold Medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
On February 20, 2019, we celebrated another National Love Your Pet Day, as if we had to be reminded.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.
