118 things happened on 20 February, from 1054 to 2024. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1472 · 554 years ago
The Scottish Parliament confirmed that Orkney and Shetland, which had belonged to Norway, were now part of Scotland. In 1468–69, the King of Denmark and Norway had pledged the islands as security for his daughter's dowry. His daughter, Margaret, had married K…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
The Scottish Parliament confirmed that Orkney and Shetland, which had belonged to Norway, were now part of Scotland. In 1468–69, the King of Denmark and Norway had pledged the islands as security for his daughter's dowry. His daughter, Margaret, had married King James III of Scotland. The dowry money was never paid, so the islands stayed Scottish.
UK story
Edward VI was crowned King of England and Ireland at Westminster Abbey, aged just nine. He was the only surviving son of Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour. Edward was the first English monarch to be brought up as a Protestant. Because he was so young, the country was run for him by a group of advisers called a regency council.
UK story
English geologist William Buckland announced the name Megalosaurus, which means 'great lizard'. It became the first dinosaur to be properly given a scientific name, apart from birds. Megalosaurus was a large meat-eating dinosaur that walked on two legs. It lived in the Middle Jurassic period in what is now southern England, and its fossils come from Oxfordshire.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, often called the Met, opened in New York City. It is now the largest art museum in the Americas, with a collection of more than two million works. By floor area, it is the third-largest museum in the world. It is also the most visited museum in the United States.
Swan Lake, a ballet with music by the Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, was first performed at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. At first it was a failure. Now it is one of the most popular ballets of all time. Tchaikovsky also wrote the music for the ballets The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker.
A crack opened in the ground in a farmer's cornfield in Michoacán, Mexico, and began to erupt. It kept erupting for nine years, building up a new cone-shaped volcano called Parícutin. The volcano rose suddenly from the field of a local farmer, Dionisio Pulido. People and scientists from far away were fascinated by it.
Astronaut John Glenn circled the Earth three times in the spacecraft Friendship 7, becoming the first American to orbit the planet. His flight lasted almost five hours and ended with a splashdown in the North Atlantic Ocean. A new US postage stamp, designed by Charles R. Chickering, was released to celebrate his success. In 1998, Glenn flew into space again, aged 77.
The Soviet Union launched the first part of Mir, the first space station built from separate sections, or modules. It was put together in orbit between 1986 and 1996. At the time it was the largest artificial satellite in orbit. Crews lived on board doing science experiments, and Mir stayed in orbit for 15 years.
American figure skater Tara Lipinski won the Olympic gold medal at the age of 15. She became the youngest person ever to win an Olympic gold medal at the Winter Games up to that time. She is still the youngest single skater to become Olympic champion. Figure skating was the first winter sport included in the Olympics, at the 1908 Games in London.
The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León sets out from San Juan, Puerto Rico, for Florida with about 200 prospective colonists.
Yohannan Sulaqa professes his Catholic belief and is ordained as bishop shortly after; this marks the beginning of the Chaldean Catholic Church.
The French colonization of Texas began with the landing of colonists led by Robert de La Salle near Matagorda Bay.
The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by United States President George Washington.
Louis-Alexandre Berthier removes Pope Pius VI from power.
Manuel Belgrano defeats the royalist army of Pío de Tristán during the Battle of Salta.
The Barber of Seville, an opera buffa composed by Gioachino Rossini, premiered at the Teatro Argentina in Rome to jeers from the audience.
An earthquake registering approximately 8.5 Mw devastated Concepción, Chile, and triggered a tsunami that destroyed neighbouring Talcahuano.
End 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.
The legislature of Hawaii Territory convenes for the first time.
The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of Massachusetts's mandatory smallpox vaccination program in Jacobson v. Massachusetts.
Publication of the Futurist Manifesto in the French journal Le Figaro.
King O'Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra.
The U.S. Congress approves the construction of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge by the state of California.
Paraguayan anarchists briefly seized the city of Encarnación as part of a larger plan to initiate a social revolution in the country.
The 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.
Caroline Mikkelsen becomes the first woman to set foot in Antarctica.
World War II: Lieutenant Edward O'Hare becomes America's first World War II flying ace.
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.
World War II: American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies.
World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Atoll.
Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League.
The United States Merchant Marine Academy becomes a permanent Service Academy.
Canadian prime minister John Diefenbaker cancelled the Avro CF-105 Arrow (pictured) interceptor-aircraft program amid much political debate.
The China Academy of Space Technology, China's main arm for the research, development, and creation of space satellites, is established in Beijing.
Wat Phra Dhammakaya, one of the largest Buddhist temples in Thailand, was founded in Pathum Thani.
The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert.
The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast voted to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
In the Albanian capital Tirana, a gigantic statue of Albania's long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down by mobs of angry protesters.
Appearing on the talk show Larry King Live, U.S. industrialist Ross Perot announced that he would begin a presidential campaign if "ordinary people" wanted him to run for office.
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.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Orkney and Shetland become part of Scotland”?
A: 1472. 1472 — that’s 554 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “Nine-year-old Edward VI is crowned King of England”?
A: 1547. 1547 — that’s 479 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
A: Orkney and Shetland become part of Scotland. 1472: Orkney and Shetland become part of Scotland · 1824: William Buckland names Megalosaurus, the first dinosaur to get a name · 1547: Nine-year-old Edward VI is crowned King of England Find it on the page
“William Buckland names Megalosaurus, the first dinosaur to get a name” happened in 1824. How many years ago was that?
A: 202 years. 2026 − 1824 = 202. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 20 February.
UK story
Jimmy Greaves was an English footballer, seen as one of the greatest strikers of all time. He scored 357 goals in England's top division, more than anyone else in history. He also scored 44 goals for England, including a record six hat-tricks. He is Tottenham Hotspur's second-highest goalscorer of all time.
UK story
Dame Gillian Lynne was an English ballerina, dancer and choreographer, someone who creates the dance steps for a show. She is best known for creating the dances for Cats and The Phantom of the Opera. These are two of the longest-running shows in the history of Broadway in New York. She was made a dame in 2014, at the age of 87.
Well-known people who died on 20 February.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 20 February somewhere in the world.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “February 20” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.