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2024

February 20 in recent years

2024 (Tuesday)

2023 (Monday)

2022 (Sunday)

2021 (Saturday)

2020 (Thursday)

2019 (Wednesday)

2018 (Tuesday)

2017 (Monday)

2016 (Saturday)

2015 (Friday)

February 20 is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 314 days remain until the end of the year (315 in leap years).

• 1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
• 1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark.
• 1521 – Juan Ponce de León sets out from Spain for Florida with about 200 prospective colonists.
• 1547 – Edward VI of England is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.

• 1685 – René-Robert Cavelier establishes Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France's claim to Texas.
• 1792 – The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by United States President George Washington.
• 1798 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier removes Pope Pius VI from power.
• 1813 – Manuel Belgrano defeats the royalist army of Pío de Tristán during the Battle of Salta.
• 1816 – Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville premieres at the Teatro Argentina in Rome.
• 1824 – William Buckland formally announces the name Megalosaurus, the first scientifically validly named non-avian dinosaur species.
• 1835 – The 1835 Concepción earthquake destroys Concepción, Chile.
• 1846 – Polish insurgents lead an uprising in Kraków to incite a fight for national independence.
• 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Olustee: The largest battle fought in Florida during the war.
• 1865 – 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.
• 1872 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City.
• 1877 – Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake receives its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

• 1901 – The legislature of Hawaii Territory convenes for the first time.
• 1905 – The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of Massachusetts's mandatory smallpox vaccination program in Jacobson v. Massachusetts.
• 1909 – Publication of the Futurist Manifesto in the French journal Le Figaro.
• 1913 – King O'Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra.
• 1920 – An earthquake kills between 114 and 130 in Georgia and heavily damages the town of Gori.
• 1931 – The U.S. Congress approves the construction of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge by the state of California.
• 1931 – An anarchist uprising in Encarnación, Paraguay briefly transforms the city into a revolutionary commune.
• 1933 – 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.
• 1933 – Adolf Hitler secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party's upcoming election campaign.
• 1935 – Caroline Mikkelsen becomes the first woman to set foot in Antarctica.
• 1939 – Madison 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.
• 1942 – World War II: Lieutenant Edward O'Hare becomes America's first World War II flying ace.
• 1943 – World War II: American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies.
• 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.
• 1944 – World War II: The "Big Week" began with American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers.
• 1944 – World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Atoll.
• 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.
• 1956 – The United States Merchant Marine Academy becomes a permanent Service Academy.
• 1959 – The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate.
• 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.
• 1965 – Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts.
• 1968 – The China Academy of Space Technology, China's main arm for the research, development, and creation of space satellites, is established in Beijing.
• 1971 – The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert.
• 1979 – An 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.
• 1986 – The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for ten of those years.
• 1988 – The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
• 1991 – In the Albanian capital Tirana, a gigantic statue of Albania's long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down by mobs of angry protesters.
• 1998 – American 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.
• 2003 – During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the Station nightclub ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others.
• 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.
• 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.
• 2010 – In 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.
• 2014 – Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters died in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, many reportedly killed by snipers.
• 2015 – Two trains collide in the Swiss town of Rafz resulting in as many as 49 people injured and Swiss Federal Railways cancelling some services.
• 2016 – Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.

• 1358 – Eleanor of Aragon, queen of John I of Castile (d. 1382)
• 1469 – Thomas Cajetan, Italian philosopher (d. 1534)
• 1523 – Jan Blahoslav, Czech writer (d. 1571)
• 1549 – Francesco Maria II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, last Duke of Urbino (d. 1631)
• 1552 – Sengoku Hidehisa, Daimyō (d. 1614)

• 1608 – Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham (d. 1649)
• 1631 – Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, English politician, Treasurer of the Navy (d. 1712)
• 1633 – Jan de Baen, Dutch painter (d. 1702)
• 1705 – Nicolas Chédeville, French musette player and composer (d. 1782)
• 1726 – William Prescott, American colonel (d. 1795)
• 1745 – Henry James Pye, English poet and politician (d. 1813)
• 1748 – Luther Martin, American politician (d. 1826)
• 1751 – Johann Heinrich Voss, German poet, translator, and academic (d. 1826)
• 1753 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1815)
• 1756 – Angelica Schuyler Church, American socialite, sister-in-law to Alexander Hamilton (d. 1814)
• 1759 – Johann Christian Reil, German physician, physiologist, and anatomist (d. 1813)
• 1774 – Vicente Sebastián Pintado, Spanish cartographer, engineer, military officer and land surveyor of Spanish Louisiana and Spanish West Florida (d. 1829)
• 1784 – Judith Montefiore, British linguist, travel writer, philanthropist (d. 1862)
• 1792 – Eliza Courtney, French daughter of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (d. 1859)
• 1794 – William Carleton, Irish author (d. 1869)
• 1802 – Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1870)
• 1819 – Alfred Escher, Swiss businessman and politician (d. 1882)
• 1839 – Benjamin Waugh, English activist, founded the NSPCC (d. 1908)
• 1844 – Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1906)
• 1844 – Joshua Slocum, Canadian sailor and adventurer (d. 1909)
• 1848 – E. H. Harriman, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1909)
• 1857 – A. P. Lucas, English cricketer (d. 1923)
• 1866 – Carl Westman, Swedish architect, designed the Stockholm Court House and Röhsska Museum (d. 1936)
• 1867 – Louise, Princess Royal of England (d. 1931)
• 1870 – Jay Johnson Morrow, American engineer and politician, 3rd Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (d. 1937)
• 1874 – Mary Garden, Scottish-American soprano and actress (d. 1967)
• 1879 – Hod Stuart, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1907)
• 1880 – Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen, French author and poet (d. 1923)
• 1882 – Elie Nadelman, Polish-American sculptor (d. 1946)
• 1887 – Vincent Massey, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor General of Canada (d. 1967)
• 1888 – Georges Bernanos, French soldier and author (d. 1948)
• 1889 – Hulusi Behçet, Turkish dermatologist and physician (d. 1948)
• 1893 – Elizabeth Holloway Marston, American psychologist and author (d. 1993)
• 1895 – Louis Zborowski, English race car driver and engineer (d. 1924)
• 1897 – Ivan Albright, American painter (d. 1983)
• 1898 – Ante Ciliga, Croatian politician, writer and publisher (d. 1992)
• 1899 – Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1992)

• 1901 – René Dubos, French-American biologist and author (d. 1982)
• 1901 – Louis Kahn, American architect, designed the Salk Institute, the Kimbell Art Museum and the Bangladesh Parliament Building (d. 1974)
• 1901 – Muhammad Naguib, Egyptian general and politician, 1st President of Egypt (d. 1984)
• 1901 – Ramakrishna Ranga Rao of Bobbili, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th Chief Minister of Madras Presidency (d. 1978)
• 1902 – Ansel Adams, American photographer and environmentalist (d. 1984)
• 1906 – Gale Gordon, American actor (d. 1995)
• 1912 – Pierre Boulle, French soldier and author (d. 1994)
• 1912 – Johnny Checketts, New Zealand flying ace of the Second World War (d. 2006)
• 1913 – Tommy Henrich, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2009)
• 1914 – John Charles Daly, South African–American journalist and game show host (d. 1991)
• 1916 – Jean Erdman, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2020)
• 1918 – Leonore Annenberg, American businesswoman and diplomat (d. 2009)
• 1919 – James O'Meara, English soldier and pilot (d. 1974)
• 1920 – Karl Albrecht, German businessman, co-founded Aldi (d. 2014)
• 1921 – Buddy Rogers, American wrestler (d. 1992)
• 1923 – Victor G. Atiyeh, American businessman and politician, 32nd Governor of Oregon (d. 2014)
• 1923 – Forbes Burnham, Guyanese lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Guyana (d. 1985)
• 1923 – Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek actress (d. 2004)
• 1924 – Gloria Vanderbilt, American actress, fashion designer, and socialite (d. 2019)
• 1925 – Robert Altman, American director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
• 1925 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna (d. 1990)
• 1926 – Matthew Bucksbaum, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded General Growth Properties (d. 2013)
• 1926 – Gillian Lynne, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 2018)
• 1926 – Richard Matheson, American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
• 1926 – Bob Richards, American Olympic track and field athlete (d. 2023)
• 1926 – María de la Purísima Salvat Romero, Spanish Roman Catholic nun; later canonized (d. 1998)
• 1927 – Roy Cohn, American lawyer and political activist (d. 1986)
• 1927 – Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban singer and musician (d. 2005)
• 1927 – Hubert de Givenchy, French fashion designer (d. 2018)
• 1927 – Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, director, and diplomat (d. 2022)
• 1928 – Jean Kennedy Smith, American diplomat, 25th United States Ambassador to Ireland (d. 2020)
• 1929 – Amanda Blake, American actress (d. 1989)
• 1931 – John Milnor, American mathematician and academic
• 1932 – Adrian Cristobal, Filipino journalist and author (d. 2007)
• 1934 – Bobby Unser, American race car driver (d. 2021)
• 1935 – Ellen Gilchrist, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 2024)
• 1936 – Marj Dusay, American actress (d. 2020)
• 1936 – Larry Hovis, American actor and singer (d. 2003)
• 1936 – Shigeo Nagashima, Japanese baseball player and coach
• 1937 – Robert Huber, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1937 – Roger Penske, American race car driver and businessman
• 1937 – Nancy Wilson, American singer and actress (d. 2018)
• 1939 – Herbert Kohler Jr., American businessman (d. 2022)
• 1940 – Jimmy Greaves, English footballer and TV pundit (d. 2021)
• 1941 – Lim Kit Siang, Malaysian lawyer and politician
• 1941 – Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1942 – Phil Esposito, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
• 1942 – Mitch McConnell, American lawyer and politician
• 1942 – Claude Miller, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
• 1943 – Antonio Inoki, Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and politician (d. 2022)
• 1943 – Mike Leigh, English director and screenwriter
• 1944 – Robert de Cotret, Canadian economist and politician, 56th Secretary of State for Canada (d. 1999)
• 1944 – Lew Soloff, American trumpet player, composer, and actor (d. 2015)
• 1944 – Willem van Hanegem, Dutch footballer and coach
• 1945 – Alan Hull, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)
• 1946 – Brenda Blethyn, English actress
• 1946 – Sandy Duncan, American actress, singer, and dancer
• 1946 – J. Geils, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
• 1947 – Peter Osgood, English footballer (d. 2006)
• 1947 – Peter Strauss, American actor and producer
• 1948 – Pierre Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
• 1948 – Jennifer O'Neill, American model and actress
• 1949 – Eddie Hemmings, English cricketer
• 1949 – Ivana Trump, Czech-American socialite and model (d. 2022)
• 1950 – Walter Becker, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2017)
• 1950 – Peter Marinello, Scottish footballer
• 1950 – Tony Wilson, English journalist and businessman (d. 2007)
• 1951 – Edward Albert, American actor (d. 2006)
• 1951 – Gordon Brown, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1951 – Randy California, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1997)
• 1951 – Phil Neal, English footballer and manager
• 1953 – Poison Ivy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1954 – Jon Brant, American bass player
• 1954 – Anthony Head, English actor
• 1954 – Patty Hearst, American actress and author
• 1957 – Glen Hanlon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1958 – James Wilby, English actor
• 1959 – Scott Brayton, American race car driver (d. 1996)
• 1959 – David Corn, American journalist and author
• 1959 – Bill Gullickson, American baseball player
• 1960 – Joel Hodgson, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
• 1960 – Cándido Muatetema Rivas, Equatoguinean politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea (d. 2014)
• 1961 – Steve Lundquist, American swimmer
• 1962 – Dwayne McDuffie, American author, screenwriter, and producer, co-founded Milestone Media (d. 2011)
• 1963 – Charles Barkley, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1963 – Ian Brown, English singer-songwriter and musician
• 1963 – Joakim Nystrom, Swedish tennis player
• 1963 – Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Health
• 1963 – Cui Yongyuan, Chinese former anchor
• 1964 – Willie Garson, American actor and director (d. 2021)
• 1964 – Tom Harris, Scottish journalist and politician
• 1964 – Jeff Maggert, American golfer
• 1964 – French Stewart, American actor
• 1966 – Cindy Crawford, American model and businesswoman
• 1967 – Paul Accola, Swiss alpine skier
• 1967 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1994)
• 1967 – David Herman, American comedian and actor
• 1967 – Andrew Shue, American actor and activist, founded Do Something
• 1967 – Lili Taylor, American actress
• 1969 – Kjell Ove Hauge, Norwegian school principal and track and field athlete
• 1969 – Siniša Mihajlović, Serbian footballer and manager (d. 2022)
• 1969 – Danis Tanović, Bosnian director and screenwriter
• 1971 – Jari Litmanen, Finnish footballer
• 1971 – Joost van der Westhuizen, South African rugby player (d. 2017)
• 1973 – Andrea Savage, American actress and comedian
• 1974 – Karim Bagheri, Iranian footballer and manager
• 1975 – Liván Hernández, Cuban-American baseball player
• 1975 – Brian Littrell, American singer-songwriter and actor
• 1977 – Gail Kim, Canadian wrestler
• 1977 – Stephon Marbury, American basketball player
• 1978 – Lauren Ambrose, American actress
• 1978 – Jay Hernandez, American actor
• 1978 – Chelsea Peretti, American actress, comedian, writer, and singer-songwriter
• 1979 – Michael Zegen, American actor
• 1980 – Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby player
• 1980 – Luis Gabriel Rey, Colombian footballer
• 1980 – Artur Boruc, Polish footballer
• 1981 – Majandra Delfino, American actress and singer-songwriter
• 1981 – Tony Hibbert, English footballer
• 1983 – Jose Morales, Puerto Rican baseball player
• 1983 – Justin Verlander, American baseball player
• 1984 – Brian McCann, American baseball player
• 1984 – Trevor Noah, South African comedian, actor, and television host
• 1985 – Killian Dain, Northern Irish wrestler
• 1985 – Ryan Sweeney, American baseball player
• 1985 – Julia Volkova, Russian singer and actress
• 1986 – Julio Borbón, American baseball player
• 1987 – Luke Burgess, English rugby league player
• 1987 – Martin Hanzal, Czech ice hockey player
• 1987 – James Johnson, American basketball player
• 1987 – Daniella Pineda, American actress
• 1987 – Miles Teller, American actor
• 1988 – Ki Bo-bae, South Korean archer
• 1988 – Jiah Khan, Indian singer and actress (d. 2013)
• 1988 – Rihanna, Barbadian singer, songwriter and actress
• 1989 – Jack Falahee, American actor and singer-songwriter
• 1990 – Ciro Immobile, Italian footballer
• 1991 – Hidilyn Diaz, Filipino weightlifter
• 1991 – Angelique van der Meet, Dutch tennis player
• 1993 – Jurickson Profar, Curaçaoan baseball player
• 1994 – Kateryna Baindl, Ukrainian tennis player
• 1994 – Luis Severino, Dominican baseball player
• 1995 – Elle Purrier St. Pierre, American track and field athlete
• 1996 – Clarke Schmidt, American baseball player
• 1998 – Emam Ashour, Egyptian footballer
• 1999 – Jarrett Culver, American basketball player
• 2000 – Josh Sargent, American soccer player
• 2002 – Gavin Bazunu, Irish footballer
• 2003 – Olivia Rodrigo, American actress and singer

• 789 – Leo of Catania, saint and bishop of Catania (b. 709)
• 922 – Theodora, Byzantine empress
• 1054 – Yaroslav the Wise, grand prince of Veliky Novgorod and Kyiv (b. 978)
• 1154 – Saint Wulfric of Haselbury (b. c. 1080)
• 1171 – Conan IV, Duke of Brittany (b. 1138)
• 1194 – Tancred, King of Sicily (b. 1138)
• 1258 – Al-Musta'sim, Iraqi caliph (b. 1213)
• 1408 – Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, English politician, Earl Marshal of England (b. 1341)
• 1431 – Pope Martin V (b. 1368)
• 1458 – Lazar Branković, Despot of Serbia
• 1513 – King John of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (b. 1455)
• 1524 – Tecun Uman, Mayan ruler (b. 1500)
• 1579 – Nicholas Bacon, English politician (b. 1509)

• 1618 – Philip William, Prince of Orange (b. 1554)
• 1626 – John Dowland, English lute player and composer (b. 1563)
• 1762 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer and academic (b. 1723)
• 1771 – Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan, French geophysicist and astronomer (b. 1678)
• 1773 – Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia (b. 1701)
• 1778 – Laura Bassi, Italian physicist and scholar (b. 1711)
• 1790 – Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1741)
• 1806 – Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-American general and politician (b. 1725)
• 1810 – Andreas Hofer, Tyrolean rebel leader (b. 1767)
• 1850 – Valentín Canalizo, Mexican general and politician. 14th President (1843–1844) (b. 1794)
• 1862 – William Wallace Lincoln, American son of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1850)
• 1871 – Paul Kane, Irish-Canadian painter (b. 1810)
• 1893 – P. G. T. Beauregard, American general (b. 1818)
• 1895 – Frederick Douglass, American author and activist (b. c. 1818)
• 1900 – Washakie, American tribal leader (b. 1798)

• 1907 – Henri Moissan, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
• 1916 – Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Swedish journalist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1844)
• 1920 – Jacinta Marto, Portuguese saint (b. 1910)
• 1920 – Robert Peary, American admiral and explorer (b. 1856)
• 1933 – Takiji Kobayashi, Japanese writer (b. 1903)
• 1936 – Max Schreck, German actor (b. 1879)
• 1957 – Sadri Maksudi Arsal, Turkish scholar and politician (b. 1878)
• 1961 – Percy Grainger, Australian-American pianist and composer (b. 1882)
• 1963 – Jacob Gade, Danish violinist and composer (b. 1879)
• 1965 – Michał Waszyński, Polish film director and producer (b. 1904)
• 1966 – Chester W. Nimitz, American admiral (b. 1885)
• 1968 – Anthony Asquith, English director and screenwriter (b. 1902)
• 1969 – Ernest Ansermet, Swiss conductor (b. 1883)
• 1972 – Maria Goeppert-Mayer, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
• 1972 – Walter Winchell, American journalist and actor (b. 1897)
• 1976 – René Cassin, French lawyer and judge, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
• 1976 – Kathryn Kuhlman, healing evangelist, known for belief in Holy Spirit (b. 1907)
• 1981 – Nicolas de Gunzburg, French-American banker and publisher (b. 1904)
• 1987 – Wayne Boring, American illustrator (b. 1905)
• 1992 – A. J. Casson, Canadian painter (b. 1898)
• 1992 – Dick York, American actor (b. 1928)
• 1993 – Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian businessman, founded Lamborghini (b. 1916)
• 1993 – Ernest L. Massad, American general (b. 1908)
• 1996 – Solomon Asch, American psychologist and academic (b. 1907)
• 1996 – Audrey Munson, American model (b. 1891)
• 1996 – Toru Takemitsu, Japanese pianist, guitarist, and composer (b. 1930)
• 1999 – Sarah Kane, English playwright (b. 1971)
• 1999 – Gene Siskel, American journalist and critic (b. 1946)
• 2001 – Rosemary DeCamp, American actress (b. 1910)
• 2001 – Donella Meadows, American environmentalist, author, and academic (b. 1941)
• 2003 – Mushaf Ali Mir, Pakistani air marshal (b. 1947)
• 2003 – Maurice Blanchot, French philosopher and author (b. 1907)
• 2003 – Orville Freeman, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 29th Governor of Minnesota (b. 1918)
• 2005 – Sandra Dee, American actress (b. 1942)
• 2005 – Josef Holeček, Czechoslovakian canoeist (b. 1921)
• 2005 – John Raitt, American actor and singer (b. 1917)
• 2005 – Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (b. 1937)
• 2006 – Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster (b. 1919)
• 2006 – Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist and author (b. 1920)
• 2008 – Emily Perry, English actress and dancer (b. 1907)
• 2009 – Larry H. Miller, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1944)
• 2010 – Alexander Haig, American general and politician, 59th United States Secretary of State (b. 1924)
• 2012 – Knut Torbjørn Eggen, Norwegian footballer and manager (b. 1960)
• 2012 – Katie Hall, American educator and politician (b. 1938)
• 2013 – Kenji Eno, Japanese game designer and composer (b. 1970)
• 2013 – David S. McKay, American biochemist and geologist (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Antonio Roma, Argentinian footballer (b. 1932)
• 2014 – Rafael Addiego Bruno, Uruguayan jurist and politician, President of Uruguay (b. 1923)
• 2014 – Walter D. Ehlers, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Garrick Utley, American journalist (b. 1939)
• 2015 – Govind Pansare, Indian author and activist (b. 1933)
• 2015 – Henry Segerstrom, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1923)
• 2015 – John C. Willke, American physician, author, and activist (b. 1925)
• 2016 – Fernando Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest and politician (b. 1934)
• 2017 – Vitaly Churkin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United Nations (b. 1952)
• 2017 – Mildred Dresselhaus, American physicist (b. 1930)
• 2017 – Steve Hewlett, British journalist (b. 1958)
• 2020 – Joaquim Pina Moura, Portuguese Minister of Economy and Treasury and MP (b. 1952)
• 2021 – Nurul Haque Miah, Bangladeshi professor and writer (b. 1944)
• 2021 – Mauro Bellugi, Italian footballer (b. 1950)
• 2024 – Andreas Brehme, German footballer (b. 1960)
• 2024 – Yoko Yamamoto, Japanese actress (b. 1942)

• Christian feast day:
  • Eleutherius of Tournai
  • Eucherius of Orléans
  • Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto
  • Frederick Douglass (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Wulfric of Haselbury
  • February 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Day of Heavenly Hundred Heroes (Ukraine)
• World Day of Social Justice

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Historical Events on February 20