Date·Lore

On This Day · The 51st day of the year

February 20

February 20 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1339 and 1988. The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.

♓ZodiacPisces ◈BirthstoneAmethyst ❀Birth flowerViolet

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on February 20?

February 20 is the 51st day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1339 and 1988. Famous people born on February 20 include Kurt Cobain, Gordon Brown and Karl Albrecht.

The shape of the day

February 20's record stretches 649 years, from 1339 to 1988. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and conflict is a recurring thread.

Pisces is the sign for February 20 — read more on the Pisces page, or see February's birthstone & birth flower.

Released on February 20

Movies, games, albums & shows

2026

  • Movie Protector

2025

  • Game Cabernet

2024

  • Game Balatro
  • Game Nightingale

2023

  • Game My Dream Setup

2022

  • TV FROM

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1339

    Milan

    The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.

  2. 1835

    1835 Concepción earthquake

    The 1835 Concepción earthquake destroys Concepción, Chile.

  3. 1864

    American Civil War

    American Civil War: Battle of Olustee: The largest battle fought in Florida during the war.

  4. 1872

    Metropolitan Museum of Art

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City.

  5. 1933

    Adolf Hitler

    Adolf Hitler secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party's upcoming election campaign.

  6. 1942

    World War II

    World War II: Lieutenant Edward O'Hare becomes America's first World War II flying ace.

  7. 1943

    The Saturday Evening Post

    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.

  8. 1962

    Project Mercury

    Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes.

  9. 1965

    Ranger 8

    Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts.

  10. 1988

    Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast

    The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Famous birthday twins

Born on February 20

Kurt Cobain

b. 1967

American musician

Gordon Brown

b. 1951

Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Karl Albrecht

b. 1920

German businessman, co-founded Aldi

Antonio Inoki

b. 1943

Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and politician

Robert Altman

b. 1925

American director and screenwriter

Johann Heinrich Voss

b. 1751

German poet, translator, and academic

Robert Huber

b. 1937

German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Ludwig Boltzmann

b. 1844

Austrian physicist and philosopher

Deaths

  • 2017Mildred Dresselhaus
  • 1972Maria Goeppert Mayer
  • 1936Max Schreck
  • 1810Andreas Hofer
  • 1762Tobias Mayer
  • 1524Tecun Uman

Holidays & observances

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

Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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