On this day: 20 February

Selected events and births on 20 February, from Wikipedia’s “On this day”.

Events

• 1816 – The Barber of Seville, an opera buffa composed by Gioachino Rossini, premiered at the Teatro Argentina in Rome to jeers from the audience. Read more: The Barber of Seville Opera buffa Gioachino Rossini
• 1846 – Polish insurgents in the Free City of Kraków led an uprising attempting to incite a fight for national independence that was put down by the Austrian Empire nine days later. Read more: Free City of Cracow Kraków Uprising Austrian Empire
• 1872 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art , today the largest art museum in the United States with a collection of more than two million works, opened in New York. Read more: Metropolitan Museum of Art
• 1943 – A fissure opened in a cornfield in the Mexican state of Michoacán and continued to erupt for nine years, forming the cinder cone Parícutin . Read more: Fissure vent Michoacán Cinder cone
• 1943 – 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. Read more: The Saturday Evening Post Norman Rockwell Four Freedoms (Rockwell)
• 1959 – Canadian prime minister John Diefenbaker cancelled the Avro CF-105 Arrow interceptor-aircraft program amid much political debate. Read more: John Diefenbaker Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow Interceptor aircraft
• 1962 – The Project Mercury stamp, designed by Charles R. Chickering, was released to commemorate the successful space flight of Colonel John Glenn. Read more: Project Mercury Charles R. Chickering Mercury-Atlas 6
• 1970 – Wat Phra Dhammakaya, one of the largest Buddhist temples in Thailand, was founded in Pathum Thani. Read more: Wat Phra Dhammakaya Pathum Thani province
• 1992 – 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. Read more: Larry King Live Ross Perot Ross Perot 1992 presidential campaign
• 1998 – At the age of 15, American figure skater Tara Lipinski became the then-youngest winner of an Olympic gold medal in the history of the Winter Olympic Games. Read more: Figure skating Tara Lipinski Olympic medal

Born on this day

• 1937 – Robert Huber, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Read more: Robert Huber Nobel Prize in Chemistry
• 1951 – Gordon Brown, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Read more: Gordon Brown Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1963 – Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Health Read more: Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou Ministry of Health (Greece)
• 1994 – Kateryna Baindl, Ukrainian tennis player Read more: Kateryna Baindl
• 1995 – Elle Purrier St. Pierre, American track and field athlete Read more: Elle Purrier St. Pierre
• 1996 – Clarke Schmidt, American baseball player Read more: Clarke Schmidt
• 1998 – Emam Ashour, Egyptian footballer Read more: Emam Ashour
• 1999 – Jarrett Culver, American basketball player Read more: Jarrett Culver
• 2000 – Josh Sargent, American soccer player Read more: Josh Sargent
• 2002 – Gavin Bazunu, Irish footballer Read more: Gavin Bazunu
• 2003 – Olivia Rodrigo, American actress and singer Read more: Olivia Rodrigo
• 2004 – Jared McCain, American basketball player Read more: Jared McCain

Text from Wikipedia: Selected anniversaries / February 20 and the linked articles, via the Wikimedia “On this day” feed, under CC BY-SA 4.0. We leave out entries about wars, violence and disasters to keep this page family-friendly.