2016 Kalamazoo shootings
Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.
What happened on February 20
35 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1685 to 2025.
Standout on February 20
2015
Rafz train crash
Two trains collide in the Swiss town of Rafz resulting in as many as 49 people injured and Swiss Federal Railways cancelling some services.
About February 20
February 20 is the 51st day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 51 of 365 (51 in leap years)314 days left in the year (315 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Friday in 2026, Saturday in 2027, Sunday in 2028, Tuesday in 2029, Wednesday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 8 of 2026 · Q1
- Zodiac sign
- ♓ Pisces (February 19 – March 20)Cusp date — the exact boundary shifts by a day in some years.
- Season
- Winter in the north · Summer in the south
- February birthstone
- Amethystcalm, clarity and courage
- February birth flower
- Violet / Primrosefaithfulness and young love
- Next occurrence
- In 116 days
- Roman numerals
- XX.IIday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 70thUnited States Merchant Marine Academy1956
- 40thSoviet Union1986
- 30thClarke Schmidt1996
- 10th2016 Kalamazoo shootings2016
- 10thFernando Cardenal2016
- 5thMauro Bellugi2021
- 5thNurul Haque Miah2021
- 1stDavid Boren2025
February 20 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- 2016 Kalamazoo shootings · Fernando Cardenal
- 25 years ago2001
- Nothing recorded
- 50 years ago1976
- Nothing recorded
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on February 20 — ages this year
- 2004Jared McCainturns 22
- 2003Olivia Rodrigoturns 23
- 2002Gavin Bazunuturns 24
- 2000Josh Sargentturns 26
- 1999Jarrett Culverturns 27
- 1998Emam Ashourturns 28
Historical events 35
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Rafz train crash
Two trains collide in the Swiss town of Rafz resulting in as many as 49 people injured and Swiss Federal Railways cancelling some services.
Euromaidan
Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters die in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, many reportedly killed by snipers.
Madeira
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.
2010 Madeira floods and mudslides
Severe flooding and mudslides on the island of Madeira, Portugal, killed 51 people.
2009 suicide air raid on Colombo
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.
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Tamil Tigers attempted to crash two aircraft laden with C-4 in suicide attacks on Colombo, Sri Lanka, but the planes were shot down before they reached their targets.
2005 Spanish European Constitution referendum
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.
Great White
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.
2002 El Ayyat railway accident
A cooking gas cylinder explodes on board an Egyptian National Railways train in El Ayyat, causing a fire and killing over 370 people.
Figure skating
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.
Tara Lipinski
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.
Larry King Live
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.
Tirana
In the Albanian capital Tirana, a gigantic statue of Albania's long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down by mobs of angry protesters.
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast
The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast voted to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for ten of those years.
Earthquake
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.
Emergency Broadcast System
The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert.
Wat Phra Dhammakaya
Wat Phra Dhammakaya, one of the largest Buddhist temples in Thailand, was founded in Pathum Thani.
China Academy of Space Technology
The China Academy of Space Technology, China's main arm for the research, development, and creation of space satellites, is established in Beijing.
Ranger 8
The NASA spacecraft Ranger 8 spacecraft transmitted 7,137 photographs of the Moon in the final 23 minutes of its mission before crashing as planned into Mare Tranquillitatis.
Project Mercury
The Project Mercury stamp, designed by Charles R. Chickering, was released to commemorate the successful space flight of Colonel John Glenn.
Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow
The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate.
John Diefenbaker
Canadian prime minister John Diefenbaker cancelled the Avro CF-105 Arrow (pictured) interceptor-aircraft program amid much political debate.
United States Merchant Marine Academy
The United States Merchant Marine Academy becomes a permanent Service Academy.
Emmett Ashford
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 Saturday Evening Post
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.
Fissure vent
A fissure opened in a cornfield in the Mexican state of Michoacán and continued to erupt for nine years, forming the cinder cone Parícutin .
Taking of Encarnación
Paraguayan anarchists briefly seized the city of Encarnación as part of a larger plan to initiate a social revolution in the country.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
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.
American Civil War
American Civil War: The Union Army suffered a one-in-three casualty rate at the Battle of Olustee near Lake City, Florida.
Free City of Cracow
Polish insurgents in the Free City of Kraków led an uprising (depicted) attempting to incite a fight for national independence that was put down by the Austrian Empire nine days later.
1835 Concepción earthquake
An earthquake registering approximately 8.5 Mw devastated Concepción, Chile, and triggered a tsunami that destroyed neighbouring Talcahuano.
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, an opera buffa composed by Gioachino Rossini, premiered at the Teatro Argentina in Rome to jeers from the audience.
French colonization of Texas
The French colonization of Texas began with the landing of colonists led by Robert de La Salle near Matagorda Bay.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
David Boren
David Boren, American lawyer and politician, 21st Governor of Oklahoma (born 1941)
Joaquim Pina Moura
Joaquim Pina Moura, Portuguese Minister of Economy and Treasury and MP (born 1952)
Vitaly Churkin
Vitaly Churkin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United Nations (born 1952)
Rafael Addiego Bruno
Rafael Addiego Bruno, Uruguayan jurist and politician, President of Uruguay (born 1923)
Walter D. Ehlers
Walter D. Ehlers, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1921)
Holidays & observances 8
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Francisco and Jacinta Marto
Christian feast day: Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto
Frederick Douglass
Christian feast day: Frederick Douglass (Episcopal Church (USA))
February 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Christian feast day: February 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Julia Rodzińska
Christian feast day: Julia Rodzińska
Eleutherius of Tournai
Christian feast day: Eleutherius of Tournai
Eucherius of Orléans
Christian feast day: Eucherius of Orléans
Wulfric of Haselbury
Christian feast day: Wulfric of Haselbury
Maidan casualties
Day of Heavenly Hundred Heroes (Ukraine)
Spread across the centuries
- 17th century1
- 19th century5
- 20th century36
- 21st century33
Earliest: French colonization of Texas (1685). Most recent: David Boren (2025).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about February 20
What day of the year is February 20?
February 20 is the 51st day of the year, with 314 days left after it.
What star sign is February 20?
February 20 falls under Pisces (February 19 – March 20), a water sign ruled by Neptune (traditionally Jupiter). The birthstone for the month is Amethyst.
How many things happened on February 20?
We record 83 entries for February 20: 35 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1685 to 2025.
Who was born on February 20?
Jared McCain (2004) is among the notable births on February 20. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the February 20 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like February 20
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.