Notable Birthdays for February 20
Angelina Grimké (1805-1879) - Women's rights activist.
Henry Walton Wessells (1809-1889) - Brigadier General for the Union Army.
James Barbour Terrill (1838-1864) - Brigadier General for the Confederate Army.
Elizabeth Holloway Marston (1893-1993) - Co-developer of systolic blood pressure measurement used to detect deception.
Ansel Adams (1902-1984) - Photographer remembered for his black and white photos of American West.
Gloria Vanderbilt (1924-2019) - Famous fashion designer.
Robert Altman (1925-2006) - Screenwriter who wrote M*A*S*H (1970), Thieves Like Us (1974), and Popeye (1980).
Kenneth H Olsen (1926-2011) - Co-founder of the Digital Equipment Corporation.
Matthew Bucksbaum (1926-2013) - Co-founder of General Growth Properties.
Amanda Blake (1929-1989) - Actress who played Miss Kitty Russell on Gunsmoke.
John Milnor (1931-Still Living) - Mathematician known for his work in algebraic K-theory.
Ellen Gilchrist (1935-2024) - Short story writer credited with writing Victory Over Japan.
Raven Wilkinson (1935-2018) - First Black woman to dance with major ballet company.
Sandy Duncan (1946-Still Living) - Actress known for her performance in the Peter Pan (Broadway).
J. Geils (1946-2017) - Guitarist and founder of the J. Geils Band.
Dwayne McDuffie (1962-2011) - Co-founder of Milestone Media.
Cindy Crawford (1966-Still Living) - Model and businesswoman.
Kurt Cobain (1967-1994) -Singer-songwriter and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana.
Andrew Shue (1967-Still Living) - Founder of Do Something.
Memorable Events for February 20
1792 - President George Washington signs The Postal Service Act, establishing the U.S. Post Office.
1809 - The Supreme Court rules the federal government has more power than any state.
1865 - MIT forms as an architectural school.
1873 - The first Medical School opens at the University of California.
1905 - The Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of MA's mandatory smallpox vaccination.
1909 - The Hudson Motor Car Company is founded in Detroit, MI.
1939 - The largest pro-Nazi rally in U.S. convenes in Madison Square Garden.
1942 - Lieutenant Edward O'Hare becomes the first World War II flying ace.
1943 - American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies.
1943 - Phil Wrigley & B Rickey charter the All-American Girls Softball League.
1944 - American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers begins.
1944 - The Batman and Robin comic strip is printed for the first time in newspapers.
1949 - The first International Pancake Race is held in KS.
1956 - The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy becomes a permanent Service Academy.
1971 - The Emergency Broadcast System accidentally activates in a national alert.