Summary of the Day ✨ 20 February (20/02)
Deadly disasters strike globally as floods and mudslides kill at least 43 in Portugal’s Madeira Island while dozens of anti-government protesters die in Ukraine’s Kyiv amid sniper attacks. In separate incidents, six people are killed in Michigan shootings, 49 are injured in a Swiss train collision, and Sri Lankan military foils a Tamil kamikaze attack targeting an airforce headquarters.
Historical Events 📜
- 2016: Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.
- 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.
- 2014: Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters die in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, many reportedly killed by snipers.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 2002: A cooking gas cylinder explodes on board an Egyptian National Railways train in El Ayyat, causing a fire and killing over 370 people.
- 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.
- 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.
- 1988: The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
- 1986: The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for ten of those years.
- 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.
- 1971: The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert.
- 1968: The China Academy of Space Technology, China’s main arm for the research, development, and creation of space satellites, is established in Beijing.
Famous Births 👶
- 2004: Jared McCain, American basketball player
- 2003: Olivia Rodrigo, American actress and singer
- 2002: Gavin Bazunu, Irish footballer
- 2000: Josh Sargent, American soccer player
- 1999: Jarrett Culver, American basketball player
- 1998: Emam Ashour, Egyptian footballer
- 1996: Clarke Schmidt, American baseball player
- 1995: Elle Purrier St. Pierre, American track and field athlete
- 1994: Kateryna Baindl, Ukrainian tennis player
- 1994: Luis Severino, Dominican baseball player
- 1993: Jurickson Profar, Curaçaoan baseball player
- 1991: Hidilyn Diaz, Filipino weightlifter
- 1991: Angelique van der Meet, Dutch tennis player
- 1991: Sally Rooney, Irish novelist
- 1990: Ciro Immobile, Italian footballer
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: David Boren, American lawyer and politician, 21st Governor of Oklahoma (born 1941)
- 2025: Jerry Butler, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1939)
- 2025: Peter Jason, American actor (born 1944)
- 2024: Andreas Brehme, German footballer (born 1960)
- 2024: Yoko Yamamoto, Japanese actress (born 1942)
- 2021: Nurul Haque Miah, Bangladeshi professor and writer (born 1944)
- 2021: Mauro Bellugi, Italian footballer (born 1950)
- 2020: Joaquim Pina Moura, Portuguese Minister of Economy and Treasury and MP (born 1952)
- 2017: Vitaly Churkin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United Nations (born 1952)
- 2017: Mildred Dresselhaus, American physicist (born 1930)
- 2017: Steve Hewlett, British journalist (born 1958)
- 2016: Fernando Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest and politician (born 1934)
- 2015: Govind Pansare, Indian author and activist (born 1933)
- 2015: Henry Segerstrom, American businessman and philanthropist (born 1923)
- 2015: John C. Willke, American physician, author, and activist (born 1925)
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)
- World Day of Social Justice