20 February in history
6 events that happened on 20 February, from 1472 to 1986.
✦ Anniversary of the day
1547 CE 479 years ago
Nine-year-old Edward VI is crowned
Henry VIII's only son was crowned at Westminster Abbey. Under his regents England became firmly Protestant, but Edward died aged fifteen in 1553.
1792 CE 234 years ago
Washington signs the Postal Service Act
The act established the US Post Office on a permanent footing and allowed newspapers to be mailed cheaply. It helped bind together a scattered young republic.
1872 CE 154 years ago
Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York
The museum opened in a former dance academy on Fifth Avenue with a modest collection. It moved to Central Park in 1880 and grew into one of the world's largest art museums.
1962 CE 64 years ago
John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit Earth
Aboard Friendship 7, Glenn circled the Earth three times in under five hours. Ten months after Yuri Gagarin's flight, it restored American confidence in the space race.
1986 CE 40 years ago
Soviet Union launches the core of the Mir space station
Mir's first module was launched from Baikonur. Expanded over ten years, the station hosted crews from many nations and was continuously occupied for almost a decade before its re-entry in 2001.
