Today's Trivia and What Happened on February 20

What did the southern hippie call his wife?

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Mississippi.

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Quote: They laugh at me because I'm different; I laugh at them because they're all the same. - Kurt Cobain

Quote: They laugh at me because I'm different; I laugh at them because they're all the same. - Kurt Cobain Close Large View

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What Happened On

Nuclear Attack Scare go to Video for Nuclear Attack Scare

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Nuclear Attack Scare

February 20, 1971

An "emergency nuclear attack warning" is broadcast on U.S. television and radio when the National Emergency Warning Center accidentally sent out the warning. For the next 40 minutes, regularly scheduled programming was put on hold while listeners waited to hear an announcement from the White House. After the operators realized their mistake, they tried to cancel the alert. However, they were unable to find the correct cancellation code word, "impish", so many stations ignored the cancellation.

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John Glenn (left) and entering the Friendship 7 John Glenn (left) and entering the Friendship 7

John Glenn (left) and entering the Friendship 7 John Glenn (left) and entering the Friendship 7
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First American to Orbit the Earth

February 20, 1962

John Glenn in the Friendship 7. Glenn circled the globe three times in 4 hours and 56 minutes, reaching speeds of more than 17,000 miles per hour. The successful mission concluded with a splashdown and recovery in the Atlantic Ocean, 800 miles southeast of Bermuda.

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1955 T-Bird 1955 T-Bird
Photo Credit: Nminow

1955 T-Bird 1955 T-Bird
Photo Credit: Nminow
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Thunderbird

February 20, 1954

Ford unveils their new two-seater "personal luxury" car, the Thunderbird, at the Detroit auto show. Ford built it to compete with Chevrolet's Corvette, however, they emphasized its comfort and drivability more than its sportiness. Ford marketed it as a "personal luxury" car, a niche they created because they felt the market for sports cars was too small.
The 1955 model Thunderbird sold 16,155 units, compared to Corvette's 700 units for that year.
Feeling that a two-seater limited sales, the Thunderbird was redesigned as a four-seater for 1958. Over the next few years, sales of the new four-seat version were almost triple that of the previous two-seat model.

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U.S. Navy's First Flying Ace

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U.S. Navy's First Flying Ace

February 20, 1942

Edward "Butch" O'Hare single-handedly attacks nine Japanese bombers, shooting down five, saving the USS Lexington from certain destruction. These actions made him the U.S. Navy's first flying ace, and the Navy's first WWII recipient of the Medal of Honor. He died in action the following year.

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Authorities Destroying Illegal Alcohol Authorities Destroying Illegal Alcohol

Authorities Destroying Illegal Alcohol Authorities Destroying Illegal Alcohol
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Prohibition

February 20, 1933

The 21st Amendment, repealing prohibition, is passed by the House of Representatives and sent to the states for ratification.
Federal prohibition had been in effect as per the 18th Amendment since 1920 and while it did not prohibit the consumption of alcohol, it did ban the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcoholic beverages.

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Square-Bottomed Paper Bag

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Square-Bottomed Paper Bag

February 20, 1872

American inventor Luther Childs Crowell receives a patent for the first machine to make square-bottomed paper bags. "My invention relates to the manufacture of square-bottomed bags; and consists in so folding and cementing a strip of paper that when cut into sections of suitable length, one end being closed by one fold, the bottom of the bag or case thus formed when opened or filled will assume a quadrangular shape." U.S. Patent #123,811 and 123,812.

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Burr shooting Hamilton Burr shooting Hamilton

Burr shooting Hamilton Burr shooting Hamilton
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Dueling Outlawed in Washington D.C.

February 20, 1839

Congress bans pistol dueling in Washington D.C. The legislation was prompted after Kentucky Representative William Graves killed Maine Representative Jonathan Cilley in a duel the previous year. Cilley had called New York newspaper editor James Watson Webb's coverage of Congress biased and corrupt. Webb asked his friend and political ally Graves to deliver his duel challenge to Cilley. When Cilley refused to accept the letter, Graves decided that the manner in which Cilley rejected the letter was an insult to his honor, so he then challenged Cilley to a duel. Cilley felt honor bound to accept. Cilley was shot in the femoral artery during the duel and bled to death within minutes.
In 1804, U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr had killed former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in a duel.
In 1806, future U.S. President Andrew Jackson killed Charles Dickinson in a duel.
In 1842, future U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was challenged to a duel, but it was called off at the last minute and the two duelers became friends.

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End of the World

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End of the World

February 20, 1524

German mathematician and astronomer, Johannes Stöffler predicted a world-wide flood would occur on this date. He chose this date due to the numerous planetary conjunctions that would occur in the sign of Pisces (the water sign). As the designated day approached, 20,000 Londoners left their homes and headed for higher ground. Count Von Iggleheim had built a three-story ark for the occasion. When it started to rain, riots broke out among those trying to get a seat on his ark. Hundreds were killed and the Count was stoned to death.
Stöffler later recalculated the date to be 1528.
Source www.randi.org.

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Iraq War - Welcome to Iraq

February 20, 2003

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on how the U.S. troops would be greeted by the Iraqi people: "There is no question but that they would be welcomed… Go back to Afghanistan, the people were in the streets playing music, cheering, flying kites, and doing all the things that the Taliban and the al-Qaeda would not let them do."

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Noah's Ark Hoax

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Noah's Ark Hoax

February 20, 1993

CBS broadcasts The Incredible Discovery of Noah's Ark to an estimated 20,000,000 viewers. It included George Jammal's claim to have seen the ark on Mt. Ararat in Turkey and to have brought back a piece of wood from it. Gerald Larue, a biblical scholar, later admitted to helping Jammal - who had never even been to Mt. Ararat - concoct the story.

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Ross Perot

February 20, 1992

Texas billionaire Ross Perot announces on Larry King's talk show that he would run for U.S. President if the people put him on the ballot in all 50 states.

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Only U.S. Battleship Not Named for a State

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Only U.S. Battleship Not Named for a State

February 20, 1900

The USS Kearsarge (BB-5) is commissioned.

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Toothpick

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Toothpick

February 20, 1872

American inventors Silas Noble and James P. Cooley receive a patent for the first toothpick manufacturing machine.

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Birthdays

Kenneth Olsen

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Kenneth Olsen

Born February 20, 1926 d. 2011

American businessman. He co-founded the computer giant Digital Equipment Corporation (1957) with his brother Stan Olsen and Harlan Anderson. In 1977, he declared, "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home."

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The Tetons and the Snake River (1942) The Tetons and the Snake River (1942)

The Tetons and the Snake River (1942) The Tetons and the Snake River (1942)
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Ansel Adams

Born February 20, 1902 d. 1984

American photographer. Famous for his black and white photographs of the California's Yosemite Valley.

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Kurt Cobain

Born February 20, 1967 d. 1994

American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer, songwriter, guitarist, with Nirvana. Music: Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991).
In 1987, Cobain formed Nirvana with Krist Novoselic and Aaron Burckhard and established it as part of the Seattle music scene that later became known as grunge. Cobain was found dead in his Seattle home on April 8, 1994, at the age of 27. Investigators concluded he had died on April 5 from a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.
Quote: They laugh at me because I'm different; I laugh at them because they're all the same.

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Cindy Crawford

Born February 20, 1966

American model, actress. She has appeared on more than 300 magazine covers. TV: MTV's House of Style (host).

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Patty Hearst (right) Robbing Bank Patty Hearst (right) Robbing Bank

Patty Hearst (right) Robbing Bank Patty Hearst (right) Robbing Bank
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Patty Hearst (Patricia Campbell Hearst)

Born February 20, 1954

American newspaper heiress, bank robber. After she was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army (1974), she joined them in a bank robbery for which she was convicted. She claimed Stockholm Syndrome, in which hostages bond with their captors, as her defense. U.S. President Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence in 1979 and President Bill Clinton gave her a full pardon in 2001.

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Catherine (b1952), Carol (b1953), Charles (b1956), Claudia (b1961), Cecilia (b1966) Cummins

Born February 20, 1952

American birth oddities. These five siblings are all natural born children of Carolyn and Ralph Cummins and were each born February 20th of different years. Source: Guinness Book of World Records

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Sandy Duncan

Born February 20, 1946

American actress. Film: $1,000,000 Duck (1971) and The Cat From Outer Space (1977).

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Jerome Geils

Born February 20, 1946 d. 2017

American guitarist, founder of J. Geils Band. Music: Must Have Got Lost (1974), Freeze-Frame (1981), and Centerfold (1981, #1).

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Barbara Laine Ellis

Born February 20, 1940

American singer, with the high school group The Fleetwoods. Music: Come Softly to Me (1959, #1) and Mr. Blue (1959, #1).

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Richard Beymer

Born February 20, 1938

American actor. Film: West Side Story (1961, Tony). TV: Twin Peaks (1990-1991, 2017 Benjamin Horne).

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Nancy Wilson go to Video for Nancy Wilson

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Nancy Wilson

Born February 20, 1937 d. 2018

American Grammy-winning soul, jazz singer. Music: (You Don't Know) How Glad I Am (1964) and her version of the standard Guess Who I Saw Today (1960).

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Bobby Unser

Born February 20, 1934 d. 2021

American Hall of Fame auto racer. Three-time Indy 500 winner (1968, 75, 81).

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Amanda Blake

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Amanda Blake (Beverly Louise Neill)

Born February 20, 1929 d. 1989

American actress. Amanda Blake is best known for her portrayal of Miss Kitty Russell on TV's Gunsmoke (1955-74). She had a pet lion named Kemo that she would bring onto the Gunsmoke set. She and her husband operated an animal compound at her home, where Kemo lived, and ran an experimental breeding program for cheetahs.

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Sidney Poitier

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Sidney Poitier

Born February 20, 1927 d. 2022

American Oscar-winning actor. Film: The Blackboard Jungle (1955) and Lilies of the Field (1963, for which he became the first black to win a Best Actor Oscar). He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009) by U.S. President Barack Obama.

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Richard Matheson

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Richard Matheson

Born February 20, 1926 d. 2013

American author. Writings: I Am Legend (1954), which was made into the movies The Last Man on Earth (1964), The Omega Man (1971), I Am Legend (2007), and was the inspiration for Night of the Living Dead (1968). Matheson also wrote The Shrinking Man (1956) which was filmed as The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957). Film: Trilogy of Terror (1975). TV: He wrote 16 episodes for The Twilight Zone and the Star Trek episode The Enemy Within (1966).

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Robert Altman

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Robert Altman

Born February 20, 1925 d. 2006

American film director. Known for his use of overlapping dialogue from multiple actors, he is ranked as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in American cinema. Film: M*A*S*H (1970) and Nashville (1975).

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Pierre François Boulle

Born February 20, 1912 d. 1994

French author. Boulle was a secret agent with the Free French in Singapore. He was captured and spent two years in forced labor, which he used for the basis of his semi-fictional novel The Bridge over the River Kwai (1952) which was made into a movie in 1957.
He also wrote Planet of the Apes (1963), which was made into the 1968 movie.

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Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney

Born February 20, 1899 d. 1992

American businessman, co-founder of Pan American Airways (1927) and co-producer of Gone with the Wind (1939).

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Howard Atwood Kelly

Born February 20, 1858 d. 1943

American surgeon, gynecologist. He developed the open cystoscope, used to introduce light into the interior of the body, and was a pioneer in use of radium to treat cancer.

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William Prescott

Born February 20, 1726 d. 1795

American soldier. At the Battle of Bunker Hill (1775), he proclaimed, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes."

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Deaths

Clarence Nash

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Voice of Donald Duck

Clarence Nash

Died February 20, 1985 b. 1904

American voice actor. Voice of Donald Duck and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

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Joseph Banks Rhine

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Father of Modern Parapsychology

Joseph Banks Rhine

Died February 20, 1980 b. 1895

American parapsychologist. Known as the "Father of Modern Parapsychology", he coined the term "extrasensory perception" (ESP) to describe the ability to acquire information without the use of the known senses. He conducted a series of experiments using the familiar ESP cards, known as Zener cards, picturing wavy lines, square, circle, star, and cross. He also co-edited Parapsychology Today. Some of his subjects in his Zener card experiments showed results greater than expected from random chance and looked very promising. However, after correcting experimental flaws in his test design, the scientific community has not been able to replicate Rhine's results.

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Alice Roosevelt Longworth

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Alice Roosevelt Longworth

Died February 20, 1980 b. 1884

American socialite. She was the daughter of U.S. President (1901-1909) Theodore Roosevelt. Known for her unconventional lifestyle, she smoked cigarettes in public, rode in cars with men, stayed out late partying, kept a pet snake named Emily Spinach in the White House, was seen placing bets with a bookie, and frequently interrupted oval office meetings to offer political advice. Her father, President Roosevelt, once commented, "I can either run the country or I can attend to Alice, but I cannot possibly do both".
She became known to the American people as "Princess Alice".
Known for her numerous affairs, her only child was the result of an affair with Senator William Borah.
Quote: "If you can't say something good about someone, sit right here by me."

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Walter Winchell

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America, Love It Or Leave It

Walter Winchell

Died February 20, 1972 b. 1897

American journalist. He popularized the phrase "America, love it or leave it" (1950s), which he used in defense of Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist witch hunts. TV: The Untouchables (1959-63, narrator).

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Schreck and as vampire Count Orlok in Nosferatu Schreck and as vampire Count Orlok in Nosferatu

Schreck and as vampire Count Orlok in Nosferatu Schreck and as vampire Count Orlok in Nosferatu
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Max Schreck

Died February 20, 1936 b. 1879

German actor. He played the count in the first Dracula movie, Nosferatu (1922).

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Peary (left) and Peary Party at North Pole Peary (left) and Peary Party at North Pole

Peary (left) and Peary Party at North Pole Peary (left) and Peary Party at North Pole
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Robert Edwin Peary

Died February 20, 1920 b. 1856

American Arctic explorer. He is credited with being the first person to reach the North Pole (1909). However, his claim is disputed and Frederick A. Cook claims to have reached the North Pole the previous year, although his claim is also disputed.

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Left to right: Jacinta Marto, LĂşcia dos Santos, and Francisco Marto Left to right: Jacinta Marto, LĂşcia dos Santos, and Francisco Marto

Left to right: Jacinta Marto, LĂşcia dos Santos, and Francisco Marto Left to right: Jacinta Marto, LĂşcia dos Santos, and Francisco Marto
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Jacinta Marto

Died February 20, 1920 b. 1910

Fátima viewer. She was one of the three children who claimed to have seen the Our Lady of Fatima visions of the Virgin Mary near Fátima, Portugal (1917).
She and her brother Francisco Marto, who also claimed to have seen the visions, would both die in the Great Influenza Epidemic several years later. Also witness to the visions was Lúcia dos Santos.

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Frederick Douglass

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Frederick Douglass

Died February 20, 1895 b. 1817

American orator and journalist. Born into slavery, he escaped to Great Britain where he raised the money to buy his freedom. Abolitionists used him to counter arguments that slaves lacked the intellectual capacity to function as independent American citizens.

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Pierre G. T. Beauregard

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Led Attack on Ft. Sumter Starting the Civil War

Pierre G. T. Beauregard

Died February 20, 1893 b. 1818

American Confederate general. He led the attack on Fort Sumter starting the American Civil War (1861). The commander of Fort Sumter, whom he attacked, had been his instructor at West Point. Beauregard became the first Confederate general when he was appointed brigadier general (March 1, 1861).

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Alexander M. Haig Jr.

Died February 20, 2010 b. 1924

American general, NATO Supreme Commander (1974-79), and U.S. Secretary of State (1981-82). He once suggested that a nuclear warning shot in Europe might be effective in deterring the Soviet Union.
For his military service he received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star with oak leaf cluster, and the Purple Heart.

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Curt Gowdy

Died February 20, 2006 b. 1919

American Hall of Fame sports announcer, "The Voice of the Redsox." TV: The American Sportsman (host).

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Sandra Dee

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Sandra Dee (Alexandra Zuck)

Died February 20, 2005 b. 1942

American teen actress. Film: The Reluctant Debutante (1958) and Gidget (1959).

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Hunter S. Thompson

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When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro

Hunter S. Thompson

Died February 20, 2005 b. 1937

American journalist, creator of Gonzo journalism. Writings: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1972) which was later made into the movie.
Quote: "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Quote: "Paranoia is just another word for ignorance."

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Gene Siskel

Died February 20, 1999 b. 1946

American movie critic. He and Roger Ebert hosted a series of popular review shows on television (1975-99).

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Ferruccio Lamborghini

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Ferruccio Lamborghini

Died February 20, 1993 b. 1916

Italian sports car manufacturer. He opened his factory in 1963, building such models as the Miura SV and Countach.

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Dick York

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Dick York (Richard Allen York)

Died February 20, 1992 b. 1928

American actor. TV: Bewitched (1964-69, the first Darrin). Film: Inherit the Wind (1960, school teacher Bertram Cates). Radio: That Brewster Boy (the third person to play the title role and where he met his wife, who played his older sister).
York suffered a back injury while filming the movie They Came to Cordura (1959), which led to prolonged back pain and an addiction to painkillers that ultimately cost him his roll on Bewitched.

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Martin V

Died February 20, 1431 b. 1368

Italian religious leader, 206th Pope (1417-31).

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