1924
Feb 20, Gloria Vanderbilt, fashion designer, was born. In 2004 she published her memoir “It Seemed Important At the Time."

1980
Feb 20, Alice Longworth Roosevelt (b.1884), youngest daughter of Pres. Theodore Roosevelt, died.

1998
Feb 20, Tara Lipinski of the U.S. won the ladies' figure skating title at Nagano, becoming at age 15 the youngest gold medalist in Winter Olympics history; Michelle Kwan won the silver.

2003
Feb 20, A 17-year-old Mexican girl mistakenly given a heart and lungs with the wrong blood type received a second set of organs at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina; however, JesicaSantillan suffered brain damage and died Feb 22.

2005
Feb 20, Sandra Dee (62), film actress born as Alexandra Zuck, died. She was arguably the biggest female teen idol of her time. Her films included "Gidget" and "Tammy and the Doctor." Her 1960 marriage to singer Bobby Darin ended in divorce in 1967.

2006
Feb 20, Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco outlined a $7.5 billion rebuilding, relocation and buyout plan for residents whose homes were damaged by last year’s hurricanes

2009
Feb 20, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Beijing for talks with Chinese leaders after vowing not to let human rights block progress on the global economic crisis, climate change and security.

2010
Feb 20, In Florida 3 teenage girls crossing a bridge in Melbourne were killed by a freight train as they desperately tried to get out of its way. A helpless friend on the other side could only watch.
2013
Feb 20, Scottish singer Emeli Sande won the coveted best album honour at the BRIT Awards for "Our Version of Events", confirming her status as favourite going into British pop's big night of the year.

2014
Feb 20, In northern California Cherie Lash Rhoades (44), a member of the Cedarville Rancheria tribe, killed 4 people at the tribe’s headquarters, including 3 members of her own family. She was recently ousted as chairwoman of the tribe and was under investigation over at least $50,000 in missing federal grants. The tribe had just 35 members and owned 26 acres in the area.

2013
Feb 20, In Georgia Sarah Jones (27), a camera assistant, was killed by a freight train on the set of the film “Midnight Rider." On July 3 prosecutors announced indictments against three filmmakers on charges of involuntary manslaughter. On March 9, 2015, director Randall Miller was sentenced to two years in jail as part of a plea deal.

2014
Feb 20, In India police found the body of Erin Willinger, an American woman, in a deserted part of Agra near the Taj Mahal. Police said she was stabbed to death by her husband, Bunty Sharma, who then committed suicide by igniting cooking gas. They had been married for four months.

Source: Timelines in History