📜 This Day in History
February 20
1685The French colonization of Texas began with the landing of colonists led by Robert de La Salle near Matagorda Bay.- 1846Polish insurgents in the Free City of Kraków led an uprising attempting to incite a fight for national independence that was put down by the Austrian Empire nine days later.
- 1943A fissure opened in a cornfield in the Mexican state of Michoacán and continued to erupt for nine years, forming the cinder cone Parícutin.
- 1962The Project Mercury stamp, designed by Charles R. Chickering, was released to commemorate the successful space flight of Colonel John Glenn.
- 1992Appearing on the talk show Larry King Live, U.S. industrialist Ross Perot announced that he would begin a presidential campaign if "ordinary people" wanted him to run for office.
- 2010Severe flooding and mudslides on the island of Madeira, Portugal, killed 51 people.
