Did you know
Hunter S. Thompson rose to prominence with the book Hell's Angels (1967), for which he lived a year among the Hells Angels motorcycle club to write a first-hand account of their lives and experiences.
Notable Deaths on February 20
2005 — Hunter S. Thompson
American journalist and author (born 1937)
February 20 has 95 recorded notable deaths across history, from 789 to 2025. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
95 source records
789 – 2025
Today in history
Major events on February 20
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1943 The Saturday Evening Post publishes the first of Norman Rockwell's Four Freedoms in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union address theme of Four Freedoms. Source
- 1865 End of the Uruguayan War, with a peace agreement between President Tomás Villalba and rebel leader Venancio Flores, setting the scene for the destructive War of the Triple Alliance. Source
- 1962 Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes. Source
- 1846 Polish insurgents lead an uprising in Kraków to incite a fight for national independence. Source
Did you know
In 1973, Haig became the youngest four-star general in the U.
Did you know
Kenji Eno gained a reputation as a maverick during the mid-1990s for creating unorthodox games like Real Sound and is perhaps best remembered today for his rebellious marketing techniques.
Did you know
Charles Emmanuel III was Duke of Savoy, King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard states from his father's abdication on 3 September 1730 until his death in 1773.
Did you know
A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 21st governor of Oklahoma from 1975 to 1979 and three terms in the United States Senate from 1979 to 1994.
More major people who died on February 20
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
2010
Alexander Haig
American general and politician, 59th United States Secretary of State (born 1924)
Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. was an American politician, diplomat, and military officer who served as the 59th United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and previously as White House chief of staff…
2013
Kenji Eno
Japanese game designer and composer (born 1970)
Kenji Eno was a Japanese musician and video game designer. He gained a reputation as a maverick during the mid-1990s for creating unorthodox games like Real Sound and is perhaps best remembered today for his rebellious…
1773
Charles Emmanuel III
King of Sardinia (born 1701)
Charles Emmanuel III was Duke of Savoy, King of Sardinia and ruler of the Savoyard states from his father's abdication on 3 September 1730 until his death in 1773.
2025
David Boren
American lawyer and politician, 21st Governor of Oklahoma (born 1941)
David Lyle Boren was an American lawyer and politician from Oklahoma.
1996
Solomon Asch
American psychologist and academic (born 1907)
Solomon Eliot Asch (September 14, 1907 – February 20, 1996) was a Polish-American Gestalt psychologist and pioneer in social psychology.
1194
Tancred
King of Sicily (born 1138)
Tancred was King of Sicily from 1189 to 1194. He was born in Lecce, an illegitimate son of Roger III, Duke of Apulia by his mistress Emma, a daughter of Achard II, Count of Lecce.
1778
Laura Bassi
Italian physicist and scholar (born 1711)
Laura Maria Caterina Bassi Veratti was an Italian physicist and academic.
2012
Katie Hall
American educator and politician (born 1938)
Katie Beatrice Hall was an American educator in Gary, Indiana, and a politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1982 to 1985.
1871
Paul Kane
Irish-Canadian painter (born 1810)
Paul Kane was an Irish-born Canadian painter whose paintings and especially field sketches were known as one of the first visual documents of Western indigenous life.
2013
David S. McKay
American biochemist and geologist (born 1936)
David Stewart McKay was the chief scientist for Astrobiology at the Johnson Space Center. During the Apollo program, McKay provided geology training to the first men to walk on the Moon in the late 1960s.
2017
Mildred Dresselhaus
American physicist (born 1930)
Mildred Spiewak Dresselhaus, known as the "Queen of Carbon Science", was an American physicist, materials scientist, and nanotechnologist.
1771
Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan
French geophysicist and astronomer (born 1678)
Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan was a French natural philosopher (physicist), born in the town of Béziers on 26 November 1678.
2009
Larry H. Miller
American businessman and philanthropist (born 1944)
Larry H. Miller was an American businessman. He owned the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Utah Jazz and the Salt Lake Bees, a minor league baseball team. Miller and his companies, now known as the Larry H.
1900
Washakie
American tribal leader (born 1798)
Washakie was a prominent leader of the Shoshone people during the mid-19th century. He was first mentioned in 1840 in the written record of the American fur trapper, Osborne Russell.
2017
Vitaly Churkin
Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United Nations (born 1952)
Vitaly Ivanovich Churkin was a Russian diplomat. He served as Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2006 until his death in 2017.
2025
Jerry Butler
American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1939)
Jerry Butler Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and politician.
1961
Percy Grainger
Australian-American pianist and composer (born 1882)
Percy Aldridge Grainger was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist who moved to the United States in 1914 and became an American citizen in 1918.
1972
Walter Winchell
American journalist and actor (born 1897)
Walter Winchell was an American syndicated newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator.
1996
Audrey Munson
American model (born 1891)
Audrey Marie Munson was an American artist's model and film actress, considered to be "America's first supermodel." In her time, she was variously known as "Miss Manhattan", the "Panama–Pacific Girl", the "Exposition…