February 20th, 1940

Born on February 20th, 1940

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 30,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 263 days, exactly on January 4th, 2025, people who were born on February 20th, 1940 will be 31,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on February 20th?

February 20th, 1988

The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast voted to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

February 20th, 1970

The Wat Phra Dhammakaya in Pathum Thani province, one of the largest Buddhist temples in Thailand, was founded.

February 20th, 1965

The NASA spacecraft Ranger 8 spacecraft transmitted 7,137 photographs of the Moon in the final 23 minutes of its mission before crashing as planned in Mare Tranquillitatis.

February 20th, 1959

Canadian prime minister John Diefenbaker cancelled the Avro CF-105 Arrow (pictured) interceptor-aircraft program amid much political debate.

February 20th, 1943

A fissure opened in a cornfield in the Mexican state of Michoacán and continued to erupt for nine years, forming the cinder cone Parícutin .

February 20th, 1905

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Jacobson v. Massachusetts that states had the authority to order compulsory vaccination.

February 20th, 1872

The Metropolitan Museum of Art , today the largest art museum in the United States with a collection of more than two million works, opened in New York.

February 20th, 1864

American Civil War: The Union Army suffered a one-in-three casualty rate at the Battle of Olustee near Lake City, Florida.

February 20th, 1846

Polish 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.

February 20th, 1835

An earthquake registering approximately 8.5 Mw devastated Concepción, Chile, and triggered a tsunami that destroyed neighbouring Talcahuano.

February 20th, 1816

Italian composer Gioachino Rossini's opera buffa The Barber of Seville premiered at the Teatro Argentina in Rome to jeers from the audience.

February 20th, 1685

The French colonization of Texas began with the landing of colonists led by Robert de La Salle near Matagorda Bay.

February 20th, 1998

At the age of 15, American figure skater Tara Lipinski became the youngest gold-medal winner in the history of the Winter Olympic Games at the time.

February 20th, 2010

Severe flooding and mudslides on the island of Madeira, Portugal, killed 51 people.

February 20th, 2009

The Tamil Tigers attempted to crash two aircraft laden with C-4 in suicide attacks on Colombo, Sri Lanka, but the planes were shot down before they reached their targets.

Birthdays
... of famous people, actors, celebrities and stars on February 20th

Born on February 20th, 1940

81

Jimmy Greaves

English professional football player

*February 20th, 1940, Manor Park †September 19th, 2021, Danbury

84

Christoph Eschenbach

German musician

*February 20th, 1940, Wrocław

81

Rudolf Edlinger

Austrian politician (1940-2021)

*February 20th, 1940, Vienna †August 21st, 2021

84

Emilia Krakowska

Polish actress

*February 20th, 1940, Poznań

84

Vladimir Yurzinov

Russian ice hockey player and coach

*February 20th, 1940, Moscow

84

Francesco Stacchino

Italian footballer

*February 20th, 1940, Chieri

81

Raquel Ércole

Colombian actress (1940-2021)

*February 20th, 1940, Neiva †December 13th, 2021

84

Terry Virgo

Founder of an English Evangelical church

*February 20th, 1940, Brighton

84

Kazimierz Frelkiewicz

Polish basketball player

*February 20th, 1940, Pogrzybów

84

Ray Watson-Smith

Cricketer

*February 20th, 1940, Mowbray

Same Day
Who's birthday is on February 20th?

30

Mathias Christiansen

Badminton player

*February 20th, 1994, Bornholm

83

Alexander Gauland

German politician, lawyer and journalist

*February 20th, 1941, Chemnitz

81

Mike Leigh

English writer and director (born 1943)

*February 20th, 1943, Brocket Hall

79

Antonio Inoki

Japanese professional wrestler, businessman, and politician (1943-2022)

*February 20th, 1943, Yokohama †October 1st, 2022, Minato

59

Thomas Kemmerich

German politician

*February 20th, 1965, Aachen

57

Chung So-young

South Korean badminton player

*February 20th, 1967, Gimje

82

Mitch McConnell

American politician and lawyer (born 1942)

*February 20th, 1942, Sheffield

89

Jim Poole

Badminton player

*February 20th, 1932, Nashville †November 7th, 2021, Blacksburg

78

Brenda Blethyn

British actress

*February 20th, 1946, Ramsgate

21

Olivia Rodrigo

American singer and actress (born 2003)

*February 20th, 2003, Murrieta

73

Gordon Brown

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2007 to 2010

*February 20th, 1951, Giffnock

36

Rihanna

Barbadian singer and actress (born 1988)

*February 20th, 1988, Saint Michael

58

Urs Fischer

Swiss association football player and manager (born 1966)

*February 20th, 1966, Triengen

71

J. Geils

American musician

*February 20th, 1946, New York City †April 11th, 2017, Groton

55

Bambang Suprianto

Badminton player

*February 20th, 1969, Surakarta City

70

Patty Hearst

American kidnapping victim

*February 20th, 1954, San Francisco

79

George F. Smoot

American astrophysicist and cosmologist

*February 20th, 1945, Yukon

72

Hans-Jürgen Irmer

German politician

*February 20th, 1952, Limburg an der Lahn

83

Susan Yankowitz

Playwright

*February 20th, 1941, Newark

94

Sidney Poitier

Bahamian and American actor and diplomat (1927–2022)

*February 20th, 1927, Cat Island †January 6th, 2022, Los Angeles

Same year
Born in 1940

83

Onur Öymen

Turkish politician and diplomat

*October 18th, 1940, Kadıköy

84

Lorns Skjemstad

Norwegian cross-country skier

*March 10th, 1940, Inderøy Municipality

40

John Lennon

British musician (1940–1980)

*October 9th, 1940, Liverpool †December 8th, 1980, New York City

83

Jeannie Seely

American singer

*July 6th, 1940, Titusville

76

Al Jarreau

American singer (1940–2017)

*March 12th, 1940, Milwaukee †February 12th, 2017, Los Angeles

82

Pelé

Brazilian footballer (1940–2022)

*October 23rd, 1940, Três Corações †December 29th, 2022, Morumbi District

83

Al Pacino

American actor (born 1940)

*April 25th, 1940, Manhattan

77

Michael Parks

American actor (1940–2017)

*April 24th, 1940, Corona †May 9th, 2017, Los Angeles

83

Annie Ernaux

French writer (born 1940)

*September 1st, 1940, Lillebonne

82

James Caan

American actor (1940–2022)

*March 26th, 1940, The Bronx †July 6th, 2022, Los Angeles

80

Wolfgang Clement

German politician

*July 7th, 1940, Bochum †September 27th, 2020, Bonn

84

Nancy Pelosi

American politician (born 1940)

*March 26th, 1940, Baltimore

32

Bruce Lee

Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor (1940–1973)

*November 27th, 1940, San Francisco Chinese Hospital †July 20th, 1973, Kowloon Tong

84

Jana Brejchová

Czech actress

*January 20th, 1940, Prague

55

Joseph Brodsky

Russian-American poet (1940-1996)

*May 24th, 1940, Saint Petersburg †January 28th, 1996, Brooklyn

76

Manfred Jung

German singer and operatic tenor

*July 9th, 1940, Oberhausen †April 14th, 2017, Essen

79

Tilo Prückner

German actor and author

*October 26th, 1940, Augsburg †July 2nd, 2020, Berlin

83

Ringo Starr

British musician, drummer for the Beatles

*July 7th, 1940, Liverpool

83

Patrick Stewart

British actor (born 1940)

*July 13th, 1940, Mirfield

77

John Hurt

British actor (1940–2017)

*January 22nd, 1940, Chesterfield †January 25th, 2017, Norfolk

Birthdays of famous people

Public holidays on February 20th

Fixed holidays (Christian feast day) which are celebrated on February 20th.

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Born on February 20th, 1940
Future birthdays

Leap year

Yes: 1940 is a leap year, therefore has a 29th of February with an additional leap day and a total of 366 days (instead of the usual 365 days in a normal year).

Calendar
February 1940