Here’s a brief look back in time on this day, February 20th.
In 1895, notable American civil rights leader and abolitionist Frederick Douglass passes away from a heart attack in his Washington, D.C. home. His contributions to the anti-slavery movement helped catapult support for abolition from his many autobiographies and speeches. A former slave himself, he became an advisor to 16th U.S. president Abraham Lincoln; he offered insights on how to best support the movement during one of the most bloodiest conflicts in human history: the American Civil War.
In 1939, the German American Bund organizes a pro-Nazi rally in New York’s Madison Square Garden. Over 20,000 attendees gathered at the advertised “Pro-American Rally”, complete with a large portrait of 1st U.S. president George Washington surrounded by swastikas and propaganda promoting Adolf Hitler’s rhetoric. Outside, over 100,000 protestors clashed with police officers as the rally continued. This was a few months prior to Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland on September 1st. The group would disband quickly afterwards due to one of the leader’s embezzlement conviction.
In 1962, Mercury-Atlas 6 launches from Cape Canaveral, FL. Onboard is U.S. astronaut John H. Glenn Jr.: the first American to orbit the Earth. Though not the first human to reach orbit (that honor goes to Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who flew on April 12th, 1961), this would mark an historical milestone as the world’s dominant superpowers compete in the Space Race.