Good News in History, February 20
Happy Birthday to the Oscar-winning actor, Sidney Poitier, who turns 89 today. In 1964, he became the first black performer to win a Best Actor Academy Award (for Lilies of the Field). Three years later he was the top box-office star with three films about race relations–To Sir, with Love, In the Heat of the Night, and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. (1927)
MORE Good News on this Date:
- The Supreme Court ruled that the power of the federal government is greater than that of any individual state (1809)
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened in New York City (1872)
- Lt. Edward O’Hare became America’s first World War II flying ace (1942)
- One of the greatest Canadian hockey players, Phil Esposito, was born (1942)
- John Glenn aboard Friendship 7 became the first American to orbit the earth (1962)
American Tara Lipinski became at age 15 the youngest gold medalist in Winter Olympics history when she won the ladies’ figure skating title at Nagano, Japan (1998)
- On this day 25 years ago, protesters in Albania‘s capital, Tirana, topple an enormous statue of the nation’s long-time dictator (1991)
- Ross Perot announced he would run for president of the USA (1992)
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