Today in History: February 20, Thousands attend pro-Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden

"Today is Friday, Feb. 20, the 51st day of 2026. There are 314 days left in the year. Today in history: On Feb. 20, 1939, more than 20,000 people attended a rally held by the German American Bund, a pro-Nazi organization, at New York's Madison Square Garden. Also on this date: In 1792, President George Washington signed an act creating the United States Post Office Department, the predecessor of the U.S. Postal Service."

"In 1862, William Wallace Lincoln, the 11-year-old son of President Abraham Lincoln and first lady Mary Todd Lincoln, died at the White House from what was believed to be typhoid fever. In 1905, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Jacobson v. Massachusetts, upheld, 7-2, compulsory vaccination laws intended to protect the public's health. In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt signed an immigration act which excluded idiots, imbeciles, feeble-minded persons, epileptics, insane persons, among others, from being admitted to the United States."

"In 1962, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, circling the globe three times aboard Project Mercury's Friendship 7 spacecraft in a flight lasting 4 hours and 55 minutes before splashing down safely in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1965, America's Ranger 8 spacecraft crashed into the moon's surface, as planned, after sending back thousands of pictures of the lunar surface."

Feb. 20, 2026 is the 51st day of the year with 314 days remaining. On Feb. 20, 1939 over 20,000 people attended a German American Bund rally at Madison Square Garden. In 1792 George Washington established the United States Post Office Department. In 1862 William Wallace Lincoln died at age 11 of suspected typhoid fever. In 1905 the Supreme Court upheld compulsory vaccination in Jacobson v. Massachusetts. In 1907 Theodore Roosevelt signed an exclusionary immigration act. Later events include John Glenn's 1962 orbit, Ranger 8's 1965 lunar impact, Tara Lipinski's 1998 Olympic gold, the 2003 Station nightclub fire, and a 2016 Kalamazoo shooting.

Read at www.mercurynews.com