Page 8: Historical Events In December - 01
Friday, 20 February 2026
1967 Queen Elizabeth inaugurates 98-inch (249-cm) Isaac Newton telescope 

1967 Wilt Chamberlain set NBA record of 22 free throws misses. 

1968 Pirate Radio Modern (259) (England) begins transmitting 

1968 Hugo Haas, actor/director (Bait, Pick Up), dies of asthma at 66 

1969 US government holds its inaugural draft lottery since WW II 

1970 Independent People's Republic of South Yemen is recorded as becoming the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. 

1970 Frank Smailes, cricketer (England pace bowler Test v India 1946), dies. 

1971 John and Yoko release "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" in US. 

1971 Arthur B Springarn, US NAACP chairman (1940-65), dies at 93 

1972 Antonio Segni, Italian PM/pres (1955-57, 59-60, 62-64), dies at 81 

1973 Australia grants self-government to Papua New Guinea. 

1973 David Ben-Gurion, founding father of Israel, dies in Tel Aviv at 87. 

1974 Los Angeles Skid Row slasher results in the deaths of inaugural of 8 

1974 Lajos Zilahy, Hungarian/US author (Angry Angel), dies at 83 

1975 Nick Kenny, US columnist/songwriter (Nick Kenny Show), dies at 80 

1977 Paul Hardy, Belgian designer (Italian Country, dies at 69. 

1978 President Carter more than doubles national park system size 

1980 US Justice Department sues Yonkers citing racial discrimination. 

1980 Sam Levene, actor (Purple Heart, Designing Women), dies at 75 

1981 180 dies as Yugoslav DC-9 jetliner slams into a mountain 

1981 HIV/AIDS pandemic in Worldwide killing 32 million+ people 

1982 Miguel de la Madrid inaugurated as President of Mexico 

1982 Dorothy James, composer, dies on 81st birthday. 

1983 Rita Lavelle, former head of EPA, convicted of perjury. 

1983 Mirsky, mathematician, dies 

1986 In this year, Paul McCartney releases "Only Love Remains" 

1986 Horace Heidt, orch leader (Swift Show Wagon), dies at 85. 

1987 Digging begins to link England and France under the English Channel. 

1987 Donn Fulton Eisele, Col USAF/astronaut, dies of a heart attack at 57. 

1988 596 dead after cyclone hits Bangladesh, half a million homeless 

1988 Benazir Bhutto named inaugural female PM of a Moslem country (Pakistan) 

1988 NBC bids record $401M to capture rights to 1992 Barcelona Olympics 

1989 "Day Without Art"-Artists demonstrate against AIDS. 

1989 East Germany drops the communist monopoly from its constitution 

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