1. On February 20, 1792, President George Washington signed the Postal Service Act, which created the United States Postal Service and established the office of Postmaster General.
2. The Washington Monument, a 555-foot tall obelisk located on the National Mall, was completed on February 20, 1885. It took 36 years to complete due to various delays and construction problems.
3. On February 20, 1962, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. His spacecraft, Friendship 7, launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida and completed three orbits before landing in the Atlantic Ocean.
4. The famous Cherry Blossom Festival, which draws millions of visitors to Washington, D.C. each year, officially began on February 20, 1912. Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo gifted 3,000 cherry blossom trees to the city as a symbol of friendship between the two nations.
5. Civil rights activist and leader Malcolm X gave a speech at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on February 20, 1965. The speech, titled "Not Just an American Problem, but a World Problem," focused on human rights and the struggle for racial equality.
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