TODAY IN HISTORY-SUNDAY FEBRUARY 20, 2011

Today is Sunday, Feb. 20, the 51st day of 2011. There are 314 days left in the year.

Today in History:  AP Highlight in History: On Feb. 20, 1962, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, flying aboard the Friendship 7 Mercury capsule. John Glenn and mission control AP Photo
On this date in: 1790 Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II died. 1792 President George Washington signed an act creating the U.S. Post Office. 1809 The Supreme Court ruled that the power of the federal government is greater than that of any individual state. 1839 Congress prohibited dueling in the District of Columbia. 1895 Abolitionist Frederick Douglass died. AP Photo 1938 British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden resigned in protest over Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's decision to negotiate with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. 1944 During World War II, U.S. bombers began raiding German aircraft manufacturing centers in a series of attacks that became known as "Big Week." 1965 The Ranger 8 spacecraft crashed on the moon after sending back thousands of pictures of the lunar surface. 1998 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. AP Photo/Ed Reinke 2003 Fire broke out during a rock concert at a nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., killing 100 people and injuring about 200 others. 2005 Journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson shot himself to death at age 67. 2010 Alexander Haig, a soldier and statesman who'd held high posts in three Republican administrations and some of the U.S. military's top jobs, died at age 85.		Today's Birthdays: Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., turns 69 years old today. AP Photo/Charles Dharapak Name Profession Age Gloria Vanderbilt Fashion designer 87 Sidney Poitier Actor 84 Nancy Wilson Jazz singer 74 Buffy Sainte-Marie Folk singer 70 Phil Esposito Hockey Hall of Famer 69 Sandy Duncan Actress 65 J. Geils Rock musician 65 Walter Becker Rock musician (Steely Dan) 61 Gordon Brown Former British prime minister 60 Anthony Stewart Head Actor ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") 57 Charles Barkley Basketball Hall of Famer 48 French Stewart Actor ("3rd Rock from the Sun") 47 Cindy Crawford Model 45 Andrew Shue Actor ("Melrose Place") 44 Lili Taylor Actress 44 Livan Hernandez Baseball player 36 Stephon Marbury Basketball player 34 Justin Verlander Baseball player 28 Rihanna Singer 23 Director Mike Leigh turns 68 years old today. AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau

Thought for Today: "The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous." — Frederick Douglass, American abolitionist (born 1817, died this date in 1895).