Today in History: Saturday, February 20, 2016

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: 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. 1862 William Wallace Lincoln, the 11-year-old son of President Abraham Lincoln and first lady Mary Todd Lincoln, died at the White House, apparently of typhoid fever. 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.		Video Highlights of This Day in History Today's Birthdays: Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., turns 74 years old today. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite Name Profession Age Gloria Vanderbilt Fashion designer 92 Sidney Poitier Actor 89 Nancy Wilson Jazz singer 79 Buffy Sainte-Marie Folk singer 75 Phil Esposito Hockey Hall of Famer 74 Mike Leigh Director 73 Sandy Duncan Actress 70 J. Geils Rock musician 70 Walter Becker Rock musician (Steely Dan) 66 Gordon Brown Former British prime minister 65 Anthony Stewart Head Actor ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") 62 Charles Barkley Basketball Hall of Famer 53 French Stewart Actor ("3rd Rock from the Sun") 52 Cindy Crawford Model 50 Andrew Shue Actor ("Melrose Place") 49 Lili Taylor Actress 49 Rihanna Singer 28 Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander turns 33 years old today. AP Photo/Carlos Osorio