Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1952 Emmett Ashford becomes the first African American umpire in organized professional baseball.
DiasporaOn this day — February 20 in African history
Real events, births and milestones from Africa and the diaspora.
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1952 A cooking gas cylinder explodes aboard an Egyptian National Railways train near El Ayyat, causing a fire that kills over 370 people.
Tragedy
Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons 1901 Muhammad Naguib, who became the 1st President of Egypt, is born.
BirthCándido Muatetema Rivas, who became Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea, is born.
Birth
CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons 1971 Joost van der Westhuizen, South African rugby union player regarded as one of the greatest scrum-halves in the sport's history, is born.
Birth