In a case that shocked the world, two young English boys were charged on February 20, 1993, with the abduction and murder of two-year-old James Bulger from a shopping centre in Liverpool.
Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, both aged 10, were later convicted of abducting and murdering James Bulger.
On February 20, 1991, thousands of Albanians gathered in the city's capital Tirana to tear down a giant statue of hated dictator Enver Hoxha.
Albania by the late 1980s under the totalitarian regime of Hoxha, was one of the planet's most isolated states. No one was allowed to travel outside the country and thousands were held in secret prisons. Beards were banned, as were the religions they were thought to represent.
But after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, public protest in Albania against Hoxha grew and his party was routed when free elections were held in 1992.
Perth became the 'City of Lights' on February 20, 1962, when NASA astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth.
When flew over the West Australian city, residents turned on their lights to acknowledge his mission. Glenn observed that Perth was clearly visible from space.
Music superstar Robyn "Rihanna" Fenty was born on February 20, 1988 in Barbados.
The singer-songwriter is today one of the best followed musicians with a fortune estimated in 2021 to be worth $US1.7 billion.
After British soldiers, pictured, invaded Ramree Island off the coast of modern-day Myanmar in World War II, one of the world's deadliest crocodile attacks happened on February 19, 1945.
Defending Japanese troops were pushed back to the edge of a large swamp infested with the predators. Refusing a British offer of surrender, the Japanese commander instead decided to march his soldiers through the 16km of swamp.
It was estimated that of the 1000-strong force, about 500 were taken by the crocodiles over two days. The Guinness Book of Records later listed Ramree Island as the world's deadliest attack, but it has since been disputed.
On February 19, 1914, four-year-old American Charlotte May Pierstorff was sent by post from her home in Idaho to her grandparents house 150km away.
Her journey was the most famous example iof young children being delivered by parcel post in the United States.
Six years later the US Post Office stopped the practice.
Foot-and-mouth, a highly infectious viral disease which can affect cattle, pigs, sheep and goats, was discovered on a farm in southern England on February 19, 2001, triggering a massive UK outbreak.
In total nearly four million animals were slaughtered. The disease cost the farming industry billions of dollars and destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of farmers.
The Australian city of Darwin and nearby military bases were destroyed by Japanese bombers on February 19, 1942, during World War II.
It was the deadliest attack by a foreign power on Australian soil and left hundreds of people dead.
The Australian public was left largely in the dark about the incident due to official censorship, promoting claims of a government cover-up.
Famous British broadcaster and journalist Michael Parkinson made his debut on the BBC in his eponymous chat show on February 19, 1971.
The first run of the show lasted 11 years, before it returned in 1998. Its final episode aired in 2007, and included appearances from Sir David Attenborough, Sir Michael Caine, Australian actor and comedian Barry Humphries, Dame Judi Dench and David Beckham.
Michael Parkinson died last August at the age of 88.
On February 19, 1977, the NASA space shuttle Enterprise made its first flight atop a Boring 747 aircraft.
Though it never entered space, the Enterprise, was vital in developing the successful shuttle flights that started from the late 1970s and revolutionised space exploration.
Hollywood star Yul Brynner appeared in a bizarre 'voice from the grave' during an anti-smoking television advert on February 18, 1986.
Brynner, who died in October 1985 of lung cancer, appeared in the 30-second public service announcement run by the American Cancer Society.
Brynner, most famous for his role as the King of Siam in The King and I, looked sternly into the camera during the ad and said: ″Now that I'm gone, don't smoke, whatever you do, just don't smoke.″
His words had a powerful impact on viewers. The American Cancer Society was deluged with letters from viewers who said the announcement had moved them to quit smoking.
The Ukraine Revolution began on February 18, 2014, when security forces and protesters clashed in the capital Kyiv.
Five days of unrest culminated in the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych.
On, February 18, 1930, American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto, which was named the ninth planet of the Solar System.
Pluto ceased being a planet in 2006 when it was reclassified as a dwarf planet, a move that stirred controversy among astronomers.
US Army private and helicopter mechanic Robert K Preston stole a helicopter from his base and flew to the White House on February 17, 1974.
Preston had failed from the helicopter training course and was stuck fixing up the aircraft he wanted to be flying.
By carrying out the stunt, Preston wished to show his competence as a pilot.
But the Secret Service were not impressed, firing 300 shots at the helicopter.
Five of those bullets hit Preston, but he only suffered superficial wounds.
Preston was taken to hospital "laughing and smiling like hell".
He was sentenced to a year in military prison.
US serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to life in prison by a court in Wisconsin on February 17, 1992, for murdering and dismembering 15 young men and boys.
Dahmer, 31, was unable to convince the jury that his cannibalism and necrophilia were the result of madness.
Dahmer's gruesome crime spree of came to an end in 1991 when Ohio police discovered severed heads stashed in his freezer, skulls in a filing cabinet and a kettle containing decomposing hands and male organs. He even saved a human heart "to eat later".
After his jailing, Dahmer in 1994 was murdered by a fellow inmate, who bludgeoned him to death with a metal bar.
One of Australia's most unlikeliest sporting heroes was crowned on February 16, 2002, during the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
Australian short track speed skater Steven Bradbury's victory made him the country's first gold medallist at a Winter Olympics.
But it was the manner of his feat that made him a sporting legend.
A long shot in the final race, Bradbury memorably benefited when all his opponents crashed ahead of him leaving the Australian to coast over the line with his hands aloft — the most unlikely winner from a most unlikely nation.
His achievement has aentered the Australian colloquial vernacular in the phrase "doing a Bradbury", meaning an unexpected or unusual success.
Communist revolutionary and fierce critic of the United States Fidel Castro became prime minister of Cuba on February 16, 1959.
His takeover of the island's government during the Cold War sent political shockwaves through the US government.
The nation's spy agency, the CIA, quickly drew up plans to assassinate Cuba. They included planting explosive material in his cigars, poisoning his chocolates and filling his diving wet suit with deadly bacteria. None of them worked.