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Today is Wednesday, Feb. 20, the 51st day of 2002. There are 314 days left in the year. 

Today’s Highlight in History: 

Forty years ago, on Feb. 20, 1962, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, flying aboard Friendship 7. 

On this date: 

In 1790, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II died. 

In 1792, President Washington signed an act creating the U.S. Post Office. 

In 1809, the Supreme Court ruled the power of the federal government is greater than that of any individual state. 

In 1839, Congress prohibited dueling in the District of Columbia. 

In 1895, abolitionist Frederick Douglass died in Washington, D.C. 

In 1933, the House of Representatives completed congressional action on an amendment to repeal Prohibition. 

In 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.” 

In 1965, the Ranger 8 spacecraft crashed on the moon after sending back thousands of pictures of the lunar surface. 

In 1971, the National Emergency Warning Center in Colorado erroneously ordered U.S. radio and TV stations off the air; some stations heeded the alert, which was not lifted for about 40 minutes. 

In 1981, the space shuttle Columbia cleared the final major hurdle to its maiden launch as the spacecraft fired its three engines in a 20-second test. 

Ten years ago: Texas billionaire Ross Perot told CNN’s “Larry King Live” he would run for president if his name were placed on the ballot in all 50 states. 

Five years ago: The National Transportation Safety Board called for a speedup in the redesign of the rudder controls on Boeing 737’s, citing potential problems suspected in a pair of deadly crashes. 

One year ago: The government announced the arrest two days earlier of veteran FBI agent Robert Philip Hanssen, accused of spying for Russia for more than 15 years. Space shuttle Atlantis landed in the Mojave Desert after three straight days of bad weather prevented the ship from returning to its Florida home port. 

Today’s Birthdays: Fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt is 78. Movie director Robert Altman is 77. Actor Sidney Poitier is 75. Actress Marj Dusay is 66. Jazz-soul singer Nancy Wilson is 65. Singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie is 61. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Phil Esposito is 60. Movie director Mike Leigh is 59. Actress Brenda Blethyn is 56. Actress Sandy Duncan is 56. Rock musician J. Geils is 56. Actor Peter Strauss is 55. Rock singer-musician-producer Walter Becker (Steely Dan) is 52. Actor Edward Albert is 51. Country singer Kathie Baillie is 51. Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst is 48. Actor James Wilby is 44. Rock musician Sebastian Steinberg (Soul Coughing) is 43. Comedian Joel Hodgson is 42. Basketball player Charles Barkley is 39. Rock musician Ian Brown (Stone Roses) is 39. Actor French Stewart is 38. Actor Ron Eldard is 37. Model Cindy Crawford is 36. Actor Andrew Shue is 35. Actress Lili Taylor is 35. Singer Brian Littrell (Backstreet Boys) is 27. Actor Jay Hernandez is 24. Actress Majandra Delfino (“Traffic”) is 21. Singer-musician Chris Thile is 21. Actor Jake Richardson is 17.