1. On February 20, 1820, Maine became the 23rd state in the United States as part of the Missouri Compromise, which allowed Maine to enter the Union as a free state while Missouri was admitted as a slave state.

2. On February 20, 1895, the Maine State Legislature passed a bill to establish the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station, a research organization focused on improving agricultural practices in the state.

3. February 20, 1909 marks the birth of Harold Alfond, a businessman and philanthropist who founded the Dexter Shoe Company and donated millions of dollars to charitable causes in Maine.

4. On February 20, 1943, Maine's 103rd Infantry Regiment, made up mostly of soldiers from Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, landed on the island of Kiska in the Aleutian Islands during World War II, in what turned out to be a rare Allied defeat in the Pacific Theater.

5. February 20, 1978 saw the dedication of the Cleonice and Alex G. McKinnon Presidential Library and Museum at St. Joseph's College in Standish, Maine, named for the college's former president and his wife. The library houses a collection of rare books and artifacts related to the history of Maine and the college.