On this day: February 20
POSTED: 04:12 PM PST Feb 19, 2013
UPDATED: 11:00 PM PST Feb 19, 2013
The Post Office is born, World War II gets its first flying ace, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth, and a fire at a Great White concert leaves 100 dead, all on this day.
K. Segerstrom/U.S. Geological Survey
1943: The Parícutin volcano begins to form from a fissure in a cornfield in Parícutin, Mexico. The volcano grew quickly, reaching five stories tall in just a week, and could be seen from a distance in a month. After a year it stood roughly 1,102 feet tall and would eventually top out at 1,391 feet after about nine years of activity.
