Historical Events
- 1498 Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Calicut, India becoming the first European to reach India by sea
- 1609 Shakespeare's Sonnets are first published in London, perhaps illicitly, by publisher Thomas Thorpe
- 1862 US President Abraham Lincoln signs into law the Homestead Act to provide cheap land for the settlement of the American West (80 million acres by 1900)
- 1864 Spotsylvania campaign in US Civil War ends after 10,920 killed or injured
- 1927 At 7:40 AM, Charles Lindbergh takes off from New York to cross the Atlantic for Paris, aboard Spirit of St Louis in the 1st solo nonstop transatlantic flight
- 1927 Treaty of Jeddah is signed between the United Kingdom and Ibn Saud recognizing the independence of the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd, the forerunner of Saudi Arabia
- 1990 Hubble Space Telescope sends its 1st photographs from space
- More Historical Events
May 20 in Film & TV
- 1891 1st public display of Thomas Edison's prototype kinetoscope to members of the National Federation of Women's Club
May 20 in Music
- 1983 "Every Breath You Take" single released by The Police (Billboard Song of the Year, 1983)
May 20 in Sport
- 1900 Second modern Summer Olympics (Games of the II Olympiad) opens in Paris and continues for 5 months
Did You Know?
Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis patent the first blue jeans with copper rivets
On May 20, 1873
Toussaint Louverture
James Stewart
Bill Hewlett
Moshe Dayan
Joe Cocker
CherWould You Believe?
The six ton chandelier of the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris falls on the crowd resulting in the death of one and the injury of many others
On May 20, 1896
Famous Weddings
- 491 New Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I Dicorus marries Ariadne, widow of previous Emperor Zeno and daughter of Leo I
- 1756 Prime Minister of Great Britain Frederick North (24) weds heiress Anne Speke
- 1968 "The Who" guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend (23) weds Karen Astley in England
More Weddings
Christopher Columbus
Marquis de Lafayette
Randy Savage
Robin Gibb
Billy Cannon
Niki LaudaArticles, Photos and Quiz
Nine Kings in One Room
Nine sovereigns of Europe meet at the funeral of Edward VII
May 20, 1910
Amelia Earhart Flies Across the Atlantic
Amelia Earhart not long after she landed in Ireland in 1932, becoming the first woman to fly non-stop solo across the Atlantic
May 20, 1932
My Fair Lady's Special Day
This was a day to remember for Eliza Doolittle, the 'My Fair Lady' of the stage and film musical that won and broke hearts.
May 20, 1956
