May 20
is the 140th day of the year in the
Gregorian Calendar (141st in leap years). There are 225 days remaining in the year.
*
325 - The
First Council of Nicaea – the first
Ecumenical Council of the
Christian Church – is held.
*
526 - An
earthquake kills about 300,000 people in
Syria and
Antiochia.
*
685 - The
Battle of Dunnichen or Nechtansmere is fought between a
Pictish army under King
Bridei III and the invading
Northumbrians under King
Ecgfrith, who are decisively defeated.
*
1217 - The
Second Battle of Lincoln is fought near
Lincoln,
England, resulting in the defeat of
Prince Louis of France by
William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke.
*
1293 - King
Sancho IV of Castile creates the
Study of General Schools of Alcalá.
*
1497 -
John Cabot sets sail from
Bristol,
England, on his ship
Matthew looking for a route to the west (other documents give a
2 May date).
*
1498 -
Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at
Kozhikode (previously known as
Calicut),
India.
*
1521 -
Battle of Pampeluna:
Ignatius Loyola seriously wounded in the battle.
*
1570 -
Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues the first modern
atlas.
*
1631 - The city of
Magdeburg in
Germany is seized by forces of the
Holy Roman Empire and most of its inhabitants massacred, in one of the bloodiest incidents of the
Thirty Years' War.
*
1690 -
England passes the
Act of Grace, forgiving followers of
Catholic James II.
*
1813 -
Napoleon Bonaparte leads his
French troops into the
Battle of Bautzen in
Saxony,
Germany, against the combined armies of
Russia and
Prussia. The battle ends the next day with a
French victory.
*
1845 -
HMS Erebus and
HMS Terror with 134 men under
John Franklin sail from the
River Thames in
England, beginning a disastrous expedition to find the
Northwest Passage. All hands are lost.
*
1861 -
American Civil War: The state of
Kentucky proclaims its
neutrality, which will last until
September 3 when
Confederate forces enter the state.
*1861 -
American Civil War: The state of
North Carolina secedes from the
Union, joining The
Confederacy.
*
1862 -
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the
Homestead Act into law.
*
1864 -
American Civil War:
Battle of Ware Bottom Church - In the
Virginia Bermuda Hundred Campaign, 10,000 troops fight in this
Confederate victory.
*
1873 -
Levi Strauss and
Jacob Davis receive a
U.S. patent for blue
jeans with copper rivets.
*
1882 - The
Triple Alliance between
Germany,
Austria-Hungary and
Italy is formed.
*
1883 - The
eruption of
Krakatoa begins, leading ultimately to the
volcano's destruction three months later.
*
1891 -
History of cinema: First public display of
Thomas Alva Edison's prototype
kinetoscope (shown at
Edison's Laboratory for a convention of the
National Federation of Women's Clubs).
*
1896 - The six ton
chandelier of the
Palais Garnier falls on the crowd resulting in the death of one and the injury of many others.
*
1902 -
Cuba gains independence from the
United States.
Tomás Estrada Palma becomes the first
President of Cuba.
*
1910 -
Krazy Kat and Ignatz first appear in 'The Dingbat Family' comic strip
*
1916 - The
Saturday Evening Post publishes its first cover with a
Norman Rockwell painting ("
Boy with Baby Carriage").
*
1920 - The
Weimarer Nationalversammlung, the
national assembly of
Germany's
Weimar Republic, is permanently dissolved.
*1920 -
Montreal Quebec station
XWA broadcasts the first regularly scheduled
radio programming in
North America.
*
1927 - By the
Treaty of Jedda, the
United Kingdom recognizes the
sovereignty of
King Ibn Saud in the Kingdoms of
Hejaz and
Nejd, which later merged to become the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia.
*1927 - At 07:52
Charles Lindbergh takes off from
Roosevelt Field in
Long Island,
New York, on the world's first solo nonstop flight across the
Atlantic Ocean, touching down at
Le Bourget Field in
Paris at 22:22 the next day.
*
1932 -
Amelia Earhart takes off from
Newfoundland to begin the world's first solo nonstop flight across the
Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot, landing in
Ireland the next day.
*
1940 -
Holocaust: The first prisoners arrive at a new
concentration camp at
Auschwitz.
*
1941 -
World War II:
Battle of Crete –
German paratroops invade
Crete.
*
1949 - In the
United States of America, the
AFSA (the predecessor of the
NSA) is established.
*
1954 -
Chiang Kai-shek is selected for another term as
President of the Republic of China by the
National Assembly*
1965 - A
Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 720-B crashes on landing at
Cairo airport, killing 121 people.
*
1969 - The
Battle of Hamburger Hill in
Vietnam ends.
*
1980 - In a
Referendum in
Quebec, the population rejects by a 60% vote the proposal from its government to move towards independence from
Canada.
*
1983 - First publications of the discovery of the that causes
AIDS in the journal
Science by
Luc Montagnier[
1] and
Robert Gallo[
2] individually.
*
1985 -
Radio Martí, part of the
Voice of America service, begins broadcasting to
Cuba.
*
1989 - The
Chinese authorities declare
martial law in the face of pro-
democracy demonstrations, setting the scene for the
Tiananmen Square massacre.
*
1990 - The first post-
Communist presidential and
parliamentary elections are held in
Romania.
*
1995 - In a second
Referendum in
Quebec, the population rejects by a slight majority the proposal from its government to move towards independence from
Canada.
*
1996 -
Gay rights: The
Supreme Court of the United States rules in
Romer v. Evans against a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state of
Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of
homosexuals.
*
2002 -
East Timor becomes independent from
Indonesian rule.
*
2005 - The world's tallest and fastest roller coaster,
Kingda Ka, opens at
Six Flags Great Adventure.
*
2006 - In
Athens,
Greece,
Lordi wins the 51st
Eurovision Song Contest representing
Finland with the song "
Hard Rock Hallelujah".
*2006 -
Barbaro breaks leg in 2nd leg of
Triple Crown.
*
1315 -
Bonne of Luxembourg, wife of
John II of France (d.
1349)
*
1470 -
Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal (d.
1547)
*
1554 -
Paolo Bellasio, Italian composer (d.
1594)
*
1660 -
Andreas Schlüter, German sculptor (d.
1714)
*
1663 -
William Bradford, British-born printer (d.
1752)
*
1706 -
Seth Pomeroy, American gunsmith and soldier (d.
1777)
*
1726 -
Francis Cotes, English painter (d.
1770)
*
1737 -
William Petty Fitzmaurice, British statesman (d.
1805)
*
1759 -
William Thornton, West Indian-born architect (d.
1828)
*
1768 -
Dolley Madison,
First Lady of the United States (d.
1849)
*
1772 - Sir
William Congreve, English inventor (d.
1828)
*
1799 -
Honoré de Balzac, French novelist (d.
1850)
*
1806 -
John Stuart Mill, English philosopher (d.
1873)
*
1818 -
William Fargo, co-founder of Wells, Fargo & Company (d.
1881)
*
1822 -
Frédéric Passy, French economist,
Nobel laureate (d.
1912)
*
1830 -
Hector Malot, French writer (d.
1907)
*
1838 -
Jules Méline, French statesman (d.
1925)
*
1851 -
Emil Berliner, German-born recording pioneer (d.
1929)
*
1860 -
Eduard Buchner, German chemist,
Nobel laureate (d.
1917)
*
1882 -
Sigrid Undset, Norwegian author,
Nobel laureate (d.
1949)
*
1883 - King
Faisal I of Iraq (d.
1933)
*
1894 -
Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Indian Hindu sage,
Jivanmukta (d.
1994)
*
1895 -
R. J. (Reginald Joseph) Mitchell, British aircraft designer (d.
1937)
*
1899 -
Alexander Deyneka, Ukrainian painter (d.
1969)
*
1901 -
Max Euwe, Dutch chess player (d.
1981)
*
1906 -
Giuseppe Cardinal Siri, Italian Catholic cardinal (d.
1989)
*
1908 -
James Stewart, American actor (d.
1997)
*
1909 -
Matt Busby, Scottish football manager (d.
1994)
*
1911 -
Gardner Fox, American writer (d.
1986)
*
1913 -
William Hewlett, American engineer (d.
2001)
*
1914 -
Corneliu Coposu, Romanian politician (d.
1995)
*
1915 -
Moshe Dayan, Israeli general (d.
1981)
*
1916 -
Trebisonda Valla, Italian athlete
* 1916 -
Alexei Petrovich Maresiev, Russian flying ace (d.
2001)
*
1917 -
Guy Favreau, French Canadian lawyer (d.
1967)
* 1917 -
Bergur Sigurbjörnsson, Icelandic politician (d.
2005)
*
1918 -
Edward B. Lewis, American geneticist,
Nobel laureate (d.
2004)
*
1919 -
George Gobel, American comedian (d.
1991)
*
1920 -
Betty Driver, English singer and actress
*
1921 -
Wolfgang Borchert, German writer (d.
1947)
* 1921 -
Hal Newhouser, baseball player (d.
1998)
*
1926 -
Bob Sweikert, American race car driver (d.
1956)
*
1927 -
Bud Grant, American football coach
*
1931 -
Ken Boyer, baseball player (d.
1982)
*
1935 -
Marinella, Greek singer
*
1936 -
Anthony Zerbe, American actor
*
1940 -
Stan Mikita, Slovak-born
hockey player
* 1940 -
Sadaharu Oh, Japanese
baseball player
*
1941 -
John Strasberg, American actor
*
1941 -
Manuel Isaias Lopez, MD, Mexican Child Psychiatrist
*
1942 -
Carlos Hathcock, American
Marine sniper (d.
1999)
* 1942 -
Jill Jackson, American singer
*
1943 -
Shorty Long, American musician (d.
1969)
* 1943 -
Al Bano, Italian singer
*
1944 -
Joe Cocker, British singer
* 1944 -
Boudewijn de Groot, Dutch singer
* 1944 -
Dietrich Mateschitz, Austrian businessman
*
1946 -
Cher, American singer
*
1947 -
Greg Dyke, British broadcast executive
*
1952 -
Roger Milla,
Cameroonian footballer
*
1953 -
Robert Doyle, Australian politician
*
1955 -
Zbigniew Preisner, Polish film composer
*
1956 -
Ingvar Ambjørnsen, Norwegian author
*
1958 -
Ron Reagan, American talk show host
* 1958 -
Jane Wiedlin, American singer (
The Go-Go's)
*
1959 -
Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, American singer
* 1959 -
Bronson Pinchot, American actor
*
1960 -
John Billingsley, American actor
* 1960 -
Chuck Brodsky, American musician
* 1960 -
Tony Goldwyn, American actor
*
1962 -
Mike Jeffries, American soccer coach
*
1963 -
David Wells, American baseball player
*
1965 -
Ted Allen, American television host
*
1966 -
Mindy Cohn, American actress
*
1968 -
Timothy Olyphant, American actor
*
1970 -
B.G. James, American professional wrestler
* 1970 -
Louis Theroux, British television presenter
*
1971 -
Tony Stewart, American race car driver
* 1971 -
Šárka Kašpárková, Czech athlete
*
1972 -
Tina Hobley, British television actress
* 1972 -
Busta Rhymes, American singer and rapper
*
1976 -
Ramón Hernández, Venezuelan baseball player
*
1977 -
Miriam Parrish, American television actress
* 1977 -
Leonardo Noeren Franco, Argentine footballer
* 1977 -
Matt Czuchry, American actor
*
1981 -
Íker Casillas, Spanish footballer
* 1981 -
Lindsay Taylor, American basketball player
*
1982 -
Imran Farhat, Pakistani cricketer
* 1982 -
Petr Cech, Czech footballer
* 1982 -
Kasey James, American professional wrestler
*
685 - King
Ecgfrith of Northumbria (b.
645)
*
1277 -
Pope John XXI (b.
1215)
*
1285 -
John II of Jerusalem, King of Cyprus (b.
1259)
*
1444 - Saint
Bernardino of Siena, Italian Franciscan missionary (b.
1380)
*
1503 -
Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, Italian patron (b.
1463)
*
1506 -
Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer (b.
1451)
*
1550 -
Ashikaga Yoshiharu, Japanese shogun (b.
1510)
*
1622 -
Osman II,
Ottoman Sultan (b.
1604)
*
1648 - King
Wladislaus IV of Poland (b.
1595)
*
1677 -
George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol, British statesman (b.
1612)
*
1713 -
Thomas Sprat, English writer (b.
1635)
*
1717 -
John Trevor, British statesman (b.
1637)
*
1722 -
Sébastien Vaillant, French botanist (b.
1669)
*
1732 -
Thomas Boston, Scottish church leader (b.
1676)
*
1782 -
William Emerson, British mathematician (b.
1701)
*
1793 -
Charles Bonnet, Swiss naturalist (b.
1720)
*
1834 -
Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette, French statesman (b.
1757)
*
1841 -
Joseph Blanco White, British theologian (b.
1775)
*
1873 - Sir
George-Étienne Cartier, French-Canadian statesman (b.
1814)
*
1896 -
Clara Schumann, German pianist and composer (b.
1819)
*
1917 -
Philipp von Ferrary, Italian stamp collector (b.
1850)
*
1940 -
Verner von Heidenstam, Swedish writer,
Nobel laureate (b.
1859)
*
1946 -
Jacob Ellehammer, Danish inventor (b.
1871)
*
1947 -
Philipp Lenard, Austrian physicist,
Nobel laureate (b.
1862)
*
1956 -
Max Beerbohm, English theater critic (b.
1872)
*
1971 -
Waldo Williams, Welsh poet (b.
1904)
*
1975 -
Barbara Hepworth, British sculptor (b.
1903)
*
1978 -
Bjarne Brustad, Norwegian composer (b.
1895)
*
1989 -
John Hicks, English economist,
Nobel laureate (b.
1904)
* 1989 -
Gilda Radner, American comedian and actress (b.
1946)
*
1996 -
Jon Pertwee, British actor (b.
1919)
*
2000 -
Jean Pierre Rampal, French flutist (b.
1922)
*
2001 -
Renato Carosone, Italian musician (b.
1920)
*
2002 -
Stephen Jay Gould, American paleontologist (b.
1941)
*
2005 -
Paul Ricoeur, French philosopher (b.
1913)
*
2006 -
Cherd Songsri, Thai film director
*
Cameroon National Day.
*
East Timor National Day.
saints in the
Roman Catholic Church:
*
Saint Bernardine of Siena*
Saint Theodore of Pavia*
Saint Lucifer*
Saint Austregisilus*
Saint Ivo of ChartresEliza Doolittle day
["Daily Holidays of 2006, Week of May 15 - May 21, 2006" URL accessed 20th May 2006.] ["semi-centennial Eliza Doolittle Day Celebration" URL accessed 20th May 2006.]
*
BBC: On This Day*
The New York Times: On This Day*
On This Day in Canada19 May -
21 May -
20 April -
20 June –
listing of all days
