May 20
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
May 20 is the 140th day of the year (141st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 225 days remaining until the end of the year.
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Births [change]
- 1315 – Bonne of Luxembourg, queen of John II of France (d. 1349)
- 1470 – Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal (d. 1547)
- 1554 – Paolo Bellasio, Italian composer (d. 1594)
- 1593 - Salomo Glassius, German theologian (d. 1656)
- 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)
- 1780 - Bernardino Rivadavia, Argentine statesman (d. 1845)
- 1772 – Sir William Congreve, English inventor (d. 1828)
- 1799 – Honoré de Balzac, French novelist (d. 1850)
- 1806 – John Stuart Mill, English philosopher (d. 1873)
- 1822 – Frédéric Passy, French economist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1912)
- 1830 – Hector Malot, French writer (d. 1907)
- 1832 – Garretson W. Gibson, President of Liberia (d. 1910)
- 1838 – Jules Méline, French statesman (d. 1925)
- 1851 – Emil Berliner, German-born telephone and recording pioneer (d. 1929)
- 1860 – Eduard Buchner, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1917)
- 1882 – Sigrid Undset, Norwegian author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1949)
- 1883 – King Faisal I of Iraq (d. 1933)
- 1883 - Jan Kaspar, Czech engineer and pilot (d. 1927)
- 1883 - Johnny Arthur, American actor (d. 1951)
- 1886 – Ali Sami Yen, Turkish footballer (d. 1951)
- 1889 - Karin Molander, Swedish actress (d. 1978)
- 1893 – Asmundur Sveinsson, Icelandic sculptor (d. 1972)
- 1895 – R. J. (Reginald Joseph) Mitchell, British aircraft designer (d. 1937)
- 1897 - Diego Abad de Santillan, Spanish author and economist (d. 1983)
- 1901 – Max Euwe, Dutch chess player (d. 1981)
- 1906 – Giuseppe Cardinal Siri, Italian Catholic cardinal (d. 1989)
- 1908 – James Stewart, American actor (d. 1997)
- 1911 – Gardner Fox, American writer (d. 1986)
- 1912 – Moses I. Finley, American-British historian (d. 1986)
- 1912 – Wilfrid Sellars, American philosopher (d. 1989)
- 1912 - Nereo Rocco, Italian footballer (d. 1979)
- 1913 - Teodoro Fernandez, Peruvian footballer (d. 1996)
- 1913 – William Hewlett, American engineer and computer manufacturer (d. 2001)
- 1915 – Moshe Dayan, Israeli general and politician (d. 1981)
- 1916 – Trebisonda Valla, Italian athlete (d. 2006)
- 1916 – Alexei Petrovich Maresiev, Russian flying ace (d. 2001)
- 1917 – Bergur Sigurbjörnsson, Icelandic politician (d. 2005)
- 1918 – Edward B. Lewis, American geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 2004)
- 1919 – George Gobel, American comedian (d. 1991)
- 1920 – Betty Driver, English singer and actress (d. 2011)
- 1921 – Wolfgang Borchert, German writer (d. 1947)
- 1921 – Hal Newhouser, American baseball player (d. 1998)
- 1925 – Alexei Tupolev, Russian engineer and aircraft designer (d. 2001)
- 1926 – Bob Sweikert, American race car driver (d. 1956)
- 1927 – Bud Grant, American football coach
- 1927 - Franciszek Macharski, Polish cardinal
- 1931 – Ken Boyer, American baseball player (d. 1982)
- 1935 – Marinella, Greek singer
- 1935 – Jose Mujica, President of Uruguay
- 1936 – Anthony Zerbe, American actor
- 1938 – Marinella, Greek singer and actress
- 1940 – Stan Mikita, Slovak-born hockey player
- 1940 – Sadaharu Oh, Japanese baseball player
- 1941 – Goh Chok Tong, former Prime Minister of Singapore
- 1941 – John Strasberg, American actor
- 1943 – Al Bano, Italian singer
- 1944 – Joe Cocker, British singer
- 1944 – Boudewijn de Groot, Dutch singer
- 1944 – Dietrich Mateschitz, Austrian businessman
- 1946 – Cher, American actress and singer
- 1947 – Greg Dyke, British broadcast executive
- 1950 - Reinaldo Merlo, Argentine footballer
- 1950 - Wei Jingsheng, Chinese activist
- 1951 – Thomas Akers, American astronaut
- 1952 – Roger Milla, Cameroonian footballer
- 1953 – Robert Doyle, Australian politician
- 1954 - Esko Aho, former Prime Minister of Finland
- 1954 – David Paterson, American politician, 55th Governor of New York
- 1954 – Cindy McCain, American businesswoman and wife of John McCain
- 1955 – Zbigniew Preisner, Polish movie composer
- 1956 – Ingvar Ambjørnsen, Norwegian author
- 1957 – Yoshihiko Noda, former Prime Minister of Japan
- 1958 – Ron Reagan, American dancer and talk show host
- 1958 – Jane Wiedlin, American singer (The Go-Go's)
- 1959 – Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Hawaiian-American singer (d. 1997)
- 1959 – Bronson Pinchot, American actor
- 1960 – John Billingsley, American actor
- 1960 – Chuck Brodsky, American musician
- 1960 – Tony Goldwyn, American actor
- 1961 - Clive Allen, English footballer
- 1962 – Mike Jeffries, American soccer coach
- 1966 – Mindy Cohn, American actress
- 1967 - Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece
- 1968 – Timothy Olyphant, American actor
- 1970 – Louis Theroux, British television presenter
- 1971 – Tony Stewart, American race car driver
- 1972 – Tina Hobley, British actress
- 1972 – Busta Rhymes, American singer and rapper
- 1976 – Ramón Hernández, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
- 1977 – Miriam Parrish, American actress
- 1981 – Iker Casillas, Spanish footballer
- 1981 – Lindsay Taylor, American basketball player
- 1982 – Petr Cech, Czech footballer
- 1983 – Oscar Cardozo, Paraguayan footballer
- 1984 – Patrick Ewing, Jr., American basketball player
- 1985 - Chris Froome, British cyclist
- 1987 - Taku Takeuchi, Japanese ski jumper
- 1987 - Julian Wright, American basketball player
- 1988 - Miyu Nagase, Japanese singer and guitarist
- 1992 – Cate Campbell, Australian swimmer
- 1993 – Caroline Zhang, American figure skater
Deaths [change]
- 685 – King Ecgfrith of Northumbria (b. 645)
- 1277 – Pope John XII (b. 1215)
- 1285 – John II of Jerusalem, King of Cyprus (b. 1259)
- 1444 – Bernardino of Siena, Italian Franciscan missionary (b. 1380)
- 1449 – Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra, Prince-regent of Portugal (b. 1392)
- 1503 – Lorenzo de' Medici, Italian banker, politician and patron of the arts (b. 1463)
- 1506 – Christopher Columbus, Italian-Spanish seafarer (b. 1451)
- 1550 – Ashikaga Yoshiharu, Japanese shogun (b. 1510)
- 1622 – Osman II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1604)
- 1648 – Wladislaus IV of Poland (b. 1595)
- 1793 – Charles Bonnet, Swiss naturalist (b. 1720)
- 1880 - Henry S. Foote, Governor of Mississippi (b. 1804)
- 1895 - Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen, American politician (b. 1817)
- 1896 – Clara Schumann, German pianist (b. 1819)
- 1925 - Joseph Howard, 1st Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1862)
- 1925 - Elias M. Ammons, 18th Governor of Colorado (b. 1860)
- 1940 – Verner von Heidenstam, Swedish writer (b. 1871)
- 1946 - Jacob Ellehammer, Danish aviation pioneer and engineer (b. 1871)
- 1947 – Philipp Lenard, German physicist (b. 1862)
- 1949 - Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens (b. 1891)
- 1957 – Gilbert Murray, Australian philologist (b. 1866)
- 1961 - Josef Priller, German military aviator (b. 1915)
- 1964 - Rudy Lewis, American singer (b. 1936)
- 1973 - Renzo Pasolini, Italian motorcycle racer (b. 1938)
- 1973 - Jarno Saarinen, Finnish motorcycle racer (b. 1945)
- 1975 – Barbara Hepworth, British sculptor (b. 1903)
- 1976 – Syd Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1911)
- 1984 – Olafur Johannesson, Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1913)
- 1989 – John Hicks, English economist (b. 1904)
- 1989 – Gilda Radner, American comedienne and actress (b. 1946)
- 1996 – Jon Pertwee, British actor (b. 1919)
- 2000 - Jean-Pierre Rampal, French flautist (b. 1922)
- 2001 - Renato Carosone, Italian pianist and bandleader (b. 1920)
- 2002 – Stephen Jay Gould, American paleontologist (b. 1941)
- 2005 – Paul Ricoeur, French philosopher (b. 1913)
- 2008 - Hamilton Jordan, 8th White House Chief of Staff (b. 1944)
- 2009 – Lucy Gordon, British actress (b. 1980)
- 2010 – Walter Rudin, Austrian-born mathematician (b. 1921)
- 2011 – Randy Savage, American pro wrestler (b. 1952)
- 2012 – Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, Libyan, only person convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing (b. 1952)
- 2012 – Robin Gibb, British singer and musician (Bee Gees) (b. 1949)
- 2012 - Eugene Polley, American inventor of the TV remote control (b. 1915)
- 2013 - Ray Manzarek, American musician and singer (The Doors) (b. 1939)
Events [change]
- 325 - First Council of Nicea: The First Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church is held.
- 526 – An earthquake in Syria and Antiochia kills 300,000 people.
- 1202 – The Mediterranean Sea area and the Middle East are shaken by a strong earthquake, which is believed to have killed a million people.
- 1449 - The Battle of Alfarrobeira is fought, establishing the House of Braganza as the main Royal Family of Portugal.
- 1497 – John Cabot sets sail from Bristol to look for a route westwards.
- 1498 – Portuguese seafarer Vasco da Gama arrives in Calicut, now Kozhikode, India.
- 1506 – Christopher Columbus dies, still believing he had reached Asia on his expeditions.
- 1520 - The massacre at the Festival of Toxcatl occurs during the Fall of Tenochtitlan, turning the Aztecs against the Spanish.
- 1570 – Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues the first Atlas.
- 1631 - The city of Magdeburg is seized by forces of the Holy Roman Empire and most of the people who live there are massacred, as one of the bloodiest incidents of the Thirty Years' War.
- 1813 - Napoleon Bonaparte leads his French troops into the Battle of Bautzen in Saxony. The French troops win the battle on the next day.
- 1840 – York Minster is badly damaged by fire.
- 1861 - American Civil War: Kentucky declares its neutrality.
- 1862 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act.
- 1873 - Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a US patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.
- 1875 - Signing of the Metre Convention by 17 countries, leading to the creation of the International System of Units.
- 1882 – Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary form a Triple Alliance.
- 1883 – Krakatau begins a series of eruptions that end really violently in August.
- 1884 – Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo becomes the King of the Zulu nation.
- 1891 - First public display of Thomas Edison's prototype kinetoscope.
- 1902 – Cuba gains independence from the United States, with Tomas Estrada Palma as its first President.
- 1927 - Treaty of Jeddah: The UK recognizes the sovereignty of Ibn Saud in the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd, which later becomes Saudi Arabia.
- 1932 – Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland, on a flight across the Atlantic Ocean. She lands in Ireland the next day.
- 1940 – Holocaust: The first prisoners arrive at Auschwitz.
- 1941 - World War II: Battle of Crete - German paratroops invade Crete.
- 1948 – Chiang Kai-shek is elected the first President of the Republic of China.
- 1956 – The US drops the first airborne hydrogen bomb on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
- 1965 – PIA Flight 705, a Boeing 720, crashes on landing at Cairo International Airport in Egypt, killing 119 people.
- 1969 - Vietnam War: End of the Battle of Hamburger Hill.
- 1980 - Voters in Quebec reject independence from Canada in a referendum, with 60% voting that way.
- 1983 – First publication of the discovery of the HIV virus that leads to AIDS, in the Science journal, by Luc Montagnier.
- 1989 – Authorities in China declare martial law, leading to the crushing of pro-democracy protests on Tiananmen Square two weeks later.
- 1990 – Romania holds its first elections following Communist rule.
- 2002 – East Timor becomes independent from Indonesia.
- 2006 – Finnish monster-rock band Lordi wins the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens, Greece, with 292 points.
- 2012 – Taur Matan Ruak becomes President of East Timor on the 10th anniversary of its independence from Indonesia.
- 2012 – A magnitude 6 earthquake strikes Northern Italy, killing 7 people and destroying many historic buildings.
- 2012 – A solar eclipse is seen over part of East Asia, the North Pacific Ocean and Western North America.
- 2013 - Over 70 people are killed in a series of bomb attacks across Iraq.
- 2013 - 2013 Moore tornado: A tornado strikes the suburbs of Oklahoma City, with the suburb of Moore being worst affected. At least 91 people are killed.
