On May 20 in history
0325 - 1st Christian ecumenical council opens at Nic慳, Asia Minor 0526 - Earthquake kills 250,000 in Antioch, Syria 1293 - Earthquake strikes Kamakura Japan, 30,000 killed 1303 - Treaty of Paris restores Gascony to British in Hundred Years War 1310 - Shoes were made for both right & left feet 1347 - Rienzo calls Rome for people's tribunal 1495 - French King Charles VIII leaves Naples 1498 - Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Calcutta India 1501 - Joao da Nova Castell discovers Ascension Islands 1521 - Ignatius Loyola seriously wounded by a cannon ball 1524 - Duke of Albany leaves Scotland 1570 - Egidius Coppens publishes Abraham Ortelius' "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum" 1571 - Venice, Spain & Pope Pius form anti-Turkish Saint League 1591 - Spanish troops in Zutphen surrenders to Willem Louis/Mauritius 1631 - German army under earl Johann Tilly conquerors Maagdenburg 1639 - Dorchester Mass, forms 1st school funded by local taxes 1690 - England passes Act of Grace, forgiving followers of James II 1704 - Elias Neau forms school for slaves in NY 1734 - 1st Jockey Club forms in SC 1774 - Britain gives Qu俠ec, Labrador & territory north of Ohio 1775 - Citizens of Mecklenburg County, NC declare independence of Britain 1784 - England & Netherlands signs peace treaty (Peace of Paris) 1825 - Charles X becomes King of France 1830 - 1st railroad timetable published in newspaper (Baltimore American) 1830 - D Hyde patents fountain pen 1845 - 1st legislative assembly convenes in Hawaii 1861 - Cornerstone of University of Washington laid in Seattle 1861 - Kentucky proclaims its neutrality in Civil War 1861 - North Carolina becomes 11th & last state to secede from Union 1861 - US marshals appropriate previous year's telegraph dispatches, to reveal prosecessionist evidence 1862 - Homestead Act provides cheap land for settlement of West 1864 - Battle at Ware Bottom Church, Virginia, 1,400 killed or injured 1864 - Spotsylvania-campaign ends after 10,920 killed/injured person 1867 - Brit parliament rejects John Stuart Mills law on women suffrage 1867 - Royal Albert Hall foundation laid by Queen Victoria 1868 - Republican National Convention, meets in Chicago, nominates Grant 1870 - Second Chamber abolishes capital punishment 1874 - Levi Strauss markets blue jeans with copper rivets, price $13.50 doz 1875 - Intl Bureau of Weights & Measures forms by treaty 1879 - 5th Kentucky Derby: Charlie Shauer aboard Lord Murphy wins in 2:37 1882 - Germany/Austria-Hungary/France sign Triple Alliance 1882 - Henrik Ibsen's "Ghosts" (Gengangere) premieres in Chicago 1882 - St Gotthard-railroad tunnel between Switzerland & Italy opens 1892 - George Sampson patents clothes dryer 1892 - Triple Alliance between Germany, Italy & Austria forms 1895 - 1st commercial movie performance (153 Broadway, NYC) 1900 - 2nd modern Olympic games opens in Paris (lasted 5 months) 1902 - Cuba gains independence from Spain 1902 - US military occupation of Cuba (since Jan 1, 1899) ends 1910 - Funeral for Britain's King Edward VII 1911 - Edwin Boaler Alletson hits 189 in 90 mins Notts v Sussex 1913 - 38th Preakness: James Butwell aboard Buskin wins in 1:53.4 1915 - Bataafsche Petroleum Me begins oil extraction of Maracaibo 1916 - Codell, Kansas hit by tornado (also on same date in 1917 & 1918) 1916 - Saturday Evening Post cover features Norman Rockwell painting 1917 - Turkish govt authorizes Jews to return to Tel Aviv & Jaffa 1918 - 1st electrically propelled warship (New M倄ico) 1919 - Volcano Keluit on Java, erupts killing 550 1920 - Policemen raid the Cubs' bleachers & arrest 24 fans for gambling 1922 - "Egypt" sinks off Ushant after colliding with "Seine," killing 90 1922 - Babe Ruth & Bob Meusel, suspended on October 16, 1921, by Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis, return to the NY lineup & go hitless 1923 - Stanley Baldwin, becomes PM of UK 1926 - Belgian govt of Jaspar takes power 1926 - Congress passes Air Commerce Act, licensing of pilots & planes 1926 - Railway Labor Act became law 1926 - Thomas Edison says Americans prefer silent movies over talkies 1927 - At 7:40 AM, Lindbergh takes off from NY to cross Atlantic for Paris 1927 - Saudi Arabia becomes independent of Great Britain (Treaty of Jedda) 1930 - 1st airplane catapulted from a dirigible, Charles Nicholson, pilot 1930 - University of California dedicates $1,500 to research on prevention & cure of athlete's foot 1932 - Amelia Earhart leaves Newfoundland 1st woman fly solo across Atlantic 1932 - Engelbert Dollfuss becomes chancellor of Austria 1939 - "3 Little Fishies," by Kay Kyser hits #1 1939 - Pan Am begins transatlantic passenger & air mail service 1939 - 1st regular transatlantic airmail (NY to Marsseille France) 1940 - Gen Guderians tanks reach The Channel (British expeditionary army) 1940 - Igor Sikorsky unveils his helicopter invention 1940 - Soccer team HZVV forms in Hoogeveen 1940 - Trailing 7-1 in 9th to Pitts, Phils win 8-7 1941 - Archer's "Christian Calendar & Gregorian Reform" published 1941 - Former Dutch PM Colijn says Neth Indies not ready for independence 1941 - Germany invades Crete 1941 - White Sox Taft Wright sets AL record of RBIs in 13 consecutive games 1942 - US Navy 1st permitted black recruits to serve 1943 - French, British & US victory parade in Tunis Tunisia 1944 - US Communist Party dissolves 1945 - Keith Miller scores 105 in the 1st Victory Test Cricket at Lord's 1946 - Cubs Claude Passeau makes his 1st error since September 21, 1941, ending pitcher's fielding record of 273 consecutive errorless chances 1948 - 1st use of Israeli Air Force & 1st war victory, defeating Syrian army 1948 - Cleve Indians tie AL record of 18 walks (beat Red Sox 13-4) 1950 - 76th Preakness: Eddie Arcaro aboard Hill Prince wins in 1:59.2 1954 - Chiang Kai-shek becomes president of Nationalist China 1955 - Argentine parliament accepts separation of church & state 1956 - Atomic fusion (thermonuclear) bomb dropped from plane-Bikini Atoll 1956 - Jordan government of Samir resigns 1958 - US performs nuclear test at Enwetak (atmospheric tests) 1959 - Ford wins battle with Chrysler to call its new car "Falcon" 1959 - Japanese-Americans regain their citizenship 1959 - Shah of Persia visits Netherlands 1959 - Yanks sink to last place, 1st time since May 25, 1940 1960 - Baseball game in Milwaukee postponed due to dense fog 1961 - 87th Preakness: Johnny Sellers aboard Carry Back wins in 1:57.6 1961 - Henzes opera "Elegy for Young Lovers," premieres in Schwetzingen 1961 - Mauritania adopts constitution 1961 - White mob attacks "Freedom Riders" in Montgomery, Alabama 1962 - Patty Berg wins LPGA Muskogee Civitan Golf Open 1963 - Sukarno appointed president of Indonesia 1964 - Buster Mathis defeats Joe Fraizer to qualify for US Olympic team 1965 - Pakistani Boeing 720-B crashes at Cairo Egypt, killing 121 1965 - Yorkshire all out for 23 v Hampshire at Middlesbrough 1967 - 10,000 demonstrate against war in Vietnam 1967 - 93rd Preakness: Bill Shoemaker aboard Damascus wins in 1:55.2 1967 - BBC bans Beatle's "A Day in the Life" (drug references) 1969 - US troop capture Hill 937/Hamburger Hill Vietnam 1970 - 100,000 march in NY supporting US policies in Vietnam 1970 - 2 die in a NYC subway accident 1970 - Beatles' "Let it Be" movie premieres in UK 1971 - Pentagon reports blacks constitute 11% of US soldiers in SE Asia 1972 - "Different Times" closes at ANTA Theater NYC after 24 performances 1972 - "Hard Job Being God" closes at Edison Theater NYC after 6 performances 1972 - 5th ABA Championship: Indiana Pacers beat NY Nets, 4 games to 2 1972 - 98th Preakness: Eldon Nelson aboard Bee Bee Bee wins in 1:55.6 1972 - Cameroon adopts its constitution 1972 - Republic of Cameroon declared as constitution is ratified 1973 - "2 Gentlemen of Verona" closes at St James Theater NYC after 613 perfs 1973 - 25th Emmy Awards: Waltons, All in the Family & Mary Tyler Moore 1973 - Donna Caponi Young wins LPGA Bluegrass Golf Invitational 1974 - Soyuz 14 returns to Earth 1976 - USSR performs nuclear test at Sary Shagan USSR 1978 - 104th Preakness: Steve Cauthen aboard Affirmed wins in 1:54.4 1978 - 3 PFLP members kill a cop near El Al airlines in Orly Airport, Paris 1978 - US launches Pioneer Venus 1; produces 1st global radar map of Venus 1979 - "I Love My Wife" closes at Barrymore Theater NYC after 864 perfs 1979 - 1st western pop star to tour USSR-Elton John 1979 - Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Coca-Cola Golf Classic 1980 - 710 families in Love Canal area (Niagara Falls NY) are evacuated 1980 - Drummer Peter Criss quits Kiss 1980 - Fire in nursing home in Kingston Jamaica, kills 157 1980 - In a referendum, 59.5% of Qu俠ec voters reject separatism 1981 - Ipswich Town wins 10th UEFA Cup at Amsterdam 1983 - Larry Holmes beats Tim Witherspoon in 12 for heavyweight boxing title 1983 - Michael Dokes & Mike Weaver fight to a draw in 15 for hw boxing title 1983 - Phillies Steve Carlton passes W Johnson with 2nd most strike outs 1984 - "On Your Toes" closes at Virginia Theater NYC after 505 performances 1984 - Barb Bunkowsky wins LPGA Chrysler-Plymouth Charity Golf Classic 1984 - Boston's Roger Clemens beats Twins, 5-4, for his 1st victory 1985 - 1150 Lebanese/Palestinian prisoners exchanged for 3 Israelis 1985 - Dow Jones industrial avg closes above 1300 for 1st time 1985 - FBI arrests John A Walker Jr, convicted of spying for USSR 1985 - Indians-Brewers game at Cleve Stadium is 1st rain-out of 1985, ends record string of 458 ML games since Opening Day without a rain-out 1985 - Israel exchanges 1,100+ Arab prisoners for 3 Israeli soldiers 1985 - Larry Holmes beats Carl Williams in 15 for heavyweight boxing title 1985 - US began broadcasts to Cuba on Radio Marti 1986 - Christy Fichtner, 23, (Texas), crowned 35th Miss USA 1986 - Flintstones 25th Anniversary Celebration airs on CBS-tv 1987 - G攖enborg wins 16th UEFA Cup at Dundee 1987 - Wrestler Jerry Lawler sues WWF & Harley Race for trademark name "king" 1988 - Howard Stern fans disrupt WMMR's & John DeBella's "Louie Louie" parade 1988 - Mike Schmidt hits his 535th HR, moving into 8th place 1989 - 115th Preakness: Pat Valenzuela aboard Sunday Silence wins in 1:53.8 1989 - China declares martial law in Beijing 1989 - Toonces The Cat takes the wheel on Saturday Night Live 1989 - Walter McConnel, 57, is oldest to reach 27,000' Mt Everest top 1990 - "Truly Blessed" closes at Longacre Theater NYC after 33 performances 1990 - Cindy Rarick wins LPGA Planters Pat Bradley Golf International 1990 - Hubble Space Telescope sends 1st photograph's from space 1991 - Chic Bull Michael Jordan, named NBA's MVP 1991 - Jeff Reardon gains his 300th career save 1991 - Soviet parliament approves law allowing citizens to travel abroad 1992 - FC Barcelona wins 373 Europe Cup 1 at London 1992 - India launches its 1st satellite independently 1992 - Rap singer raps 597 syllables in under 60 seconds 1992 - VP Quayle attacks Murphy Brown for being a single mother 1993 - 10m meteor comes within 150,000 km of Earth (1993KA) 1993 - 274th & final "Cheers" on NBC 1993 - Ukraine Premier Leonid Koetsjma resigns 1994 - Bobcat Goldthwait charged with misdemeanors for fire on Tonight Show 1994 - Miss India (Sushmita Sen) selected Miss Universe 1994 - Sony Theaters & Cineplex (NYC) hike movie ticket prices to $8.00 1995 - 121st Preakness: Pat Day aboard Timber Coutry wins in 1:54.4 1995 - CBS News fires co-anchor Connie Chung 1995 - Twins Marty Cordova ties rookie record of HRs in 5 consecutive games 1997 - Cosmos Zenit-2 Launch (Russia), Failed 1997 - Thor-2A Delta 2 Launch (Norway/USA), Successful 1997 - White Sox Frank Thomas reaches base safely for 15th straight time
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