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May 20 Events in History - May 20 Birthdays - May 20 Deaths
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May 20, 1997 Cosmos Zenit-2 Launch (Russia), Failed May 20, 1997 Thor-2A Delta 2 Launch (Norway/USA), Successful May 20, 1997 White Sox Frank Thomas reaches base safely for 15th straight time May 20, 1995 121st Preakness: Pat Day aboard Timber Coutry wins in 1:54.4 May 20, 1995 CBS News fires co-anchor Connie Chung May 20, 1995 Twins Marty Cordova ties rookie record of home runs in 5 consecutive games May 20, 1994 Bobcat Goldthwait charged with misdemeanors for fire on Tonight Show May 20, 1994 Miss India (Sushmita Sen) selected Miss Universe May 20, 1994 Sony Theaters and Cineplex (New York City) hike movie ticket prices to $8.00 May 20, 1993 10m meteor comes within 150,000 km of Earth (1993KA) May 20, 1993 274th and final "Cheers" on NBC May 20, 1993 Ukraine Premier Leonid Koetsjma resigns May 20, 1992 FC Barcelona wins 373 Europe Cup 1 at London May 20, 1992 India launches its 1st satellite independently May 20, 1992 Rap singer raps 597 syllables in under 60 seconds May 20, 1991 Chicago Bull Michael Jordan, named NBA's MVP May 20, 1991 Jeff Reardon gains his 300th career save May 20, 1991 Soviet parliament approves law allowing citizens to travel abroad May 20, 1990 "Truly Blessed" closes at Longacre Theater New York City after 33 performances May 20, 1990 Cindy Rarick wins LPGA Planters Pat Bradley Golf International May 20, 1990 Hubble Space Telescope sends 1st photograph's from space May 20, 1989 115th Preakness: Pat Valenzuela aboard Sunday Silence wins in 1:53.8 May 20, 1989 China declares martial law in Beijing May 20, 1989 Toonces The Cat takes the wheel on Saturday Night Live May 20, 1989 Walter McConnel, 57, is oldest to reach 27,000' Mt Everest top May 20, 1988 Howard Stern fans disrupt WMMR's and John DeBella's "Louie Louie" parade May 20, 1988 Mike Schmidt hits his 535th HR, moving into 8th place May 20, 1987 Gotenborg wins 16th UEFA Cup at Dundee May 20, 1987 Wrestler Jerry Lawler sues WWF and Harley Race for trademark name "king" May 20, 1986 Christy Fichtner, 23, (Texas), crowned 35th Miss USA May 20, 1986 Flintstones 25th Anniversary Celebration airs on CBS-tv May 20, 1985 1150 Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners exchanged for 3 Israelis May 20, 1985 Dow Jones industrial avg closes above 1300 for 1st time May 20, 1985 FBI arrests John A Walker Jr, convicted of spying for U.S.S.R. May 20, 1985 Indians-Brewers game at Cleveland Stadium is 1st rain-out of 1985, ends record string of 458 ML games since Opening Day without a rain-out May 20, 1985 Larry Holmes beats Carl Williams in 15 for heavyweight boxing title May 20, 1985 U.S. began broadcasts to Cuba on Radio Marti May 20, 1984 "On Your Toes" closes at Virginia Theater New York City after 505 performances May 20, 1984 Barb Bunkowsky wins LPGA Chrysler-Plymouth Charity Golf Classic May 20, 1984 Boston's Roger Clemens beats Twins, 5-4, for his 1st victory May 20, 1983 Larry Holmes beats Tim Witherspoon in 12 for heavyweight boxing title May 20, 1983 Michael Dokes and Mike Weaver fight to a draw in 15 for hw boxing title May 20, 1983 Phillies Steve Carlton passes W Johnson with 2nd most strike outs May 20, 1981 Ipswich Town wins 10th UEFA Cup at Amsterdam May 20, 1980 710 families in Love Canal area (Niagara Falls New York) are evacuated May 20, 1980 Drummer Peter Criss quits Kiss May 20, 1980 Fire in nursing home in Kingston Jamaica, kills 157 May 20, 1980 In a referendum, 59.5% of Quebec voters reject separatism May 20, 1979 "I Love My Wife" closes at Barrymore Theater New York City after 864 performances May 20, 1979 1st western pop star to tour U.S.S.R.-Elton John May 20, 1979 Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Coca-Cola Golf Classic May 20, 1978 104th Preakness: Steve Cauthen aboard Affirmed wins in 1:54.4 May 20, 1978 3 PFLP members kill a cop near El Al airlines in Orly Airport, Paris May 20, 1978 U.S. launches Pioneer Venus 1; produces 1st global radar map of Venus May 20, 1976 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test at Sary Shagan U.S.S.R. May 20, 1974 Soyuz 14 returns to Earth May 20, 1973 "2 Gentlemen of Verona" closes at St. James Theater New York City after 613 performances May 20, 1973 25th Emmy Awards: Waltons, All in the Family and Mary Tyler Moore May 20, 1973 Donna Caponi Young wins LPGA Bluegrass Golf Invitational May 20, 1972 "Different Times" closes at ANTA Theater New York City after 24 performances May 20, 1972 "Hard Job Being God" closes at Edison Theater New York City after 6 performances May 20, 1972 5th ABA Championship: Indiana Pacers beat New York Nets, 4 games to 2 May 20, 1972 98th Preakness: Eldon Nelson aboard Bee Bee Bee wins in 1:55.6 May 20, 1972 Republic of Cameroon declared as constitution is ratified May 20, 1971 Pentagon reports blacks constitute 11% of U.S. soldiers in SE Asia May 20, 1970 100,000 march in New York supporting U.S. policies in Vietnam May 20, 1970 2 die in a New York City subway accident May 20, 1970 Beatles' "Let it Be" movie premieres in UK May 20, 1969 U.S. troop capture Hill 937/Hamburger Hill Vietnam May 20, 1967 10,000 demonstrate against war in Vietnam May 20, 1967 93rd Preakness: Bill Shoemaker aboard Damascus wins in 1:55.2 May 20, 1967 BBC bans Beatle's "A Day in the Life" (drug references) May 20, 1965 Pakistani Boeing 720-B crashes at Cairo Egypt, killing 121 May 20, 1965 Yorkshire all out for 23 vs. Hampshire at Middlesbrough May 20, 1964 Buster Mathis defeats Joe Fraizer to qualify for U.S. Olympic team May 20, 1963 Sukarno appointed president of Indonesia May 20, 1962 Patty Berg wins LPGA Muskogee Civitan Golf Open May 20, 1961 87th Preakness: Johnny Sellers aboard Carry Back wins in 1:57.6 May 20, 1961 Henzes opera "Elegy for Young Lovers," premieres in Schwetzingen May 20, 1961 Mauritania adopts constitution May 20, 1961 White mob attacks "Freedom Riders" in Montgomery, Alabama May 20, 1960 Baseball game in Milwaukee postponed due to dense fog May 20, 1959 Ford wins battle with Chrysler to call its new car "Falcon" May 20, 1959 Japanese-Americans regain their citizenship May 20, 1959 Shah of Persia visits Netherlands May 20, 1959 Yanks sink to last place, 1st time since May 25, 1940 May 20, 1958 U.S. performs nuclear test at Enwetak (atmospheric tests) May 20, 1956 Atomic fusion (thermonuclear) bomb dropped from plane-Bikini Atoll May 20, 1956 Jordan government of Samir resigns May 20, 1955 Argentine parliament accepts separation of church and state May 20, 1954 Chiang Kai-shek becomes president of Nationalist China May 20, 1950 76th Preakness: Eddie Arcaro aboard Hill Prince wins in 1:59.2 May 20, 1948 1st use of Israeli Air Force and 1st war victory, defeating Syrian army May 20, 1948 Cleveland Indians tie AL record of 18 walks (beat Red Sox 13-4) May 20, 1946 Cubs Claude Passeau makes his 1st error since September 21, 1941, ending pitcher's fielding record of 273 consecutive errorless chances May 20, 1945 Keith Miller scores 105 in the 1st Victory Test Cricket at Lord's May 20, 1944 U.S. Communist Party dissolves May 20, 1943 French, British and U.S. victory parade in Tunis Tunisia May 20, 1942 U.S. Navy 1st permitted black recruits to serve May 20, 1941 Archer's "Christian Calendar and Gregorian Reform" published May 20, 1941 Former Dutch PM Colijn says Netherlands Indies not ready for independence May 20, 1941 Germany invades Crete May 20, 1941 White Sox Taft Wright sets AL record of RBIs in 13 consecutive games May 20, 1940 Gen Guderians tanks reach The Channel (British expeditionary army) May 20, 1940 Igor Sikorsky unveils his helicopter invention May 20, 1940 Soccer team HZVV forms in Hoogeveen May 20, 1940 Trailing 7-1 in 9th to Pitts, Phils win 8-7 May 20, 1939 "3 Little Fishies," by Kay Kyser hits #1 May 20, 1939 Pan Am begins transatlantic passenger and air mail service May 20, 1939 1st regular transatlantic airmail (New York to Marsseille France) May 20, 1932 Amelia Earhart leaves Newfoundland 1st woman fly solo across Atlantic May 20, 1932 Engelbert Dollfuss becomes chancellor of Austria May 20, 1930 1st airplane catapulted from a dirigible, Charles Nicholson, pilot May 20, 1930 University of California dedicates $1,500 to research on prevention and cure of athlete's foot May 20, 1927 At 7:40 AM, Lindbergh takes off from New York to cross Atlantic for Paris May 20, 1927 Saudi Arabia becomes independent of Great Britain (Treaty of Jedda) May 20, 1926 Belgian government of Jaspar takes power May 20, 1926 Congress passes Air Commerce Act, licensing of pilots and planes May 20, 1926 Railway Labor Act became law May 20, 1926 Thomas Edison says Americans prefer silent movies over talkies May 20, 1923 Stanley Baldwin, becomes PM of UK May 20, 1922 "Egypt" sinks off Ushant after colliding with "Seine," killing 90 May 20, 1922 Babe Ruth and Bob Meusel, suspended on October 16, 1921, by Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis, return to the New York lineup and go hitless May 20, 1920 Policemen raid the Cubs' bleachers and arrest 24 fans for gambling May 20, 1919 Volcano Keluit on Java, erupts killing 550 May 20, 1918 1st electrically propelled warship (New Mexico) May 20, 1917 Turkish government authorizes Jews to return to Tel Aviv and Jaffa May 20, 1916 Codell, Kansas hit by tornado (also on same date in 1917 and 1918) May 20, 1916 Saturday Evening Post cover features Norman Rockwell painting May 20, 1915 Bataafsche Petroleum Me begins oil extraction of Maracaibo May 20, 1913 38th Preakness: James Butwell aboard Buskin wins in 1:53.4 May 20, 1911 Edwin Boaler Alletson hits 189 in 90 mins Notts vs. Sussex May 20, 1910 Funeral for Britain's King Edward VII May 20, 1902 Cuba gains independence from Spain May 20, 1902 U.S. military occupation of Cuba (since Jan 1, 1899) ends May 20, 1900 2nd modern Olympic games opens in Paris (lasted 5 months) May 20, 1895 1st commercial movie performance (153 Broadway, New York City) May 20, 1892 George Sampson patents clothes dryer May 20, 1892 Triple Alliance between Germany, Italy and Austria forms May 20, 1882 Germany/Austria-Hungary/France sign Triple Alliance May 20, 1882 Henrik Ibsen's "Ghosts" (Gengangere) premieres in Chicago May 20, 1882 St. Gotthard-railroad tunnel between Switzerland and Italy opens May 20, 1879 5th Kentucky Derby: Charlie Shauer aboard Lord Murphy wins in 2:37 May 20, 1875 International Bureau of Weights and Measures forms by treaty May 20, 1874 Levi Strauss markets blue jeans with copper rivets, price $13.50 doz May 20, 1870 Second Chamber abolishes capital punishment May 20, 1868 Republican National Convention, meets in Chicago, nominates Grant May 20, 1867 Brit parliament rejects John Stuart Mills law on women suffrage May 20, 1867 Royal Albert Hall foundation laid by Queen Victoria May 20, 1864 Battle at Ware Bottom Church, Virginia, 1,400 killed or injured May 20, 1864 Spotsylvania-campaign ends after 10,920 killed/injured person May 20, 1861 Cornerstone of University of Washington laid in Seattle May 20, 1861 Kentucky proclaims its neutrality in Civil War May 20, 1861 U.S. marshals appropriate previous year's telegraph dispatches, to reveal prosecessionist evidence May 20, 1845 1st legislative assembly convenes in Hawaii May 20, 1830 1st railroad timetable published in newspaper (Baltimore American) May 20, 1830 D. Hyde patents fountain pen May 20, 1825 Charles X becomes King of France May 20, 1784 England and Netherlands signs peace treaty (Peace of Paris) May 20, 1775 Citizens of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina declare independence of Britain May 20, 1774 Britain gives Quebec, Labrador and territory north of Ohio May 20, 1734 1st Jockey Club forms in South Carolina May 20, 1704 Elias Neau forms school for slaves in New York May 20, 1690 England passes Act of Grace, forgiving followers of James II May 20, 1639 Dorchester Massachusetts, forms 1st school funded by local taxes May 20, 1631 German army under earl Johann Tilly conquerors Maagdenburg May 20, 1591 Spanish troops in Zutphen surrenders to Willem Louis/Mauritius May 20, 1571 Venice, Spain and Pope Pius form anti-Turkish Saint League May 20, 1570 Egidius Coppens publishes Abraham Ortelius' "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum" May 20, 1524 Duke of Albany leaves Scotland May 20, 1521 Ignatius Loyola seriously wounded by a cannon ball May 20, 1501 Joao da Nova Castell discovers Ascension Islands May 20, 1498 Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Calcutta India May 20, 1495 French King Charles VIII leaves Naples May 20, 1347 Rienzo calls Rome for people's tribunal May 20, 1310 Shoes were made for both right and left feet May 20, 1303 Treaty of Paris restores Gascony to British in Hundred Years War May 20, 1293 Earthquake strikes Kamakura Japan, 30,000 killed May 20, 526 Earthquake kills 250,000 in Antioch, Syria May 20, 325 1st Christian ecumenical council opens at Nicaea, Asia Minor |