May 20

May 20 in recent years

2024 (Monday)

2023 (Saturday)

2022 (Friday)

2021 (Thursday)

2020 (Wednesday)

2019 (Monday)

2018 (Sunday)

2017 (Saturday)

2016 (Friday)

2015 (Wednesday)

May 20is the 140th day of the year (141st inleap years) in theGregorian calendar;225 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

Pre-1600

• 325– TheFirst Council of Nicaeais formally opened, starting the firstecumenical councilof the Christian Church.
• 491– EmpressAriadnemarriesAnastasius I.The widowedAugustais able to choose her successor for theByzantinethrone, afterZeno(late emperor) dies ofdysentery.
• 685– TheBattle of Dun Nechtainis fought between aPictisharmy under KingBridei IIIand the invadingNorthumbriansunder KingEcgfrith,who are decisively defeated.
• 794– While visiting the royalMerciancourt atSutton Wallswith a view to marrying princessÆlfthryth,KingÆthelberht II of East Angliais taken captive andbeheaded.
• 1217– TheSecond Battle of Lincolnis fought nearLincoln,England, resulting in the defeat ofPrince Louis of FrancebyWilliam Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke.
• 1293– KingSancho IV of Castilecreates theEstudio de Escuelas de GeneralesinAlcalá de Henares.
• 1426– KingMohnyin Thadoformally ascends to thethrone of Ava.
• 1449– TheBattle of Alfarrobeirais fought, establishing theHouse of Braganzaas a principal royal family of Portugal.
• 1497–John Cabotsets sail fromBristol,England, on his shipMatthewlooking for a route to the west (other documents give aMay 2date).
• 1498– Portuguese explorerVasco da Gamadiscovers the sea route to Indiawhen he arrives atKozhikode(previously known as Calicut), India.
• 1520–Hernan CortésdefeatsPánfilo de Narváez,sent by Spain to punish him for insubordination.
• 1521–Ignatius of Loyolais seriously wounded in theBattle of Pampeluna.
• 1570–CartographerAbraham OrteliusissuesTheatrum Orbis Terrarum,the first modernatlas.

1601–1900

• 1609–Shakespeare's sonnetsare first published in London, perhaps illicitly, by the publisherThomas Thorpe.
• 1631– The city ofMagdeburgin Germany is seized by forces of theHoly Roman Empireand most of its inhabitantsmassacred,in one of the bloodiest incidents of theThirty Years' War.
• 1645–Yangzhou massacre:The ten day massacre of 800,000 residents of the city ofYangzhou,part of theTransition from Ming to Qing.
• 1714–Johann Sebastian Bachleads the first performance of his cantata for Pentecost,Erschallet, ihr Lieder,BWV 172,at the chapel ofSchloss Weimar.
• 1741– TheBattle of Cartagena de Indiasends in aSpanishvictory and theBritishbeginwithdrawaltowardsJamaicawith substantiallosses.
• 1775– TheMecklenburg Declaration of Independenceis allegedly signed inCharlotte, North Carolina.
• 1802– By theLaw of 20 May 1802,Napoleon Bonapartereinstatesslaveryin theFrench colonies,revoking its abolition in theFrench Revolution.
• 1813– Napoleon Bonaparte leads his French troops into theBattle of BautzeninSaxony,Germany, against the combined armies of Russia andPrussia.The battle ends the next day with a French victory.
• 1861–American Civil War:The state ofKentuckyproclaims itsneutrality,which will last untilSeptember 3whenConfederateforces enter the state. Meanwhile, the State of North Carolina secedes from the Union.
• 1862– U.S. PresidentAbraham Lincolnsigns theHomestead Actinto law, opening eighty-four million acres (340,000 km²) of public land to settlers.
• 1864– American Civil War:Battle of Ware Bottom Church:In theVirginiaBermuda Hundred campaign,10,000 troops fight in this Confederate victory.
• 1873–Levi StraussandJacob Davisreceive a U.S.patentfor bluejeanswithcopperrivets.
• 1875– Signing of theMetre Conventionby 17 nations leading to the establishment of theInternational System of Units.
• 1882– TheTriple Alliancebetween the German Empire,Austria-Hungaryand theKingdom of Italyis formed.
• 1883–Krakatoabegins to erupt;the volcano explodes three months later, killing more than 36,000 people.
• 1891–History of cinema:The first public display ofThomas Edison's prototypekinetoscope.

1901–present

• 1902–Cubagains independence from the United States.Tomás Estrada Palmabecomes the country's first President.
• 1927–Treaty of Jeddah:The United Kingdom recognizes thesovereigntyof KingIbn Saudin the Kingdoms ofHejazandNejd,which later merge to become the Kingdom ofSaudi Arabia.
• 1927–Charles Lindberghtakes off for Paris from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, N.Y., aboard theSpirit of St. Louison the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, landing33+1⁄2hours later.
• 1932–Amelia Earharttakes off fromNewfoundlandto begin the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot, landing in Ireland the next day.
• 1940–The Holocaust:The first prisoners arrive at anew concentration camp at Auschwitz.
• 1941– World War II:Battle of Crete:GermanparatroopsinvadeCrete.
• 1943– TheLuttra Woman,abog bodyfrom the EarlyNeolithicperiod (radiocarbon-datedc. 3928–3651 BC),was discovered nearLuttra,Sweden.
• 1948– GeneralissimoChiang Kai-shekwins the1948 Republic of China presidential electionand is sworn in as the firstPresident of the Republic of ChinaatNanjing.
• 1949– In the United States, the Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to theNational Security Agency,is established.
• 1956– InOperation Redwing,the first United States airbornehydrogen bombis dropped overBikini Atollin the Pacific Ocean.
• 1958–Capital Airlines Flight 300collides in mid-air with aUnited States Air ForceLockheed T-33overBrunswick, Maryland,killing 12.
• 1964–Discoveryof thecosmic microwave background radiationbyRobert Woodrow WilsonandArno Penzias.
• 1965– One hundred twenty-one people are killed whenPakistan International Airlines Flight 705crashes atCairo International Airport.
• 1967– ThePopular Movement of the Revolutionpolitical partyis established in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo.
• 1969– TheBattle of Hamburger HillinVietnamends.
• 1971– In theChuknagar massacre,Pakistani forces massacre thousands, mostly Bengali Hindus.
• 1980– In areferendumin Quebec, the population rejects, with 60% of the vote, a government proposal to move towards independence from Canada.
• 1983– First publications of the discovery of theHIVvirusthat causesAIDSin the journalScienceby a team of French scientists includingFrançoise Barré-Sinoussi,Jean-Claude Chermann,andLuc Montagnier.
• 1983 –Church Street bombing:A car bomb planted byUMkhonto we Sizweexplodes on Church Street in South Africa's capital,Pretoria,killing 19 people and injuring 217 others.
• 1985–Radio Martí,part of theVoice of Americaservice, begins broadcasting toCuba.
• 1989– The Chinese authorities declare martial law in the face of pro-democracydemonstrations, setting the scene for theTiananmen Square massacre.
• 1990– The first post-Communistpresidential and parliamentary elections are held inRomania.
• 1996–Civil rights:TheSupreme Court of the United Statesrules inRomer v. Evansagainst a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state ofColoradofrom taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights ofgays and lesbians.
• 2002– The independence ofEast Timoris recognized by Portugal, formally ending 23 years ofIndonesianrule and three years of provisional UN administration (Portugal itself is the formercolonizerof East Timor until 1976).
• 2009– AnIndonesian Air ForceLockheed L-100 HerculescrashesinMagetan Regency,killing 99.
• 2011–Mamata Banerjeeis sworn in as theChief Minister of West Bengal,the first woman to hold this post.
• 2012– At least 27 people are killed and 50 others injured when a6.0-magnitude earthquakestrikes northern Italy.
• 2013– AnEF5tornadostrikes theOklahoma Citysuburb ofMoore,killing 24 people and injuring 377 others.
• 2016– The government ofSingaporeauthorised the controversialexecutionof convicted murdererKho Jabingfor the murder of a Chinese construction worker despite the international pleas for clemency, notably fromAmnesty Internationaland theUnited Nations.
• 2019– TheInternational System of Units(SI): The base units are redefined, making theinternational prototype of the kilogramobsolete.
• 2022–Russo-Ukrainian War:Russia claims full control of the Ukrainian city ofMariupolafter a nearlythree-month siege.

Births

Pre-1600

• 1315–Bonne of Luxembourg,first wife ofJohn II of France(d. 1349)
• 1470–Pietro Bembo,Italian cardinal, poet, and scholar (d. 1547)
• 1505–Levinus Lemnius,Dutch writer (d. 1568)
• 1531–Thado Minsaw of Ava,Viceroy of Ava (d. 1584)
• 1537–Hieronymus Fabricius,Italian anatomist (d. 1619)
• 1575–Robert Heath,English judge and politician (d. 1649)

1601–1900

• 1664–Andreas Schlüter,German sculptor and architect (d. 1714)
• 1726–Francis Cotes,English painter and academic (d. 1770)
• 1759–William Thornton,Virgin Islander-American architect, designed theUnited States Capitol(d. 1828)
• 1769–Andreas Vokos Miaoulis,Greek admiral and politician (d. 1835)
• 1772–Sir William Congreve, 2nd Baronet,English inventor and politician, developedCongreve rockets(d. 1828)
• 1776–Simon Fraser,American-Canadian fur trader and explorer (d. 1862)
• 1795–Pedro María de Anaya,Mexican soldier. President (1847–1848) (d. 1854)
• 1799–Honoré de Balzac,French novelist and playwright (d. 1850)
• 1806–John Stuart Mill,English economist, civil servant, and philosopher (d. 1873)
• 1811–Alfred Domett,English-New Zealand poet and politician, 4thPrime Minister of New Zealand(d. 1887)
• 1818–William Fargo,American businessman and politician, co-foundedWells FargoandAmerican Express(d. 1881)
• 1822–Frédéric Passy,French economist and academic,Nobel Prizelaureate (d. 1912)
• 1824–Cadmus M. Wilcox,Confederate States Armygeneral (d. 1890)
• 1825–Antoinette Brown Blackwell,the first woman to be ordained as a mainstream Protestant minister in the U.S. (d. 1921)
• 1830–Hector Malot,French author (d. 1907)
• 1838–Jules Méline,French lawyer and politician, 65thPrime Minister of France(d. 1925)
• 1851–Emile Berliner,German-American inventor, invented theGramophone record(d. 1929)
• 1854–George Prendergast,Australian politician, 28thPremier of Victoria(d. 1937)
• 1856–Henri-Edmond Cross,French Neo-Impressionist painter (d. 1910)
• 1860–Eduard Buchner,German chemist, zymologist, and academic,Nobel Prizelaureate (d. 1917)
• 1875–Hendrik Offerhaus,Dutch rower (d. 1953)
• 1877–Pat Leahy,Irish-American jumper (d. 1927)
• 1879–Hans Meerwein,German chemist (d. 1965)
• 1882–Sigrid Undset,Danish-Norwegian novelist, essayist, and translator,Nobel Prizelaureate (d. 1949)
• 1883–Faisal I of Iraq(d. 1933)
• 1886–Ali Sami Yen,Turkish footballer and manager, founded theGalatasaray Sports Club(d. 1951)
• 1894–Chandrashekarendra Saraswati,Indian guru and scholar (d. 1994)
• 1895–R. J. Mitchell,English engineer, designed theSupermarine SpitfireandSupermarine S.6B(d. 1937)
• 1897–Diego Abad de Santillán,Spanish economist and author (d. 1983)
• 1897 –Malcolm Nokes,English hammer and discus thrower (d. 1986)
• 1898–Eduard Ole,Estonian painter (d. 1995)
• 1899–Aleksandr Deyneka,Russian painter and sculptor (d. 1969)
• 1899 –John Marshall Harlan II,American lawyer and jurist (d. 1971)
• 1900–Sumitranandan Pant,Indian poet and author (d. 1977)

1901–present

• 1901–Max Euwe,Dutch chess player, mathematician, and author (d. 1981)
• 1901 –Doris Fleeson,American journalist (d. 1970)
• 1904–Margery Allingham,English author of detective fiction (d. 1966)
• 1906–Giuseppe Siri,Italian cardinal (d. 1989)
• 1907–Carl Mydans,American photographer and journalist (d. 2004)
• 1908–Henry Bolte,Australian politician, 38thPremier of Victoria(d. 1990)
• 1908 –Louis Daquin,French actor and director (d. 1980)
• 1908 –Francis Raymond Fosberg,American botanist and author (d. 1993)
• 1908 –James Stewart,American actor (d. 1997)
• 1911–Gardner Fox,American author (d. 1986)
• 1911 –Annie M. G. Schmidt,Dutch author and playwright (d. 1995)
• 1913–Teodoro Fernández,Peruvian footballer (d. 1996)
• 1913 –William Redington Hewlett,American engineer, co-foundedHewlett-Packard(d. 2001)
• 1913 –Carlos J. Gradin,Argentine Archaeologist (d. 2002)
• 1915–Peter Copley,English actor (d. 2008)
• 1915 –Moshe Dayan,Israeli general and politician, 5thIsraeli Minister of Foreign Affairs(d. 1981)
• 1915 –Joff Ellen,Australian comedian and actor (d. 1999)
• 1916–Owen Chadwick,English rugby player, historian, and academic (d. 2015)
• 1916 –Alexey Maresyev,Russian soldier and pilot (d. 2001)
• 1916 –Ondina Valla,Italian sprinter and hurdler (d. 2006)
• 1917–Tony Cliff,Israeli-English author and activist (d. 2000)
• 1917 –Guy Favreau,Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, 28thCanadian Minister of Justice(d. 1967)
• 1918–Alexandra Boyko,Russian tank commander (d. 1996)
• 1918 –Edward B. Lewis,American biologist, geneticist, and academic,Nobel Prizelaureate (d. 2004)
• 1919–George Gobel,American comedian (d. 1991)
• 1920–John Cruickshank,Scottish lieutenant and banker,Victoria Crossrecipient
• 1921–Wolfgang Borchert,German author and playwright (d. 1947)
• 1921 –Hal Newhouser,American baseball player and scout (d. 1998)
• 1921 –Hao Wang,Chinese-American logician, philosopher, and mathematician (d. 1995)
• 1922–Ted Hinton,Northern Irish international footballer (d. 1988)
• 1923–Edith Fellows,American actress (d. 2011)
• 1923 –Sam Selvon,Trinidad-born writer (d. 1994)
• 1924–David Chavchavadze,English-AmericanCIAofficer and author (d. 2014)
• 1924 –Zelmar Michelini,Uruguayan journalist and politician (d. 1976)
• 1925–Alexei Tupolev,Russian engineer, designed theTupolev Tu-144(d. 2001)
• 1926–Bob Sweikert,American race car driver (d. 1956)
• 1927–Bud Grant,American football player and coach (d. 2023)
• 1927 –David Hedison,American actor (d. 2019)
• 1927 –Franciszek Macharski,Polish cardinal (d. 2016)
• 1929 –Pedro Trebbau,German-born Venezuelan zoologist (d. 2021)
• 1929–Gilles Loiselle,Canadian politician and diplomat, 33rdCanadian Minister of Finance(d. 2022)
• 1930–Sam Etcheverry,American football player and coach (d. 2009)
• 1931–Ken Boyer,American baseball player and manager (d. 1982)
• 1931 –Louis Smith,American trumpeter (d. 2016)
• 1933–Constance Towers,American actress and singer
• 1935–José Mujica,Uruguayanguerrillaleader and politician, 40thPresident of Uruguay
• 1936–Anthony Zerbe,American actor
• 1937–Dave Hill,American golfer (d. 2011)
• 1937 –Derek Lampe,English footballer
• 1939–Balu Mahendra,Sri Lankan-Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
• 1940–Shorty Long,American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1969)
• 1940 –Stan Mikita,Slovak-Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (d. 2018)
• 1940 –Sadaharu Oh,Japanese-Taiwanese baseball player and manager
• 1941–Goh Chok Tong,Singaporean politician, 2ndPrime Minister of Singapore
• 1941 –John Strasberg,American actor and teacher
• 1942–Raymond Chrétien,Canadian lawyer and diplomat,Canadian Ambassador to the United States
• 1942 –Lynn Davies,Welsh sprinter and long jumper
• 1942 –Carlos Hathcock,American sergeant and sniper (d. 1999)
• 1942 –Frew McMillan,South African tennis player
• 1943–Albano Carrisi,Italian singer, actor, and winemaker
• 1943 –Deryck Murray,Trinidadian cricketer
• 1944–Joe Cocker,English singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
• 1944 –Boudewijn de Groot,Indonesian-Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1944 –Keith Fletcher,English cricketer and manager
• 1944 –Dietrich Mateschitz,Austrian businessman, co-founder ofRed Bull GmbH(d. 2022)
• 1945–Vladimiro Montesinos,Peruvian intelligence officer
• 1946–Cher,American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1946 –Bobby Murcer,American baseball player, coach, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2008)
• 1947–Steve Currie,English bass player (d. 1981)
• 1947 –Greg Dyke,English journalist and academic
• 1949–Robert Morin,Canadian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter
• 1949 –Michèle Roberts,English author and poet
• 1949 –Dave Thomas,Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1950–Andy Johns,English-American engineer and producer (d. 2013)
• 1950 –Reinaldo Merlo,Argentinian footballer and coach
• 1950 –Jane Parker-Smith,English organist (d. 2020)
• 1951–Thomas Akers,American colonel, engineer, and astronaut
• 1951 –Christie Blatchford,Canadian newspaper columnist, journalist and broadcaster (d. 2020)
• 1951 –Mike Crapo,American lawyer and politician
• 1952–Roger Milla,Cameroonian footballer and manager
• 1952 –Michael Wills,English politician,British Minister of Justice
• 1953–Robert Doyle,Australian educator and politician, 103rdLord Mayor of Melbourne
• 1954–David Paterson,American lawyer and politician, 55thGovernor of New York
• 1954 –Colin Sutherland, Lord Carloway,Scottish lawyer and judge
• 1955–Steve George,American keyboard player and songwriter
• 1955 –Zbigniew Preisner,Polish composer and producer
• 1956–Ingvar Ambjørnsen,Norwegian-German author and critic
• 1956 –Gerry Peyton,English born Irish international footballer and coach
• 1956 –Douglas Preston,American journalist and author
• 1957–Yoshihiko Noda,Japanese lawyer and politician, 62ndPrime Minister of Japan
• 1958–Ron Reagan,American journalist and radio host
• 1958 –Jane Wiedlin,American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
• 1959–Susan Cowsill,American singer-songwriter
• 1960–Tony Goldwyn,American actor and director
• 1961–Clive Allen,English international footballer and manager
• 1961 –Nick Heyward,English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1963–David Wells,American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1964–Kōichirō Genba,Japanese politician, 80thJapanese Minister for Foreign Affairs
• 1964 –Edin Osmanović,Slovenian footballer, coach, and manager
• 1964 –Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer,English journalist and author
• 1965–Ted Allen,American television host and author
• 1965 –Stu Grimson,Canadian ice hockey player, sportscaster, and lawyer
• 1966–Dan Abrams,American journalist and author
• 1967–Graham Brady,English politician
• 1967 –Gabriele Muccino,Italian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1968–Timothy Olyphant,American actor and producer
• 1969–Road Dogg,American wrestler, producer, and soldier
• 1970–Terrell Brandon,American basketball player
• 1970 –Louis Theroux,Singaporean-English journalist and producer
• 1971–Šárka Kašpárková,Czech triple jumper and coach
• 1971 –Tony Stewart,American race car driver
• 1972–Michael Diamond,Australian shooter
• 1972 –Christophe Dominici,French rugby player (d. 2020)
• 1972 –Busta Rhymes,American rapper, producer, and actor
• 1973–Nathan Long,Australian rugby league player
• 1974–Allison Amend,American novelist and short story writer
• 1974 –Shiboprosad Mukherjee,Indian film director, writer and actor
• 1975–Juan Minujín,Argentinian actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1976–Ramón Hernández,Venezuelan-American baseball player
• 1976 –Tomoya Satozaki,Japanese baseball player
• 1977–Matt Czuchry,American actor
• 1977 –Leo Franco,Argentinian footballer
• 1977 –Angela Goethals,American actress
• 1977 –Stirling Mortlock,Australian rugby player
• 1977 –Vesa Toskala,Finnish ice hockey player
• 1978–Hristos Banikas,Greek chess player
• 1978 –Pavla Hamáčková-Rybová,Czech pole vaulter
• 1978 –Nils Schumann,German runner
• 1979–Andrew Scheer,Canadian politician, 28thLeader of the Conservative Party of Canada
• 1979 –Jayson Werth,American baseball player
• 1980–Austin Kearns,American baseball player
• 1980 –Kassim Osgood,American football player
• 1981–Iker Casillas,Spanish footballer
• 1981 –Rachel Platten,American singer and songwriter
• 1981 –Lindsay Taylor,American basketball player
• 1981 –Mark Winterbottom,Australian race car driver
• 1982–Petr Čech,Czech footballer
• 1982 –Imran Farhat,Pakistani cricketer
• 1982 –Jessica Raine,English actress
• 1982 –Daniel Ribeiro,Brazilian director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1983–Óscar Cardozo,Paraguayan footballer
• 1983 –Matt Langridge,English rower
• 1984–Mauro Rafael da Silva,Brazilian footballer
• 1984 –Patrick Ewing Jr.,American basketball player
• 1984 –Keith Grennan,American football player
• 1985–Chris Froome,Kenyan-English cyclist
• 1985 –Brendon Goddard,Australian footballer
• 1986–Dexter Blackstock,English footballer
• 1986 –Stéphane Mbia,Cameroonian footballer
• 1986 –Jiřina Svobodová,Czech pole vaulter
• 1987–Mike Havenaar,Japanese footballer
• 1987 –Julian Wright,American basketball player
• 1988–Joel Moon,Australian rugby league player
• 1989–Siosia Vave,Australian-Tongan rugby league player
• 1991–Bastian Baker,Swiss singer, songwriter, and performer
• 1991 –Emre Çolak,Turkish footballer
• 1992–Cate Campbell,Malawian-Australian swimmer
• 1992 –Jack Gleeson,Irish actor
• 1992 –Enes Kanter,Turkish basketball player
• 1992 –Fanny Smith,Swiss freestyle skier
• 1993–Ramy Rabia,Egyptian footballer
• 1993 –Caroline Zhang,American figure skater
• 1996–Brian Kelly,Australian rugby league player
• 1998–Jamie Chadwick,English race car driver
• 1998 –Nam Nguyen,Canadian figure skater

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 685–Ecgfrith of Northumbria(b. 645)
• 794–Æthelberht II,king ofEast Anglia
• 965–Gero the Great,Saxon ruler (b.c.900)
• 1062–Bao Zheng,Chinese magistrate and mayor ofKaifeng(b. 999)
• 1277–Pope John XXI(b. 1215)
• 1285–John I of Cyprus(b. 1259)
• 1291– Sufi SaintSayyid Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari
• 1366–Maria of Calabria,Empress of Constantinople (b. 1329)
• 1444–Bernardino of Siena,Italian-Spanish missionary and saint (b. 1380)
• 1449–Álvaro Vaz de Almada, 1st Count of Avranches
• 1449 –Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra(b. 1392)
• 1501–Columba of Rieti,Italian Dominican tertiary Religious Sister (b. 1467)
• 1503–Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici,Italian banker and politician (b. 1463)
• 1506–Christopher Columbus,Italian explorer, early European explorer of theAmericas(b. 1451)
• 1550–Ashikaga Yoshiharu,Japanese shōgun (b. 1510)
• 1579–Isabella Markham,English courtier (b. 1527)

1601–1900

• 1622–Osman II,Ottoman sultan (b. 1604)
• 1645–Shi Kefa,Chinese general and calligrapher (b. 1601)
• 1648–Władysław IV Vasa,Polish son ofSigismund III Vasa(b. 1595)
• 1677–George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol,Spanish-English politician,English Secretary of State(b. 1612)
• 1713–Thomas Sprat,English bishop (b. 1635)
• 1717–John Trevor,Welsh lawyer and politician, 102ndSpeaker of the House of Commons(b. 1637)
• 1722–Sébastien Vaillant,French botanist and mycologist (b. 1669)
• 1732–Thomas Boston,Scottish author and educator (b. 1676)
• 1782–William Emerson,English mathematician and academic (b. 1701)
• 1793–Charles Bonnet,Swiss botanist and biologist (b. 1720)
• 1812–Count Hieronymus von Colloredo,Austrian archbishop (b. 1732)
• 1834–Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette,French general (b. 1757)
• 1841–Joseph Blanco White,Spanish poet and theologian (b. 1775)
• 1864–John Clare,English poet (b. 1793)
• 1873–George-Étienne Cartier,Canadian soldier, lawyer, and politician, 9thPremier of East Canada(b. 1814)
• 1880–Ana Néri,Brazilian nurse and philanthropist (b. 1814)
• 1896–Clara Schumann,German pianist and composer (b. 1819)

1901–present

• 1909–Ernest Hogan,American actor and composer (b. 1859)
• 1917–Valentine Fleming,Scottish soldier and politician (b. 1887)
• 1917 –Philipp von Ferrary,Italian stamp collector (b. 1850)
• 1924–Bogd Khan,Mongolian ruler (c. 1869)
• 1925–Joseph Howard,Maltese politician, 1stPrime Minister of Malta(b. 1862)
• 1931–Ernest Noel,Scottish businessman and politician (b. 1831)
• 1940–Verner von Heidenstam,Swedish author and poet,Nobel Prizelaureate (b. 1859)
• 1942–Hector Guimard,French Architect (b. 1867)
• 1946–Jacob Ellehammer,Danish pilot and engineer (b. 1871)
• 1947–Philipp Lenard,Slovak-German physicist and academic,Nobel Prizelaureate (b. 1862)
• 1947 –Georgios Siantos,Greek sergeant and politician (b. 1890)
• 1949–Damaskinos of Athens,Greek archbishop and politician, 137thPrime Minister of Greece(b. 1891)
• 1956–Max Beerbohm,English essayist, parodist, and caricaturist (b. 1872)
• 1956 –Zoltán Halmay,Hungarian swimmer and trainer (b. 1881)
• 1961–Josef Priller,German colonel and pilot (b. 1915)
• 1962–Timothy (Szretter),a PolishOrthodoxclergyman,the third Metropolitan of Warsaw and all Poland (b. 1901)
• 1964–Rudy Lewis,American singer (b. 1936)
• 1971–Waldo Williams,Welsh poet and academic (b. 1904)
• 1973–Renzo Pasolini,Italian motorcycle racer (b. 1938)
• 1973 –Jarno Saarinen,Finnish motorcycle racer (b. 1945)
• 1975–Barbara Hepworth,English sculptor and lithographer (b. 1903)
• 1976–Syd Howe,Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1911)
• 1976 –Zelmar Michelini,Uruguayan journalist and politician (b. 1924)
• 1976 –Héctor Gutiérrez Ruiz,Uruguayan politician (b. 1934)
• 1989–John Hicks,English economist and academic,Nobel Prizelaureate (b. 1904)
• 1989 –Gilda Radner,American actress and comedian (b. 1946)
• 1995–Les Cowie,Australian rugby league player (b. 1925)
• 1996–Jon Pertwee,English actor, portrayed theThird Doctor(b. 1919)
• 1998–Robert Normann,Norwegian guitarist (b. 1916)
• 2000–Jean-Pierre Rampal,French flute player (b. 1922)
• 2000 –Malik Sealy,American basketball player and actor (b. 1970)
• 2000 –Yevgeny Khrunov,Russian colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1933)
• 2001–Renato Carosone,Italian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1920)
• 2002–Stephen Jay Gould,American paleontologist, biologist, and academic (b. 1941)
• 2005–Paul Ricœur,French philosopher and academic (b. 1913)
• 2005 –William Seawell,American general (b. 1918)
• 2007–Norman Von Nida,Australian golfer (b. 1914)
• 2008–Hamilton Jordan,American politician, 8thWhite House Chief of Staff(b. 1944)
• 2009–Arthur Erickson,Canadian architect and urban planner, designedRoy Thomson Hall(b. 1924)
• 2009 –Lucy Gordon,American actress and model (b. 1980)
• 2009 –Pierre Gamarra,French author, poet, and critic (b. 1919)
• 2011–Randy Savage,American wrestler and actor (b. 1952)
• 2012–Leela Dube,Indian anthropologist and scholar (b. 1923)
• 2012 –Robin Gibb,Manx-English singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1949)
• 2012 –David Littman,English-Swiss historian, author, and academic (b. 1933)
• 2012 –Ken Lyons,American bass guitarist (b. 1953)
• 2012 –Eugene Polley,American engineer, invented theremote control(b. 1915)
• 2012 –Andrew B. Steinberg,American lawyer (b. 1958)
• 2013–Flavio Costantini,Italian painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
• 2013 –Billie Dawe,Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1924)
• 2013 –Anders Eliasson,Swedish composer (b. 1947)
• 2013 –Miloslav Kříž,Czech basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
• 2013 –Ray Manzarek,American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (b. 1939)
• 2013 –Denys Roberts,English judge and politician (b. 1923)
• 2013 –Zach Sobiech,American singer-songwriter (b. 1995)
• 2014–Sandra Bem,American psychologist and academic (b. 1944)
• 2014 –Ross Brown,New Zealand rugby player (b. 1934)
• 2014 –Robyn Denny,English-French painter (b. 1930)
• 2014 –Arthur Gelb,American journalist, author, and critic (b. 1924)
• 2014 –Prince Rupert Loewenstein,Spanish-English businessman (b. 1933)
• 2014 –Barbara Murray,English actress (b. 1929)
• 2015–Bob Belden,American saxophonist, composer, and producer (b. 1956)
• 2015 –Femi Robinson,Nigerian actor and playwright (b. 1940)
• 2016–Kho Jabing,Malaysian convicted murderer who was executed by hanging in Singapore (b. 1984)
• 2019–Niki Lauda,Austrian race car driver (b. 1949)
• 2021–Gary Wilson,American anti-pornography activist (b.1956)
• 2022–Roger Angell,American sportswriter and author (b. 1920)
• 2022 –Susan Roces,Filipino actress (b. 1941)
• 2024–Ivan Boesky,American stock trader (b. 1937)

Holidays and observances

• Christianfeast day:
  • Abercius and Helena
  • Alcuin of York
  • Aurea of Ostia
  • Austregisilus
  • Baudilus
  • Bernardino of Siena
  • Ivo of Chartres
  • Lucifer of Cagliari
  • Sanctan
  • May 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Day of Remembrance (Cambodia)
• Emancipation Day (Florida)
• European Maritime Day(European Council)
• Independence Restoration Day,celebrates the independence ofEast TimorfromIndonesiain 2002.
• Josephine Baker Day(NAACP)
• National Awakening Day(Indonesia), and its related observances:
  • Indonesian Doctor Day(Indonesia)
• National Day (Cameroon)
• World Bee Day
• World Metrology Day

Bibliography

• Aung-Thwin, Michael A. (2017).Myanmar in the Fifteenth Century.Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press.ISBN978-0-8248-6783-6.
• Kala, U(2006) [1724].Maha Yazawin(in Burmese). Vol. 1–3 (4th printing ed.). Yangon: Ya-Pyei Publishing.

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times:On This Day
• Historical Events on May 20