A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on May 20th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
On May 20, 1521, the man that would become Saint Ignatius of Loyola was seriously wounded at Pamplona in a battle between the Spanish and the French supported Navarrese during the Spanish Conquest of Navarre, the region of land on the Iberian Peninsula between France and Spain.
On May 20, 1645, the forces of Prince Dodo (we do not make this stuff up!) of the Qing Dynasty conquered the city of Yangzhou, China, from the forces of the Southern Ming of the Hongguang Emperor.
On May 20, 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul (later Emperor) of France, made a mistake he later regretted the rest of his life when he reinstated slavery in the French colonies.
On May 20, 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis patented blue jeans with copper rivets.
On May 20, 1899, history’s first traffic ticket was issued to a New York cab driver, Jacob German who was zipping down Lexington Street at 12 mph.
On May 20, 1927, Charles Lindbergh took off on his non-stop, solo trans-Atlantic flight, a flight into aviation history.
On May 20, 1936, Japanese prostitute Sada Abe was confronted by police at the inn where she was staying, showing them her lover’s genitals as proof of her identification!
On May 20, 1969, the Battle of Hamburger Hill came to an end.
On May 20, 1983, two separate groups of researchers published their research that indicated AIDS was caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Science Magazine.
On May 20, 2017, the entire planet was obligated to celebrate World Whisky Day, and if you have any questions about the legitimacy of this holiday, understand that there is a web site dedicated to this particular day!
On Monday, May 20, 2024, documentary fans had their chance to be among the first in Cleveland, Ohio to see a free, virtual screening of The Blue Angels at 6:00PM Eastern.
Question for students (and subscribers): Which event that occurred on today’s date would you like to learn more about? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.
