Today In History. What Happened This Day In History
A Timeline Of Events That Occurred On This Day In History
A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.
Today in History
May 20
| 325 | The Ecumenical council is inaugurated by Emperor Constantine in Nicea. | |
| 1303 | A peace treaty is signed between England and France. | |
| 1347 | Cola di Rienzo takes the title of tribune in Rome. | |
| 1520 | Hernando Cortes defeats Spanish troops sent against him in Mexico. | |
| 1690 | England passes the Act of Grace, forgiving followers of James II. | |
| 1674 | John Sobieski becomes Poland's first king. | |
| 1774 | Parliament passes the Coercive Acts to punish the colonists for their increasingly anti-British behavior. The acts close the port of Boston. | |
| 1775 | North Carolina becomes the first colony to declare its independence. | |
| 1784 | The Peace of Versailles ends a war between France, England, and Holland. | |
| 1799 | Napoleon Bonaparte orders a withdrawal from his siege of St. Jean d'Acre in Egypt. | |
| 1859 | A force of Austrians collide with Piedmontese cavalry at the village of Montebello, in northern Italy. | |
| 1861 | North Carolina becomes the last state to secede from the Union. | |
| 1862 | President Lincoln signs the Homestead Act, providing 250 million acres of free land to settlers in the West. | |
| 1874 | Levi Strauss begins marketing blue jeans with copper rivets. | |
| 1902 | The U.S. military occupation of Cuba ends. | |
| 1927 | Charles Lindbergh takes off from New York for Paris. | |
| 1930 | The first airplane is catapulted from a dirigible. | |
| 1932 | Amelia Earhart lands near Londonderry, Ireland, to become the first woman fly solo across the Atlantic. | |
| 1939 | Pan American Airways starts the first regular passenger service across the Atlantic. | |
| 1941 | Germany invades Crete by air. | |
| 1942 | Japan completes the conquest of Burma. | |
| 1951 | During the Korean War, U.S. Air Force Captain James Jabara becomes the first jet air ace in history. | |
| 1961 | A white mob attacks civil rights activists in Montgomery, Alabama. | |
| 1969 | In South Vietnam, troops of the 101st Airborne Division reach the top of Hill 937 after nine days of fighting entrenched North Vietnamese forces. | |
| 1970 | 100,000 people march in New York, supporting U.S. policies in Vietnam. | |
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Born on May 20 |
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| 1663 | William Bradford, printer. | |
| 1750 | Stephen Girard, American financier and philanthropist. | |
| 1768 | Dolley Madison, first lady of President James Madison. | |
| 1799 | Honore de Balzac, French novelist (The Human Comedy, Lost Illusions). | |
| 1806 | John Stuart Mill, British philospher and economist. | |
| 1818 | William George Fargo, one of the founders of Wells, Fargo & Co. | |
| 1882 | Sigrid Undset, Norwegian novelist (Kristin Lavransdatter). | |
| 1908 | Jimmy Stewart, actor (It's a Wonderful Life, Mr Smith Goes to Washington). | |
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