May 20th is also known as World Bee Day & Pick Strawberries Day.
This day marks the 140th day of 2023, and there’s another 225 days to go.
Check out all the biggest historical events from May 20th with our top facts on areas such as exploration, inventions, disasters, fashion and more.
Did you know that on this day in 1896, the chandelier of the Palais Garnier Opera House broke and its debris fell on a crowd? While several were injured there was only one death.
Keep reading for more interesting facts about May 20th in history!
What Events Happened On May 20 In History?
2015 The US Air Force Space Command launched the Boeing X-37B spaceplane for a classified mission.
Mission USA-261 was the second launch of the second Boeing X-37B, a reusable robotic spacecraft that launched vertically atop a rocket and returned to earth horizontally as a spaceplane. In addition to flying a classified mission, the spacecraft carried a NASA payload of materials to test their exposure to space.
2013 The Church of Scotland voted in favor of allowing openly gay men and women to be ministers.
1980 Quebec held a referendum on whether to begin negotiations with Canada to become independent.
1979 Elton John and his entourage flew into Moscow, making him the first western pop star to tour the USSR.
1972 Hard Job Being God, a Broadway musical, closed at the Edison Theater NYC after six performances.
1932 Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland.
When she left, she took a copy of the Telegraph-Journal as proof of the date of the flight. After a flight lasting 14 hours and 56 minutes, she landed in Northern Ireland. This made her the first woman to fly solo and nonstop across the Atlantic.
1896 The chandelier of the Palais Garnier Opera House broke, and its debris fell on a crowd.
One of the chandelier's counterweights broke and fell into the auditorium, killing one person and injuring a few others. This event became a famous scene in the popular 1910 novel "Phantom of the Opera."
1891 The first public display of Thomas Edison’s prototype kinetoscope was shown to members of the National Federation of Women’s Club.
1873 Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis patented the first blue jeans with copper rivets.
Read More1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Acts into law.
These Acts were to provide cheap land in the West to settlers. Applicants could gain ownership of government land or the public domain. Over 160 million acres of public land were given away for free to 1.6 million people.
1609 Shakespeare’s Sonnets were first published in London.
The publisher, Thomas Thorpe, entered the book in the Stationers' Register. However, how he acquired the manuscripts is unconfirmed, and it may have been an illegal copy.
1498 After decades of failed attempts to reach the Indies, Vasco da Gama arrived in Calicut, India.
He was the first European to reach India by sea.
685 AD The Pictish armies of King Bridei Mac Bili won a decisive victory over the armies of Northumbria at the Battle of Dun Nechtain.
325 AD The first Christian ecumenical council opens at Nicaea, Asia Minor. It was the first attempt to achieve agreement in the church.
Famous People Born On May 20
Are you celebrating your birthday today? If so, did you know that you share the same birthday as Peyton Clark? See what other famous people were born on this day.
1946 Cher
American Singer
- Age:
- 76 years old
- Born In:
- California, USA
1972 Busta Rhymes
American Rapper
- Age:
- 50 years old
- Born In:
- New York, USA
1994 Peyton Clark
American Actor
- Age:
- 28 years old
- Born In:
- Indiana, USA
1968 Timothy Olyphant
American Actor
- Age:
- 54 years old
- Born In:
- Hawaii, USA
Special Holidays On May 20
Are you looking for something to do today? Well, here’s a few special days that might just give you some ideas.
World Bee Day
Bees play such an essential role in helping us to cultivate food. Today is World Bee Day, so be sure to take part by learning more about buzzing little bees, or you could even make a bee hotel to attract bees into your garden.
National Pick Strawberries Day
Buying strawberries from the store can always be a gamble, as there are always some bad strawberries hidden in the punnet. The best strawberries are picked fresh off the plant, so head out to your closest strawberry farm today and pick some of your own on Pick Strawberries Day!
Read MoreTHe Fact Site's
Fun Fact Of The Day
The A.D. and B.C. system was not proposed until 525 A.D. by a monk. However, it was not widely used until the 9th Century.
May 20 Birthday Facts, Zodiac & Birthstone
Everyone who was born on May 20th shares the same zodiac sign, Taurus.
Taurus is represented by the bull and is the second sign in the zodiac. Anyone who was born between April 20 and May 20 falls into this astrological sign.
For all of you who were born in May, your allocated birthstone is Emerald. Green is a color that signifies hope, the coming of spring, regeneration, and new growth. Even the word “emerald” comes from the ancient Greek “smaragdos,” which means “green gem.”
If your birthday falls on May 20th, you would’ve likely been conceived around August 27th in the previous year.
A baby conceived on May 20th, 2023, will likely be born around February 10th, 2024.
