ON THIS DAY IN RECENT HISTORY ~ May 20

ON THIS DAY IN RECENT HISTORY ~
MAY 20

What was happening on this day in modern history? Let's take a look at some of the big events, Birthdays, and anniversaries for May 20th....

1873 - Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis patent first blue jeans with copper rivets.
1875 - Intl Bureau of Weights & Measures forms by treaty.
1891 - The first public display of Thomas Edison's prototype kinetoscope.
1892 - George Sampson patents clothes dryer.
1900 - 2nd modern Olympic games opens in Paris (lasted 5 months).
1908 - Jimmy Stewart [James], PA, actor (Mr Smith Goes to Wash, Wonderful Life), (d. 1997) is born.

1910 - Funeral for Britain's King Edward VII.
1913 - William Hewlett, cofounder (Hewlett-Packard Co) is born.
1919 - George Gobel, Chicago Ill, comedian/TV personality (I Love My Wife) is born.

1920 - Policemen raid the Cubs' bleachers & arrest 24 fans for gambling.
1926 - Thomas Edison says Americans prefer silent movies over talkies.
1927 - At 7:40 AM, Lindbergh takes off from NY to cross Atlantic for Paris.
1930 - 1st airplane catapulted from a dirigible, Charles Nicholson, pilot.
1930 - University of California dedicates $1,500 to research on prevention & cure of athlete's foot.
1932 - Amelia Earhart leaves Newfoundland 1st woman fly solo across Atlantic.

1939 - "3 Little Fishies," by Kay Kyser hits #1.
1939 - 1st regular transatlantic airmail (Pan Am: NY to Marsseille France).
1941 - Germany invades Crete.
1942 - US Navy 1st permitted black recruits to serve.
1942 - "I've Got A Gal in Kalamazoo" is recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra.

1944 - US Communist Party dissolves.
1944 - Joe Cocker, Sheffield England, rock vocalist (Little Help From My Friends) is born.
1946 - Cher [Cherilyn Sarkisian], El Centro, California, American singer and actress (I Got You Babe, Jack Lalane, Mask, Sonny and Cher) is born.
1954 - Bill Haley and the Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" is released. It will not be successful until it is released in 1955 on the soundtrack to "Blackboard Jungle."

1954 - Cindy Hensley McCain, wife of John McCain, is born.
1958 - Jane Wiedlin, Wisc, singer/guitarist (GoGos, Fur, Rush Hour) is born.
1959 - Ford wins battle with Chrysler to call its new car "Falcon."
1959 - Japanese-Americans regain their citizenship.
1960 - Susan Cowsill, Newport RI, rock vocalist (Cowsills-We Can Fly) is born.

 

 

1960 - Tony Goldwyn, LA California, actor (Ghost, Kuffs, Traces of Red) is born.
1960 - John Billingsley, American actor, is born.
1960 - Alan Freed, a disc jockey, is indicted for income tax evasion stemming from payola.
1967 - 10,000 demonstrate against war in Vietnam.
1967 - Jimi Hendrix signs his first American record contract with Reprise Records.
1967 - BBC bans Beatle's "A Day in the Life" (drug references).
1969 - US troops capture Hill 937/Hamburger Hill Vietnam.

1970 - 100,000 march in NY supporting US policies in Vietnam.
1970 - Beatles' "Let it Be" movie premieres in UK.
1971 - Peter Cetera (Chicago) is beaten up by four men at a Chicago Cubs-Dodgers baseball game. The men object to the length of Cetera's hair. Cetera will undergo four hours of emergency surgery.
1973 - 25th Emmy Awards: Waltons, All in the Family & Mary Tyler Moore.
1978 - "The Buddy Holly Story" premiers in Lubbock, TX.

1979 - "I Love My Wife" closes at Barrymore Theater NYC after 864 perfs.
1979 - 1st western pop star to tour USSR-Elton John.
1980 - Drummer Peter Criss quits Kiss.
1985 - FBI arrests John A Walker Jr, convicted of spying for USSR.
1985 - Larry Holmes beats Carl Williams in 15 for heavyweight boxing title.
1989 - Walter McConnel, 57, is oldest to reach 27,000' Mt Everest top.
1989 - Gilda Radner, comedienne (SNL, Haunted Honeymoon), dies at 42.

1990 - Hubble Space Telescope sends 1st photograph's from space.
1991 - Soviet parliament approves law allowing citizens to travel abroad.
1993 - Final episode of "Cheers" on NBC.

1994 - Bobcat Goldthwait charged with misdemeanors for fire on Tonight Show.
1995 - CBS News fires co-anchor Connie Chung.
2012 - Robin Gibb, British singer song-writer, dies from colon and liver cancer at 62.

 

 

 

 

2013 - Ray Manzarek, Founding Member of The Doors, Passes Away at 74.