MAY 20 | Birthdays and Events
Famous Birthdays
People born on May 20
Dolley Madison
Died: July 12, 1849
The 4th First Lady of the U.S. (President James Madison).
William Fargo
Died: August 3, 1881
Co-founder of Wells Fargo and American Express.
Rose Hawthorne Lathrop
Died: July 9, 1926
Daughter of Nathaniel Hawthorne who became a nun and founded the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne.
Emile Berliner
Died: August 3, 1929
Inventor of the Gramophone record.
Francis Raymond Fosberg
Died: September 25, 1993
Botanist who helped develop the standards for studying coral reef and the study of islands.
James Stewart
Died: July 2, 1997
Actor who earned great distinction in film, including The Murder Man (1935), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), It's a Wonderful Life (1946).
William Hewlett
Died: January 12, 2001
Co-founder of Hewlett-Packard.
Edward B. Lewis
Died: July 21, 2004
American biologist, geneticist, and academic who helped found and develop the field of evolutionary developmental biology.
Hal Newhouser
Died: November 10, 1998
MLB pitcher who was known as "Hurricane Hal."
Cher
Award-winning musician and actress who has been dubbed the "Goddess of Pop."
Ted Allen
American television host and author.
Historical Events on May 20
Events that occurred on May 20 throughout history
Dorchester, Massachusetts, forms the first school to be funded by local tax dollars.
Dorchester, Massachusetts, forms the first school to be funded by local tax dollars. Known as the Mather School, the school was funded by a tax on property owners on Thompson Island and was free to all children in the town.
The first jockey club forms in South Carolina.
The South Carolina Jockey Club, often cited as the first in the U.S., was established in Charleston around 1734. The club was composed of elite horse owners and breeders, notes the Steeplechase of Charleston.
Kentucky proclaims its neutrality during the Civil War.
The state of Kentucky proclaims its neutrality, which will last until September 3 when Confederate forces enter the state. Following September 3, the state legislature passed a resolution demanding the withdrawal of Confederate forces and pledged loyalty to the Union.
President Lincoln signs the Homestead Act.
President Lincoln signs the Homestead Act, opening 84 million acres of public land to settlers. This legislation was meant to encourage any U.S. citizen to live on, cultivate, and improve the land for five years, paying only a small registration fee.
Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a patent for blue jeans with copper rivets
Straus and Davis were granted U.S. Patent No. 139,121 for "Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings", marking the birth of blue jeans with copper rivets. Originally designed for workwear, this invention grew into the iconic 501 brand.
The first public display of Thomas Edison's prototype kinetoscope occurs.
The first public display of Thomas Edison's prototype kinetoscope. Approximately 150 members of the National Federation of Women's Clubs viewed a 3-second film through a peephole in a pine box.
The U.S. Armed Forces Security Agency is established.
The U.S. Armed Forces Security Agency is established to eliminate duplication of effort between military branches after WWII. In 1952, the agency reorganized and became known as the National Security Agency (NSA).
U.S. troops capture Hill 937 in Vietnam.
U.S. troops capture Hill 937, also known as Hamburger Hill in Vietnam.