May is the fifth month of the year in our modern-day Gregorian calendar. In older versions of the ancient Roman calendar, May was the third month of the year. It became the fifth month when January and February were added to the calendar.
According to Gregory calendar, the day number 365 in a year and if it is a leap year then the day number is 366. May 20 has its own special significance in India and world history.
There are 31 days in May and it does not start or end on the same day of the week as any other month.
May’s birth flower is the Lily of the Valley and the Crataegus monogyna.
Here you will find some important events that happened today in Indian and world History on May 20. Read on to know more about this day.
List of Important Historical events of 20 May:
- 1609: William Shakespeare’s first collection of poems is published in London.
- 1784: A treaty is formally signed between the Empire of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic in Paris, ending the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War.
- 1825: Charles X becomes King of France.
- 1864: 1,400 killed in battle at Ware Bottom Church, Virginia.
- 1867: The Royal Albert Hall of the Arts and Sciences Foundation, composed by Queen Victoria, is inaugurated.
- 1873: Levi Strauss, a businessman from San Francisco, and Jacob Davis, a tailor, were given a patent for jeans.
- 1882: Gothard Rail Tunnel Entry Switzerland and Italy opened.
- 1902: Cuba gains independence from the United States.
- 1902: Tomas Estrada Palma becomes the first President of the country.
- 1923: Stanley Baldwin becomes Prime Minister of Britain.
- 1926: Railway Labor Act passed.
- 1927: Saudi Arabia gets independence from Britain.
- 1927: The first passenger airline manufactured by the Boeing 40A company was flown for the first time.
- 1965: 121 people died after Pakistan’s Boeing 720-B plane crashed in Cairo, Egypt.
- 1965: Commander M.S. The first Indian team led by Kohli reached the Mount Everest conference.
- 1990: The Hubble Space Telescope sent the first photographs from space.
- 2002: Portugal recognizes the independence of East Timor.
- 2003: Pakistan bans militant group Hizbul Mujahideen.
- 2012: An earthquake in Italy killed 27 people.