From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

May 20 is the 140th day of the year (141st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 225 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 325 – The First Council of Nicea – the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church is held.
• 526 – An earthquake kills about 300,000 people in Syria and Antiochia.
• 685 – The Battle of Dunnichen or Nechtansmere is fought between a Pictish army under King Bridei III and the invading Northumbrians under King Ecgfrith, who are decisively defeated.
• 1217 – The Second Battle of Lincoln is fought near Lincoln, England, resulting in the defeat of Prince Louis of France by William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke.
• 1293 – King Sancho IV of Castile creates the Study of General Schools of Alcalá.
• 1497 – John Cabot sets sail from Bristol, England, on his ship  Matthew looking for a route to the west (other documents give a May 2 date).
• 1498 – Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Kozhikode (previously known as Calicut), India.
• 1521 – Battle of Pampeluna: Ignatius Loyola is seriously wounded.
• 1570 – Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues the first modern atlas.
• 1609 – Shakespeare's Sonnets are first published in London, perhaps illicitly, by the publisher Thomas Thorpe.
• 1631 – The city of Magdeburg in Germany is seized by forces of the Holy Roman Empire and most of its inhabitants massacred, in one of the bloodiest incidents of the Thirty Years' War.
• 1802 – By the Law of 20 May 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte reinstates slavery in the French colonies, revoking its abolition in the French Revolution
• 1813 – Napoleon Bonaparte leads his French troops into the Battle of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany, against the combined armies of Russia and Prussia. The battle ends the next day with a French victory.
• 1835 – Otto is named the first modern king of Greece.
• 1840 – York Minster is badly damaged by fire
• 1845 – HMS Erebus and HMS Terror with 134 men under John Franklin sail from the River Thames in England, beginning a disastrous expedition to find the Northwest Passage. All hands are lost.
• 1861 – American Civil War: The state of Kentucky proclaims its neutrality, which will last until September 3 when Confederate forces enter the state.
• 1862 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law.
• 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Ware Bottom Church – in the Virginia Bermuda Hundred Campaign, 10,000 troops fight in this Confederate victory.
• 1873 – Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a U.S. patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.
• 1882 – The Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy is formed.
• 1883 – Krakatoa begins to erupt. The volcano's final and most notable explosion occurs on August 26.
• 1891 – History of cinema: The first public display of Thomas Edison's prototype kinetoscope.
• 1896 – The six ton chandelier of the Palais Garnier falls on the crowd resulting in the death of one and the injury of many others.
• 1902 – Cuba gains independence from the United States. Tomás Estrada Palma becomes the first President of Cuba.
• 1916 – The Saturday Evening Post publishes its first cover with a Norman Rockwell painting ("Boy with Baby Carriage").
• 1920 – Montreal, Quebec radio station XWA broadcasts the first regularly scheduled radio programming in North America.
• 1927 – By the Treaty of Jedda, the United Kingdom recognizes the sovereignty of King Ibn Saud in the Kingdoms of Hejaz and Nejd, which later merge to become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• 1927 – At 07:52 Charles Lindbergh takes off from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York, on the world's first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, touching down at Le Bourget Field in Paris at 22:22 the next day.
• 1932 – Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland to begin the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot, landing in Ireland the next day.
• 1940 – Holocaust: The first prisoners arrive at a new concentration camp at Auschwitz.
• 1941 – World War II: Battle of Crete – German paratroops invade Crete.
• 1949 – In the United States, the Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to the National Security Agency, is established.
• 1949 – The Kuomintang regime declares martial law in Taiwan.
• 1956 – In Operation Redwing, (shot Cherokee), the first United States airborne hydrogen bomb is dropped over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean;
• 1965 – PIA Flight 705, a Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 720 – 040 B, crashes while descending to land at Cairo International Airport, killing 119 of the 125 passengers and crew.
• 1969 – The Battle of Hamburger Hill in Vietnam ends.
• 1980 – In a referendum in Quebec, the population rejects by a 60% vote the proposal from its government to move towards independence from Canada.
• 1983 – First publications of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by Luc Montagnier and Robert Gallo individually.
• 1983 – A car-bomb explosion kills 17 and injures 197 in the centre of Pretoria, South Africa.
• 1985 – Radio Martí, part of the Voice of America service, begins broadcasting to Cuba.
• 1989 – The Chinese authorities declare martial law in the face of pro-democracy demonstrations, setting the scene for the Tiananmen Square massacre.
• 1990 – The first post-Communist presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Romania.
• 1995 – In a second referendum in Quebec, the population rejects by a slight majority the proposal from its government to move towards independence from Canada.
• 1996 – Gay rights: The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Romer v. Evans against a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state of Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of gays and lesbians.
• 2002 – The independence of East Timor is recognized by Portugal, formally ending 23 years of Indonesian rule and 3 years of provisional UN administration (Portugal itself is the former colonizer of East Timor until 1976).

Births

• 1315 – Bonne of Luxembourg, wife of John II of France (d. 1349)
• 1470 – Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal (d. 1547)
• 1554 – Paolo Bellasio, Italian composer (d. 1594)
• 1593 – Salomo Glassius, German theologian (d. 1656)
• 1660 – Andreas Schlüter, German sculptor (d. 1714)
• 1663 – William Bradford, British-born printer (d. 1752)
• 1706 – Seth Pomeroy, American gunsmith and soldier (d. 1777)
• 1726 – Francis Cotes, English painter (d. 1770)
• 1737 – William Petty Fitzmaurice, British statesman (d. 1805)
• 1759 – William Thornton, West Indian-born architect (d. 1828)
• 1768 – Dolley Madison, First Lady of the United States (d. 1849)
• 1769 – Andreas Vokos Miaoulis, Greek admiral and politician (d. 1835)
• 1772 – Sir William Congreve, English inventor (d. 1828)
• 1776 – Simon Fraser,Canadian Explorer (d.1862)
• 1799 – Honoré de Balzac, French novelist (d. 1850)
• 1806 – John Stuart Mill, English philosopher (d. 1873)
• 1818 – William Fargo, co-founder of Wells, Fargo & Company (d. 1881)
• 1822 – Frédéric Passy, French economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1912)
• 1830 – Hector Malot, French writer (d. 1907)
• 1838 – Jules Méline, French statesman (d. 1925)
• 1851 – Emil Berliner, German-born recording pioneer (d. 1929)
• 1860 – Eduard Buchner, German chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1917)
• 1882 – Sigrid Undset, Norwegian author, Nobel laureate (d. 1949)
• 1883 – King Faisal I of Iraq (d. 1933)
• 1886 – Ali Sami Yen, the founder of Galatasaray Sports Club (d. 1951)
• 1894 – Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Indian Hindu sage, Jivanmukta (d. 1994)
• 1895 – R. J. (Reginald Joseph) Mitchell, British aircraft designer (d. 1937)
• 1897 – Diego Abad de Santillán, Spanish anarchist (d. 1983)
• 1899 – Alexander Deyneka, Ukrainian painter (d. 1969)
• 1899 – John Marshall Harlan II, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1971)
• 1901 – Max Euwe, Dutch chess player (d. 1981)
• 1906 – Giuseppe Siri, Italian Catholic cardinal (d. 1989)
• 1908 – James Stewart, American actor (d. 1997)
• 1911 – Gardner Fox, American writer (d. 1986)
• 1913 – William Hewlett, American engineer (d. 2001)
• 1914 – Corneliu Coposu, Romanian politician (d. 1995)
• 1914 – Hideko Maehata, Japanese swimmer (d. 1995)
• 1915 – Moshe Dayan, Israeli general (d. 1981)
• 1915 – Peter Copley, British actor (d. 2008)
• 1916 – Trebisonda Valla, Italian athlete (d. 2006)
• 1916 – Alexei Petrovich Maresiev, Russian flying ace (d. 2001)
• 1917 – Guy Favreau, French Canadian lawyer (d. 1967)
• 1917 – Bergur Sigurbjörnsson, Icelandic politician (d. 2005)
• 1918 – Edward B. Lewis, American geneticist, Nobel laureate (d. 2004)
• 1919 – Gerhard Barkhorn, German fighter pilot (d. 1983)
• 1919 – George Gobel, American comedian (d. 1991)
• 1920 – John Cruickshank, Scottish airman, Victoria Cross recipient
• 1920 – Betty Driver, English singer and actress
• 1921 – Wolfgang Borchert, German writer (d. 1947)
• 1921 – Hal Newhouser, American baseball player (d. 1998)
• 1924 – Zelmar Michelini, Uruguayan reporter and politician (d. 1976)
• 1925 – Chester Ludgin, American baritone (d. 2003)
• 1926 – Bob Sweikert, American race car driver (d. 1956)
• 1926 – John Lucarotti, TV writer (d. 1994)
• 1927 – Bud Grant, American football coach
• 1927 – Franciszek Macharski, Polish Cardinal
• 1927 – David Hedison, American actor
• 1929 – Ahmed Hamdi, Egyptian soldier, who fought in Yom Kippur.
• 1930 – Sam Etcheverry, American football player and coach
• 1931 – Ken Boyer, American baseball player (d. 1982)
• 1931 – Paul Evans, American furniture designer and sculptor (d. 1987)
• 1932 – Bob Florence, American jazz pianist, composer, arranger (d. 2008)
• 1935 – José Mujica, Uruguayan politician and current president-elect
• 1936 – Anthony Zerbe, American actor
• 1938 – Marinella, Greek singer and actress
• 1940 – Stan Mikita, Slovak-born ice hockey player
• 1940 – Sadaharu Oh, Japanese baseball player
• 1940 – Shorty Long, American musician (d. 1969)
• 1941 – Goh Chok Tong, Singaporean Senior Minister
• 1941 – John Strasberg, American actor
• 1941 – Manuel Isaias Lopez, Mexican child psychiatrist
• 1942 – Carlos Hathcock, American Marine sniper (d. 1999)
• 1942 – Jill Jackson, American singer
• 1943 – Al Bano, Italian singer
• 1944 – Joe Cocker, British singer
• 1944 – Boudewijn de Groot, Dutch singer
• 1944 – Dietrich Mateschitz, Austrian businessman
• 1945 – Vladimiro Montesinos, Peruvian politician
• 1946 – Cher, American singer
• 1947 – Greg Dyke, British broadcast executive
• 1947 – John Corapi, American Roman Catholic prelate
• 1949 – Dave Thomas, Canadian comedian & actor
• 1950 – Yvon Lambert, French Canadian ice hockey player
• 1950 – Reinaldo Merlo, Argentine footballer
• 1951 – Mike Crapo, American politician
• 1952 – Roger Milla, Cameroonian footballer
• 1953 – Robert Doyle, Australian politician
• 1954 – Guy Hoffman, American musician (Violent Femmes)
• 1954 – David Paterson, American politician
• 1954 – Cindy Hensley McCain, wife of John McCain
• 1954 – Robert Van de Walle, Belgian judoka
• 1955 – Zbigniew Preisner, Polish film composer
• 1956 – Ingvar Ambjørnsen, Norwegian author
• 1956 – Dean Butler, American actor
• 1956 – William Michaelian, American novelist and poet
• 1958 – Ron Reagan, American talk show host
• 1958 – Jane Wiedlin, American singer (The Go-Go's)
• 1959 – Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, American singer (d. 1997)
• 1959 – Bronson Pinchot, American actor
• 1960 – John Billingsley, American actor
• 1960 – Tony Goldwyn, American actor
• 1961 – Clive Allen, English footballer
• 1962 – Mike Jeffries, American soccer coach
• 1963 – David Wells, American baseball player
• 1965 – Ted Allen, American television host
• 1966 – Mindy Cohn, American actress
• 1966 – Dan Abrams, American TV reporter
• 1967 – Gabriele Muccino, Italian film director
• 1967 – Ramzi Yousef, Kuwaiti-born Pakistani terrorist
• 1967 – Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece
• 1967 – Blake Schwarzenbach, Singer/guitarist for American band, Jawbreaker
• 1968 – Timothy Olyphant, American actor
• 1968 – Waisale Serevi, Fijian rugby union and rugby sevens footballer
• 1969 – Brian Gerard James, American professional wrestler
• 1970 – Louis Theroux, British television presenter
• 1970 – Terrell Brandon, American basketball player
• 1971 – Šárka Kašpárková, Czech athlete
• 1971 – Tony Stewart, American race car driver
• 1972 – Tina Hobley, British television actress
• 1972 – Busta Rhymes, American rapper and actor
• 1973 – Elsa Lunghini, French singer and actress
• 1975 – Isaac Gálvez, Spanish cyclist (d. 2006)
• 1975 – Tahmoh Penikett, Canadian actor
• 1975 – Mark Zupan, American quadriplegic rugby player
• 1975 – Andrew Sega, American musician
• 1976 – Ramón Hernández, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1976 – Tomoya Satozaki, Japanese baseball player
• 1977 – Matt Czuchry, American actor
• 1977 – Chad Muska, American Skateboarder for Element Skateboards
• 1977 – Leonardo Noeren Franco, Argentine footballer
• 1977 – Miriam Parrish, American television actress
• 1977 – Angela Goethals, American actress
• 1977 – Vesa Toskala, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1977 – Tiger Tyson, American pornographic actor
• 1978 – Hristos Banikas, Greek chess player
• 1979 – Jayson Werth, American baseball player
• 1980 – Austin Kearns, American baseball player
• 1981 – Iker Casillas, Spanish footballer
• 1981 – Lindsay Taylor, American basketball player
• 1981 – Mark Winterbottom, Australian racing driver
• 1981 – Josh Hamilton, American baseball player
• 1982 – Petr Čech, Czech footballer
• 1982 – Imran Farhat, Pakistani cricketer
• 1983 – N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Indian film actor
• 1983 – Roger Huerta, American mixed-martial artist
• 1984 – Kenny Vasoli, American singer
• 1984 – Patrick Ewing, Jr., American basketball player
• 1984 – Naturi Naughton, singer, actress, member of girl group 3LW
• 1986 – Dexter Blackstock, English footballer
• 1988 – Carla Humphries, Filipina actress
• 1991 – Mara Lopez, Filipina actress
• 1993 – Caroline Zhang, American figure skater

Deaths

• 685 – King Ecgfrith of Northumbria (b. 645)
• 1277 – Pope John XXI (b. 1215)
• 1285 – John II of Jerusalem, King of Cyprus (b. 1259)
• 1444 – Saint Bernardino of Siena, Italian Franciscan missionary (b. 1380)
• 1503 – Lorenzo de Medici, Italian patron (b. 1463)
• 1506 – Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer (b. 1451)
• 1550 – Ashikaga Yoshiharu, Japanese shogun (b. 1510)
• 1622 – Osman II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1604)
• 1648 – King Wladislaus IV of Poland (b. 1595)
• 1677 – George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol, British statesman (b. 1612)
• 1713 – Thomas Sprat, English writer (b. 1635)
• 1717 – John Trevor, British statesman (b. 1637)
• 1722 – Sébastien Vaillant, French botanist (b. 1669)
• 1732 – Thomas Boston, Scottish church leader (b. 1676)
• 1782 – William Emerson, British mathematician (b. 1701)
• 1793 – Charles Bonnet, Swiss naturalist (b. 1720)
• 1812 – Count Hieronymus von Colloredo, Archbishop of Salzburg (b. 1732)
• 1825 – Papaflessas, Greek priest and government official (b. 1788)
• 1834 – Gilbert du Motier, French statesman (b. 1757)
• 1841 – Joseph Blanco White, British theologian (b. 1775)
• 1873 – Sir George-Étienne Cartier, French-Canadian statesman (b. 1814)
• 188 – Ana Néri, Brazilian nurse (b. 1814)
• 1896 – Clara Schumann, German pianist and composer (b. 1819)
• 1909 – Ernest Hogan, blackface comedian and musician (b. 1859)
• 1917 – Philipp von Ferrary, Italian philatelist (b. 1850)
• 1917 – Valentine Fleming, Scottish politician (b. 1887)
• 1940 – Verner von Heidenstam, Swedish writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1859)
• 1946 – Jacob Ellehammer, Danish inventor (b. 1871)
• 1947 – Philipp Lenard, Austrian physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1862)
• 1947 – Georgios Siantos, general secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (b. 1890)
• 1949 – Randolph West, American biochemist, known for the Dakin-West reaction (b. 1890)
• 1956 – Max Beerbohm, English theater critic (b. 1872)
• 1961 – Josef "Pips" Priller, German fighter ace (b. 1915)
• 1971 – Waldo Williams, Welsh poet (b. 1904)
• 1973 – Jarno Saarinen, Finnish motorcycle racer (b. 1945)
• 1975 – Barbara Hepworth, British sculptor (b. 1903)
• 1976 – Syd Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1911)
• 1976 – Zelmar Michelini, Uruguayan politician, member of the Christian-Democrat party, and Héctor Gutiérrez Ruiz "disappeared" (b. 1924)
• 1989 – John Hicks, English economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1904)
• 1989 – Gilda Radner, American comedian and actress (b. 1946)
• 1992 – Roger Keith Coleman, American convict (b. 1958)
• 1996 – Jon Pertwee, British actor (b. 1919)
• 2000 – Jean Pierre Rampal, French flutist (b. 1922)
• 2000 – Malik Sealy, American basketball player (b. 1970)
• 2001 – Renato Carosone, Italian musician (b. 1920)
• 2002 – Stephen Jay Gould, American paleontologist (b. 1941)
• 2005 – Paul Ricoeur, French philosopher (b. 1913)
• 2005 – William Seawell, United States Army Brigadier General (b. 1918)
• 2007 – Norman Von Nida, Australian golfer (b. 1914)
• 2008 – Hamilton Jordan, former Carter White House Chief of Staff (b. 1944)
• 2009 – Arthur Erickson, Canadian architect (b.1924)
• 2009 – Lucy Gordon, British model and actress (b. 1980)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day
  • Abercius and Helena
  • Austregisilus
  • Baudilus
  • Bernardino of Siena
  • Ivo of Chartres
  • Lucifer of Cagliari
  • Sanctan
• Frigga Blót (Germanic Neopaganism)
• Independence Day (East Timor)
• National Day (Cameroon)
• National Day of Hatred (Cambodia)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

From Wikiquote

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2004

No theory, no ready-made system, no book that has ever been written will save the world. I cleave to no system. I am a true seeker. ~ Mikhail Bakunin

• selected by Kalki

2005

If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. ~ John Stuart Mill (born 20 May 1806)

• selected by Kalki

2006

Love is like some fresh spring, first a stream and then a river, changing its aspect and its nature as it flows to plunge itself in some boundless ocean, where restricted natures only find monotony, but where great souls are engulfed in endless contemplation. ~ Honoré de Balzac (born 20 May 1799)

• selected by Kalki

2007

The prevailing tendency to regard all the marked distinctions of human character as innate, and in the main indelible, and to ignore the irresistible proofs that by far the greater part of those differences, whether between individuals, races, or sexes, are such as not only might but naturally would be produced by differences in circumstances, is one of the chief hindrances to the rational treatment of great social questions, and one of the greatest stumbling blocks to human improvement. ~ John Stuart Mill

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2008

The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error. ~ John Stuart Mill

• proposed by Kalki

2009

However unwillingly a person who has a strong opinion may admit the possibility that his opinion may be false, he ought to be moved by the consideration that, however true it may be, if it is not fully, frequently, and fearlessly discussed, it will be held as a dead dogma, not a living truth. ~ John Stuart Mill

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2010

Suggestions

Ages are no more infallible than individuals; every age having held many opinions which subsequent ages have deemed not only false but absurd; and it is as certain that many opinions now general will be rejected by future ages, as it is that many, once general, are rejected by the present. ~ John Stuart Mill

• 3 Kalki 08:48, 19 May 2007 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
• 3 InvisibleSun 09:02, 19 May 2007 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 05:29, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

When an opinion is true, it may be extinguished once, twice, or many times, but in the course of ages there will generally be found persons to rediscover it, until some one of its reappearances falls on a time when from favourable circumstances it escapes persecution until it has made such head as to withstand all subsequent attempts to suppress it. ~ John Stuart Mill

• 3 Kalki 08:48, 19 May 2007 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
• 3 InvisibleSun 09:02, 19 May 2007 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 05:29, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. He cannot rightfully be compelled to do or forbear because it will be better for him to do so, because it will make him happier, because, in the opinions of others, to do so would be wise, or even right. These are good reasons for remonstrating with him, or reasoning with him, or persuading him or entreating him, but not for compelling him, or visiting him with any evil, in case he do otherwise. ~ John Stuart Mill

• 3 InvisibleSun 09:02, 19 May 2007 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 09:26, 19 May 2007 (UTC) with a very strong lean toward 4.
• 1 Zarbon 05:29, 23 April 2008 (UTC)
• 2 In my preferences QotD may be preferred to be shorter. --Aphaia 10:40, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

While every one well knows himself to be fallible, few think it necessary to take any precautions against their own fallibility, or admit the supposition that any opinion, of which they feel very certain, may be one of the examples of the error to which they acknowledge themselves to be liable. ~ John Stuart Mill

• 3 InvisibleSun 09:02, 19 May 2007 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 09:26, 19 May 2007 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 05:29, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Truth gains more even by the errors of one who, with due study and preparation, thinks for himself, than by the true opinions of those who only hold them because they do not suffer themselves to think. ~ John Stuart Mill

• 3 InvisibleSun 09:02, 19 May 2007 (UTC)
• This was already used, on 1 March 2004. ~ Kalki 09:26, 19 May 2007 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 05:29, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

Many false opinions may be exchanged for true ones, without in the least altering the habits of mind of which false opinions are made. ~ John Stuart Mill

• 3 InvisibleSun 09:02, 19 May 2007 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 09:26, 19 May 2007 (UTC) with a lean toward 4.
• 1 Zarbon 05:29, 23 April 2008 (UTC)
• 3 Aphaia 10:40, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

There is something great and terrible about suicide. ~ Honoré de Balzac

• 3 because in death comes the terror and the tragedy, but in accepting and approaching the demise comes a grandeur of sort. The moments can be described as terrible and great all at the same time. It's one of the major reasons why I love many of the characters I love, because their demise, whether in suicide or homicide, is made magnificently brilliant, a concoction of emotion and sheer bitter power expressed through final moments. Zarbon 00:03, 3 May 2008 (UTC)
• 2 InvisibleSun 06:19, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Kalki 00:18, 19 May 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Without context, it is meaningless and even sounds offensive POV. As a widow of suicidal dead husband, I feel quite disgusted. --Aphaia 10:40, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

We have no solution, you shall continue to live like dogs, and whoever wishes may leave, and we will see where this process leads. ~ Moshe Dayan (born May 20)

• 3 because the truth is sometimes the best remedy. Zarbon 04:56, 17 May 2008 (UTC)
• 0 See the discussion page for Dayan about this continually disputed quote. It was moved from Attributed to Sourced by an editor in March 2008. It will likely be moved, deleted and restored many more times. Even without its doubtful verification, I wouldn't be inclined to vote for it. InvisibleSun 06:19, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
  • Source: Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians - Page 561 - Noam Chomsky - Political Science - 1999
  • Comment: Now it is sourced so you can repeat your vote. Zarbon 21:37, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

• This, however, is the very source that's endlessly disputed; see the discussion page on Dayan for the reasons. Even if there were more of an agreement on the source, I would end up giving it a 1. InvisibleSun 02:21, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

• 1 Kalki 00:18, 19 May 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Aphaia 10:40, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

I know of nothing more exciting than war. ~ Moshe Dayan

OR

War is the most exciting and dramatic thing in life. In fighting to the death you feel terribly relaxed when you manage to come through. ~ Moshe Dayan

• 2 and I agree with Dayan here. The amount of excitement is unparalleled, regardless of all the horrid pain and suffering, it is true that war is never ever dull. Zarbon 04:56, 17 May 2008 (UTC)
• 0 This is an Unsourced quote. InvisibleSun 06:19, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
  • SOURCE: The Book of Military Quotations - Peter G. Tsouras - Reference - 2005 - Page 477
  • Comment: Now it is sourced so you can repeat your vote. Zarbon 21:37, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

• Then it's a 2 for the second version. InvisibleSun 02:21, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

• 1 Kalki 00:18, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

To saunter is to enjoy life; it is to indulge the flight of fancy; it is to enjoy the sublime pictures of misery, of love, of joy, of gracious or grotesque physiognomies; it is to pierce with a glance the abysses of a thousand existences; for the young it is to desire all, and to possess all; for the old it is to live the life of the youthful, and to share their passions. ~ Honoré de Balzac

• 3 InvisibleSun 06:19, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
• 2 Zarbon 21:37, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 00:18, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Love makes us almost sacred in our own eyes; it is the life of another that we revere within us; then and so begins for us the cruelest trouble of all. ~ Honoré de Balzac

• 3 InvisibleSun 06:19, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 21:37, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 00:18, 19 May 2008 (UTC)
• 4 Aphaia 10:40, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

I do like this one, but it is only a borderline 3 for me, and I actually would prefer that it be extended. ~ Kalki 00:00, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

Our heart is a treasury; if you pour out all its wealth at once, you are bankrupt. We show no more mercy to the affection that reveals its utmost extent than we do to another kind of prodigal who has not a penny left. ~ Honoré de Balzac

• 3 InvisibleSun 06:19, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 21:37, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
• 2 Kalki 00:18, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Kindness is not without its rocks ahead. People are apt to put it down to an easy temper and seldom recognize it as the secret striving of a generous nature; whilst, on the other hand, the ill-natured get credit for all the evil they refrain from. ~ Honoré de Balzac

• 3 InvisibleSun 06:19, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
• 2 Zarbon 21:37, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 00:18, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Love has its own instinct, finding the way to the heart, as the feeblest insect finds the way to its flower, with a will which nothing can dismay nor turn aside. ~ Honoré de Balzac

• 3 InvisibleSun 06:19, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 21:37, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 00:18, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

From StrategyWiki, the free strategy guide and walkthrough wiki

Games released on May 20.

From Wikia Gaming, your source for walkthroughs, games, guides, and more!

Game releases

• 2008
  • Dr. Mario Online Rx for WiiWare in Europe
  • Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King for WiiWare in Europe
• 2003
  • Rise of Nations for PC and Macintosh in North America and Europe
• 2002
  • Grand Theft Auto III for the PlayStation 2

Events

• 2005
  • Last day of E3 2005

From Familypedia

May 20 is the 140th day of the year (141st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 225 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 325 - The First Council of Nicaea – the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church – is held.
• 526 - An earthquake kills about 300,000 people in Syria and Antiochia.
• 685 - The Battle of Dunnichen or Nechtansmere is fought between a Pictish army under King Bridei III and the invading Northumbrians under King Ecgfrith, who are decisively defeated.
• 1217 - The Second Battle of Lincoln is fought near Lincoln, England, resulting in the defeat of Prince Louis of France by William Marshal.
• 1293 - King Sancho IV of Castile creates the Study of General Schools of Alcalá.
• 1497 - John Cabot sets sail from Bristol, England, on his ship Matthew looking for a route to the west (other documents give a 2 May date).
• 1498 - Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Kozhikode (previously known as Calicut), India.
• 1521 - Battle of Pampeluna: Ignatius Loyola seriously wounded in the battle.
• 1570 - Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues the first modern atlas.
• 1631 - The city of Magdeburg in Germany is seized by forces of the Holy Roman Empire and most of its inhabitants massacred, in one of the bloodiest incidents of the Thirty Years' War.
• 1690 - England passes the Act of Grace, forgiving followers of Roman Catholic James II.
• 1813 - Napoleon Bonaparte leads his French troops into the Battle of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany, against the combined armies of Russia and Prussia. The battle ends the next day with a French victory.
• 1835 - Otto is named the first modern king of Greece.
• 1845 - HMS Erebus and HMS Terror with 134 men under John Franklin sail from the River Thames in England, beginning a disastrous expedition to find the Northwest Passage. All hands are lost.
• 1861 - American Civil War: The state of Kentucky proclaims its neutrality, which will last until September 3 when Confederate forces enter the state.
• 1862 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law.
• 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Ware Bottom Church - In the Virginia Bermuda Hundred Campaign, 10,000 troops fight in this Confederate victory.
• 1873 - Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a U.S. patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.
• 1882 - The Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy is formed.
• 1883 - The eruption of Krakatoa begins, leading ultimately to the volcano's destruction three months later.
• 1891 - History of cinema: First public display of Thomas Alva Edison's prototype kinetoscope (shown at Edison's Laboratory for a convention of the National Federation of Women's Clubs).
• 1896 - The six ton chandelier of the Palais Garnier falls on the crowd resulting in the death of one and the injury of many others.
• 1902 - Cuba gains independence from the United States. Tomás Estrada Palma becomes the first President of Cuba.
• 1910 - Krazy Kat and Ignatz first appear in 'The Dingbat Family' comic strip
• 1916 - The Saturday Evening Post publishes its first cover with a Norman Rockwell painting ("Boy with Baby Carriage").
• 1916 - The small town of Codell, Kansas is struck by a tornado. Incredibly, the same town was also hit in 1917 and 1918 on the exact same date
• 1920 - The Weimarer Nationalversammlung, the national assembly of Germany's Weimar Republic, is permanently dissolved.
• 1920 - Montreal Quebec station XWA broadcasts the first regularly scheduled radio programming in North America.
• 1927 - By the Treaty of Jedda, the United Kingdom recognizes the sovereignty of King Ibn Saud in the Kingdoms of Hejaz and Nejd, which later merged to become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• 1927 - At 07:52 Charles Lindbergh takes off from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York, on the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, touching down at Le Bourget Field in Paris at 22:22 the next day.
• 1932 - Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland to begin the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot, landing in Ireland the next day.
• 1940 - Holocaust: The first prisoners arrive at a new concentration camp at Auschwitz.
• 1941 - World War II: Battle of Crete – German paratroops invade Crete.
• 1949 - In the United States of America, the Armed Forces Security Agency (predecessor to the National Security Agency) is established.
• 1949 - Kuomintang regime declare Taiwan is under the martial law.
• 1954 - Chiang Kai-shek is selected for another term as President of the Republic of China by the National Assembly
• 1965 - PIA Flight 705, a Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 720 - 040 B crashes while descending to land at Cairo International Airport, killing 119 of the 125 passengers and crew.
• 1969 - The Battle of Hamburger Hill in Vietnam ends.
• 1980 - In a Referendum in Quebec, the population rejects by a 60% vote the proposal from its government to move towards independence from Canada.
• 1983 - First publications of the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by Luc Montagnier and Robert Gallo individually.
• 1984 - The first line of the Miami Metrorail in Miami opens.
• 1985 - Radio Martí, part of the Voice of America service, begins broadcasting to Cuba.
• 1989 - The Chinese authorities declare martial law in the face of pro-democracy demonstrations, setting the scene for the Tiananmen Square massacre.
• 1990 - The first post-Communist presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Romania.
• 1995 - In a second Referendum in Quebec, the population rejects by a slight majority the proposal from its government to move towards independence from Canada.
• 1996 - Gay rights: The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Romer v. Evans against a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state of Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of gays and lesbians.
• 2002 - East Timor becomes independent from Indonesian rule.

Births

• 1315 - Bonne of Luxembourg, wife of John II of France (d. 1349)
• 1470 - Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal (d. 1547)
• 1554 - Paolo Bellasio, Italian composer (d. 1594)
• 1593 - Salomo Glassius, German theologian (d. 1656)
• 1660 - Andreas Schlüter, German sculptor (d. 1714)
• 1663 - William Bradford, British-born printer (d. 1752)
• 1706 - Seth Pomeroy, American gunsmith and soldier (d. 1777)
• 1726 - Francis Cotes, English painter (d. 1770)
• 1737 - William Petty Fitzmaurice, British statesman (d. 1805)
• 1759 - William Thornton, West Indian-born architect (d. 1828)
• 1768 - Dolley Madison, First Lady of the United States (d. 1849)
• 1769 - Andreas Vokos Miaoulis, Greek admiral and politician (d. 1835)
• 1772 - Sir William Congreve, English inventor (d. 1828)
• 1799 - Honoré de Balzac, French novelist (d. 1850)
• 1806 - John Stuart Mill, English philosopher (d. 1873)
• 1818 - William Fargo, co-founder of Wells, Fargo & Company (d. 1881)
• 1822 - Frédéric Passy, French economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1912)
• 1830 - Hector Malot, French writer (d. 1907)
• 1838 - Jules Méline, French statesman (d. 1925)
• 1851 - Emil Berliner, German-born recording pioneer (d. 1929)
• 1860 - Eduard Buchner, German chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1917)
• 1882 - Sigrid Undset, Norwegian author, Nobel laureate (d. 1949)
• 1883 - King Faisal I of Iraq (d. 1933)
• 1894 - Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Indian Hindu sage, Jivanmukta (d. 1994)
• 1895 - R. J. (Reginald Joseph) Mitchell, British aircraft designer (d. 1937)
• 1897 - Diego Abad de Santillán, Spanish anarchist (d. 1983)
• 1899 - Alexander Deyneka, Ukrainian painter (d. 1969)
• 1899 - John Marshall Harlan II, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1971)
• 1901 - Max Euwe, Dutch chess player (d. 1981)
• 1906 - Giuseppe Siri, Italian Catholic cardinal (d. 1989)
• 1908 - James Stewart, American actor (d. 1997)
• 1911 - Gardner Fox, American writer (d. 1986)
• 1913 - William Hewlett, American engineer (d. 2001)
• 1914 - Corneliu Coposu, Romanian politician (d. 1995)
• 1915 - Moshe Dayan, Israeli general (d. 1981)
• 1916 - Trebisonda Valla, Italian athlete (d. 2006)
• 1916 - Alexei Petrovich Maresiev, Russian flying ace (d. 2001)
• 1917 - Guy Favreau, French Canadian lawyer (d. 1967)
• 1917 - Bergur Sigurbjörnsson, Icelandic politician (d. 2005)
• 1918 - Edward B. Lewis, American geneticist, Nobel laureate (d. 2004)
• 1919 - George Gobel, American comedian (d. 1991)
• 1920 - Betty Driver, English singer and actress
• 1921 - Wolfgang Borchert, German writer (d. 1947)
• 1921 - Hal Newhouser, American baseball player (d. 1998)
• 1925 - Chester Ludgin, American baritone (d. 2003)
• 1926 - Bob Sweikert, American race car driver (d. 1956)
• 1926 - John Lucarotti, TV writer (d. 1994)
• 1927 - Bud Grant, American football coach
• 1927 - Franciszek Macharski, Polish Cardinal
• 1927 - David Hedison, American actor
• 1928 - Jack Kevorkian, Suicide doctor
• 1930 - Sam Etcheverry, American football player and coach
• 1931 - Ken Boyer, American baseball player (d. 1982)
• 1935 - Marinella, Greek singer
• 1936 - Anthony Zerbe, American actor
• 1940 - Stan Mikita, Slovak-born ice hockey player
• 1940 - Sadaharu Oh, Japanese baseball player
• 1940 - Shorty Long, American musician (d. 1969)
• 1941 - Goh Chok Tong, Singaporean Senior Minister
• 1941 - John Strasberg, American actor
• 1941 - Manuel Isaias Lopez, Mexican child psychiatrist
• 1942 - Carlos Hathcock, American Marine sniper (d. 1999)
• 1942 - Jill Jackson, American singer
• 1943 - Al Bano, Italian singer
• 1944 - Joe Cocker, British singer
• 1944 - Boudewijn de Groot, Dutch singer
• 1944 - Dietrich Mateschitz, Austrian businessman
• 1945 - Vladimiro Montesinos, Peruvian politician
• 1946 - Cher, American singer
• 1947 - Greg Dyke, British broadcast executive
• 1949 - Dave Thomas, Canadian comedian & actor
• 1950 - Yvon Lambert, French Canadian ice hockey player
• 1950 - Reinaldo Merlo, Argentine footballer
• 1951 - Mike Crapo, American politician
• 1952 - Roger Milla, Cameroonian footballer
• 1953 - Robert Doyle, Australian politician
• 1954 - Guy Hoffman, drummer and vocalist (Violent Femmes)
• 1955 - Zbigniew Preisner, Polish film composer
• 1956 - Ingvar Ambjørnsen, Norwegian author
• 1956 - Dean Butler, American actor
• 1956 - William Michaelian, Novelist, short story writer, and poet
• 1958 - Ron Reagan, American talk show host
• 1958 - Jane Wiedlin, American singer (The Go-Go's)
• 1959 - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, American singer
• 1959 - Bronson Pinchot, American actor
• 1960 - John Billingsley, American actor
• 1960 - Chuck Brodsky, American musician
• 1960 - Tony Goldwyn, American actor
• 1961 - Clive Allen, English footballer
• 1962 - Mike Jeffries, American soccer coach
• 1963 - David Wells, American baseball player
• 1963 - Karl Beattie, English television director and producer
• 1965 - Ted Allen, American television host
• 1966 - Mindy Cohn, American actress
• 1967 - Gabriele Muccino, Italian film director
• 1967 - Ramzi Yousef, Terrorist
• 1967 - Pavlos
• 1968 - Timothy Olyphant, American actor
• 1968 - Waisale Serevi, Fijian rugby union and Rugby sevens legend
• 1970 - Brian Gerard James, American professional wrestler
• 1970 - Louis Theroux, British television presenter
• 1971 - Tony Stewart, American race car driver
• 1971 - Šárka Kašpárková, Czech athlete
• 1972 - Tina Hobley, British television actress
• 1972 - Busta Rhymes, American singer and rapper
• 1975 - Isaac Gálvez, Spanish cyclist (d. 2006)
• 1975 - Mark Zupan, American quadriplegic rugby player
• 1976 - Ramón Hernández, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1977 - Matt Czuchry, American actor
• 1977 - Leonardo Noeren Franco, Argentine footballer
• 1977 - Miriam Parrish, American television actress
• 1977 - Vesa Toskala, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1981 - Iker Casillas, Spanish footballer
• 1981 - Calico Cooper, American actress and dancer
• 1981 - Lindsay Taylor, American basketball player
• 1981 - Mark Winterbottom, Australian racing driver
• 1982 - Petr Čech, Czech footballer
• 1982 - Imran Farhat, Pakistani cricketer
• 1983 - Jr. NTR, Indian film actor
• 1987 - Olivia Thirlby, American actress
• 1991 - Lee...just, Only man to have ever actually taken a clear photograph of Bigfoot. However, it was immediately destroyed in a terrible fire that also killed his parents. Sorry Lee, I didn't want you to find out this way...

Deaths

• 685 - King Ecgfrith of Northumbria (b. 645)
• 1277 - Pope John XXI (b. 1215)
• 1285 - John II of Jerusalem, King of Cyprus (b. 1259)
• 1444 - Saint Bernardino of Siena, Italian Franciscan missionary (b. 1380)
• 1503 - Lorenzo de Medici, Italian patron (b. 1463)
• 1506 - Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer (b. 1451)
• 1550 - Ashikaga Yoshiharu, Japanese shogun (b. 1510)
• 1622 - Osman II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1604)
• 1648 - King Wladislaus IV of Poland (b. 1595)
• 1677 - George Digby, British statesman (b. 1612)
• 1713 - Thomas Sprat, English writer (b. 1635)
• 1717 - John Trevor, British statesman (b. 1637)
• 1722 - Sébastien Vaillant, French botanist (b. 1669)
• 1732 - Thomas Boston, Scottish church leader (b. 1676)
• 1782 - William Emerson, British mathematician (b. 1701)
• 1793 - Charles Bonnet, Swiss naturalist (b. 1720)
• 1825 - Papaflessas, Greek priest and government official (b. 1788)
• 1834 - Gilbert du Motier, French statesman (b. 1757)
• 1841 - Joseph Blanco White, British theologian (b. 1775)
• 1873 - Sir George-Étienne Cartier, French-Canadian statesman (b. 1814)
• 1896 - Clara Schumann, German pianist and composer (b. 1819)
• 1909 - Ernest Hogan, blackface comedian and musician (b. 1859)
• 1917 - Philipp von Ferrary, Italian philatelist (b. 1850)
• 1917 - Valentine Fleming, Scottish politician (b. 1887)
• 1940 - Verner von Heidenstam, Swedish writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1859)
• 1946 - Jacob Ellehammer, Danish inventor (b. 1871)
• 1947 - Philipp Lenard, Austrian physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1862)
• 1949 - Randolph West, American biochemist, known for the Dakin-West reaction (b. 1890)
• 1956 - Max Beerbohm, English theater critic (b. 1872)
• 1971 - Waldo Williams, Welsh poet (b. 1904)
• 1973 - Jarno Saarinen, Finnish motorcycle racer (b. 1945)
• 1975 - Barbara Hepworth, British sculptor (b. 1903)
• 1976 - Zelmar Michelini, Uruguayan politician, member of the Christian-Democrat party, and Héctor Gutiérrez Ruiz "disappeared"
• 1978 - Bjarne Brustad, Norwegian composer (b. 1895)
• 1989 - John Hicks, English economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1904)
• 1989 - Gilda Radner, American comedian and actress (b. 1946)
• 1996 - Jon Pertwee, British actor (b. 1919)
• 2000 - Jean Pierre Rampal, French flutist (b. 1922)
• 2000 - Malik Sealy, American basketball player (b. 1970)
• 2001 - Renato Carosone, Italian musician (b. 1920)
• 2002 - Stephen Jay Gould, American paleontologist (b. 1941)
• 2005 - Paul Ricoeur, French philosopher (b. 1913)
• 2005 - William Seawell, United States Army Brigadier General (b. 1918)
• 2007 - Norman Von Nida, Australian golfer (b. 1914)

Holidays and observances

• National Drugs Awareness Day in United States
• National Day in Cameroon
• East Timor National Day.

Liturgical observances

saints in the Roman Catholic Church:

• Saint Bernardine of Siena
• Saint Lucifer
• Saint Austregisilus
• Saint Ivo of Chartres

Others:

• Abercius and Helena

References

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day

• On This Day in Canada