What Happened on May 20

Historical Events

1926 – Thomas Edison says Americans prefer silent movies over talkies
1930 – 1st airplane catapulted from a dirigible, Charles Nicholson, pilot
1956 – Atomic fusion (thermonuclear) bomb dropped from plane at Bikini Atoll
1986 – Christy Fichtner, 23, (Texas), crowned 35th Miss USA
1994 – Bobcat Goldthwait charged with misdemeanors for fire on The Tonight Show
2018 – President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela wins a second term in an election marked by boycotts and accusations of vote rigging

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Famous Birthdays

1754 – Hans Gram, Danish-born American composer (d. 1804)
1895 – R. J. [Reginald Joseph] Mitchell, English airplane designer (Supermarine Spitfire), born in Butt Lane, England (d. 1937)
1937 – Dave Hill, American golfer (13 PGA Tour titles), born in Jackson, Michigan (d. 2011)
1965 – Bruno Marie-Rose, French runner (world record 200 m indoor)
1966 – Mindy Cohn, American actress (The Facts of Life – “Natalie”), born in Los Angeles, California
1981 – Rachel Platten, American singer-songwriter (“Fight Song”), born in New York City

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Famous Deaths

1597 – Dutch commander Matthijs Heldt, dies in battle
1751 – Domingo Miguel Bernaube Terradellas, Spanish composer, dies at 38
1875 – Amalia of Oldenburg, Queen of Greece, German born consort of King Otto of Greece, dies at 58
1910 – Jean-Baptiste Theodore Weckerlin, French composer, dies at 88
1932 – Bipin Chandra Pal, Indian nationalist and freedom fighter, dies at 73
1994 – Vivien John, English painter and daughter of Augustus John, dies at 79

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