On This Day in History May 20, 2023

Historical Events 1498  Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Calicut, India becoming the first European to reach India by sea 1609  Shakespeare's Sonnets are first published in London, perhaps illicitly, by publisher Thomas Thorpe 1862  US President Abraham Lincoln signs into law the Homestead Act to provide cheap land for the settlement of the American West (80 million acres by 1900) 1864  Spotsylvania campaign in US Civil War ends after 10,920 killed or injured 1927  At 7:40 AM, Charles Lindbergh takes off from New York to cross the Atlantic for Paris, aboard Spirit of St Louis in the 1st solo nonstop transatlantic flight 1927  Treaty of Jeddah is signed between the United Kingdom and Ibn Saudrecognizing the independence of the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd, the forerunner of Saudi Arabia 1990  Hubble Space Telescope sends its 1st photographs from space Famous Birthdays Bill Hewlett 1913 - 2001 John Stuart Mill 1806 - 1873 Louis Theroux 53rd Birthday Toussaint Louverture 1743 - 1803 More Famous Birthdays Famous Deaths Clara Schumann 1819 - 1896 Robin Gibb 1949 - 2012 More Famous Deaths May 20: My Fair Lady's Special Day This was a day to remember for Eliza Doolittle, the 'My Fair Lady' of the stage and film musical that won and broke hearts. Read the Article