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This Day On History
| Date | Description | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 20th of May 0325 | EVENT | The First Council of Nicea : the first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church is held. |
| 20th of May 0526 | EVENT | An earthquake kills about 300,000 people in Syria and Antiochia. |
| 20th of May 0685 | EVENT | 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. |
| 20th of May 1217 | EVENT | The Second Battle of Lincoln is fought near Lincoln, England, resulting in the defeat of Prince Louis of France by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke. |
| 20th of May 1293 | EVENT | King Sancho IV of Castile creates the Study of General Schools of Alcala. |
| 20th of May 1497 | EVENT | 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). |
| 20th of May 1498 | EVENT | Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Kozhikode (previously known as Calicut), India. |
| 20th of May 1521 | EVENT | Battle of Pampeluna: Ignatius Loyola is seriously wounded. |
| 20th of May 1570 | EVENT | Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues the first modern atlas. |
| 20th of May 1609 | EVENT | Shakespeare's sonnets are first published in London, perhaps illicitly, by the publisher Thomas Thorpe. |
| 20th of May 1631 | EVENT | 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. |
| 20th of May 1802 | EVENT | By the Law of 20 May 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte reinstates slavery in the French colonies, revoking its abolition in the French Revolution |
| 20th of May 1813 | EVENT | 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. |
| 20th of May 1835 | EVENT | Otto is named the first modern King of Greece. |
| 20th of May 1840 | EVENT | York Minster is badly damaged by fire |
| 20th of May 1845 | EVENT | HMS Erebus and HMS Terror with 134 men under John Franklin sail from the River Thames in Britain, beginning a disastrous expedition to find the Northwest Passage. All hands are lost. |
| 20th of May 1861 | EVENT | American Civil War: The state of Kentucky proclaims its neutrality, which will last until September 3 when Confederate forces enter the state. |
| 20th of May 1862 | EVENT | U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law. |
| 20th of May 1864 | EVENT | American Civil War: Battle of Ware Bottom Church : in the Virginia Bermuda Hundred Campaign, 10,000 troops fight in this Confederate victory. |
| 20th of May 1873 | EVENT | Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a U.S. patent for blue jeans with copper rivets. |
| 20th of May 1882 | EVENT | The Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy is formed. |
| 20th of May 1883 | EVENT | Krakatoa begins to erupt. The volcano's final and most notable explosion occurs on August 26. |
| 20th of May 1891 | EVENT | History of cinema: The first public display of Thomas Edison's prototype kinetoscope. |
| 20th of May 1896 | EVENT | The six ton chandelier of the Palais Garnier falls on the crowd resulting in the death of one and the injury of many others. |
| 20th of May 1902 | EVENT | Cuba gains independence from the United States. Tomas Estrada Palma becomes the country's first President. |
| 20th of May 1916 | EVENT | The Saturday Evening Post publishes its first cover with a Norman Rockwell painting (Boy with Baby Carriage). |
| 20th of May 1920 | EVENT | Montreal, Quebec radio station XWA broadcasts the first regularly scheduled radio programming in North America. |
| 20th of May 1927 | EVENT | 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. |
| 20th of May 1927 | EVENT | 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. He touched down at Le Bourget Field in Paris at 22:22 the next day. |
| 20th of May 1932 | EVENT | 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. |
| 20th of May 1940 | EVENT | Holocaust: The first prisoners arrive at a new concentration camp at Auschwitz. |
| 20th of May 1941 | EVENT | World War II: Battle of Crete : German paratroops invade Crete. |
| 20th of May 1949 | EVENT | In the United States, the Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to the National Security Agency, is established. |
| 20th of May 1949 | EVENT | The Kuomintang regime declares martial law in Taiwan. |
| 20th of May 1956 | EVENT | In Operation Redwing (shot Cherokee), the first United States airborne hydrogen bomb is dropped over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean; |
| 20th of May 1965 | EVENT | 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. |
| 20th of May 1969 | EVENT | The Battle of Hamburger Hill in Vietnam ends. |
| 20th of May 1980 | EVENT | In a referendum in Quebec, the population rejects by a 60% vote the proposal from its government to move towards independence from Canada. |
| 20th of May 1983 | EVENT | First publications of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by Luc Montagnier and Robert Gallo individually. |
| 20th of May 1985 | EVENT | Radio Marti, part of the Voice of America service, begins broadcasting to Cuba. |
| 20th of May 1989 | EVENT | The Chinese authorities declare martial law in the face of pro-democracy demonstrations, setting the scene for the Tiananmen Square massacre. |
| 20th of May 1990 | EVENT | The first post-Communist presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Romania. |
| 20th of May 1996 | EVENT | 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. |
| 20th of May 2002 | EVENT | 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). |
| 20th of May 1315 | BIRTHDAY | Bonne of Luxembourg, wife of John II of France (d. 1349) |
| 20th of May 1470 | BIRTHDAY | Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal (d. 1547) |
| 20th of May 1554 | BIRTHDAY | Paolo Bellasio, Italian composer (d. 1594) |
| 20th of May 1593 | BIRTHDAY | Salomo Glassius, German theologian (d. 1656) |
| 20th of May 1660 | BIRTHDAY | Andreas Schluter, German sculptor (d. 1714) |
| 20th of May 1663 | BIRTHDAY | William Bradford, British-born printer (d. 1752) |
| 20th of May 1706 | BIRTHDAY | Seth Pomeroy, American gunsmith and soldier (d. 1777) |
| 20th of May 1726 | BIRTHDAY | Francis Cotes, English painter (d. 1770) |
| 20th of May 1737 | BIRTHDAY | William Petty Fitzmaurice, British statesman (d. 1805) |
| 20th of May 1759 | BIRTHDAY | William Thornton, West Indian-born architect (d. 1828) |
| 20th of May 1768 | BIRTHDAY | Dolley Madison, First Lady of the United States (d. 1849) |
| 20th of May 1769 | BIRTHDAY | Andreas Vokos Miaoulis, Greek admiral and politician (d. 1835) |
| 20th of May 1772 | BIRTHDAY | Sir William Congreve, English inventor (d. 1828) |
| 20th of May 1776 | BIRTHDAY | Simon Fraser, Canadian explorer (d.1862) |
| 20th of May 1799 | BIRTHDAY | Honore de Balzac, French novelist (d. 1850) |
| 20th of May 1806 | BIRTHDAY | John Stuart Mill, English philosopher (d. 1873) |
| 20th of May 1818 | BIRTHDAY | William Fargo, American pioneer expressman, co-founder of Wells, Fargo & Co. (d. 1881) |
| 20th of May 1822 | BIRTHDAY | Frederic Passy, French economist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (d. 1912) |
| 20th of May 1824 | BIRTHDAY | Cadmus M. Wilcox, American Confederate general (d. 1890) |
| 20th of May 1830 | BIRTHDAY | Hector Malot, French writer (d. 1907) |
| 20th of May 1838 | BIRTHDAY | Jules Meline, French statesman (d. 1925) |
| 20th of May 1851 | BIRTHDAY | Emil Berliner, German-born recording pioneer (d. 1929) |
| 20th of May 1860 | BIRTHDAY | Eduard Buchner, German chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1917) |
| 20th of May 1882 | BIRTHDAY | Sigrid Undset, Norwegian author, Nobel laureate (d. 1949) |
| 20th of May 1883 | BIRTHDAY | King Faisal I of Iraq (d. 1933) |
| 20th of May 1886 | BIRTHDAY | Ali Sami Yen, Turkish founder of Galatasaray Sports Club (d. 1951) |
| 20th of May 1894 | BIRTHDAY | Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Indian Hindu sage, Jivanmukta (d. 1994) |
| 20th of May 1895 | BIRTHDAY | R. J. Mitchell, British aircraft designer (d. 1937) |
| 20th of May 1897 | BIRTHDAY | Diego Abad de Santillan, Spanish anarchist (d. 1983) |
| 20th of May 1899 | BIRTHDAY | Alexander Deyneka, Ukrainian painter (d. 1969) |
| 20th of May 1899 | BIRTHDAY | John Marshall Harlan II, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1971) |
| 20th of May 1901 | BIRTHDAY | Max Euwe, Dutch chess player (d. 1981) |
| 20th of May 1906 | BIRTHDAY | Giuseppe Siri, Italian Catholic cardinal (d. 1989) |
| 20th of May 1908 | BIRTHDAY | James Stewart, American actor (d. 1997) |
| 20th of May 1911 | BIRTHDAY | Gardner Fox, American writer (d. 1986) |
| 20th of May 1913 | BIRTHDAY | William Hewlett, American engineer (d. 2001) |
| 20th of May 1914 | BIRTHDAY | Corneliu Coposu, Romanian politician (d. 1995) |
| 20th of May 1914 | BIRTHDAY | Hideko Maehata, Japanese swimmer (d. 1995) |
| 20th of May 1915 | BIRTHDAY | Peter Copley, British actor (d. 2008) |
| 20th of May 1915 | BIRTHDAY | Moshe Dayan, Israeli general (d. 1981) |
| 20th of May 1916 | BIRTHDAY | Alexei Petrovich Maresiev, Russian flying ace (d. 2001) |
| 20th of May 1916 | BIRTHDAY | Trebisonda Valla, Italian athlete (d. 2006) |
| 20th of May 1917 | BIRTHDAY | Bergur Sigurbjornsson, Icelandic politician (d. 2005) |
| 20th of May 1917 | BIRTHDAY | Guy Favreau, French Canadian lawyer (d. 1967) |
| 20th of May 1918 | BIRTHDAY | Edward B. Lewis, American geneticist, Nobel laureate (d. 2004) |
| 20th of May 1919 | BIRTHDAY | Gerhard Barkhorn, German fighter pilot (d. 1983) |
| 20th of May 1919 | BIRTHDAY | George Gobel, American comedian (d. 1991) |
| 20th of May 1920 | BIRTHDAY | John Cruickshank, Scottish airman, Victoria Cross recipient |
| 20th of May 1920 | BIRTHDAY | Betty Driver MBE, English singer and actress |
| 20th of May 1921 | BIRTHDAY | Wolfgang Borchert, German writer (d. 1947) |
| 20th of May 1921 | BIRTHDAY | Hal Newhouser, American baseball player (d. 1998) |
| 20th of May 1924 | BIRTHDAY | Zelmar Michelini, Uruguayan reporter and politician (d. 1976) |
| 20th of May 1925 | BIRTHDAY | Chester Ludgin, American baritone (d. 2003) |
| 20th of May 1926 | BIRTHDAY | Bob Sweikert, American race car driver (d. 1956) |
| 20th of May 1926 | BIRTHDAY | John Lucarotti, English-born Canadian TV writer (d. 1994) |
| 20th of May 1927 | BIRTHDAY | Bud Grant, American football coach |
| 20th of May 1927 | BIRTHDAY | David Hedison, American actor |
| 20th of May 1927 | BIRTHDAY | Franciszek Macharski, Polish Catholic cardinal |
| 20th of May 1929 | BIRTHDAY | Ahmed Hamdi, Egyptian soldier, who fought in Yom Kippur(d. 1973) |
| 20th of May 1930 | BIRTHDAY | Sam Etcheverry, American football player and coach (d. 2009) |
| 20th of May 1931 | BIRTHDAY | Ken Boyer, American baseball player (d. 1982) |
| 20th of May 1931 | BIRTHDAY | Paul Evans, American furniture designer and sculptor (d. 1987) |
| 20th of May 1932 | BIRTHDAY | Bob Florence, American jazz pianist, composer, arranger (d. 2008) |
| 20th of May 1935 | BIRTHDAY | Jose Mujica, President of Uruguay |
| 20th of May 1936 | BIRTHDAY | Anthony Zerbe, American actor |
| 20th of May 1938 | BIRTHDAY | Marinella, Greek singer and actress |
| 20th of May 1940 | BIRTHDAY | Shorty Long, American musician (d. 1969) |
| 20th of May 1940 | BIRTHDAY | Sadaharu Oh, Japanese baseball player |
| 20th of May 1940 | BIRTHDAY | Stan Mikita, Canadian ice hockey player |
| 20th of May 1941 | BIRTHDAY | Goh Chok Tong, Singaporean Senior Minister |
| 20th of May 1941 | BIRTHDAY | Manuel Isaias Lopez, Mexican child psychiatrist |
| 20th of May 1941 | BIRTHDAY | John Strasberg, American actor |
| 20th of May 1942 | BIRTHDAY | Carlos Hathcock, American Marine Corps sniper (d. 1999) |
| 20th of May 1942 | BIRTHDAY | Jill Jackson, American singer (Paul & Paula) |
| 20th of May 1943 | BIRTHDAY | Al Bano, Italian singer |
| 20th of May 1944 | BIRTHDAY | Joe Cocker, British singer |
| 20th of May 1944 | BIRTHDAY | Dietrich Mateschitz, Austrian businessman |
| 20th of May 1944 | BIRTHDAY | Boudewijn de Groot, Dutch singer |
| 20th of May 1945 | BIRTHDAY | Vladimiro Montesinos, Peruvian politician |
| 20th of May 1946 | BIRTHDAY | Robert Chua, Hong Kong TV Entrepreneur |
| 20th of May 1946 | BIRTHDAY | Cher, American singer & actress |
| 20th of May 1946 | BIRTHDAY | Dave Despain, American racing commentator |
| 20th of May 1947 | BIRTHDAY | John Corapi, American Catholic prelate |
| 20th of May 1947 | BIRTHDAY | Greg Dyke, British broadcast executive |
| 20th of May 1949 | BIRTHDAY | Dave Thomas, Canadian comedian and actor |
| 20th of May 1950 | BIRTHDAY | Reinaldo Merlo, Argentine footballer |
| 20th of May 1950 | BIRTHDAY | Yvon Lambert, Canadian ice hockey player |
| 20th of May 1951 | BIRTHDAY | Mike Crapo, American politician |
| 20th of May 1952 | BIRTHDAY | Roger Milla, Cameroonian footballer |
| 20th of May 1953 | BIRTHDAY | Robert Doyle, Australian politician |
| 20th of May 1954 | BIRTHDAY | David Paterson, American politician |
| 20th of May 1954 | BIRTHDAY | Cindy McCain, American businesswoman, wife of John McCain |
| 20th of May 1954 | BIRTHDAY | Guy Hoffman, American musician (Violent Femmes) |
| 20th of May 1954 | BIRTHDAY | Robert Van de Walle, Belgian judoka |
| 20th of May 1955 | BIRTHDAY | Zbigniew Preisner, Polish film composer |
| 20th of May 1956 | BIRTHDAY | Ingvar Ambj?rnsen, Norwegian author |
| 20th of May 1956 | BIRTHDAY | Dean Butler, American actor |
| 20th of May 1956 | BIRTHDAY | William Michaelian, American novelist and poet |
| 20th of May 1958 | BIRTHDAY | Ron Reagan, American talk show host |
| 20th of May 1958 | BIRTHDAY | Jane Wiedlin, American singer (The Go-Go's) |
| 20th of May 1959 | BIRTHDAY | Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, Hawaiian singer (d. 1997) |
| 20th of May 1959 | BIRTHDAY | Bronson Pinchot, American actor |
| 20th of May 1960 | BIRTHDAY | John Billingsley, American actor |
| 20th of May 1960 | BIRTHDAY | Tony Goldwyn, American actor |
| 20th of May 1961 | BIRTHDAY | Clive Allen, English footballer |
| 20th of May 1962 | BIRTHDAY | Mike Jeffries, American soccer coach |
| 20th of May 1963 | BIRTHDAY | David Wells, American baseball player |
| 20th of May 1965 | BIRTHDAY | Stu Grimson, Canadian ice hockey player |
| 20th of May 1965 | BIRTHDAY | Ted Allen, American television host |
| 20th of May 1966 | BIRTHDAY | Dan Abrams, American TV reporter |
| 20th of May 1966 | BIRTHDAY | Mindy Cohn, American actress |
| 20th of May 1967 | BIRTHDAY | Blake Schwarzenbach, American singer and guitarist (Jawbreaker) |
| 20th of May 1967 | BIRTHDAY | Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece |
| 20th of May 1967 | BIRTHDAY | Gabriele Muccino, Italian film director |
| 20th of May 1967 | BIRTHDAY | Ramzi Yousef, Kuwaiti-born Pakistani terrorist |
| 20th of May 1968 | BIRTHDAY | Waisale Serevi, Fijian rugby union and rugby sevens footballer |
| 20th of May 1968 | BIRTHDAY | Timothy Olyphant, American actor |
| 20th of May 1969 | BIRTHDAY | Brian Gerard James ("Road Dogg" Jesse James), American professional wrestler |
| 20th of May 1970 | BIRTHDAY | Louis Theroux, British television presenter |
| 20th of May 1970 | BIRTHDAY | Terrell Brandon, American basketball player |
| 20th of May 1971 | BIRTHDAY | Sarka Kasparkova, Czech athlete |
| 20th of May 1971 | BIRTHDAY | Tony Stewart, American race car driver |
| 20th of May 1972 | BIRTHDAY | Tina Hobley, British television actress |
| 20th of May 1972 | BIRTHDAY | Busta Rhymes, American rapper and actor |
| 20th of May 1973 | BIRTHDAY | Elsa Lunghini, French singer and actress |
| 20th of May 1975 | BIRTHDAY | Isaac Galvez, Spanish cyclist (d. 2006) |
| 20th of May 1975 | BIRTHDAY | Juan Minujin, Argentine actor |
| 20th of May 1975 | BIRTHDAY | Mark Zupan, American wheelchair rugby player and actor |
| 20th of May 1975 | BIRTHDAY | Tahmoh Penikett, Canadian actor |
| 20th of May 1975 | BIRTHDAY | Andrew Sega, American musician |
| 20th of May 1976 | BIRTHDAY | Ramon Hernandez, Venezuelan baseball player |
| 20th of May 1976 | BIRTHDAY | Tomoya Satozaki, Japanese baseball player |
| 20th of May 1977 | BIRTHDAY | Matt Czuchry, American actor |
| 20th of May 1977 | BIRTHDAY | Angela Goethals, American actress |
| 20th of May 1977 | BIRTHDAY | Chad Muska, American professional skateboarder |
| 20th of May 1977 | BIRTHDAY | Leonardo Noeren Franco, Argentine footballer |
| 20th of May 1977 | BIRTHDAY | Miriam Parrish, American television actress |
| 20th of May 1977 | BIRTHDAY | Vesa Toskala, Finnish ice hockey player |
| 20th of May 1977 | BIRTHDAY | Tiger Tyson, American pornographic actor |
| 20th of May 1978 | BIRTHDAY | Hristos Banikas, Greek chess player |
| 20th of May 1978 | BIRTHDAY | Pavla Hamackova-Rybova, Czech athlete |
| 20th of May 1979 | BIRTHDAY | Jayson Werth, American baseball player |
| 20th of May 1980 | BIRTHDAY | Austin Kearns, American baseball player |
| 20th of May 1981 | BIRTHDAY | Iker Casillas, Spanish footballer |
| 20th of May 1981 | BIRTHDAY | Lindsay Taylor, American basketball player |
| 20th of May 1981 | BIRTHDAY | Morgan Knabe, Canadian swimmer |
| 20th of May 1981 | BIRTHDAY | Mark Winterbottom, Australian racing driver |
| 20th of May 1982 | BIRTHDAY | Imran Farhat, Pakistani cricketer |
| 20th of May 1982 | BIRTHDAY | Petr Cech, Czech footballer |
| 20th of May 1983 | BIRTHDAY | Roger Huerta, American mixed martial artist |
| 20th of May 1983 | BIRTHDAY | N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Indian film actor |
| 20th of May 1984 | BIRTHDAY | Patrick Ewing, Jr., American basketball player |
| 20th of May 1984 | BIRTHDAY | Keith Grennan, American football player |
| 20th of May 1984 | BIRTHDAY | Kenny Vasoli, American singer and bassist (The Starting Line) |
| 20th of May 1984 | BIRTHDAY | Naturi Naughton, singer (3LW) and actress |
| 20th of May 1984 | BIRTHDAY | Mauro, Brazilian footballer |
| 20th of May 1986 | BIRTHDAY | Dexter Blackstock, English footballer |
| 20th of May 1987 | BIRTHDAY | Julian Wright, American basketball player |
| 20th of May 1988 | BIRTHDAY | Carla Humphries, Filipino actress |
| 20th of May 1991 | BIRTHDAY | Mara Lopez, Filipino actress |
| 20th of May 1992 | BIRTHDAY | Cate Campbell, Australian swimmer |
| 20th of May 1993 | BIRTHDAY | Caroline Zhang, American figure skater |
| 20th of May 2010 | BIRTHDAY | Lady Cosima Windsor, daughter of Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster |
| 20th of May 0685 | DEATH | King Ecgfrith of Northumbria (Born 645) |
| 20th of May 1277 | DEATH | Pope John XXI (Born 1215) |
| 20th of May 1285 | DEATH | John II of Jerusalem, King of Cyprus (Born 1259) |
| 20th of May 1444 | DEATH | Saint Bernardino of Siena, Italian Franciscan missionary (Born 1380) |
| 20th of May 1503 | DEATH | Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, Italian banker, politician and patron of the arts (Born 1463) |
| 20th of May 1506 | DEATH | Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer (Born 1451) |
| 20th of May 1550 | DEATH | Ashikaga Yoshiharu, Japanese shogun (Born 1510) |
| 20th of May 1622 | DEATH | Osman II, Ottoman Sultan (Born 1604) |
| 20th of May 1648 | DEATH | King Wladislaus IV of Poland (Born 1595) |
| 20th of May 1677 | DEATH | George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol, British statesman (Born 1612) |
| 20th of May 1713 | DEATH | Thomas Sprat, English writer (Born 1635) |
| 20th of May 1717 | DEATH | John Trevor, British statesman (Born 1637) |
| 20th of May 1722 | DEATH | Sebastien Vaillant, French botanist (Born 1669) |
| 20th of May 1732 | DEATH | Thomas Boston, Scottish church leader (Born 1676) |
| 20th of May 1782 | DEATH | William Emerson, British mathematician (Born 1701) |
| 20th of May 1793 | DEATH | Charles Bonnet, Swiss naturalist (Born 1720) |
| 20th of May 1812 | DEATH | Count Hieronymus von Colloredo, Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg (Born 1732) |
| 20th of May 1825 | DEATH | Papaflessas, Greek priest and government official (Born 1788) |
| 20th of May 1834 | DEATH | Gilbert du Motier, French statesman (Born 1757) |
| 20th of May 1841 | DEATH | Joseph Blanco White, British theologian (Born 1775) |
| 20th of May 1873 | DEATH | Sir George-Etienne Cartier, French-Canadian statesman (Born 1814) |
| 20th of May 1880 | DEATH | Ana Neri, Brazilian nurse (Born 1814) |
| 20th of May 1896 | DEATH | Clara Schumann, German pianist and composer (Born 1819) |
| 20th of May 1909 | DEATH | Ernest Hogan, American comedian and musician, one of the creators of ragtime (Born 1859) |
| 20th of May 1917 | DEATH | Valentine Fleming, Scottish politician (Born 1887) |
| 20th of May 1917 | DEATH | Philipp von Ferrary, Italian philatelist (Born 1850) |
| 20th of May 1940 | DEATH | Verner von Heidenstam, Swedish writer, Nobel laureate (Born 1859) |
| 20th of May 1946 | DEATH | Jacob Ellehammer, Danish inventor (Born 1871) |
| 20th of May 1947 | DEATH | Philipp Lenard, Austrian physicist, Nobel laureate (Born 1862) |
| 20th of May 1947 | DEATH | Georgios Siantos, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (Born 1890) |
| 20th of May 1949 | DEATH | Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens (Born 1891) |
| 20th of May 1949 | DEATH | Randolph West, American biochemist, known for the Dakin-West reaction (Born 1890) |
| 20th of May 1956 | DEATH | Max Beerbohm, English theatre critic (Born 1872) |
| 20th of May 1961 | DEATH | Josef "Pips" Priller, German flying ace (Born 1915) |
| 20th of May 1971 | DEATH | Waldo Williams, Welsh poet (Born 1904) |
| 20th of May 1973 | DEATH | Jarno Saarinen, Finnish motorcycle racer (Born 1945) |
| 20th of May 1975 | DEATH | Barbara Hepworth, British sculptor (Born 1903) |
| 20th of May 1976 | DEATH | Syd Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (Born 1911) |
| 20th of May 1976 | DEATH | Zelmar Michelini, Uruguayan Christian-Democrat Party politician (Born 1924) |
| 20th of May 1976 | DEATH | Hector Gutierrez Ruiz, Uruguayan National Party politician (Born 1934) |
| 20th of May 1989 | DEATH | John Hicks, English economist, Nobel laureate (Born 1904) |
| 20th of May 1989 | DEATH | Gilda Radner, American comedian and actress (Born 1946) |
| 20th of May 1992 | DEATH | Roger Keith Coleman, American convict (Born 1958) |
| 20th of May 1996 | DEATH | Jon Pertwee, British actor (Born 1919) |
| 20th of May 2000 | DEATH | Malik Sealy, American basketball player (Born 1970) |
| 20th of May 2000 | DEATH | Jean Pierre Rampal, French flutist (Born 1922) |
| 20th of May 2001 | DEATH | Renato Carosone, Italian musician (Born 1920) |
| 20th of May 2002 | DEATH | Stephen Jay Gould, American paleontologist (Born 1941) |
| 20th of May 2005 | DEATH | Paul Ricoeur, French philosopher (Born 1913) |
| 20th of May 2005 | DEATH | William Seawell, U.S. Army Brigadier General (Born 1918) |
| 20th of May 2007 | DEATH | Norman Von Nida, Australian golfer (Born 1914) |
| 20th of May 2008 | DEATH | Hamilton Jordan, American White House Chief of Staff under President Carter (Born 1944) |
| 20th of May 2009 | DEATH | Arthur Erickson, Canadian architect (Born1924) |
| 20th of May 2009 | DEATH | Lucy Gordon, British model and actress (Born 1980) |