May 20th in History
1927: Britain recognises the independence of Saudi Arabia
1944: Failed assassination attempt made on Hitler by his own officers
1990: An estimated 2 million people across China protest Martial Law
1991: The Soviet government begins allowing citizens to leave the country if they wished


May 20th birthdays
1908: James Stewart, American film actor
1915: Moshe Dayan, Israeli military leader
1946: Cher, American actress

May 21st in History
1851: Gold discovered in Australia
1927: Charles Lindbergh becomes the first to fly solo across the Atlantic


May 21st birthdays
1527: King Philip II of Spain
1904: Fats Waller, American musician
1916: Harold Robbins, American novelist
1917: Raymond Burr, American actor

May 22nd in History
1972: Ceylon becomes the Republic of Sri Lanka
1988: Hungarian Communist Party leader ousted


May 22nd birthdays
1813: Richard Wagner, German operatic composer
1907: Laurence Olivier, British actor of stage and screen
1924: Charles Aznavour, French born singer

May 23rd in History
1618: The Thirty Years War begins
1926: Lebanon becomes a republic


May 23rd birthdays
1718: William Hunter, Scottish anatomist
1848: Otto Lilienthal, German glider builder
1883: Douglas Fairbanks Snr, American film star

May 24th in History
1948: The USSR stop road and rail traffic between Berlin and the West
1956: 2,500th anniversary of the death of Buddha celebrated in India


May 24th birthdays
1819: Queen Victoria
1941: Bob Dylan, American singer/songwriter
1969: Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader

May 25th in History
1768: Explorer Captain Cook sets sail on his first voyage
1907: The first national assembly, in which women had parliamentary seats, opens in Finland
1910: French troops occupy Morocco, North Africa
1935: Athlete Jesse Owens sets six world records in under an hour, infuriating Hitler
1945: Arthur C.Clark suggests using relay satellites to cover the Earth
1961: President Kennedy announces plan to send men to the Moon


May 25th birthdays
1803: Ralph W. Emerson, American poet
1881: Bela Bartok, Hungarian composer
1892: Josip Tito, Former Yugoslavian president
1926: Miles Davis, American jazz trumpet player
1939: Ian McKellen, English actor

May 26th in History
1805: Napoleon Bonaparte crowned King of Italy
1924: The United States start limiting immigration, banning all Japanese
1991: Presidential elections, after the collapse of the USSR, are held in Georgia
1992: With the break up of the Soviet Union, Russia and the Ukraine decide to split the Black Sea fleet


May 26th birthdays
1886: Al Jolson, American singer
1907: John Wayne, American actor who made many westerns
1913: Peter Cushing, British born film actor
1925: Roy Dotrice, American actor

May 27th in History
1930: Widespread unrest in India after Gandhi's arrest
1940: The evacuation of allied troops from Dunkirk, France, begins
1941: The German battleship 'Bismark' is sunk off the coast of France
1952: European Defense Community Treaty, establishing an EU army, signed
1990: Poland holds its first free elections in over fifty years


May 27th birthdays
1867: Arnold Bennett, English novelist
1897: John Cockcroft, English nuclear physicist
1911: Vincent Price, American film actor
1922: Christopher Lee, British born film actor
1923: Henry Kissinger, American politician
1936: Lou Gossett Jr, American film actor

May 28th in History
1906: The Tsar of Russia makes large areas of land available to the peasants
1915: Women in Berlin demonstrate for peace
1940: Holland and Belgium surrender to German forces, during WW2
1961: Last ever Orient Express from Paris to Bucharest


May 28th birthdays
1660: George I, British King
1908: Ian Fleming, British writer

May 29th in History
1919: Einstein's theories given a practical test during an eclipse
1940: British forces begin their evacuation from Dunkirk, France
1990: Brois Yeltsin elected leader of the Russian Federation


May 29th birthdays
1630: King Charles II of Britain
1874: Gilbert Keith Chesterton, English novelist
1903: Bob Hope, US entertainer
1917: John F. Kennedy, Former (35th) American President