Move one matchstick to correct the equation: 34+89=400
What Happened On
Rock Around the Clock
May 20, 1954
Bill Haley & His Comets release their rock 'n' roll classic Rock Around the Clock. It was recorded as the B-side of the soon forgotten Thirteen Women.
First Solo Transatlantic Flight by a Woman
May 20, 1932
Amelia Earhart departs from Newfoundland, arriving in Northern Ireland 15 hours later.
Her flight marked the fifth anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's famous first solo transatlantic flight. She was the first one to make a solo transatlantic flight since Lindbergh.
First Solo Transatlantic Flight
May 20, 1927
Charles Lindbergh, in The Spirit of St. Louis, leaves New York. He landed in Paris the following day.
Kinetoscope parlor ca. 1894–95
Kinetoscope parlor ca. 1894–95
Motion Pictures
May 20, 1891
Thomas Edison gives the first public demonstration of his motion picture camera and viewer system, the Kinetoscope. The viewer allowed one person at a time to view the film through a peephole window. The concept was first described by Edison in 1888, though it was largely developed by his employee William Kennedy Laurie Dickson.
This demonstration of the Kinetoscope prototype was for the National Federation of Women's Clubs at the Edison laboratory where they viewed several films, including one of Dickson described as, "It was a most marvelous picture. It bowed and smiled and waved its hands and took off its hat with the most perfect naturalness and grace. Every motion was perfect".
This led to Kinetoscope parlors in which people viewed films on coin operated devices. The first Kinetoscope parlor was on Broadway in New York City and viewers paid 25¢ to see five films, or 50¢ to watch all 10. It was an instant success and its owners soon opened others in Chicago and San Francisco.
Photo Credit: Monj C
Photo Credit: Monj C
Chicago Bans the Sale of Spray Paints
May 20, 1992
Citing them as "weapons of terror," the city of Chicago bans the selling of spray paints in an effort to reduce graffiti.
Tiananmen Square
May 20, 1989
China imposes martial law as more than a million pro-democracy demonstrators gather in Tiananmen Square. Two weeks later many demonstrators would be killed in a clash with the People's Army in what became known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Walker Spy Case
May 20, 1985
John A. Walker is arrested with his brother and son for conspiring to sell secret Navy documents to the Soviet Union.
The Beatles - Let It Be
May 20, 1970
The Beatles' movie Let It Be premieres at the London Pavilion.
Civil War
May 20, 1861
North Carolina becomes the 10th state to secede from the Union.
First American School Maintained by Community Taxes
May 20, 1639
The first school maintained by community taxes in America is established in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
Birthdays
Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisian)
Born May 20, 1946
American singer, Oscar-Emmy-Grammy winning actress, singer. Teamed with partner and husband Sonny Bono, they sold 40 million records between 1965 and 1967 and became "Rock's 'it' couple". Music: I Got You Babe (1965, #1, with Sonny Bono), Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves (1971, #1), and If I Could Turn Back Time (1989). Film: Silkwood, Mask, Moonstruck. TV: The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (1971-74) and The Sonny & Cher Show (1976-77).
Carlos Hathcock receiving the Silver Star (1996)
Carlos Hathcock receiving the Silver Star (1996)
Vietnam's Deadliest Sniper
Carlos Hathcock
Born May 20, 1942 d. 1999
American soldier. Regarded as the deadliest sniper of the Vietnam War. He has 93 confirmed kills and an estimated 300-400 total kills. For one of his most famous kills, he was sent to kill the enemy sniper known as the "Cobra", who had already killed several U.S. marines and was believed to have been sent to kill Hathcock. Hathcock saw the Cobra's scope reflecting in the sun and fired a shot that went through the scope striking him in the eye, killing him instantly. On another mission, he was sent to kill an enemy general. For the mission, he had to crawl camouflaged, inch-by-inch over 1,500 yards of field for four days and three nights without sleep until he was able to make his shot, killing the general with a single shot to the chest.
The Vietnamese placed a record bounty of $30,000 on Hathcock, and it is believed he killed every Vietnamese marksman who tried to collect it.
Hathcock became a marine sniper after joining the United States Marine Corps and winning numerous shooting competitions, including the Wimbledon Cup, the most prestigious prize for long-range shooting, at Camp Perry in 1965.
Known as "White Feather" for the white feather he wore on his bush hat, the Springfield Armory M25 White Feather rifle was named after him.
James Stewart
Born May 20, 1908 d. 1997
American Oscar-winning actor. Stewart was one of the first major celebrities to join the U.S. armed forces after the outbreak of WWII. He flew combat missions over Germany and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service. Film: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), The Philadelphia Story (1940), and It's a Wonderful Life (1947, George Bailey).
Berliner with a model of his first phonograph
Berliner with a model of his first phonograph
Invented the Disc Record Player
Emile Berliner
Born May 20, 1851 d. 1929
German-born American inventor, patented the first flat disc record player (1887, gramophone). Earlier recording devices by Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell used cylinders that were difficult to mass produce. His device was known as a "gramophone."
Self portrait and first photograph of men drinking beer
Self portrait and first photograph of men drinking beer
First Photograph of Men Drinking Beer
David Octavius Hill
Born May 20, 1802 d. 1870
Scottish painter, photographer. He formed Hill & Adamson studio with the engineer and photographer Robert Adamson (1843 and 1847) which pioneered many aspects of photography in Scotland.
They created what is the first known photograph of men drinking beer (1844). In the photo, Hill (right) is sharing some Edinburgh Ale with James Ballantine (left) and Dr George Bell. Edinburgh Ale has been described as "a potent fluid, which almost glued the lips of the drinker together, and of which few, therefore, could dispatch more than a bottle".
Mindy Cohn
Born May 20, 1966
American actress. TV: The Facts of Life (1979-88, Natalie).
Susan Cowsill
Born May 20, 1959
American singer, member of the singing family The Cowsills (They were the basis for TV's The Partridge Family). Music: The Rain, The Park & Other Things (1967, #2) and the title song for the musical Hair (1969, #2).
Bronson Pinchot
Born May 20, 1959
American actor. TV: Perfect Strangers (Balki).
Jane Wiedlin
Born May 20, 1958
American guitarist. With the Go-Go's. Music: We Got the Beat (1981) and Vacation (1982).
Dean Butler
Born May 20, 1956
Canadian actor. TV: Little House on the Prairie (Laura's husband).
Joe Cocker (John Robert Cocker)
Born May 20, 1944 d. 2014
British singer. Music: With a Little Help From My Friends (1968, #1 UK), You Are So Beautiful (1974), and Up Where We Belong (1982, #1).
Elvis' Jumpsuit for Promised Land
Elvis' Jumpsuit for Promised Land
The Man Who Dressed the King
Bill Belew
Born May 20, 1931 d. 2008
American costume designer, "The Man Who Dressed the King." He designed Elvis Presley's costumes (1968-77) setting the trend for stage costumes by performers such as the Jackson 5 and The Osmonds. One of his most famous designs was the high-collared jumpsuit used in Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite and on the album cover for Promised Land. He also designed for many other stars, including Gladys Knight and Doc Severensen.
David Hedison (Albert David Hedison, Jr.)
Born May 20, 1927 d. 2019
American actor. Film: Live and Let Die (1973, CIA agent Felix Leiter) and Licence to Kill (1989, Felix Leiter).
George Gobel
Born May 20, 1919 d. 1991
American Emmy-winning TV and Radio star. TV: The George Gobel Show (1954-60).
Charles Hatton
Born May 20, 1905 d. 1975
American sports writer. He is credited with popularizing the term "Triple Crown" (1930), which he used to describe Gallant Fox who won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes.
William George Fargo
Born May 20, 1818 d. 1881
American businessman, co-founder of American Express (1850), co-founder of Wells, Fargo and Co. (1852), mayor of Buffalo, N.Y. (1862-66), and for whom Fargo, North Dakota is named.
Thomas Dartmouth Rice
Born May 20, 1808 d. 1860
American entertainer, "father of American minstrelsy." In 1828 he began performing Jim Crow - a song he had learned from an elderly black in Kentucky - in blackface. His act became a hit in England (1836), making "Jim Crow" synonymous with blacks.
Dolley Madison (Dorothea Dandridge Payne)
Born May 20, 1768 d. 1849
American First Lady (1809-17), wife of James Madison. Known for her social graces, she helped define the role of the First Lady. Dolley also helped furnish the newly constructed White House (then known as the "President's House"). When the British set fire to it in 1814, she saved many of its valuables, including the classic portrait of George Washington.
Dr. William Thornton
Born May 20, 1759 d. 1828
British-born American architect, physician. He designed the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. (1793).
Stephen Girard
Born May 20, 1750 d. 1831
French philanthropist, founder of Girard College at Philadelphia and for whom Girard, Ohio is named.
William Bradford
Born May 20, 1663 d. 1752
American colonial printer. Founder of the New York Gazette (1725), the first New York newspaper.
Deaths
Gilda Radner
Died May 20, 1989 b. 1946
American Emmy-winning comedienne. TV: Original cast member of Saturday Night Live (1975-80). She was the first performer cast for SNL and co-wrote much of the material that she performed. She was a featured player on the National Lampoon Radio Hour (1974-75), along with other future SNL comedians John Belushi, Chevy Chase, and Bill Murray.
She died of ovarian cancer that had spread to her liver and lungs. She was married to actor Gene Wilder at the time of her death.
Christopher Columbus
Died May 20, 1506 b. circa 1451
Italian explorer. Discovered the Americas.
Ray Manzarek (Raymond Daniel Manczarek)
Died May 20, 2013 b. 1939
American keyboardist, with The Doors. Music: Light My Fire (1967, #1) and L.A. Woman (1971).
(top to bottom) Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb
(top to bottom) Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb
Robin Gibb
Died May 20, 2012 b. 1949
British-Australian singers, songwriters, with the Bee Gees. Music: Stayin' Alive (1977) and Night Fever (1977, #1).
Sir John Richard Hicks
Died May 20, 1989 b. 1904
British Nobel-winning economist. He won the 1972 Nobel Prize for demonstrating that economic equilibrium is achieved by the interaction of forces that cancel each other out.
Marquis de Lafayette
Died May 20, 1834 b. 1757
French general. He became the youngest major general ever in the U.S. army when he joined (1777) during the American Revolution. According to legend, U.S. President John Quincy Adams allowed Lafayette to keep an alligator in the bathroom of the White House's East Room for a few months.
Sir Thomas Cavendish
Died May 20, 1592 b. 1555
English navigator. Plunderer of Spanish cites and ships.
John XXI
Died May 20, 1277 b. circa 1215
Portuguese-born religious leader, 187th Pope (1276-77). He died as a result of injuries received when part of the roof of the new wing he added to his palace collapsed while he sleeping.