On this day in history

May 20

29 births · 11 deaths · 5 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

151

Metre Convention

151 years ago

Born this day

1799

Honoré de Balzac

Would be 227

Oldest record

404th

Osman II

death anniversary

Famous births29

1743 · 283 yrs

Toussaint Louverture

François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (English: LOO-vər-TURE, French:; 20 May 1743 – 7 April 1803), also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda, was a Haitian general and the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 283

Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1799 · 227 yrs

Honoré de Balzac

Honoré de Balzac ( BAL-zak, also US: BAWL-; French:; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence La Comédie humaine, described as a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is generally viewed as his magnum opus.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 227

Photo: Louis-Auguste Bisson · Public domain

1806 · 220 yrs

John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, and politician. He was a paradigmatic philosopher of liberalism and has been described as "the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century" by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyWould be 220

Photo: London Stereoscopic Company · Public domain

1822 · 204 yrs

Frédéric Passy

Frédéric Passy (20 May 1822 – 12 June 1912) was a French economist and pacifist who was a founding member of several peace societies and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. He was also an author and politician, sitting in the Chamber of Deputies from 1881 until 1889.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 204

Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1860 · 166 yrs

Eduard Buchner

Eduard Buchner (German:; 20 May 1860 – 13 August 1917) was a German chemist and expert on fermentation (sometimes called a zymologist), awarded the 1907 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on fermentation.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 166

Photo: Nobel Foundation · Public domain

1881 · 145 yrs

Władysław Sikorski

Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (Polish pronunciation:; 20 May 1881 – 4 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Before World War I, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause of Polish independence.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryWould be 145

Photo: Collection of the Office of War Information · Public domain

1882 · 144 yrs

Sigrid Undset

Sigrid Undset (Norwegian pronunciation:; 20 May 1882 – 10 June 1949) was a Danish-born Norwegian novelist. She was awarded the 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 144

Photo: Aage Remfeldt / Aage Rasmussen (1889-1983) · Public domain

1883 · 143 yrs

Faisal I of Iraq

Faisal I bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashimi (Arabic: فيصل بن حسين بن علي الهاشمي, romanized: Fayṣal bin Ḥusayn bin ʻAlī al-Hāshimī; 20 May 1885 – 8 September 1933) was a Hejazi statesman who served as the King of Iraq from 23 August 1921 until his death in 1933.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyWould be 143

Photo: Vandyk photographic studio · Public domain

1901 · 125 yrs

Max Euwe

Machgielis "Max" Euwe (Dutch:; May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 until 1937.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

SportsWould be 125

Photo: Hans van Dijk for Anefo · CC0

1908 · 118 yrs

James Stewart

James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart appeared in 80 films from 1935 to 1991.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryWould be 118

Photo: Studio publicity still · Public domain

1915 · 111 yrs

Moshe Dayan

Moshe Dayan (Hebrew: משה דיין‎; 20 May 1915 – 16 October 1981) was an Israeli military leader and politician.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryWould be 111

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit photographer · CC BY-SA 3.0

1918 · 108 yrs

Edward B. Lewis

Edward Butts Lewis (May 20, 1918 – July 21, 2004) was an American geneticist, a corecipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He helped to found the field of evolutionary developmental biology.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 108

Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

Showing 12 of 29

Famous deaths11

1622 · 404 yrs

Osman II

Osman II (Ottoman Turkish: عثمان ثانى ‘Osmān-i sānī; Turkish: II. Osman; 3 November 1604 – 20 May 1622), also known as Osman the Young (Turkish: Genç Osman), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 26 February 1618 until his regicide on 20 May 1622.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 421

Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1648 · 378 yrs

Władysław IV Vasa

Władysław IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and claimant of the thrones of Sweden and Russia. Born into the House of Vasa as a prince of Poland and of Sweden, Władysław IV was the eldest son of Sigismund III Vasa and his first wife, Anna of Austria.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyWould be 431

Photo: Peter Paul Rubens · Public domain

1896 · 130 yrs

Clara Schumann

Clara Josephine Schumann (German:; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German virtuoso pianist, composer, and piano teacher.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicWould be 207

Photo: Franz Hanfstaengl · Public domain

1940 · 86 yrs

Verner von Heidenstam

Carl Gustaf Verner von Heidenstam (6 July 1859 – 20 May 1940) was a Swedish poet, novelist and laureate of the 1916 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was a member of the Swedish Academy from 1912.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 167

Photo: Johan Krouthén · Public domain

1947 · 79 yrs

Philipp Lenard

Philipp Eduard Anton von Lenard (German:; 7 June 1862 – 20 May 1947) was a German experimental physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1905 for his work on cathode rays.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 164

Photo: Not mentioned in any source · Public domain

1989 · 37 yrs

John Richard Hicks

Sir John Richard Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 122

Photo: Unknown (Associated Press) · Public domain

2002 · 24 yrs

Stephen Jay Gould

Stephen Jay Gould ( GOOLD; September 10, 1941 – May 20, 2002) was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, historian of science, and one of the most widely read authors of popular science of his generation.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 85

Photo: Lawrence Lipke · Public domain

2005 · 21 yrs

Paul Ricœur

Jean Paul Gustave Ricœur (French:; 27 February 1913 – 20 May 2005) was a French philosopher best known for combining phenomenological description with hermeneutics.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyWould be 113

Photo: Juerg Mueller / Scanpix. · CC0

2013 · 13 yrs

Ray Manzarek

Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. ( man-ZAYR-ik; né Manczarek; February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013) was an American keyboardist, vocalist, and music producer.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicWould be 87

Photo: Elektra Records · Public domain

2019 · 7 yrs

Niki Lauda

Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian racing driver, motorsport executive, and aviation entrepreneur, who competed in Formula One from 1971 to 1979 and from 1982 to 1985.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

BusinessWould be 77

Photo: Hans van Dijk for Anefo / neg. stroken, 1945-1989, 2.24.01.05, item number 932-2315 · CC0

2025 · 1 yrs

George Wendt

George Robert Wendt Jr. (October 17, 1948 – May 20, 2025) was an American actor.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 78

Photo: Alan Light · CC BY 2.0

Events5

1875 · 151 yrs

Metre Convention

The Metre Convention (French: Convention du Mètre), also known as the Treaty of the Metre, is an international treaty that was signed in Paris on 20 May 1875 by representatives of 17 nations: Argentina, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway,…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Politics

1883 · 143 yrs

1883 eruption of Krakatoa

Between 19 May and 21 October 1883, the volcanic island of Krakatoa (located in the Sunda Strait, then part of the Dutch East Indies—modern-day Indonesia) began erupting, lasting more than five months.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Disaster

1941 · 85 yrs

Battle of Crete

The Battle of Crete (German: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, Greek: Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (German: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island of Crete.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

1992 · 34 yrs

1992 European Cup Final

The 1992 European Cup final was a football match held on 20 May 1992 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Barcelona of Spain and Sampdoria of Italy. Barcelona won the game 1–0 after extra time, thanks to a Ronald Koeman free kick, to record their first triumph in the competition.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sports

1998 · 28 yrs

1998 UEFA Champions League Final

The 1998 UEFA Champions League final was a football match that took place at the Amsterdam Arena in Amsterdam, on 20 May 1998 to determine the winner of the 1997–98 UEFA Champions League. It pitted Real Madrid of Spain and Juventus of Italy.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sports

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