Anniversaries and commemorations come and go daily. Most of us, even the best historians, miss most occasions. If we think of history as events then we are faced with a continually showering in the grains of sand. Nevertheless, we do pick out certain patterns in the remembrance of historical dates. The blog here reminds us of some dates where the local, state, national, and global perspectives entwine.
On 20, Thursday May 1869, John Stone Stone, American physicist, inventor, born (d. 1943)
On 20, Sunday May 1894, Estelle Taylor, American actress, born (d. 1958)
On 20, Sunday May 1894, Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Indian religious scholar, saint, born (d. 1994)
On 20, Tuesday May 1919, George Gobel, American comedian, born (d. 1991)
On 20, Saturday May 1944, Joe Cocker, English rock singer, born (d. 2014)
On 20, Saturday May 1944, Boudewijn de Groot, Dutch singer, born
On 20, Saturday May 1944, Dietrich Mateschitz, Austrian businessman, born
On 20, Saturday May 1944, Fraser Barron, New Zealand bomber pilot during WWII, died (b. 1921)
On 20, Saturday May 1944, Eugenio Colorni, Italian philosopher and activist, died (b. 1909)
On 20, Saturday May 1944, Vincent Rose, American musician and band leader, died (b. 1880)
On 20, Wednesday May 1959, Bronson Pinchot, American actor, born
On 20, Wednesday May 1959, Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, Hawaiian singer, born (d. 1997)
On 20, Wednesday May 1959, Alfred Schütz, Austrian sociologist, died (b. 1899)
On 20, Tuesday May 1969, United States National Guard helicopters spray skin-stinging powder on anti-war protesters in California.
On 20, Tuesday May 1969, Fred Sherman, American actor, died (b. 1905)
On 20, Saturday May 1989, Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: The Chinese government declares martial law in Beijing.
On 20, Saturday May 1989, Peter Evans, American actor, died (b. 1950)
On 20, Saturday May 1989, John Hicks, British economist, Nobel Prize laureate, died (b. 1904)
On 20, Saturday May 1989, Gilda Radner, American comedian and actress, died (b. 1946)
On 20, Friday May 1994, Under increasing pressure, Federal Opposition Leader John Hewson calls a sudden leadership spill. having sacked Peter Reith from the shadow ministry for endorsing Fightback!, the policy which he as leader had declared “dead and buried” at a Liberal policy retreat only 4 weeks earlier.
On 20, Friday May 1994, After a funeral in Cluny Parish Church, Edinburgh attended by 900 people and after which 3,000 people lined the streets, John Smith is buried in a private family funeral on the island of Iona, at the sacred burial ground of Reilig Odhráin, which contains the graves of several Scottish kings as well as monarchs of Ireland, Norway and France.
On 20, Friday May 1994, Piotr Zieliński, Polish footballer, born
On 20, Wednesday May 2009, Paul Vinar, 69, Australian rules footballer, died
Other On This Day days in history
Neville Buch
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