However, I usually will take at least one on any given trip, if the opportunity presents itself.
This one was taken at beautiful Gullfoss,which as I understand it, is Icelandic for "golden falls. "
Amazing place.
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
This is What Iceland Looked Like Last Night At One in the Morning
Yes, we have all heard about Scandinavian countries being known as the "Land of the Midnight Sun."
Well, I was curious about that and kept an eye on outside and how dark it was getting.
Indeed, it was still daylight at eleven at night. Not really that dark at midnight.
And below is a picture what it looked like at one in the morning, when we finally took off. Certainly not full on daylight. But definitely not full dark of night, either.
So yes, it's true.
Fascinating.
May 21st: This Day in History
Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!
Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!
Bicycles were first introduced in the United States on this day in history. Bikes had been existed for quite some time in Europe prior to this. Before automobiles, they were seen as an efficient and cheaper way of traveling than horses, who were big and needed to be fed at considerable expense.
Other than that, this day had some interesting events transpire through history. The Reformation took hold in a Swiss city. De Soto died searching for gold on this day. The first ever horror movie was premiered. Women were officially granted the right to vote. Charles Lindberg completed the first ever solo flight across the Atlantic, and not much later, Amelia Earhart would become the first woman to do so. Himmler was captured shortly after the end of the war. A southern, Dixiecrat governor declared Martial Law. "The Empire Strikes Back", the second installlation of Star Wars, and the favorite for many Star Wars fans, premiered on this date.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/american-red-cross-founded
May 21, 1881: American Red Cross founded
In Washington, D.C., humanitarians Clara Barton and Adolphus Solomons found the American National Red Cross, an organization established to provide humanitarian aid to victims of wars and natural disasters in congruence with the International Red Cross.
Barton, born in Massachusetts in 1821, worked with the sick and wounded during the American Civil War and became known as the "Angel of the Battlefield" for her tireless dedication. In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln commissioned her to search for lost prisoners of war, and with the extensive records she had compiled during the war she succeeded in identifying thousands of the Union dead at the Andersonville prisoner-of-war camp.
She was in Europe in 1870 when the Franco-Prussian War broke out, and she went behind the German lines to work for the International Red Cross. In 1873, she returned to the United States, and four years later she organized an American branch of the International Red Cross. The American Red Cross received its first U.S. federal charter in 1900. Barton headed the organization into her 80s and died in 1912.
143 - • Earliest known date in Amer-pre Mayan king Harvest-Bergvorst installed
685 - • Battle at Nechtansmere/Dun Nechtain: Picts beat Northumbrians
878 - • Syracuse, Italy is captured by the Muslim sultan of Sicily.
879 - Pope John VIII gives blessings to duke Branimir and to Croatian people, considered to be international recognition of Croatian state.
996 - Pope Gregory V crowned his cousin, sixteen year old Otto III was crowned the Roman Emperor in present-day Germany.
1040 - King Henry III gives Utrecht the Groninger currency
1216 - • French crown prince Louis enters England
1260 - • Kublai Khan of the Mongol Empire sends his envoy Hao Jing and two other advisors to the Song Dynasty court of Emperor Lizong of Song; while attempting to negotiate with the Song in order to resolve their conflict, Hao Jing and his fellow emissaries are imprisoned by order of the high Chancellor of China, Jia Sidao.
1420 - • Treaty of Troyes-French King Charles VI gives France to English
1471 - King Edward IV entered London. King Henry VI was killed in the tower of London. Edward IV took the throne.
1502 - Portuguese admiral Da Nova discovers St Helena
1526 - -Jun 8] Sermon of Bathe, Aargau: TC evangelical theology
1536 - • The Reformation was officially adopted in Geneva, Switzerland.
1542 - Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto died along the banks of the Mississippi River while searching for gold.
1602 - Martha's Vineyard was first sighted (Captain Bartholomew Gosnold)
1674 - General John Sobieski chosen King of Poland
1683 - West Indian Company sells 1/3 of Suriname
1688 - The English poet Alexander Pope was born.
1725 - The Order of St. Alexander Nevsky is instituted in Russia by the empress Catherine I. It would later be discontinued and then reinstated by the Soviet government in 1942 as the Order of Alexander Nevsky.
1758 - Mary Campbell is abducted from her home in Pennsylvania by Lenape during the French and Indian War.
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Le Drapeau Tricolore (Tricour Flag) which was a product of the French Revolution, and which remains the national flag of France to this day.
1790 - • French Revolution: Paris was divided into 48 zones.
1793 - Curacao Island Council forbids criticism on House of Orange
1804 - • Lewis & Clark Expedition begins
French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte
1809 - • Battle at Aspern-Essling: Austrian Archduke Karl beats Napoleon
1819 - • Bicycles were introduced and first seen in the U.S. in New York City. They were originally known as "swift walkers."
1832 - In the U.S., the Democratic Party held its first national convention in Baltimore.
1840 - New Zealand was officially declared a British colony
1846 - First steamship arrived in Hawaii
1856 - • Lawrence, Kansas captured, sacked by pro-slavery forces
1861 - Richmond, Va is designated Confederate Capital
1863 - The siege of the Confederate Port Hudson, Louisiana, began.
1864 - GEN David Hunter takes command of Dept of West Virginia
1864 - Russia declares an end to the Russian-Circassian War and many Circassians are forced into exile. The day is designated to be the Circassian Day of Mourning.
1866 - First-class debut of G F Grace aged 15 years 159 days
1871 - -July 28] French regular troops attack Commune of Paris; 17,000 die
1878 - 4th Kentucky Derby: Jimmy Carter aboard Day Star wins in 2:37.25
1879 - Battle of Iquiquw
1879 - • War of the Pacific: Two Chilean ships blocking the harbor of Iquique (then belonging to Peru) battle two Peruvian vessels in the Battle of Iquique.
1881 - The American branch of the Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton.
1881 - The United States Lawn Tennis Association was formed in New York City.
1886 - 14th Preakness: S Fisher aboard Bard wins in 2:45
1891 - Boxers Peter Jackson and Jim Corbett fought for 61 rounds only to end in a draw.
1892 - Ruggero Leoncavallo's opera "Pagliacci" premieres in Milan
1894 - 22-year-old French Anarchist Émile Henry is executed by guillotine.
1897 - Yerkes Observatory 40" (1m) refractor used for 1st time
1898 - US Assay Office in Seattle, Washington authorized
1904 - Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) formed in Paris
1906 - Louis H. Perlman received his patent for the demountable tire-carrying rim.
1907 - 32nd Preakness: G Mountain aboard Don Enrique wins in 1:45.4
1908 - First horror movie (Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde) premieres in Chicago
1908 - Bill Burns has no-hitter broken up with 2 outs in 9th
1914 - 39th Preakness: Andy Schuttinger aboard Holiday wins in 1:53.8
1914 - Greyhound Bus Co begins in Minnesota
1916 - Britain begins "Summer Time" (Daylight Savings Time)
1917 - Leo Pinckney, first American drafted during WW I
1917 - The Great Atlanta fire of 1917 took place.
1918 - House of Representatives passes amendment allowing women to vote
1921 - Oldest radio station west of Mississippi River licensed in Greeley Co
1922 - The cartoon, "On the Road to Moscow," by Rollin Kirby won a Pulitzer Prize. It was the first cartoon awarded the Pulitzer.
1922 - Col Ruppert buys out Col Huston interest in NY Yankees for $1,500,000
1922 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Eugene O'Neill (Anna Christie)
1922 - Ruppert buys out Huston interest in Yankees for $15 million
1924 - Fourteen-year-old Bobby Franks was murdered for fun in a "thrill killing" committed by Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb. The killers were students at the University of Chicago.
1925 - Canadians allowed to sell beer
1925 - George Lloyd of Dolobran becomes British High Director of Egypt
1925 - Roald Amundsun leaves Spitsbergen with 2 seaplanes to North Pole
1926 - White Sox Earl Sheely hits a record 6th consecutive double
1927 - • Charles A. Lindberg landed in Paris, completing the first solo nonstop airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean. The trip began May 20.
1929 - The first automatic electric stock quotation board was used by Sutro and Company of New York City.
1929 - Sergei Prokoviev's ballet "Prodigal Son," premieres in Paris
1930 - Max Bishop draws 8 walks in a doubleheader
1930 - NY Yankee Babe Ruth hits 3 consecutive homers
1931 - Belgian government of Jaspar falls
1932 - 1st Curtis Cup: US wins, 5½-3½ at Wentworth Club (Wentworth, England)
1932 - Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean (from Newfoundland to Ireland).
Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C.
1933 - Mt Davidson Cross lit by FDR via telegraph
1934 - Oskaloosa, IA, became the first city in the U.S. to fingerprint all of its citizens.
1936 - Sada Abe is arrested after wandering the streets of Tokyo for days with her dead lover's severed genitals in her hand. Her story soon becomes one of Japan's most notorious scandals.
1938 - Bradman scores 143 Aust v Surrey, 198 mins, 11 fours
1940 - AVRO-chairman Willem Vogt fires all Jewish employees
1940 - Allied counter attack at Atrecht North-France
1940 - Reynaud forms French government
1941 - The first U.S. ship, the SS Robin Moor, was sunk by a U-boat.
1941 - German airforce occupies airport at Maleme Kreta
1941 - Singer Johan Heesters visits Dachau concentration camp
1942 - Great-Britain convoy PQ16 departs to Russia
1943 - Fastest 9 inning AL baseball game (89 mins), White Sox beat Senators
1944 - Hitler begins attack on English/US "terror pilots"
1945 - Aust Services win first Victory Test Cricket at Lord's by 6 wickets
1945 - • Nazi German war criminal Heinrich Himmler captured
1945 - Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart were married
1947 - Joe DiMaggio and five of his New York Yankee teammates were fined $100 because they had not fulfilled contract requirements to do promotional duties for the team.
1948 - NY Yank Joe Dimaggio hits for cycle (single, double, triple, HR)
1950 - • Vietnamese troops of Ho Chi-Minh attack Cambodia
1951 - The opening of the Ninth Street Show, otherwise known as the 9th Street Art Exhibition - a gathering of a number of notable artists, and the stepping-out of the post war New York avant-garde, collectively know as the New York School.
1952 - Brooklyn Dodgers score 15 runs in 1st inning & beat Cin Reds, 19-1
1952 - Dutch Queen Juliana opens Amsterdam-Rhine Canal
1953 - French government of Mayer resigns
1954 - Amendment to give 18-year-olds right to vote is defeated
1955 - "House of Flowers" closes at Alvin Theater NYC after 165 performances
1955 - First transcontinental round-trip solo flight-sunrise to sunset
1955 - WFRV TV channel 5 in Green Bay, WI (ABC/NBC) begins broadcasting
1956 - The U.S. exploded the first airborne hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean over Bikini Atoll.
1956 - Jordan government of Said el-Mufti forms
1956 - WITI TV channel 6 in Milwaukee, WI (CBS/ABC) begins broadcasting
1957 - French government of Mollet resigns
1958 - Indonesian paratroopers reconquers Morotai Island
1958 - US performs nuclear test at Bikini Island (atmospheric tests)
1959 - "Gypsy" opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 702 performances
1959 - Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Children's Petting Farm opens
1960 - 86th Preakness: Bobby Ussery aboard Bally Ache wins in 1:57.6
1961 - • Governor Patterson declared martial law in Montgomery, Alabama.
1962 - 3 more Cleveland HR set AL record for most HR (26) over 8 games
1964 - First nuclear-powered lighthouse begins operations (Chesapeake Bay)
1964 - Fire in Belgium resort, kills 19
1964 - US begin intelligence flights above Laos
1966 - "Downtown" by Mrs Miller hits #82
1966 - "Time for Singing" opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 41 performances
1966 - 92nd Preakness: Don Brumfield aboard Kauai King wins in 1:55.4
1966 - Louie Louie by The Kingsmen reentered the chart & hits #97
1966 - Muhammad Ali TKOs Henry Cooper in 6 for heavyweight boxing title
1967 - "Sing, Israel Sing" closes at Brooks Atkinson NYC after 14 perfs
1968 - Cubs Billy Williams sets outfielder record of 695 straight game
1968 - Paul McCartney and Jane Asher attend an Andy Williams concert
1968 - USSR performs nuclear test (underground)
1968 - WEKW TV channel 52 in Keene, NH (PBS) begins broadcasting
1968 - The nuclear-powered U.S. submarine Scorpion, with 99 men aboard, was last heard from before it went missing. The remains of the sub were later found on the ocean floor 400 miles southwest of the Azores.
1969 - • Robert Kennedy's murderer Sirhan Sirhan sentenced to death
1969 - Slovan Bratislava wins 9th Europe Cup II in Basel
1969 - After 9,015 at bats Hank Aaron is lifted for a pinch hitter, Mike Lum, who doubled in a 15-3 victory over NY Mets
Flag of Argentina
1969 - • Civil unrest in Rosario, Argentina, aka Rosariazo, following the death of a 15-year-old student.
1970 - The National Guard was mobilized to quell disturbances at Ohio State University.
1970 - USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
1971 - Chelsea wins 11th Europe Cup II in Athens
1971 - National Guard mobilizes to quell riot in Chattanooga Tenn
1972 - "Heathen!" opens & closes at Billy Rose Theater NYC for 1 performance
1972 - "Lost in the Stars" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 39 perfs
1972 - Michelangelo's Pietà in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome is damaged by a vandal.
1975 - Borussia Mönchengladbach wins 4th UEFA Cup at Enschede
1975 - Lowell W Perry confirmed as chairman of Equal Opportunity Comm
1975 - Trial against Baader-Meinhof-group begins in Stuttgart
1977 - "Fiddler on the Roof" closes at Winter Garden NYC after 167 perfs
1977 - 103rd Preakness: Jean Cruguet aboard Seattle Slew wins in 1:54.4
1977 - Albert Innaurato's "Gemini," premieres in NYC
1977 - Fire in hotel Duc de Brabant Brussels, kills 19
1977 - SD Padres beat Mont Expos, 11-8, in 21 innings
1978 - 118 Unification church couples wed in England
1978 - Yamada Mumon Roshi appointed head of Zen Rinzai Sect
1979 - • Dan White convicted of manslaughter death of SF mayor Moscone
1979 - Elton John becomes first western rocker to perform live in USSR
1979 - • National Volksraad installed in Namibia
1979 - Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens defeat NY Rangers, 4 games to 1
1980 - • "Empire Strikes Back" premiered
1980 - Eintracht Frankfurt wins 9th UEFA Cup at Frankfurt
1980 - Ensign Jean Marie Butler is first woman to graduate from US service acad
1981 - Francois Mitterrand becomes president of France
1981 - Stanley Cup: NY Islanders beat Minnesota North Stars, 4 games to 1
1982 - British troops landed on Falkland Islands
1983 - "Bang The Drum All Day" by Todd Rundgren hits #63
1983 - 109th Preakness: Donald Miller Jr on Deputed Testamony wins in 1:55.4
1983 - Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB, for mating for STS-7 mission
1983 - David Bowie's "Let's "Dance," single goes #1
1986 - Atlanta Brave Rafael Ramirez hits 4 doubles in a game
1986 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1987 - • Military coup in Fiji Islands under lt col Sitivani Rabuka
1987 - Xignals PC Board BBS begins in Alabama
1988 - "Da'Butt" by EU hits #35
1988 - "Fat" by Weird Al Yankovic hits #99
1988 - 114th Preakness: Eddie Delahoussaye aboard Risen Star wins in 1:56.2
1988 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1989 - In Hong Kong, approximately one million people took to the streets to show their support for students protesting for democratic reforms in China’s Tiananmen Square.
1990 - Dow Jones avg hits a record 2,844.68
1990 - Last episode of "Newhart" airs on CBS-TV
1991 - • In Madras, India, the former prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a suicide bomber with a bouquet of flowers that contained a bomb.
1991 - • Ethiopia's Marxist president (Mengistu Haile Mariam) resigns
1992 - China PR performs nuclear test at Lop Nor PRC
1992 - New Jersey senate overrides Governor Florio's veto and lowers sales tax to 6%
1993 - Dayanara Torres, 18, of Puerto Rico, crowned 42nd Miss Universe
1993 - Opposition leader Xanana Gusmao of East-Timor sentenced to life
1993 - Robin Smith scores 167 in England Texaco Trophy loss v Australia
1993 - Venezuela president Carlos Andres Perez fired
1994 - "Best Little Whorehouse" closes at Lunt-Fontanne NYC after 16 perfs
1994 - 120th Preakness: Pat Day aboard Tabasco Cat wins in 1:56.4
1994 - Reds bat out of order against Dodgers in 2nd inning
1994 - South Yemen secedes from Yemen
1996 - Blackout in many areas of Queens NY
1996 - Ken Griffey Jr, 26, is 8th youngest to hits 200 home runs
1996 - Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens beats Yankees for his 200th win
1996 - The Trappist Martyrs of Atlas are executed.
1997 - Emmy 24th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 17th time
1998 - An expelled student, Kipland Kinkel, in Springfield, OR, killed 2 people and wounded 25 others with a semi-automatic rifle. Police also discovered that the boy had killed his parents before the rampage.
1998 - Microsoft and Sega announced that they are collaborating on a home video game system.
1998 - In Miami, FL, five abortion clinics were hit by an butyric acid-attacker.
1998 - Suharto, the Indonesian dictator who had ruled for 32 years, resigns.
1998 - • Indonesian President Suharto resigned. He had ruled as a dictator for 32 years.
1999 - All My Children star Susan Lucci finally wins a Daytime Emmy after being nominated 19 times, the longest period of unsuccessful nominations in television history
2001 - • French Taubira law officially recognizes the Atlantic slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity.
2003 - An earthquake hits northern Algeria killing more than 2,000 people.
2003 - Christine Todd Whitman (former Governor of New Jersey) announced her resignation as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
2004 - Sherpa Pemba Dorjie climbs Mount Everest in 8 hours 10 minutes, breaking his rival Sherpa Lakpa Gelu's record from the previous year.
2004 - Stanislav Petrov is awarded the World Citizen Award for averting a potential World War III in 1983.
2006 - • The Republic of Montenegro holds a referendum proposing independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. The Montenegrin people choose independence with a majority of 55%.
2006 - The Swedish ice hockey team Tre Kronor takes gold in the World Championship, becoming the first nation to hold both the World and Olympic titles separately in the same year.
2007 - The Cutty Sark is badly damaged by fire in London, England. She is the last surviving clipper.
2012 - 120 people are killed and 350 injured by a suicide bomb in Sana'a, Yemen
2012 - 13 people are killed and 22 people injured after a bus falls 80 metres off a cliff in Albania
These are the web pages that I used to complete this blog entry:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://www.historyorb.com/day/may/21
http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/may21.htm
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
Arrived at Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris
Well, I got here safely.
And if the flight from Newark to Reykjavik Tuesday night into Wednesday morning was perhaps the most uncomfortable flight that I have ever taken -and I feel fortunate to have managed something like two hours of sleep out of sheer exhaustion - then this flight was almost the other extreme. Fell asleep almost immediately after taking my seat. Woke up not long before landing.
That has never happened to me before. Hell, I barely woke up for the takeoff. Usually, I like watching the plane lift off. Still find it exciting after all of these years.
But I could barely remain awake and fell right back to sleep minutes later. Woke up in the skies over France as daylight was then just approaching.
Went to get my baggage as usual after the flight, and then followed the signs to the exit.
Now here I sit.
Okay for now. Will try to post updates soon enough again, I promise.
Beautiful Iceland
My day in Iceland turned out to be more than I even expected it to be.
And that is saying something, because I knew that it was supposed to be incredibly beautiful.
In this particular blog entry, I focused on the mountains, which were often jagged and dramatic.
Some, however, seemed more serene and majestic.
I believe that some of these pictures probably qualify as some of the most beautiful and impressive pictures that I have ever taken.
Of course, you can judge that for yourself.
May 20th: This Day in History
Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/levi-strauss-and-jacob-davis-receive-patent-for-blue-jeans
May 20, 1873: Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive patent for blue jeans
On this day in 1873, San Francisco businessman Levi Strauss and Reno, Nevada, tailor Jacob Davis are given a patent to create work pants reinforced with metal rivets, marking the birth of one of the world's most famous garments: blue jeans.
Born Loeb Strauss in Buttenheim, Bavaria, in 1829, the young Strauss immigrated to New York with his family in 1847 after the death of his father. By 1850, Loeb had changed his name to Levi and was working in the family dry goods business, J. Strauss Brother & Co. In early 1853, Levi Strauss went west to seek his fortune during the heady days of the Gold Rush.
In San Francisco, Strauss established a wholesale dry goods business under his own name and worked as the West Coast representative of his family's firm. His new business imported clothing, fabric and other dry goods to sell in the small stores opening all over California and other Western states to supply the rapidly expanding communities of gold miners and other settlers. By 1866, Strauss had moved his company to expanded headquarters and was a well-known businessman and supporter of the Jewish community in San Francisco.
Jacob Davis, a tailor in Reno, Nevada, was one of Levi Strauss' regular customers. In 1872, he wrote a letter to Strauss about his method of making work pants with metal rivets on the stress points--at the corners of the pockets and the base of the button fly--to make them stronger. As Davis didn't have the money for the necessary paperwork, he suggested that Strauss provide the funds and that the two men get the patent together. Strauss agreed enthusiastically, and the patent for "Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings"--the innovation that would produce blue jeans as we know them--was granted to both men on May 20, 1873.
Strauss brought Davis to San Francisco to oversee the first manufacturing facility for "waist overalls," as the original jeans were known. At first they employed seamstresses working out of their homes, but by the 1880s, Strauss had opened his own factory. The famous 501 brand jean--known until 1890 as "XX"--was soon a bestseller, and the company grew quickly. By the 1920s, Levi's denim waist overalls were the top-selling men's work pant in the United States. As decades passed, the craze only grew, and now blue jeans are worn by men and women, young and old, around the world.
325 - • The first Christian Ecumenical Council was inaugurated by Emperor Constantine in Nicea, Asia Minor.
1217 - • The Second Battle of Lincoln is fought near Lincoln, England, resulting in the defeat of Prince Louis of France by William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke.
1293 - Earthquake strikes Kamakura Japan, 30,000 killed
1293 - King Sancho IV of Castile creates the Study of General Schools of Alcalá.
1303 - • Treaty of Paris restored Gascony to British in Hundred Years War
1310 - • Shoes were made for both right & left feet
1347 - Cola di Rienzo took the title of tribune in Rome.
1495 - • French King Charles VIII leaves Naples
1498 - • Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Calcutta India
1501 - Joao da Nova Castell discovers Ascension Islands
1506 - Christopher Columbus died in poverty in Spain.
1520 - • Hernando Cortez defeated Spanish troops that had been sent to punish him in Mexico.
1521 - Ignatius Loyola seriously wounded by a cannon ball
1524 - Duke of Albany leaves Scotland
1570 - Egidius Coppens publishes Abraham Ortelius' "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum"
1571 - Venice, Spain & Pope Pius form anti-Turkish Saint League
1591 - Spanish troops in Zutphen surrenders to Willem Louis/Mauritius
1609 - • Shakespeare's Sonnets are first published in London, perhaps illicitly, by the publisher Thomas Thorpe.
1631 - Magdeburg in Germany seized by forces of the Holy Roman Empire under earl Johann Tilly, most inhabitants massacred, one of the bloodiest incidents of the Thirty Years' War.
1639 - Dorchester Mass, forms 1st school funded by local taxes
1674 - John Sobieski became Poland’s first King.
1690 - England passed the Act of Grace, forgiving followers of James II
1704 - Elias Neau forms school for slaves in NY
1734 - \First Jockey Club forms in SC
1774 - • Britain gives Quebec, Labrador and territory north of Ohio
1774 - Britain's Parliament passed the Coercive Acts to punish the American colonists for their increasingly anti-British behavior
1775 - Citizens of Mecklenburg County, and North Carolina declared independence from Great Britain, thus making North Carolina the first colony to declare its independence. This is the date that is on the George state flag even though the date of this event has been questioned.
1784 - • A peace treaty was signed at the Peace of Versailles (Treaty of Paris) which ended a war between France, England, and Holland.
1825 - Charles X became King of France
1830 - First railroad timetable published in newspaper (Baltimore American)
1830 - The fountain pen was patented by H.D. Hyde.
1835 - Otto is named the first modern king of Greece.
1840 - York Minster was badly damaged by fire
1845 - First legislative assembly convenes in Hawaii
1845 - HMS Erebus and HMS Terror with 134 men under John Franklin sail from the River Thames in England, beginning a disastrous expedition to find the Northwest Passage. All hands are lost.
1861 - During the American Civil War, the capital of the Confederacy was moved from Montgomery, AL, to Richmond, VA.
1861 - Cornerstone of University of Washington laid in Seattle
1861 - Kentucky proclaims its neutrality in Civil War
1861 - North Carolina became the eleventh and; final, state to secede from Union
1861 - US marshals appropriate previous year's telegraph dispatches, to reveal prosecessionist evidence
1862 - Homestead Act provides cheap land for settlement of West
1864 - Battle at Ware Bottom Church, Virginia, 1,400 killed or injured
1864 - Spotsylvania-campaign ends after 10,920 killed/injured
1867 - Brit parliament rejects John Stuart Mills law on women's suffrage
1867 - Royal Albert Hall foundation laid by Queen Victoria
1868 - Republican National Convention, meets in Chicago, nominates Grant
1870 - Second Chamber abolishes capital punishment
1873 - Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis patent first blue jeans with copper rivets
1875 - The International Bureau of Weights and Measures was established by treaty.
1879 - 5th Kentucky Derby: Charlie Shauer aboard Lord Murphy wins in 2:37
1882 - Germany/Austria-Hungary/France sign Triple Alliance
1882 - Henrik Ibsen's "Ghosts" (Gengangere) premieres in Chicago
1882 - St Gotthard-railroad tunnel between Switzerland & Italy opens
1891 - History of cinema: The first public display of Thomas Edison's prototype kinetoscope.
1892 - George Sampson patents clothes dryer
1892 - • Triple Alliance between Germany, Italy & Austria forms
1895 - 1st commercial movie performance (153 Broadway, NYC)
1896 - The six ton chandelier of the Palais Garnier falls on the crowd resulting in the death of one and the injury of many others.
1899 - Jacob German of New York City became the first driver to be arrested for speeding. The posted speed limit was 12 miles per hour.
1900 - Second modern Olympic games opens in Paris (lasted 5 months)
1902 - Cuba gained its independence from Spain.
1902 - US military occupation of Cuba (since Jan 1, 1899) ends
1910 - Funeral for Britain's King Edward VII
1911 - Edwin Boaler Alletson hits 189 in 90 mins Notts v Sussex
1913 - 38th Preakness: James Butwell aboard Buskin wins in 1:53.4
1915 - Bataafsche Petroleum Me begins oil extraction of Maracaibo
1916 - Codell, Kansas hit by tornado (also on same date in 1917 & 1918)
1916 - • Norman Rockwell’s first cover on "The Saturday Evening Post" appeared.
1917 - • Turkish government authorizes Jews to return to Tel Aviv & Jaffa
1918 - First electrically propelled warship (New Mexico)
1919 - Volcano Keluit on Java, erupts killing 550
1920 - Policemen raid the Cubs' bleachers and arrest 24 fans for gambling
1922 - "Egypt" sinks off Ushant after colliding with "Seine," killing 90
1922 - Babe Ruth & Bob Meusel, suspended on October 16, 1921, by Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis, return to the NY lineup & go hitless
1923 - Stanley Baldwin, becomes PM of UK
1926 - Belgian government of Jaspar takes power
1926 - The U.S. Congress passed the Air Commerce Act. The act gave the Department of Commerce the right to license pilots and planes.
1926 - Railway Labor Act became law
Monuments to Thomas Edison at Menlo Park in Edison, NJ
1926 - • Thomas Edison says Americans prefer silent movies over talkies
1927 - At 7:40 AM, Charles Lindbergh took off from Long Island, New York to cross the Atlantic for Paris aboard his airplane the "Spirit of St. Louis." The trip took 33 1/2 hours, and was the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight.
1927 - • Saudi Arabia becomes independent of Great Britain (Treaty of Jedda)
1930 - The first airplane was catapulted from a dirigible, Charles Nicholson, pilot
1930 - University of California dedicates $1,500 to research on prevention and cure of athlete's foot
1932 - Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She became the first woman to achieve the feat.
1932 - Engelbert Dollfuss becomes chancellor of Austria
1933 - "Charlie Chan" was heard for the final time on the NBC Blue radio network, after only six months on the air.
1939 - "3 Little Fishies," by Kay Kyser hits #1
1939 - The first telecast over telephone wires was sent from Madison Square Garden to the NBC-TV studios at 30 Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. The event was a bicycle race.
1939 - The first regular air-passenger service across the Atlantic Ocean began with the take-off of the "Yankee Clipper" from Port Washington, New York. (Pan Am: NY to Marseille, France)
1940 - Gen Guderians tanks reach The Channel (British expeditionary army)
1940 - Soccer team HZVV forms in Hoogeveen
1940 - Trailing 7-1 in 9th to Pitts, Phils win 8-7
1941 - Archer's "Christian Calendar and Gregorian Reform" published
1941 - Former Dutch PM Colijn says Neth Indies not ready for independence
1941 - Germany invaded Crete by air.
1941 - White Sox Taft Wright sets AL record of RBIs in 13 consecutive games
1942 - Japan completed the conquest of Burma.
1942 - US Navy 1st permitted black recruits to serve
1943 - French, British and US victory parade in Tunis Tunisia
1944 - US Communist Party dissolves
1945 - Keith Miller scores 105 in the 1st Victory Test Cricket at Lord's
1946 - Cubs Claude Passeau makes his 1st error since September 21, 1941, ending pitcher's fielding record of 273 consecutive errorless chances
1948 - First use of Israeli Air Force and first war victory, defeating Syrian army
1948 - Cleveland Indians tie AL record of 18 walks (beat Red Sox 13-4)
1950 - 76th Preakness: Eddie Arcaro aboard Hill Prince wins in 1:59.2
1954 - • Chiang Kai-shek becomes president of Nationalist China
Flag of Argentina
1955 - • Argentine parliament accepts separation of church & state
1956 - Atomic fusion (thermonuclear) bomb dropped from plane-Bikini Atoll
1956 - Jordan government of Samir resigns
1958 - US performs nuclear test at Enwetak (atmospheric tests)
1959 - Ford wins battle with Chrysler to call its new car "Falcon"
1959 - Japanese-Americans regain their citizenship
1959 - Shah of Persia visits Netherlands
1959 - Yanks sink to last place, first time since May 25, 1940
1961 - •A white mob attacked the Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Alabama, setting the bus on fire. The event prompted the federal government to send U.S. marshals.
1961 - 87th Preakness: Johnny Sellers aboard Carry Back wins in 1:57.6
1961 - Henzes opera "Elegy for Young Lovers," premieres in Schwetzingen
1961 - Mauritania adopts constitution
1961 - White mob attacks "Freedom Riders" in Montgomery, Alabama
1963 - Sukarno appointed president of Indonesia
1964 - Buster Mathis defeats Joe Frazier to qualify for US Olympic team
1965 - Pakistani Boeing 720-B crashes at Cairo Egypt, killing 121
1965 - Yorkshire all out for 23 v Hampshire at Middlesbrough
1967 - 10,000 demonstrate against war in Vietnam
1967 - 93rd Preakness: Bill Shoemaker aboard Damascus wins in 1:55.2
1967 - BBC bans Beatle's "A Day in the Life" (drug references)
1969 - • U.S. and South Vietnamese forces captured Apbia Mountain, which was referred to as Hill 937/Hamburger Hill.
1970 - 100,000 marched in New York supporting US policies in Vietnam
1970 - 2 die in a NYC subway accident
1970 - Beatles' "Let it Be" movie premieres in UK
1971 - Pentagon reports blacks constitute 11% of US soldiers in SE Asia
1972 - "Different Times" closes at ANTA Theater NYC after 24 performances
1972 - "Hard Job Being God" closes at Edison Theater NYC after 6 performances
1972 - 5th ABA Championship: Indiana Pacers beat NY Nets, 4 games to 2
1972 - 98th Preakness: Eldon Nelson aboard Bee Bee Bee wins in 1:55.6
1972 - Cameroon adopts its constitution
1972 - • Republic of Cameroon declared as constitution is ratified
1973 - "2 Gentlemen of Verona" closes at St James Theater NYC after 613 perfs
1973 - 25th Emmy Awards: Waltons, All in the Family and Mary Tyler Moore
1973 - Donna Caponi Young wins LPGA Bluegrass Golf Invitational
1974 - Soyuz 14 returns to Earth
1976 - USSR performs nuclear test at Sary Shagan USSR
1978 - Mavis Hutchinson, at age 53, became the first woman to run across America. The 3,000-mile trek took her 69 days. She ran an average of 45 miles each day.
1978 - 104th Preakness: Steve Cauthen aboard Affirmed wins in 1:54.4
1978 - 3 PFLP members kill a cop near El Al airlines in Orly Airport, Paris
1978 - US launches Pioneer Venus 1; produces 1st global radar map of Venus
1979 - "I Love My Wife" closes at Barrymore Theater NYC after 864 perfs
1979 - First western pop star to tour USSR-Elton John
1980 - The submarine Nautilus was designated as a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
1980 - 710 families in Love Canal area (Niagara Falls NY) are evacuated
1980 - Drummer Peter Criss quits Kiss
1980 - Fire in nursing home in Kingston Jamaica, kills 157
1980 - In a referendum, 59.5% of Quebec voters reject separatism
1981 - Ipswich Town wins 10th UEFA Cup at Amsterdam
1982 - TV’s "Barney Miller" was seen for the last time on ABC-TV.
1983 - Larry Holmes beats Tim Witherspoon in 12 for heavyweight boxing title
1983 - Michael Dokes & Mike Weaver fight to a draw in 15 for hw boxing title
1983 - Phillies Steve Carlton passes W Johnson with 2nd most strike outs
1984 - "On Your Toes" closes at Virginia Theater NYC after 505 performances
1984 - Boston's Roger Clemens beats Twins, 5-4, for his 1st victory
1985 - The Dow Jones industrial average broke the 1300 mark for the first time. The Dow closed at 1304.88.
1985 - The FBI arrested U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer John Walker. Walker had begun spying for the Soviet Union in 1968.
1985 - Radio Marti was launched.
1985 - 1150 Lebanese/Palestinian prisoners exchanged for 3 Israelis
1985 - Indians-Brewers game at Cleve Stadium is 1st rain-out of 1985, ends record string of 458 ML games since Opening Day without a rain-out
1985 - Israel exchanges 1,100+ Arab prisoners for 3 Israeli soldiers
1985 - Larry Holmes beats Carl Williams in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
1985 - US began broadcasts to Cuba on Radio Marti
1986 - Flintstones 25th Anniversary Celebration airs on CBS-tv
1987 - Gutenborg wins 16th UEFA Cup at Dundee
1987 - Wrestler Jerry Lawler sues WWF & Harley Race for trademark name "king"
1988 - Howard Stern fans disrupt WMMR's & John DeBella's "Louie Louie" parade
1988 - Mike Schmidt hits his 535th HR, moving into 8th place
1989 - 115th Preakness: Pat Valenzuela aboard Sunday Silence wins in 1:53.8
The flag of the People's Republic of China
1989 - • China declares martial law in Beijing
1989 - Toonces The Cat takes the wheel on Saturday Night Live
1989 - Walter McConnel, 57, is oldest to reach 27,000' Mt Everest top
1990 - "Truly Blessed" closes at Longacre Theater NYC after 33 performances
1990 - Cindy Rarick wins LPGA Planters Pat Bradley Golf International
1990 - The Hubble Space Telescope sends first photograph's from space
1991 - Chic Bull Michael Jordan, named NBA's MVP
1991 - Jeff Reardon gains his 300th career save
1991 - Soviet parliament approves law allowing citizens to travel abroad
1992 - FC Barcelona wins 373 Europe Cup 1 at London
1992 - India launches its 1st satellite independently
1992 - Rap singer raps 597 syllables in under 60 seconds
1993 - 10m meteor comes within 150,000 km of Earth (1993KA)
1993 - 274th and final "Cheers" on NBC
1993 - Ukraine Premier Leonid Koetsjma resigns
1994 - Bobcat Goldthwait charged with misdemeanors for fire on Tonight Show
1994 - Miss India (Sushmita Sen) selected Miss Universe
1994 - Sony Theaters & Cineplex (NYC) hike movie ticket prices to $8.00
1995 - 121st Preakness: Pat Day aboard Timber Coutry wins in 1:54.4
1995 - CBS News fires co-anchor Connie Chung
1995 - Twins Marty Cordova ties rookie record of HRs in 5 consecutive games
1996 - In a 6-3 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Colorado measure banning laws that would protect homosexuals from discrimination.
1997 - Cosmos Zenit-2 Launch (Russia), Failed
1997 - Thor-2A Delta 2 Launch (Norway/USA), Successful
1997 - White Sox Frank Thomas reaches base safely for 15th straight time
1999 - At Heritage High School in Conyers, GA, a 15-year-old student shot and injured six students. He then surrendered to an assistant principal at the school.
2002 - 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 was the former colonizer of East Timor until 1976).
2010 - Scientists announced that they had created a funtional synthetic genome.
2010 - Five paintings worth 100 million Euro were stolen from the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris.
2012 - Tomislav Nikolić elected president of Serbia
2012 - 6.0 magnitude earthquake kills 6 and injures dozens in northern Italy
These are the web pages I used to complete this blog entry:
http://www.historyorb.com/day/may/20
http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/may20.htm
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory/May-20
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
Welcome to Iceland
Just arrived in Iceland.
Waiting on line at the customs.
However, I saw this welcome to Iceland display with one of those old classic muscle cars.
Seemed worth taking a picture and sharing.
Enjoy.
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