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Today in History: May 20

0325 The Ecumenical council is inaugurated by Emperor Constantine in Nicea.

1303 A peace treaty is signed between England and France.

1774 Parliament passes the Coercive Acts to punish the colonists for their increasingly anti-British behavior. The acts close the port of Boston.

1861 North Carolina becomes the last state to secede from the Union.

1862 President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act, providing 250 million acres of free land to settlers in the West.

1874 Levi Strauss begins marketing blue jeans with copper rivets.

1902 The U.S. military occupation of Cuba ends.

1951 During the Korean War, U.S. Air Force Captain James Jabara becomes the first jet air ace in history.

1961 A white mob attacks civil rights activists in Montgomery, Alabama.

1970 100,000 people march in New York, supporting U.S. policies in Vietnam.

1993 Cheers The fictional bar 'where everybody knows your name' has its last call on TV, with an estimated 90 million viewers tuning in to make it one of the most-watched finales. The show had nearly been canceled for low ratings during its first season before becoming a mainstay of NBC's Thursday-night lineup.

1994 Sushmita Sen from India is crowned the 43rd Miss Universe at 18 years old

2015 David Letterman hosts the "Late Show with David Letterman" for the last time, ending 33 years in late night television

2020 WHO reports most new cases in a single day - 106,000 worldwide of COVID-19

2021 Israel and Hamas agree to a bilateral ceasefire in Gaza after nearly two weeks of fighting, amid international diplomatic efforts


Born on May 20

1768 Dolley Madison, first lady of President James Madison.

1818 William George Fargo, one of the founders of Wells, Fargo & Co.

1908 Jimmy Stewart, actor (It's a Wonderful Life, Mr Smith Goes to Washington).

JOTD

I went for a job interview today and the manager said, “We’re looking for someone who is responsible.”

“Well, I’m your man.” I replied, “In my last job, whenever anything went wrong, they said I was responsible.”