A birthday on the globe
20 May on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born
For 20 May, the English Wikipedia lists 68 events and 212 births. 38 of the events stand at their places as rays of light; 11 more are dashed circles, where the sentence links only to a country or a sea. The taller the ray, the longer ago it happened. The people born that day come further down, as blue points.
A birthday, yours or someone else’s:
Turn it into a greetingScroll: the globe turns to each place
The day you were born, on the globe.
Three things from your day
Scroll: your day first, then 20 May through the years
The Earth on 20 May
The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in May 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.
On 20 May the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 20.0° north. In London, the day lasts about 15 hours 50 minutes.
Beyond 70° north the Sun no longer sets; beyond 70° south it no longer rises.
The line between day and night is tilted on the globe exactly as on this day of the year. On the dark side you can see the lights of towns.
Britain & Ireland · Bristol
1497
John Cabot sets sail from Bristol, England, on his ship Matthew looking for a route to the west (other documents give a May 2 date).
On the map: Bristol.
Europe · Complutense University of Madrid
1293
King Sancho IV of Castile creates the Estudio de Escuelas de Generales in Alcalá de Henares.
On the map: Complutense University of Madrid.
Europe · Schloss Weimar
1714
Johann Sebastian Bach leads the first performance of his cantata for Pentecost, Erschallet, ihr Lieder, BWV 172, at the chapel of Schloss Weimar.
On the map: Schloss Weimar.
Europe · Luttra
1943
The Luttra Woman, a bog body from the Early Neolithic period (radiocarbon-dated c. 3928–3651 BC), is discovered near Luttra, Sweden.
On the map: Luttra.
Asia · First Council of Nicaea
325
The First Council of Nicaea is formally opened, starting the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church.
On the map: the coordinates Wikidata gives for the article “First Council of Nicaea”.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish and Chinese.
Asia · Jeddah
1927
Treaty of Jeddah: The United Kingdom recognizes the sovereignty of King Ibn Saud in the Kingdoms of Hejaz and Nejd, which later merge to become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
On the map: Jeddah.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
Asia · Nan-ching
1948
Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek wins the 1948 Republic of China presidential election and is sworn in as the first President of the Republic of China at Nanjing.
On the map: Nan-ching.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
North America · Charlotte, North Carolina
1775
The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is allegedly signed in Charlotte, North Carolina.
On the map: Charlotte, North Carolina.
20 May
What the other Wikipedias remember#
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Romanian and were translated for this page.
From Wikipedia in Romanian · Trevi Fountain
1960
The film La Dolce Vita, directed by Federico Fellini, receives the Palme d'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival. The actress Anita Ekberg is popular for her scene in the Trevi Fountain.
On the map: Trevi Fountain.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Romanian.
The article on Wikipedia in Romanian: Festivalul Internațional de Film de la Cannes
20 May
Born on 20 May#
The English Wikipedia lists 212 births for this day. The blue points are the birthplaces of 60 of these people: those written about in the most Wikipedia editions, where Wikidata gives a place of birth.
Born on 20 May
1799
Honoré de Balzac, French novelist and playwright (died 1850)
Place of birth: Tours.
Born on 20 May
1806
John Stuart Mill, English economist, civil servant, and philosopher (died 1873)
Place of birth: London Borough of Islington.
Born on 20 May
1946
Cher, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
Place of birth: El Centro.
Born on 20 May
1882
Sigrid Undset, Danish-Norwegian novelist, essayist, and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1949)
Place of birth: Kalundborg.
Born on 20 May
1981
Iker Casillas, Spanish footballer
Place of birth: Móstoles.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1944
Joe Cocker, English singer-songwriter (died 2014)
Place of birth: Sheffield.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1992
Jack Gleeson, Irish actor
Place of birth: Cork.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1990
Josh O'Connor, British actor
Place of birth: Southampton.
20 May
Number one in the charts that week
At the cinema
An animal recorded that day
The record can be seen in GBIF, which brings together wildlife records from around the world.
All your birthdays
The weather that day
Data: Met Office Hadley Centre (HadCET); NOAA (GHCN-Daily, Mauna Loa).
Above the Earth
Sources: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (launches); GFZ Potsdam (Kp index). Days are counted in Universal Time.
Football that day
International matches played that day:
Source: the “International football results” dataset kept by Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
Also that day
The earthquake’s page at the USGS
Source: the USGS catalogue. The day is counted in Universal Time (UTC).
In those days
Make a link for someone
Type the name, pick the day and the year of birth. The link opens straight on their day, with their name in the greeting.
The link carries the name, date and place typed here; anyone who gets it can see them.
Put another birthday beside it
Your mother’s, your child’s, a friend’s: the two days appear side by side.
Below: 20 May through the years.
The whole globe of the day
Drag the globe to turn it. Touch a ray or a point to read what happened there.
Everything Wikipedia lists for 20 May
The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 19 events have no place on the map: the sentence links to no place with coordinates, only to places too wide to mark, or to several countries.
- 325
The First Council of Nicaea is formally opened, starting the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church.
Asia · First Council of NicaeaWikipedia: First Council of Nicaea - 491
Empress Ariadne marries Anastasius I. The widowed Augusta is able to choose her successor for the Byzantine throne, after Zeno (late emperor) dies of dysentery.
Asia · Byzantine EmpireWikipedia: Ariadne - 685
The Battle of Dun Nechtain is fought between a Pictish army under King Bridei III and the invading Northumbrians under King Ecgfrith, who are decisively defeated.
Britain & Ireland · Battle of Dun NechtainWikipedia: Battle of Dun Nechtain - 794
While visiting the royal Mercian court at Sutton Walls with a view to marrying princess Ælfthryth, King Æthelberht II of East Anglia is taken captive and beheaded.
Britain & Ireland · Sutton Walls Hill FortWikipedia: Mercia - 921
Christopher Lekapenos is crowned Byzantine co-emperor by his father, emperor Romanos I Lekapenos, on the feast of Whitsun.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Christopher Lekapenos - 942
A Magyar raiding army defeats forces of the Muslim frontier state of Fraxinetum.
Europe · Hungarian raid in SpainWikipedia: Hungarian raid in Spain - 1202
A major earthquake hits Syria, widely felt between Sicily and Iraq.
Asia · 1202 Syria earthquakeWikipedia: 1202 Syria earthquake - 1217
The Second Battle of Lincoln is fought near Lincoln, England, resulting in the defeat of Prince Louis of France by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke.
Britain & Ireland · Battle of LincolnWikipedia: Battle of Lincoln - 1293
King Sancho IV of Castile creates the Estudio de Escuelas de Generales in Alcalá de Henares.
Europe · Complutense University of MadridWikipedia: Sancho IV of Castile - 1426
King Mohnyin Thado formally ascends to the throne of Ava.
Asia · Kingdom of AvaWikipedia: Mohnyin Thado - 1449
The Battle of Alfarrobeira is fought, establishing the House of Braganza as a principal royal family of Portugal.
Europe · Battle of AlfarrobeiraWikipedia: Battle of Alfarrobeira - 1497
John Cabot sets sail from Bristol, England, on his ship Matthew looking for a route to the west (other documents give a May 2 date).
Britain & Ireland · BristolWikipedia: John Cabot - 1498
Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovers the sea route to India when he arrives at Kozhikode (previously known as Calicut), India.
Asia · KozhikodeWikipedia: Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India - 1515
Ulysses, who would be famously depicted in a posthumous woodcut, landed in Lisbon, becoming the first of his species to visit Europe in a thousand years.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Dürer's Rhinoceros - 1520
Hernan Cortés defeats Pánfilo de Narváez, sent by Spain to punish him for insubordination.
Latin America · CempoalaWikipedia: Battle of Cempoala - 1521
Ignatius of Loyola is seriously wounded in the Battle of Pampeluna.
Europe · Battle of PampelunaWikipedia: Battle of Pampeluna - 1570
Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern atlas.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Cartography - 1609
Shakespeare's sonnets are first published in London, perhaps illicitly, by the publisher Thomas Thorpe.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Shakespeare's sonnets - 1631
The city of Magdeburg in Germany is seized by forces of the Holy Roman Empire and most of its inhabitants massacred, in one of the bloodiest incidents of the Thirty Years' War.
Europe · MagdeburgWikipedia: Sack of Magdeburg - 1645
Yangzhou massacre: The ten day massacre of the residents of the city of Yangzhou, part of the Transition from Ming to Qing.
Asia · YangzhouWikipedia: Yangzhou massacre - 1714
Johann Sebastian Bach leads the first performance of his cantata for Pentecost, Erschallet, ihr Lieder, BWV 172, at the chapel of Schloss Weimar.
Europe · Schloss WeimarWikipedia: Johann Sebastian Bach - 1741
The Battle of Cartagena de Indias ends in a Spanish victory and the British begin withdrawal towards Jamaica with substantial losses.
Latin America · Battle of Cartagena de IndiasWikipedia: Battle of Cartagena de Indias - 1775
The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is allegedly signed in Charlotte, North Carolina.
North America · Charlotte, North CarolinaWikipedia: Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence - 1802
By the Law of 20 May 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte reinstates slavery in the French colonies, revoking its abolition in the French Revolution.
Europe · French colonial empireWikipedia: French Revolution - 1811
A British squadron under Charles Marsh Schomberg defeated a French force off Tamatave, Madagascar, that was attempting to reinforce the French garrison on Mauritius.
Africa · Battle of TamataveWikipedia: Battle of Tamatave - 1813
Napoleon Bonaparte leads his French troops into the Battle of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany, against the combined armies of Russia and Prussia. The battle ends the next day with a French victory.
Europe · Battle of BautzenWikipedia: Battle of Bautzen - 1861
American Civil War: The State of North Carolina secedes from the Union.
no place on the mapWikipedia: American Civil War - 1861
American Civil War: The state of Kentucky proclaims its neutrality, which will last until September 3 when Confederate forces enter the state.
North America · KentuckyWikipedia: American Civil War - 1862
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law, opening eighty-four million acres (340,000 km2) of public land to settlers.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Abraham Lincoln - 1864
American Civil War: Battle of Ware Bottom Church: In the Virginia Bermuda Hundred campaign, 10,000 troops fight in this Confederate victory.
North America · Battle of Ware Bottom ChurchWikipedia: Battle of Ware Bottom Church - 1873
Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a U.S. patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Levi Strauss - 1875
Signing of the Metre Convention by 17 nations leading to the establishment of the International System of Units.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Metre Convention - 1882
The Triple Alliance between the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Italy is formed.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Triple Alliance - 1883
Krakatoa begins to erupt; the volcano explodes three months later, killing more than 36,000 people.
Asia · 1883 eruption of KrakatoaWikipedia: 1883 eruption of Krakatoa - 1891
History of cinema: The first public display of Thomas Edison's prototype kinetoscope.
no place on the mapWikipedia: History of film - 1902
Cuba gains independence from the United States. Tomás Estrada Palma becomes the country's first President.
Latin America · CubaWikipedia: Cuba - 1927
Charles Lindbergh takes off for Paris from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, N.Y., aboard the Spirit of St. Louis on the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, landing 33+1⁄2 hours later.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Charles Lindbergh - 1927
Treaty of Jeddah: The United Kingdom recognizes the sovereignty of King Ibn Saud in the Kingdoms of Hejaz and Nejd, which later merge to become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Asia · JeddahWikipedia: Treaty of Jeddah - 1932
Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland to begin the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot, landing in Ireland the next day.
North America · NewfoundlandWikipedia: Amelia Earhart - 1940
The Holocaust: The first prisoners arrive at a new concentration camp at Auschwitz.
Europe · Auschwitz concentration campWikipedia: The Holocaust - 1941
World War II: Battle of Crete: German paratroops invade Crete.
Europe · Battle of CreteWikipedia: Battle of Crete - 1943
The Luttra Woman, a bog body from the Early Neolithic period (radiocarbon-dated c. 3928–3651 BC), is discovered near Luttra, Sweden.
Europe · LuttraWikipedia: Luttra Woman - 1947
The first session of the National Diet opened in Tokyo, Japan.
no place on the mapWikipedia: National Diet - 1948
Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek wins the 1948 Republic of China presidential election and is sworn in as the first President of the Republic of China at Nanjing.
Asia · Nan-chingWikipedia: 1948 Chinese presidential election - 1949
In the United States, the Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to the National Security Agency, is established.
no place on the mapWikipedia: National Security Agency - 1956
In Operation Redwing, the first United States airborne hydrogen bomb is dropped over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
Oceans · Operation RedwingWikipedia: Operation Redwing - 1958
Capital Airlines Flight 300 collides in mid-air with a United States Air Force Lockheed T-33 over Brunswick, Maryland, killing 12.
North America · Capital Airlines Flight 300Wikipedia: Capital Airlines Flight 300 - 1964
Discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation by Robert Woodrow Wilson and Arno Penzias.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation - 1965
One hundred twenty-one people are killed when Pakistan International Airlines Flight 705 crashes at Cairo International Airport.
Africa · Pakistan International Airlines Flight 705Wikipedia: Pakistan International Airlines Flight 705 - 1967
The Popular Movement of the Revolution political party is established in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Africa · Democratic Republic of the CongoWikipedia: Popular Movement of the Revolution - 1969
The Battle of Hamburger Hill in Vietnam ends.
Asia · Battle of Hamburger HillWikipedia: Battle of Hamburger Hill - 1971
In the Chuknagar massacre, Pakistani forces massacre thousands, mostly Bengali Hindus.
Asia · Chuknagar massacreWikipedia: Chuknagar massacre - 1980
In a referendum in Quebec, the population rejects, with 60% of the vote, a government proposal to move towards independence from Canada.
North America · QuebecWikipedia: 1980 Quebec referendum - 1983
Church Street bombing: A car bomb planted by UMkhonto we Sizwe explodes on Church Street in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, killing 19 people and injuring 217 others.
Africa · Church Street, Pretoria bombingWikipedia: Church Street, Pretoria bombing - 1983
First publications of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by a team of French scientists including Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Jean-Claude Chermann, and Luc Montagnier.
no place on the mapWikipedia: HIV - 1985
Radio Martí, part of the Voice of America service, begins broadcasting to Cuba.
Latin America · CubaWikipedia: Radio y Televisión Martí - 1989
The Chinese authorities declare martial law in the face of pro-democracy demonstrations, setting the scene for the Tiananmen Square massacre.
Asia · 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacreWikipedia: 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre - 1990
The first post-Communist presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Romania.
Europe · RomaniaWikipedia: 1990 Romanian general election - 1993
"One for the Road", the series finale of American television sitcom Cheers, was watched by 42.4 million American households on its original airing.
no place on the mapWikipedia: One for the Road - 1996
Civil rights: The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Romer v. Evans against a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state of Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of gays and lesbians.
North America · Supreme Court of the United StatesWikipedia: Supreme Court of the United States - 2002
The independence of East Timor is recognized by Portugal, formally ending 23 years of Indonesian rule and three years of provisional UN administration (Portugal itself is the former colonizer of East Timor until 1976).
no place on the mapWikipedia: Timor-Leste - 2009
An Indonesian Air Force Lockheed L-100 Hercules crashes in Magetan Regency, killing 99.
Asia · 2009 Indonesian Air Force L-100 crashWikipedia: 2009 Indonesian Air Force L-100 crash - 2011
Mamata Banerjee is sworn in as the Chief Minister of West Bengal, the first woman to hold this post.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Mamata Banerjee - 2012
At least 27 people are killed and 50 others injured when a 6.0-magnitude earthquake strikes northern Italy.
Europe · 2012 Northern Italy earthquakesWikipedia: 2012 Northern Italy earthquakes - 2013
An EF5 tornado strikes the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, killing 24 people and injuring 377 others.
North America · 2013 Moore tornadoWikipedia: 2013 Moore tornado - 2016
The government of Singapore authorises the controversial execution of convicted murderer Kho Jabing for the murder of a Chinese construction worker despite international pleas for clemency, notably from Amnesty International and the United Nations.
Asia · SingaporeWikipedia: Singapore - 2019
The International System of Units (SI): The base units are redefined, making the international prototype of the kilogram obsolete.
no place on the mapWikipedia: International Prototype of the Kilogram - 2022
Russo-Ukrainian war: Russia claims full control of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol after a nearly three-month siege.
Europe · MariupolWikipedia: Russo-Ukrainian war
What the other Wikipedias remember
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Romanian and were translated for this page.
- 1960
The film La Dolce Vita, directed by Federico Fellini, receives the Palme d'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival. The actress Anita Ekberg is popular for her scene in the Trevi Fountain.
Europe · Trevi FountainTranslated from the list on Wikipedia in RomanianWikipedia: Festivalul Internațional de Film de la Cannes
Who was born on 20 May
In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 212 are shown.
- 1799
Honoré de Balzac, French novelist and playwright (died 1850)
- 1806
John Stuart Mill, English economist, civil servant, and philosopher (died 1873)
London Borough of IslingtonWikipedia: John Stuart Mill - 1946
Cher, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
El CentroWikipedia: Cher - 1882
Sigrid Undset, Danish-Norwegian novelist, essayist, and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1949)
KalundborgWikipedia: Sigrid Undset - 1935
José Mujica, Uruguayan guerrilla leader and politician, 40th President of Uruguay (died 2025)
Cerro Largo DepartmentWikipedia: José Mujica - 1981
Iker Casillas, Spanish footballer
MóstolesWikipedia: Iker Casillas - 1908
James Stewart, American actor (died 1997)
IndianaWikipedia: James Stewart - 1944
Joe Cocker, English singer-songwriter (died 2014)
SheffieldWikipedia: Joe Cocker - 1860
Eduard Buchner, German chemist, zymologist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1917)
- 1915
Moshe Dayan, Israeli general and politician, 5th Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 1981)
Degania AlefWikipedia: Moshe Dayan - 1957
Yoshihiko Noda, Japanese lawyer and politician, 62nd Prime Minister of Japan
FunabashiWikipedia: Yoshihiko Noda - 1901
Max Euwe, Dutch chess player, mathematician, and author (died 1981)
WatergraafsmeerWikipedia: Max Euwe - 1822
Frédéric Passy, French economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1912)
- 1982
Petr Čech, Czech footballer
PlzeňWikipedia: Petr Čech - 1883
Faisal I of Iraq (died 1933)
MeccaWikipedia: Faisal I - 1985
Chris Froome, Kenyan-English cyclist
NairobiWikipedia: Chris Froome - 1952
Roger Milla, Cameroonian footballer and manager
YaoundéWikipedia: Roger Milla - 1972
Busta Rhymes, American rapper, producer, and actor
East FlatbushWikipedia: Busta Rhymes - 1918
Edward B. Lewis, American biologist, geneticist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2004)
Wilkes-BarreWikipedia: Edward B. Lewis - 1987
Mike Havenaar, Japanese footballer
HiroshimaWikipedia: Mike Havenaar - 1941
Goh Chok Tong, Singaporean politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Singapore
SingaporeWikipedia: Goh Chok Tong - 1851
Emile Berliner, German-American inventor, invented the Gramophone record (died 1929)
HanoverWikipedia: Emile Berliner - 1968
Timothy Olyphant, American actor and producer
HonoluluWikipedia: Timothy Olyphant - 1470
Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal, poet, and scholar (died 1547)
VeniceWikipedia: Pietro Bembo - 1830
Hector Malot, French author (died 1907)
La BouilleWikipedia: Hector Malot - 1943
Albano Carrisi, Italian singer, actor, and winemaker
Cellino San MarcoWikipedia: Albano Carrisi - 1983
Óscar Cardozo, Paraguayan footballer
Doctor Juan Eulogio EstigarribiaWikipedia: Óscar Cardozo - 1997
Kaoru Mitoma, Japanese footballer
KawasakiWikipedia: Kaoru Mitoma - 1944
Dietrich Mateschitz, Austrian businessman, co-founder of Red Bull GmbH (died 2022)
Sankt Marein im MürztalWikipedia: Dietrich Mateschitz - 1960
Tony Goldwyn, American actor and director
Los AngelesWikipedia: Tony Goldwyn - 1986
Stéphane Mbia, Cameroonian footballer
YaoundéWikipedia: Stéphane Mbia - 1992
Jack Gleeson, Irish actor
- 1921
Wolfgang Borchert, German author and playwright (died 1947)
HamburgWikipedia: Wolfgang Borchert - 1992
Enes Kanter, Turkish basketball player
- 1913
William Redington Hewlett, American engineer, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (died 2001)
Ann ArborWikipedia: Bill Hewlett - 1954
David Paterson, American lawyer and politician, 55th Governor of New York
BrooklynWikipedia: David Paterson - 1983
N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Indian Film Actor
HyderabadWikipedia: N. T. Rama Rao Jr. - 1990
Josh O'Connor, British actor
SouthamptonWikipedia: Josh O'Connor - 1977
Leo Franco, Argentinian footballer
San Nicolás de los ArroyosWikipedia: Leo Franco - 1315
Bonne of Luxembourg, first wife of John II of France (died 1349)
- 1911
Annie M. G. Schmidt, Dutch author and playwright (died 1995)
- 1955
Zbigniew Preisner, Polish composer and producer
Bielsko-BiałaWikipedia: Zbigniew Preisner - 1856
Henri-Edmond Cross, French Neo-Impressionist painter (died 1910)
- 1932
Dieter Rams, German industrial designer
WiesbadenWikipedia: Dieter Rams - 1981
Rachel Platten, American singer and songwriter
New York CityWikipedia: Rachel Platten - 1904
Margery Allingham, English author of detective fiction (died 1966)
- 1951
Mike Crapo, American lawyer and politician
Idaho FallsWikipedia: Mike Crapo - 1977
Matt Czuchry, American actor
ManchesterWikipedia: Matt Czuchry - 1992
Cate Campbell, Malawian-Australian swimmer
BlantyreWikipedia: Cate Campbell - 1913
Teodoro Fernández, Peruvian footballer (died 1996)
San Vicente de CañeteWikipedia: Teodoro Fernández - 1993
Ramy Rabia, Egyptian footballer
- 1838
Jules Méline, French lawyer and politician, 65th Prime Minister of France (died 1925)
RemiremontWikipedia: Jules Méline - 1979
Andrew Scheer, Canadian politician, 28th Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
OttawaWikipedia: Andrew Scheer - 1537
Hieronymus Fabricius, Italian anatomist (died 1619)
AcquapendenteWikipedia: Hieronymus Fabricius - 1664
Andreas Schlüter, German sculptor and architect (died 1714)
- 1899
Aleksandr Deyneka, Russian painter and sculptor (died 1969)
- 1916
Alexey Maresyev, Russian soldier and pilot (died 2001)
KamyshinWikipedia: Aleksey Maresyev - 1916
Ondina Valla, Italian sprinter and hurdler (died 2006)
BolognaWikipedia: Ondina Valla - 1927
Franciszek Macharski, Polish cardinal (died 2016)
- 1936
Anthony Zerbe, American actor
Long BeachWikipedia: Anthony Zerbe
What is celebrated on 20 May
- Christian feast day: Abercius and Helena
- Christian feast day: Alcuin of York
- Christian feast day: Aurea of Ostia
- Christian feast day: Austregisilus
- Christian feast day: Baudilus
- Christian feast day: Bernardino of Siena
- Christian feast day: Columba of Rieti
- Christian feast day: Lydia of Thyatira
- Christian feast day: Lucifer of Cagliari
- Christian feast day: Sanctan
- Christian feast day: May 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of Remembrance (Cambodia)
- Emancipation Day (Florida)
- European Maritime Day (European Council)
A greeting link for someone
Type a name and, if you like, the year of birth. The link opens with a greeting, and beside each event it says how old the person turned that day, or how many years before their birth it happened.
The name and the year go only into the link you send.
All 366 days
How the globe is made
Where the events come from
Each edition of this page uses the day’s list from Wikipedia in its own language: Romanian, English, Spanish, Chinese. The lists are written by volunteers and differ from one edition to the next; the text of each event is Wikipedia’s, with a link to the article. A row that appears twice in a list is shown once. The lists have not been checked event by event: they are Wikipedia’s, mistakes included.
For events before 1582, and for countries that moved to the Gregorian calendar later (Britain in 1752, Russia in 1918), the same day may be counted Old Style in one list and New Style in another.
The chapter “What the other Wikipedias remember” adds up to five events a day from the lists of the other three editions, only for years in which the English list has nothing on that day. They were translated for this page, passed the same filters as the tour, and are not counted among the events of the English list.
How an event gets onto the map
The place comes from Wikidata. If the sentence links to the article about the event itself (a battle, an opening, an earthquake), dated to the same year, the ray stands on its coordinates or on those of its location. Otherwise it stands on the first place the sentence links to: a town, a building, a mountain, an island. This second step can be wrong: sometimes the sentence only mentions the place. That is why the page says, under each event, which place the ray stands on.
When the sentence links to a single state or province, or to a single sea, lake or desert larger than 5,000 km², the globe shows a dashed circle, not a ray. The circle has the area Wikidata gives, with its radius kept between 1.2° and 16°, or a radius of 4.5° when Wikidata gives no area; it says only that the sentence links to that place. Organisations, ships, spacecraft, museum objects, rivers, mountain ranges, languages and continents are never used as places. When a sentence names several states and no exact place, the event stays in the list only.
What the height means
The height of a ray shows how many years have passed, on a logarithmic scale: 10 years, 100 years and 1,000 years are equal steps apart; anything older than about 2,600 years has the tallest ray. The colour runs from pale yellow for recent years to violet for antiquity.
Where the tour stops
In each region the tour stops at up to three events (five in Britain and Ireland), chosen mainly by three things: whether Wikipedia’s editors put the event in the “On this day” box of their main page (the English, Spanish and Chinese editions), how many Wikipedia editions have an article about it, and how many of the four lists include it. Events whose sentence or article is about a war, an attack, a crime or a disaster are left out of the tour; they stay in the whole list, in Wikipedia’s wording. The filter is a list of words and a list of Wikidata types, so it can miss some.
The tour of births names the people with articles in the most editions and leaves aside those whom the list or Wikidata describes as rulers, politicians, commanders, leaders of movements or criminals; they stay in the list.
The Earth and the Sun
The daytime images are NASA’s Blue Marble Next Generation mosaics, one for each month of 2004; the night side is Black Marble 2016. The tilt of the line between day and night is computed for the day; the hour is chosen so that the place being read is in daylight. The latitude where the Sun stands overhead is the average of the four years of the leap cycle; in a given year it can differ by up to 0.4°.
The day you were born
The number ones come from the weekly lists on Wikipedia: Billboard for the United States (from 1940; the Hot 100 from August 1958), the UK Singles Chart (from November 1952), Los 40 Principales for Spain (from July 1966) and, for Romania, the Romanian Top 100 and Airplay 100 (2001–2021, with missing weeks). The page shows the chart of the week in which the day of birth falls, with its date; Billboard and the UK chart are dated at the end of their week. For Romania before 2001 and for China these sources have no weekly chart.
The films are those that reached cinemas in the United States up to ten days before or three days after that day (some of them in a few cinemas at first), from the English Wikipedia’s yearly lists (from 1968), in order of how many editions have an article about them. The events “in those days” are the ones on the neighbouring days’ lists that carry the year of birth, passed through the same filter as the tour.
The day of birth, year included
The Moon, the star sign and the constellation are worked out by the page itself, for noon Universal Time on the day. The lit part of the Moon is rounded and can differ by a few per cent from that at the hour of birth. The sign follows the usual zodiac of twelve equal parts starting at the March equinox; the constellation is the one the Sun actually stood in front of, by the borders set by the International Astronomical Union, and within a day of a border the page does not name it. When the Sun changes sign while it is that day anywhere on Earth, the page gives the moment of crossing, rounded to ten minutes and accurate to within about a quarter of an hour, and the clock time in a few cities, with the time zone and summer time of that year.
The year in the Chinese calendar is the one your device’s own calendar gives for the date, checked against the Hong Kong Observatory’s tables. “All your birthdays” uses the same sources as the rest of the chapter for the same day in every year since the birth: the temperature, well-known launches that took place on that very day, matches of the teams the edition follows, snow deeper than 10 cm and strong geomagnetic storms. The three things at the top and the four on the picture are chosen in a fixed order (the song, the animal, a full Moon, a well-known launch before an ordinary earthquake); on the picture you can change them.
When the link carries a year of birth, the page adds a few things about that exact day. The weather is the Met Office’s Central England temperature record and the readings from New York’s Central Park; the “usual high” is the average of the daily highs of 1961–1990 for that date, with two days either side. The carbon dioxide figure is the monthly mean at the Mauna Loa observatory, where measurements begin in March 1958.
The earthquake is the one with the largest magnitude in the USGS catalogue for that day, counted in Universal Time. Before the 1960s the catalogue has gaps even above magnitude 5.5, so in the older years many days have no earthquake. The page gives only the magnitude and the place: the country the epicentre falls in or, when the epicentre is at sea within 300 km of a coast, the nearest country; farther out, only the ocean.
The launches are those that reached orbit or left for the Moon and the planets, from Jonathan McDowell’s GCAT catalogue. If nothing left that day, the page shows the nearest launch within three days before or after, and says how many days away it was. The geomagnetic storm appears only when the Kp index reached at least 5 in one of the day’s eight three-hour intervals.
The animal comes from GBIF: an observation made by a person (the animal seen or heard, or its tracks), dated to that exact day, with coordinates and a CC0 or CC BY licence. Only a few hundred well-known species are searched (mammals, birds, turtles, butterflies); of those noted that day, mammals and species with articles in many Wikipedia editions come first; birds noted almost every day, and species used recently, wait their turn. Observations dated 1 January are left out, because records without a day are often filed there. An observation shows that the animal was recorded there, not how many animals there were.
The matches are those between national teams. Only matches of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia are shown, along with those at the big final tournaments. The picture to send is drawn in the page from the day’s globe and the facts above, and stays on your device until you send it.
Sources
- Events, births and holidays: the day’s page on Wikipedia, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates, places of birth and the number of editions: Wikidata (CC0).
- The Earth by day: NASA Blue Marble Next Generation. The Earth by night: NASA Black Marble 2016.
- Borders and regions: Natural Earth.
- World population and births per year: UN World Population Prospects 2024.
- Charts and films: Wikipedia’s lists for Billboard, the UK Singles Chart, Los 40 Principales, Romanian Top 100, Airplay 100 and American films by year (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Weather: Met Office Hadley Centre, HadCET (Open Government Licence) and NOAA GHCN-Daily, New York Central Park. Carbon dioxide: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa.
- Earthquakes: the USGS catalogue. Launches: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (CC BY). Kp index: GFZ Potsdam (CC BY 4.0). Matches: International football results, Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
- Animal observations: GBIF, with a link to each record; species names come from Wikidata.