1927: Lindbergh lands in Paris
American pilot Charles Lindbergh lands in
Paris, successfully completing the first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight on this day and becoming an international hero in the process. Lindbergh was a dark horse when he entered a
competition for a $25,000 payoff to anyone able to fly non-stop from New York to Paris. He ordered a small monoplane, configured it to his own design, and christened it the Spirit of St. Louis. On 20 May 1927, a rainy morning, he took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York, his monoplane so loaded down with fuel that it barely cleared the trees at the end of the runway. He flew north and then eastward from Newfoundland,
Canada. The next afternoon, after flying 3,610 miles in 33 1/2 hours, Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget field in Paris, becoming the first pilot to fly non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean.
2001
In
France the Taubira law is passed which officially acknowledges the Atlantic
slave trade and
slavery as crimes against humanity.
1998
In the face of increasing opposition to his dictatorial rule in Indonesian, President Suharto is forced to resign. 1991
Indian Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated when a bomb, planted in a bouquet of flowers, explodes during election campaigning in the southern state of
Tamil Nadu.
1988
Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev dismisses the leaders of the Communist Parties of the two Soviet Republics of
Armenia and
Azerbaijan respectively.
1966
American boxer
Cassius Clay (Muhammed Ali) ends the hopes of British heavyweight champion Henry Cooper winning the world heavyweight titles when the bout is stopped in Round 6 because of a severe cut above Cooper's eye.
1961
In the wake of violent clashes between blacks and whites, sparked by the arrival of the “Freedom Riders” in Montgomery,
Alabama in the U.S.A.,
martial law is imposed in the town.
1960
The first of several tremors hits Valdivia,
Chile. When the earthquake and tremors finally stop a total of 5,000 people are found dead..
1950
A devastating storm and Tornado hit southern England killing two people. 1950
Formula One racing legend, Juan Manuel Fangio, wins his first victory in grand prix racing at
Monaco. 1945
American film starts Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall marry. 1932
Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to make a solo air crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, from Newfoundland to Ireland.1904
Football's international governing body, FIFA, is established in Paris.1894
In the England, the Manchester Ship Canal linking the River Mersey with the city of Manchester is official opened by Queen Victoria. 1502
Portuguese explorers discover the uninhabited island of
St Helena in the South Atlantic.
1917
Canadian-born
actor Raymond Burr - American TV
lawyer Perry Mason.
1904
American jazz pianist Fats Waller - born Thomas Wright Waller1844
French artist Henri Rousseau. 1471
German renaissance artist Albrecht Durer.
