What Happened in May 1920

Historical Events

  • May 1 Belgium-Luxembourg toll tunnel opens

Ruth's 1st HR for Yankees

May 1 Legendary slugger Babe Ruth records his first HR for the New York Yankees in 6-0 win over his former club, the Boston Red Sox

  • May 1 Longest MLB game by innings - Brooklyn Robins tie the Boston Braves, 1-1, in 26 innings
  • May 1 Roermond Football Club (1936 KNVB Cup) is established in Netherlands
  • May 2 1st game of National Negro Baseball League played in Indianapolis
  • May 5 German-Latvian peace treaty signed
  • May 5 Italian migrant anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti charged with murder of a paymaster at a US shoe factory in Massachusetts, both are later executed
  • May 5 Polish troops occupy Kiev

Communist Labor Party Banned

May 5 US President Woodrow Wilson makes Communist Labor Party illegal

  • May 7 USSR recognizes Georgia's independence
  • May 8 46th Kentucky Derby: Ted Rice aboard Paul Jones wins by a head from Upset in 2:09
  • May 14 Giants inform Yankees that the lease allowing them to play in the Polo Grounds will not be renewed at end of 1920 season

Johnson's 300th Win

May 14 Washington Senator Walter Johnson wins his 300th game vs Detroit

  • May 15 Soccer team ADO '20 forms in Heemskerk
  • May 16 Spanish matador Joselito (José Gómez Ortega) is fatally gored in his last bullfight, by "Bailador" the bull, in Talavera de la Reina, Spain
  • May 17 1st De Havilland double-decker flight (London) lands in Schiphol
  • May 17 1st flight by Dutch airlines KLM (Koninklijke-Luchtvaart-Maatschappij)
  • May 17 First London-Amsterdam airline service, a joint venture between British Aerial Transport & KLM)

45th Preakness

May 18 45th Preakness: Clarence Kummer aboard Man o' War (regarded as greatest racehorse of all time) defeats Upset by 1+1⁄2 lengths in 1:51.6

  • May 20 Mexican President Venustiano Carranza, under attack by American petroleum companies, faces an armed rebellion by right-wing Sonoro triumvirate after nationalizing subsoil rights
  • May 20 Policemen raid the Cubs' bleachers & arrest 24 fans for gambling
  • May 21 Mexican President Venustiano Carranza is executed by army generals after fleeing an armed rebellion in Mexico
  • May 23 Pope Benedictus XV publishes encyclical Pacem Dei
  • May 27 Tatar ASSR forms in Russian SFSR
  • May 31 Indianapolis 500: French driver Gaston Chevrolet accompanied by riding mechanic John Bresnahan wins the race without a single tire change, a remarkable feat at the time
1920 History

Famous Birthdays

  • May 2 Jacob Gilboa [Erwin Goldberg], Israeli composer, born in Košice, Czechoslovakia (d. 2007)
  • May 2 Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss conductor, born in Chavornay, Switzerland (d. 2004)
  • May 2 Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian writer and ecological activist, born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2000)
  • May 3 John Lewis, American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer (Modern Jazz Quartet, 1952-97), born in La Grange, Illinois (d. 2001)
  • May 3 Nina Bara [Frances Bauer], Argentinian actress (Missile to the Moon, Space Patrol), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 1990)
  • May 5 Hidalgo Moya, American architect and designer (Skylon), born in Los Gatos, California (d. 1994)
  • May 8 Maurice Cranston, English philosopher and political scientist (John Locke biographies), born in Harringay, England (d. 1993)
  • May 8 Saul Bass, American graphic designer of logos and film titles, born in New York City (d. 1996)
  • May 8 Sloan Wilson, American novelist ("The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit"; "A Summer Place"), born in Norwalk, Connecticut (d. 2003)
  • May 8 Tom of Finland [Touko Laaksonen], Finnish fetish artist, born in Helsinki (d. 1991)
  • May 9 Richard Adams, English author (Watership Down), born in Newbury (d. 2016)
  • May 9 William Tenn [pseudonym of Philip Klass], British-born American sci-fi author, born in London, England (d. 2010)
  • May 10 Basil Kelly, Irish barrister, politician and judge (Lord Chief Justice), born in Co. Monaghan (d. 2008)
  • May 10 Bert Weedon, English guitar player ("Play in a Day" books), born in London (d. 2012)
  • May 11 Beryl Bryden, British jazz/blues singer and washboard player, born in Norwich, Norfolk (d. 1998)
  • May 11 Denver Pyle, American actor (The Dukes of Hazzard, The Andy Griffith Show), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 1997)
  • May 13 Gareth Morris, British flautist (Philharmonia Orchestra, 1948-72), and educator (Royal Academy of Music, 1945-85), born in Clevedon, Somerset, England (d. 2007)
  • May 13 Ratu Kasmisere Mara, Fijian tribal chief, first Prime Minister of Fiji (1970-92) President (1994-2000), born in Lomaloma, Colony of Fiji (d. 2004)
  • May 15 Hugh Henry Home Popham, British aviator, writer and poet, born in Beer, England (d. 1996)
  • May 16 Dave Philley, American MLB baseball switch-hitting outfielder, 1941, 1946-62 (Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies (MLB record 9 straight pinch hits), and 8 other teams), born in Paris, Texas (d. 2012)
  • May 16 Martine Carol [Maryse Mopurer], French actress (Lola Montèsm, Trente et quarante), born in Saint-Mandé, Seine (d. 1967)
  • May 17 Harriet Van Horne, American columnist and panelist (Leave it to Girls), born in Syracuse, New York (d. 1998)
  • May 17 Lydia Wideman, Finnish cross country skier (first female cross-country Olympic medalist, gold 10k 1952), born in Vippula, Finland (d. 2019)
  • May 18 Lucia Mannucci, Italian jazz singer (Quartetto Cetra, 1947-88), born in Bologna, Kingdom of Italy (d. 2012)

John Paul II (1920-2005)

May 18 264th Roman Catholic Pope (1978-2005), born in Wadowice, Poland

  • May 19 Tina Strobos, Netherlands, physician and resistor to Nazi occupation, (d. 2012)
  • May 20 Elizabeth "Betty" Driver, British singer and actress (Coronation Street, Pardon the Expression), born in Leicester, England (d. 2011)
  • May 20 John Cruickshank, Scottish WWII war hero (Victoria Cross) and banker, born in Aberdeen, Scotland
  • May 20 William Simpson, Scottish trade union leader (d. 2001)
  • May 21 Anthony Steel, British actor and singer (Malta Story, The Wooden Horse), born in London, England (d. 2001)
  • May 22 Hugh Armstrong Clegg, English industrial relations academic, born in Truro, England (d. 1995)
  • May 22 Thomas Gold, Austrian astrophysicist (proposed steady-state theory of universe), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2004)
  • May 23 Helen O'Connell, American big-band singer (Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra - "Green Eyes"; "Anapola"), and TV host (Today Show, 1956-58), born in Lima, Ohio (d. 1993) [1]
  • May 23 Sid Melton [Sidney Meltzer], American actor (Green Acres; The Danny Thomas Show), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2011)
  • May 26 Jack Cheetham, South African cricket batsman and captain (24 Tests; Western Province), born in Cape Town, South Africa (d. 1980)

Peggy Lee (1920-2002)

May 26 American singer ("Fever"; "Is That All There Is?"), songwriter ("Mañana"), and actress (Pete Kelly's Blues; Lady and the Tramp), born in Jamestown, North Dakota

  • May 27 Gwyneth George, Welsh cellist and teacher, born on the Mumbles, Wales (d. 2016)
  • May 29 Clifton James, American actor (Live and Let Die, Silver Streak), born in Spokane, Washington (d. 2017)
  • May 29 John Harsanyi, Hungarian-American economist (Nobel Prize in Economics, 1994, for game theory), and educator (University of California, Berkeley, 1964-90), born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 2000) [1]
  • May 29 Robin Haydon, British diplomat, born in Wandsworth, England (d. 1999)
  • May 30 George London, bass-baritone (Monterone-Rigoleto), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1985)
  • May 30 John Heawood, Canadian actor, singer and choreographer (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), born in Canada (d. 1995)
  • May 31 Edward Bennett Williams, American lawyer/team owner (Washington Redskins, Baltimore Orioles), born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 1988)
Born in 1920

Famous Deaths

John Wesley Hyatt (1837-1920)

May 10 American inventor who simplified the production of celluloid, dies at 82

  • May 11 (Vincenzo) "Big Jim" Colosimo, Italian-American gangster, murdered in Chicago by an organized crime hitman at 42
  • May 11 William Dean Howells, American novelist, critic and editor (A Woman's Reason), dies at 83
  • May 16 Joselito [José Gómez Ortega], Spanish matador (bullfighter) prodigy, gored to death by a bull at 25
  • May 16 Levi Parsons Morton, American ambassador and politician (R) (Vice President of the United States 1889-93, Governor of New York 1895-96), dies at 96 [1]
  • May 17 Maitland Hathorn, South African cricketer (325 runs in 12 Tests South African 1901-11), dies at 42
  • May 21 Venustiano Carranza, Mexican President (1917-1920), executed by army generals after his decision that the next President be a civilian (61)
  • May 23 Svetozar Boroević, Austro-Hungarian field marshal, dies at 63