May 20 in history — On This Day

A photograph taken after the 1871 fire can make Chicago look as though its future had been decided by a wall of flame. A view from around 1905 tells a different story: tall offices, busy transport routes and commercial streets crowded again.

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May

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A French team reports isolating a virus later named HIV

Also on May 20

Mobutu establishes the Popular Movement of the Revolution

Chiang Kai-shek is inaugurated as president under China’s new constitution

The Luttra Woman is found in a Swedish bog

Davis and Strauss patent riveted work clothing

This Week in History

Romanian voters reject Traian Băsescu’s removal

Venera 1 passes Venus after contact is lost

Black Orpheus wins the Palme d’Or

Zveno and military officers take power in Bulgaria

AI History Recreations

Politics

Mobutu establishes the Popular Movement of the Revolution

War & Conflict

British forces abandon the siege of Cartagena

Space

Japan launches the IKAROS solar sail

Technology

Davis and Strauss patent riveted work clothing

History

The Luttra Woman is found in a Swedish bog

Lux Radio Theatre broadcasts its final episode

The Surgeon’s Photograph of Loch Ness is published

Crime & Justice

A mafia attack kills Giovanni Falcone at Capaci

Cardinal Posadas Ocampo is killed at Guadalajara airport

The Sydney River robbery becomes a multiple murder case

Science

Stones fall from the sky near L’Aigle

Astronomers unveil the first image of a black hole

A total eclipse shares the sky with Hale–Bopp

Medicine & Health

A French team reports isolating a virus later named HIV

The Bundaberg vaccine contamination disaster unfolds

Researchers identify the bacterium behind Legionnaires’ disease

Nature & Disasters

A solar halo over Stockholm inspires a famous city view

A Rachel Carson sculpture is dedicated in Woods Hole

Scientists announce the identification of the olinguito

Exploration

Soviet scientists establish North Pole-1 on drifting ice

La Salle is killed by members of his own expedition

Cabrillo Enters San Diego Bay

Sport

Don Larsen’s Perfect Game: No Hits, No Walks, No Baserunners

Reggie Jackson’s Three Home Runs Seal a World Series

Muhammad Ali Wins the Rumble in the Jungle

Art & Literature

Rudolf Nureyev defects in Paris

James Joyce and Nora Barnacle share the date later called Bloomsday

Stephen King’s Carrie is published

Music

Busoni’s Doktor Faust premieres in Dresden

H.M.S. Pinafore opens in London

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band reaches British shops

Film & TV

Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining begins its theatrical run

Parasite wins the Palme d’Or at Cannes

Black Orpheus wins the Palme d’Or

The Story Behind the Photo

Chicago After the Fire: From Burned Blocks to a New Skyline

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The Road to the Moon

Fires That Changed Cities

The Age of Invention

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My Birthday in History

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