As of today, May 20, 2023

What happened like today in Greece and the world.

325: The first Ecumenical Council convenes in Nicaea, Asia Minor, to condemn Arianism.

526: Earthquake in Antioch kills about 250,000 inhabitants.

1498: The Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, discovers the sea route to India when he reaches Kozhikode (formerly known as Calicut).

1520: The massacre at the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan takes place, causing the Aztecs to turn against the Spanish.

1570: Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius publishes Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern atlas.

1609: William Shakespeare’s sonnets are published in London.

1631: The city of Magdeburg in Germany is captured by the forces of the Holy Roman Empire and most of its inhabitants are massacred, in one of the bloodiest events of the Thirty Years’ War.

1802: With the law of May 20, 1802, Napoleon I of France reinstates slavery in the French colonies, revoking its abolition during the French Revolution.

1825: Papaflessas and the few heroic warriors he had by his side, fall fighting against countless Turkish-Egyptians of Ibrahim in Maniaki, Messinia.

1873: Two Americans, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis, get their hands on the patent for their invention: a pair of durable canvas pants that would become the most popular garment of all time, blue jeans.

1882: The Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy is concluded.

1891: The first public presentation of Thomas Edison’s kinescope takes place.

1984: The Greek authorities receive a document from the “International Service for the Prosecution of Anarchists”, requesting a list and photographs of Greek anarchists. The event is related to the action developed by some Greeks in the international revolutionary movement, such as Plotinos Rodokanatis, the lawyer Pavlos Argyriadis and Maria Pantazi.

1902: Cuba gains independence from the United States. Tomas Estrada Palma becomes the country’s first president.

1927: The United Kingdom recognizes King Ibn Saud’s sovereignty over the kingdoms of Hejaz and Najd, which would later merge to form the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

1927: One of the pioneers of aviation, Charles Lindbergh, attempts the first non-stop transatlantic flight, from New York to Paris.

1932: Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland for the first non-stop solo transatlantic flight by a female pilot. The next day he lands in Ireland.

1940: The first prisoners arrive at his concentration camp Auschwitz.

1941: The Battle of Crete begins, which will last until June 1st. With this operation the Germans manage to capture the island from the Anglo-Greek Allied forces, however this success cost them so much in many ways that they would not attempt another air raid of the same scale again during the war.

1944: The Conference of Lebanon concludes, where the “National Contract” between the Greek political factions is concluded.

1951: The German company Holzmann starts the project of the new lignite mine in Aliveri.

1965: Pakistan Airlines Boeing 720-040B crashes on approach to Cairo International Airport, killing 121 of 127 on board.

1978: Its central opening is being carried out by the government of Konstantinos Karamanlis. Konstantinos Mitsotakis joins New Democracy and takes over the Ministry of Coordination. He is joined by the other member of parliament of the Neoliberals, Pavlos Vardinogiannis, while Athanasios Kanellopoulos, who has left the EDIK, takes over as Minister of Finance.

1983: Medical research on the discovery of a new, deadly virus is published for the first time: it’s called HIV and it causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, AIDS.

1989: The Chinese authorities are proceeding with the imposition of martial law to suppress the anti-democracy protests. The situation will escalate and culminate in the tragic Tien An Men Square massacre.

1996: An unprecedented crime is committed in Thassos by the 24-year-old law student, Theofilos Sehidis. He brutally kills his parents, uncle, sister and grandmother. It will be discovered on August 9th.

2002: East Timor gains independence from Indonesia.

2012: At least 27 people are killed and 50 injured after a magnitude 6 earthquake hits northern Italy.

2021: Microsoft announces that it will no longer support Internet Explorer on June 15, 2022.

Births

1315 – Bonne of Luxembourg, Duchess of Normandy

1470 – Pietro Bebo, Italian cardinal

1769 – Andreas Miaoulis, Greek admiral and politician

1799 – Honoré de Balzac, French writer

1806 – John Stuart Mill, English philosopher

1822 – Frédéric Passy, ​​French economist

1830 – Hector Malo, French writer

1861 – Henry Gantt, American engineer

1869 – Johann Jacobs, German businessman

1882 – Sigrid Unset, Norwegian writer

1883 – Faisal I, King of Iraq

1885 – Alexander Lehr, Austrian general

1901 – Max Uwe, Dutch chess player

1908 – James Stewart, American actor

1915 – Moshe Dayan, Israeli general

1916 – Trebizond Vala, Italian athlete

1921 – Wolfgang Borchert, German writer

1926 – Abdul Rahim Khatif, Afghan politician

1931 – George Vassiliou, Cypriot politician

1931 – Louis Smith, American musician

1934 – Alketas Panagoulias, Greek football player and coach

1935 – Jose Mujica, Uruguayan politician

1938 – Marinella (née Kyriaki Papadopoulou), Greek singer

1942 – Carlos Hathcock, American soldier

1944 – Joe Cocker, English singer

1946 – Cher (born Sherilyn Sarkisian), American singer

1947 – Margaret Wilson, New Zealand politician

1955 – Zbigniew Preissner, Polish composer

1957 – Yoshihiko Noda, Japanese politician

1959 – Israel Kamakaguiwole, American singer

1959 – Michalis Reppas, Greek actor and screenwriter

1967 – Pavlos, former Crown Prince of Greece

1969 – Brian Gerard James, American wrestler

1972 – Busta Rhymes (born Trevor Tahim Smith Jr.), American rapper

1981 – Iker Casillas, Spanish goalkeeper

1982 – Petr Cech, Czech goalkeeper

Deaths

685 – Ecgfrith, King of Northumbria

1277 – Pope John KA’

1285 – John I, king of Cyprus

1449 – Peter, Duke of Coimbra

1503 – Laurentius the Younger, Italian politician

1506 – Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer

1622 – Osman II, Ottoman sultan

1648 – Wladyslaw IV, King of Poland

1772 – Gerasimos the Thiraios of Old Patras, Greek Metropolitan

1825 – Grigorios Dikaios Papaflessas, Greek cleric and activist

1834 – Gilbert de Motier de La Fayette, French general

1837 – Frederick, Prince of Hesse-Kassel

1845 – Philippe Siris Bridel, French-speaking Swiss writer and poet

1875 – Amalia, Queen of Greece

1887 – Alexander Ulyanov, Russian revolutionary

1896 – Clara Schumann, German pianist and composer

1940 – Carl Gustaf Werner von Heidenstam, Swedish writer

1942 – Hector Guimard, French architect

1947 – Philip Lennard, Austrian physicist

1947 – Giorgis Siandos, Greek politician

1949 – Damascene, archbishop of Athens

1960 – Elias Papailiou, Greek jurist

1971 – Anastasios Asteriadis, Greek doctor

1974 – Solon Veras, Greek doctor

1975 – Fiame Mata’afa Mulinuu II, Prime Minister of Samoa

1977 – Dimitrios Chatzigakis, Greek politician

1988 – Stavros Katrakis, Greek mineralogist and academic

2013 – Ray Manzarek, American musician

2014 – Prince Rupert Levenstein, German businessman

2019 – Niki LaudaAustrian Formula 1 driver.