May 20th

May 20 is the 141st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. If the ancient Mayans were correct, there are 215 days remaining until the end of time.

1310 Shoes are made for both right and left feet, but sold separately

1521 Ignatius Loyola, probably gay Spanish knight/priest, is seriously wounded playing catch with a cannon ball.  He lingers until July.

1874 Levi Strauss markets blue jeans with copper rivets, price $13.50 doz ($257.14 in 2010)

1875 International Bureau of Weights and Measures forms by treaty

1926 Thomas Edison says Americans prefer silent movies over talkies. Everybody’s a critic, but 85 years later . . .

1927 At 7:40 AM, Lindbergh takes off from New York to cross Atlantic for Paris

1930 University of California dedicates $1,500 ($20,666.32 in 2012) to research prevention and cure of athlete's foot

1956 In Operation Redwing, the first United States airborne hydrogen bomb, CHER-okee, is dropped over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Happily, no bikini-clad boys are harmed.

1983 First publications of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by Luc Montagnier and Robert Gallo individually.

1990 Hubble Space Telescope sends 1st photograph's from space. Ooh. Ah.

1996 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.  Doesn't say anything about referenda however.

1768 Dolley Madison, US First Lady/cupcake 

1921 Hal Newhouser, US Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (Detroit, Cleveland)

1944 Joe Cocker, gruff US singer/composer 

1958 Ron Reagan, US ballet dancer/progressive political commentator/famous father

1958 Matt McCoy, US actor 

1960 Tony Goldwyn, US actor/director 

1965 Paolo Seganti, Italian actor 

1965 Ted Allen, gay US Queer Eye food queer and Food Network staple 

1966 Mindy Cohn, maybe gay US actress/Natalie/fruit-fly 

1968 Timothy Olyphant, US actor 

1972 Christophe Dominici, French rugger/Dieux du Stade model 

1973 Deondray Gossett, gay US actor/writer/producer/director/The DL Chronicles 

1975 Tahmoh Penikett, maybe gay Canadian actor

1975 Raphaël Jéchoux, rugger/Dieux du Stade model (in middle) 

1975 Juan Minujin, Argentine actor 

1977 Matt Czuchry, US actor/Gilmore Girls/The Good Wife 

1977 Mathieu Blin, French rugger/Dieux du Stade model (on left) 

1978 Masaru Nagai, Japanese actor 

1980 Cauã Reymond, Brazilian model/actor 

1985 Julian Hans, French rugger/Dieux du Stade model 

1986 Yon Gonzalez, Spanish actor 

1506 Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer, makes another voyage.

1989 Gilda Radner, US comedienne/actress (Saturday Night Live, Haunted Honeymoon), misses Sunday morning

2008 Hamilton Jordan, former Carter White House Chief of Staff (known for snorting cocaine and looking down women’s dresses), makes it impossible for Islamic martyrs to get their 72 virgins.

2011 Randy “Macho Man” Savage, US professional wrestler, takes a piledriver