Flowers spring forth in abundance this month. Depending on the Native American tribe, May’s Full Moon was called the Full Flower Moon as well as Mother’s Moon, Milk Moon, and Corn Planting Moon. The May Moon marked a time of increasing fertility with temperatures warm enough for safely bearing young, a near end to late frosts, and plants in bloom.
Daily Calendar for Thursday, May 20, 2027
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Thursday, May 20, 2027
Died
- Christopher Columbus (explorer) –
- Joseph Carr (president of NFL) –
- Gilda Radner (actress) –
- Stephen Jay Gould (paleontologist & author) –
- Robin Gibb (musician; member of the Bee Gees) –
- George Wendt (actor) –
Born
- William Thornton (architect) –
- Dolley Madison (U.S. First Lady) –
- William Fargo (businessman) –
- Allan Nevins (historian) –
- Jimmy Stewart (actor) –
- Joe Cocker (musician) –
- Cher (singer & actress) –
- Tony Stewart (race car driver) –
- Trinity Rodman (soccer player) –
Events
- First Council of Nicaea (which standardized how to calculate the date of Easter) likely convened –
- D. Hyde patented the fountain pen –
- Homestead Act signed –
- Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis received a patent for riveted pocket openings for pants. –
- The Saturday Evening Post published its first cover with a Norman Rockwell painting –
- Charles Lindbergh began first nonstop solo flight across Atlantic –
- First airplane catapulted from a dirigible –
- A 680-pound goliath grouper was caught off Fernandina Beach, Florida –
- Rare Madagascar teal duck born, Louisville Zoo, Kentucky –
- Up to 20 million honeybees escaped from a tractor-trailer after it overturned on a highway in Newark, Deleware –
- The Planetary Society’s LightSail-A, a sun-propelled sail, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. –
Weather
- Strafford, Vermont, received 10 inches of snow –
- Six inches of snow fell on Lexington, Kentucky –
- Codell, Kansas, hit by a tornado –
- For the second year in a row, Codell, Kansas, was hit by a tornado on this date –
- For the third year in a row, Codell, Kansas, was hit by a tornado on this date –
- A tornado took to the ground in Kansas City, Missouri, and traveled 71 miles –
- Near Eloy, Arizona, scientists began a 3.5 week experiment to study the nature of dust devils. –