TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Friday, May 20, the 140th day of 2022. There are 225 days left in the year.

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY

On May 20, 1956, the United States exploded the first airborne hydrogen bomb over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.

1862 — President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which was intended to encourage settlements west of the Mississippi River by making federal land available for farming.

1916 — The Saturday Evening Post published its first Norman Rockwell cover; the illustration shows a scowling boy dressed in his Sunday best, dutifully pushing a baby carriage past a couple of boys wearing baseball uniforms.

1932 — Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. (Because of weather and equipment problems, Earhart set down in Northern Ireland instead of her intended destination, France.)

1959 — Nearly 5,000 Japanese-Americans had their US citizenships restored after choosing to renounce them during World War II.

1961 — A white mob attacked a busload of Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Ala., prompting the federal government to send in US marshals to restore order.

1969 — US and South Vietnamese forces captured Ap Bia Mountain, referred to as “Hamburger Hill” by the Americans, following one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actor-author James McEachin is 92. Actor Anthony Zerbe is 86. Actor David Proval is 80. Singer-actor Cher is 76. Actor-comedian Dave Thomas is 74. Rock musician Warren Cann is

72. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, is 71. Former New York Gov. David Paterson is 68. Delaware Gov. John Carney is 66. Actor Dean Butler is

66. TV-radio personality Ron Reagan is 64. Rock musician Jane Wiedlin (The Go-Go’s) is

64. Actor Bronson Pinchot is 63. Singer Susan Cowsill is 63. Actor John Billingsley is 62. Actor Tony Goldwyn is 62. Singer Nick Heyward is 61. TV personality Ted Allen is 57. Actor Mindy Cohn is 56. Actor Gina Ravera is 56. Actor Timothy Olyphant is 54. Former race car driver Tony Stewart is 51. Rapper Busta Rhymes is 50. Actor Daya Vaidya is 49. Actor Matt Czuchry is 45. Actor Angela Goethals is

45. Actor-singer Naturi Naughton is 38. Country singer Jon Pardi is 37.