Today In History

Today is Wednesday, May 20, the 141st day of 2020. There are 225 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1899: Taxi driver Jacob German was pulled over and arrested by a police officer riding a bicycle for speeding down Manhattan’s Lexington Avenue in his electric car at 12 miles an hour at a time when the speed limit was 8 mph; it was the first recorded speeding arrest in U.S. history.

ON THIS DATE

› 1873: Levi Strauss and tailor Jacob Davis received a U.S. patent for men’s work pants made with copper rivets.

› 1927: Charles Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York, aboard the Spirit of St. Louis on his historic solo flight to France.

› 1932: Amelia Earhart took off from Newfoundland to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.

› 1939: Regular trans-Atlantic mail service began as a Pan American Airways plane, the Yankee Clipper, took off from Port Washington, New York, bound for Marseille, France.

› 1959: Nearly 5,000 Japanese-Americans had their U.S. citizenships restored after choosing to renounce them during World War II.

› 1995: President Bill Clinton announced that the two-block stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House would be permanently closed to motor vehicles as a security measure.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actor-author James McEachin is 90. Actor Anthony Zerbe is 84. Actor David Proval is 78. Singer-actress Cher is 74. Actor-comedian Dave Thomas is 72. Rock musician Warren Cann is 70. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, is 69. Former New York Gov. David Paterson is

66. Delaware Gov. John Carney is 64. Actor Dean Butler is 64. TV-radio personality Ron Reagan is 62. Rock musician Jane Wiedlin (The Go-Go’s) is 62. Actor Bronson Pinchot is 61. TV personality Ted Allen is 55. Actress Mindy Cohn is 54. Rock musician Tom Gorman (Belly) is 54. Actress Gina Ravera is 54. Actor Timothy Olyphant is 52. Former race car driver Tony Stewart is 49. Rapper Busta Rhymes is 48. Actress Daya Vaidya is

47. Actor Matt Czuchry is

43. Actress Angela Goethals is 43. Actress-singer Naturi Naughton is 36. Country singer Jon Pardi is 35.