On this day, May 20
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.
1927 Charles Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, N.Y., 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. (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 U.S. citizenship restored after choosing to renounce it during World War II. 1961 A white mob attacked a busload of Freedom Riders in Montgomery, Ala., prompting the federal government to send in U.S. marshals to restore order.
1969 U.S. 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.
1985 Radio Marti, operated by the U.S. government, began broadcasting; Cuba responded by attempting to jam its signal.
2012 Robin Gibb, who along with his brothers Maurice and Barry, defined the disco era as part of the Bee Gees, died in London at 62.
2013 Ray Manzarek, a founding member of the 1960s rock group the Doors, died in Germany at age 74.
2015 Four of the world’s biggest banks — JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup’s banking unit Citicorp, Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland — agreed to pay more than $5 billion in penalties and plead guilty to rigging the currency markets.
2018 The Vegas Golden Knights reached the Stanley Cup finals, becoming the first
NHL expansion team to achieve the feat since 1968. 2022 Longtime New Yorker writer and editor Roger Angell, who contributed hundreds of essays and stories to the magazine over a 70-year career, died at age 101.
Today’s birthdays: Actor-author James McEachin, 94. Actor Anthony Zerbe, 88. Actor David Proval, 82. Singer-actor Cher, 78. Actor-comedian Dave Thomas, 76. Rock musician Warren Cann, 74. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho,, 73. Former New York Gov. David Paterson, 70. Delaware Gov. John Carney, 68. Actor Dean Butler, 68. TV-radio personality Ron Reagan, 66. Rock musician Jane Wiedlin (The Go-Go’s), 66. Actor Bronson Pinchot, 65. Singer Susan Cowsill, 65. Actor John Billingsley, 64. Actor Tony Goldwyn, 64. Singer Nick Heyward, 63. TV personality Ted Allen, 59. Actor Mindy Cohn, 58. Rock musician Tom Gorman (Belly), 58. Actor Gina Ravera, 58.