What happend on 20th May

19.05
21.05
1861

American Civil War: The state of Kentucky proclaims its neutrality, which will last until September 3 when Confederate forces enter the state.

1845

HMS Erebus and HMS Terror with 134 men under John Franklin sail from the River Thames in England, beginning a disastrous expedition to find the Northwest Passage. All hands are lost.

1841

Chi Psi Fraternity is founded at Union College in Schenectady, New York.

1813

Napoleon Bonaparte leads his French troops into the Battle of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany, against the combined armies of Russia and Prussia. The battle ends the next day with a French victory.

1690

England passes the Act of Grace, forgiving followers of Catholic James II.

1631

The city of Magdeburg in Germany is seized by forces of the Holy Roman Empire and most of its inhabitants massacred, in one of the bloodiest incidents of the Thirty Years War.

1570

Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues the first modern atlas.

1521

Battle of Pampeluna.

1498

Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Kozhikode (previously known as Calicut), India.

1497

John Cabot sets sail from Bristol, England, on his ship The Mathew looking for a route to the west (other documents give a 2 May date).