May 20 in Pop Culture History

1873 – Levi Strauss and Jacob W Davis patented (#139,121) copper-riveted jeans designed to help prevent tears in the fabric.

1883 – Krakatoa began to erupt; the volcano exploded three months later, killing more than 36,000 people.

1899 – The American Physical Society was founded at Columbia University.

1901 – Claude Grivolas patented (French) a projector for three-dimensional (stereoscopic) movies viewed wearing spectacles with one red and one blue lens.

1916 – The Saturday Evening Post published its first cover with a Norman Rockwell painting – ‘Boy with Baby Carriage’.

1916 – The town of Codell, Kansas, was hit by tornadoes.

1917 – The town of Codell, Kansas, was hit by tornadoes again.

1918 – The town of Codell, Kansas, was hit by tornadoes. Again.

1927 – US aviator Charles A. Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York, on the world’s first solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean (New York to Paris.)

1949 – The Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to the National Security Agency (NSA), was established.

1957 – Pilot Milton Torres was ordered to intercept a UFO over East Anglia, UK

#1 Hit May 20, 1967 – June 2, 1967: Young Rascals – Groovin’

#1 Hit May 20, 1978 – June 2, 1978: Wings – With a Little Luck

1983 – First publication of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by Luc Montagnier.

#1 Hit May 20, 1989 – June 2, 1989: Paula Abdul – Forever Your Girl

1993 – 80 million people watched the series finale of Cheers on NBC

1994- The Joan Rivers Show (FOX) came to an end

1995 – Star Search (syndicated) came to an end.

1995 – Pennsylvania Avenue, in front of the White House, was closed to traffic

1996 – NBC’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air series came to an end

1997 – Roseanne series came to an end on ABC

2003 – America’s Next Top Model premiered on UPN

#1 Hit May 20, 2017 – May 26, 2017: DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne – I’m the One