Best known
Best known
Æthelberht II of East Anglia
8th-century king and saint
Gero
German nobleman (c. 900 – 965)
Bao Zheng
11th-century Chinese politician and cultural personification of justice
Pope John XXI
Head of the Catholic Church from 1276 to 1277
Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari
South Asian Sufi saint
Maria of Calabria
Countess of Alba
Æthelberht II of East Anglia — 8th-century king and saint, who died on May 20 794.
Gero — German nobleman (c. 900 – 965), who died on May 20 965.
Bao Zheng — 11th-century Chinese politician and cultural personification of justice, who died on May 20 1062.
Pope John XXI — Head of the Catholic Church from 1276 to 1277, who died on May 20 1277.
Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari — South Asian Sufi saint, who died on May 20 1291.
Maria of Calabria — Countess of Alba, who died on May 20 1366.
All entries
- 685EEcgfrith of NorthumbriaKing of Deira (664 to 670), King of Northumbria (670 to 685)
- 1285JJohn I of Cyprus13th century King of Cyprus and Jerusalem
- 1444
Bernardino of SienaItalian Franciscan missionary and saint
- 1449
Álvaro Vaz de Almada, 1st Count of AvranchesPortuguese knight and nobleman - 1449
Peter, Duke of CoimbraDuke of Coimbra - 1476IIsabel IngoldisthorpeEnglish noblewoman
- 1501
Columba of RietiItalian religious sister of the Third Order of St. Dominic - 1503
Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' MediciItalian banker and politician - 1506
Christopher ColumbusItalian navigator and explorer - 1550
Ashikaga YoshiharuMilitary ruler of Japan from 1521 to 1546 - 1579IIsabella Markham16th-century English lady-in-waiting
- 1622
Osman IISultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1618 to 1622 - 1645
Shi KefaChinese official - 1648
Władysław IV VasaRuler of Poland–Lithuania from 1632 to 1648 - 1677
George Digby, 2nd Earl of BristolEnglish politician - 1713
Thomas SpratEnglish churchman and writer - 1717
John Trevor (speaker)Welsh lawyer and politician (died 1717) - 1722
Sébastien VaillantFrench mycologist - 1732
Thomas BostonScottish Presbyterian church leader and theologian - 1782
William Emerson (mathematician)English mathematician
- 1793
Charles BonnetGenevan botanist - 1812
Hieronymus von ColloredoGerman Catholic archbishop - 1834
Marquis de LafayetteFrench military officer and politician
- 1841
Joseph Blanco WhiteSpanish poet and theologian - 1864
John ClareEnglish poet - 1873
George-Étienne CartierCanadian Father of Confederation - 1880
Ana NériBrazilian nurse - 1896
Clara SchumannGerman pianist and composer - 1909
Ernest HoganVaudeville performer - 1917
Valentine FlemingBritish politician - 1917
Philipp von FerraryPostage stamp collector - 1924
Bogd Khan1911–1924 ruler of the Bogd Khanate of Mongolia - 1925
Joseph Howard (prime minister)Prime Minister of Malta from 1921 to 1923 - 1931
Ernest NoelScottish politician - 1940
Verner von HeidenstamSwedish poet and novelist - 1942
Hector GuimardFrench architect and designer - 1946
Jacob EllehammerDanish watchmaker and inventor - 1947
Philipp LenardHungarian–German physicist - 1947GGeorgios Siantos20th-century Greek Communist Party leader and resistance fighter during WWII
- 1949
Damaskinos of AthensGreek politician and priest - 1956
Max BeerbohmEnglish writer and caricaturist - 1956
Zoltán HalmayHungarian swimmer - 1961
Josef PrillerGerman World War II flying ace and wing commander - 1962
Timothy SzretterPolish Orthodox clergyman, the third Metropolitan of Warsaw and all Poland - 1964RRudy LewisAmerican singer
- 1971
Waldo WilliamsWelsh poet and pacifist - 1973
Renzo PasoliniItalian motorcycle racer - 1973
Jarno SaarinenFinnish motorcycle racer
- 1975
Barbara HepworthEnglish artist and sculptor - 1976
Syd HoweCanadian ice hockey player - 1976ZZelmar MicheliniUruguayan reporter and politician
- 1976HHéctor Gutiérrez RuizUruguayan political figure
- 1989
John HicksBritish economist - 1989
Gilda RadnerAmerican actress and comedian - 1995LLes CowieAustralia international rugby league footballer
- 1996
Jon PertweeEnglish actor - 1998RRobert NormannNorwegian jazz guitarist
- 2000
Jean-Pierre RampalFrench flautist - 2000
Malik SealyAmerican basketball player - 2000
Yevgeny KhrunovSoviet cosmonaut - 2001
Renato CarosoneItalian musician - 2002
Stephen Jay GouldAmerican biologist and historian of science - 2005
Paul RicœurFrench philosopher - 2005
William SeawellUnited States Air Force general - 2007NNorman Von NidaAustralian professional golfer
- 2008
Hamilton JordanChief of Staff to President of the United States Jimmy Carter - 2009
Arthur EricksonCanadian architect - 2009
Lucy Gordon (actress)British actress and model - 2009
Pierre GamarraFrench poet, novelist and literary critic - 2011
Randy SavageAmerican professional wrestler - 2012
Leela DubeIndian anthropologist and feminist scholar - 2012
Robin GibbBritish singer - 2012
David Littman (activist)British historian and human rights activist - 2012KKen LyonsMusical artist
- 2012
Eugene PolleyAmerican consumer electronics engineer - 2012AAndrew B. SteinbergAviation regulatory lawyer
- 2013
Flavio CostantiniItalian artist - 2013
Billie DaweCanadian ice hockey player - 2013
Anders EliassonSwedish composer - 2013
Miloslav Kříž - 2013
Ray ManzarekAmerican keyboardist - 2013
Denys RobertsBritish judge and colonial administrator - 2013
Zach SobiechAmerican singer-songwriter - 2014SSandra BemAmerican psychologist
- 2014RRoss Brown (rugby union)Rugby player
- 2014RRobyn DennyBritish artist
- 2014AArthur GelbAmerican journalist and editor
- 2014
Prince Rupert LoewensteinSpanish-born German-Bavarian aristocrat - 2014
Barbara MurrayBritish screen actress - 2015BBob BeldenAmerican saxophonist, composer, and bandleader
- 2015
Femi RobinsonNigerian actor - 2016
Kho JabingConvicted murderer executed in Singapore - 2019
Niki LaudaAustrian racing driver - 2021GGary Wilson (writer)American writer
- 2022
Roger AngellAmerican writer - 2022
Susan RocesFilipino actress - 2024IIvan BoeskyAmerican stock trader
- 2025
George WendtAmerican actor
Frequently asked questions
Who died on May 20?
104 people with a Wikipedia article died on May 20, including Æthelberht II of East Anglia, Gero, Bao Zheng. The list is in chronological order by year of death and spans all of documented history, from antiquity to the present day. For each person you find their occupation, the year and a link to the Wikipedia biography, where the full story and its sources can be read.
What happened on May 20?
64 documented historical events happened on May 20, from antiquity to the present day. The best known is this: The First Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church, was formally opened by Constantine the Great. On the same day, in another year: The Picts defeated the Northumbrians at the Battle of Dun Nechtain, severely weakening the latter's power in northern Great Britain. On Almanaccolo every event is listed in chronological order, grouped by century, and links to the Wikipedia article it comes from, so you can always read further or check the source. Alongside the events you find who was born and who died on this date, and which observances are celebrated around the world.
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