Australian History
Monday, May 20, 1867. : Copper is discovered in Queensland, sparking the founding of the town of Cloncurry.
Copper is a highly valued metal, known to have been used throughout recorded history. It has high electrical conductivity, enabling its use in electrical and mechanical applications, and it is also valued in plumbing as it does not corrode.
Australia has copper mines in each of its states and territories except for Victoria and the ACT. The earliest copper deposits to be discovered were in South Australia, New South Wales followed with its own deposits, and the next major discovery was in Queensland. Ernest Henry was an explorer and prospector, born in England in 1837. He explored the far western Queensland area from 1866, discovering copper on 20 May 1867. In doing so, he became the founder of the town of Cloncurry.
World History
Wednesday, May 20, 0325. : Emperor Constantine convenes the first Ecumenical Council in Nicaea.
The First Council of Nicaea, convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great on 20 May AD 325, was the first ecumenical conference of bishops of the Christian Church. The purpose of the council, also called a synod, was to resolve disagreements in the Church of Alexandria. Constantine, the first Roman Emperor to freely allow Christianity, opened the Council with the entreaty to “remove the causes of dissension among you and to establish peace.” The Council of Nicaea was historically significant because it was the first effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom.
It was at the Council that the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed was adopted, now known as simply the Nicene creed, and the most widely accepted creed in the Christian church. With the creation of the Nicene Creed, a precedent was established for subsequent general councils to create a statement of belief and canons which was intended to become orthodox for all Christians. It would serve to unify the Church and provide a clear guideline over matters of dispute regarding the practice of Christianity throughout the known world.
World History
Sunday, May 20, 1506. : Christopher Columbus, discoverer of the “New World”, dies.
Christopher Columbus was born circa 30 October 1451: there is some doubt as to his actual country and region of birth. Columbus’s goal was to chart a western sea route to China, India and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia. In August 1492 Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, with three small ships, the Santa Marýa, the Pinta, and the Niña. During his journeys, Columbus explored the West Indies, South America, and Central America. He became the first explorer and trader to cross the Atlantic Ocean and sight the land of the Americas in 1492. It is most probable that the land he first sighted was Watling Island in the Bahamas.
Columbus returned to Spain laden with gold and new discoveries from his travels, including the previously unknown tobacco plant and the pineapple fruit. The success of his first expedition prompted his commissioning for a second voyage to the New World, and he set out from Cýdiz in September 1493. He explored Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and various smaller Caribbean islands, and further ensuing explorations yielded discoveries such as Venezuela. Through all this, Columbus believed that he was travelling to parts of Asia. He believed Hispaniola was Japan, and that the peaks of Cuba were the Himalayas of India.
Although passionate about converting the world to Christianity, Columbus fell out with the Spanish King and Queen, as he repeatedly suggested slavery as a way to profit from the new colonies. These suggestions were all rejected by the monarchs, who preferred to view the natives as future members of Christendom. Columbus was stripped of his governorship of Hispaniola for mismanagement and his treatment of rebellious settlers and Indians. Thus, although he became wealthy as a result of his explorations, he was not given the rewards he felt he was due.
Columbus died on 20 May 1506. Although it was originally thought he maintained the belief that he had found the route to the Asian continent, excerpts from his journals indicate he came to believe that he had, in fact, found a new, hitherto-unknown continent.
World History
Friday, May 20, 1927. : Charles Lindbergh becomes the first person to fly solo and non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean.
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born on 4 February 1902 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Displaying an interest in machines from an early age, Lindbergh enrolled in a mechanical engineering program, but quit when he was eighteen. He then joined a pilot and mechanist training programme with Nebraska Aircraft, bought his own airplane and became a stunt pilot. In 1924, he started training as a US military aviator with the United States Army Air Corps. After finishing first in his class, he worked as a civilian airmail pilot on the St Louis line in the 1920s.
Lindbergh is most famous for being the first pilot to fly solo and non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean. He departed from Roosevelt Airfield, Long Island, New York City on 20 May 1927 on his way to Paris in his single-engine airplane, The Spirit of St Louis. Whilst 500 people saw him off at Long Island, 100,000 awaited his arrival in France. The journey took him 33.5 hours and won him the Orteig Prize of $25,000.