HISTORY
On this day in history May 20-26
May 20, 2018 - May 26, 2018 - Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries for each day of the week. This week features the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, the end of the Barnum & Bailey Circus, aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville Wright, the actor Roger Moore, New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, NASA’s Phoenix Lander, and the first Le Mans 24-hour race.
May 20, 1498: Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed in Calicut, India, becoming the first European to sail directly to India by rounding Africa’s Cape of Good Hope
May 21, 2017: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, or the “greatest show on Earth”, closed after 146 years, a victim of rising costs and smaller audiences
May 22, 1906: Aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville Wright patented their method of flight control on their “Flying Machine”. They made the first powered flight in 1903
May 23, 2017: British actor Roger Moore, best known for playing suave secret agent 007 in seven James Bond films between 1973 and 1985, died at the age of 89
May 24, 1883: New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, linking Manhattan to Brooklyn, was opened. Made from steel wire, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world at that time
May 25, 2008: NASA’s Phoenix Lander touched down near the north pole of Mars on a mission to discover whether the region could once have supported primitive life
May 26, 1923: The first Le Mans 24-hour race was run, on public roads around the French town. It has since evolved into the most famous endurance race in motor sport