May 20, 1927 (Friday)
- Charles Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field on New York's Long Island at 7:52 a.m. in his airplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, bound for Paris. With the plane carrying a 5,150 pound load, he barely cleared a string of telegraph wires. Lindbergh told a police chief, "When I enter that cockpit, it's like going into the death chamber. When I get to Paris, it will be like getting a pardon from the governor.
- The independence of the Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz, with the Sultan Ibn Saud as monarch, was recognized by the United Kingdom in the Treaty of Jeddah signed by representatives of the kings of both nations. On September 23, 1932, the nation would be renamed Saudi Arabia by King Ibn Saud.
- J. Willard Marriott started his first business, a 9-stool A&W root beer franchise located at 3128 14th Street, NW in Washington DC. Marriott would eventually found the worldwide Marriott Hotel chain.
- The Boeing 40A, first passenger airliner built by the Boeing company, was flown for the first time.
- Born: Bud Grant, American and Canadian pro football coach, in Superior, Wisconsin.
- Died: Eduard Bruckner, 64, German geographer and glaciologist
Read more about this topic: May 1927