This Day in History: May 20

Here’s a brief look back in time for this day, May 20.

In 1862, the Homestead Act is signed by 16th U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. The act allowed any adult citizen over the age of 21 to claim an upwards of 160 acres of surveyed government land. Conditions included the promise to live on and “improve” the land over a five-year period, and the payment of $1.25 per acre. Prospects must also never have “borne arms against the U.S. government”. Despite the good intentions, only 80 out of 500 million acres were claimed through this bill due to unaffordability and fraud – the latter of which was believed to have been caused from the bill’s ambiguity in its wording.

In 1927, Charles Lindbergh embarks on what would become the world’s first solo nonstop transatlantic flight in his Spirit of St. Louis. The flight began in Long Island, NY, and landed in Paris, France: a journey that lasted 33 hours and 30 minutes.

In 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Amendment 2 of Colorado’s state constitution, which effectively denied basic rights for gay people living in the state. This decision was a major civil rights win, as it granted homosexuals protection from discrimination as described under the Fourteenth Amendment in the U.S. Constitution. The ruling was decided in a 6-3 vote.