Today in History, September 20th
On September 20, 1519, Magellan set sail on the first voyage around the world. Plus the Battle of the Sexes and Hurricane Maria's landfall.
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September 20 is best known for 1519, when Ferdinand Magellan set sail from Spain on the voyage that became the first trip around the world. The date also brought Billie Jean King’s “Battle of the Sexes” win in 1973 and Hurricane Maria’s landfall in Puerto Rico in 2017.
The big story: Magellan sets out to sail around the world (1519)
Magellan’s plan was bold: reach the Spice Islands by sailing west, around the bottom of South America, instead of east around Africa. On September 20, 1519, his five ships and about 270 men left Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The trip went badly in nearly every way a trip can. Spanish captains mutinied during the winter stop in Patagonia, one ship was wrecked and another deserted. In October 1520 the remaining three entered the passage now called the Strait of Magellan and came out into the Pacific, the first Europeans to reach it from the Atlantic. Crossing it took 99 days, and the food ran out. Magellan himself never made it home. He was killed in a fight on Mactan, in the Philippines, on April 27, 1521. Juan Sebastián Elcano took command, and in September 1522 one battered ship, the Victoria, reached Spain with a handful of survivors. It was the first ship to sail around the globe.
More events on September 20
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1565 | Spanish forces under Pedro Menéndez de Avilés destroyed the French Huguenot settlement of Fort Caroline, near present-day Jacksonville, Florida. |
| 1806 | The returning Lewis and Clark expedition reached La Charette, Missouri, the first settlement they had seen in more than two years. Residents had assumed they were lost. |
| 1854 | British and French forces beat the Russians at the Battle of the Alma in the Crimean War, leaving the naval base of Sevastopol exposed. |
| 1881 | Chester Arthur was sworn in as president the day after Garfield’s death, the third man to hold the office that year. |
| 1932 | Mohandas Gandhi began a fast in his jail cell in Pune, India, against a British plan for separate elections by caste. Britain backed down within days. |
| 1973 | Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 in the “Battle of the Sexes” at the Houston Astrodome, watched by about 50 million TV viewers. |
| 2011 | The U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which barred openly gay service members, officially ended. |
| 2017 | Hurricane Maria made landfall at Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, as a strong Category 4 storm with 155 mph winds. |
Born on September 20
- 1878: Upton Sinclair, author of The Jungle, born in Baltimore, Maryland.
- 1934: Sophia Loren, Oscar-winning Italian film star, born in Rome.
- 1948: George R.R. Martin, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series, born in Bayonne, New Jersey.
Sources
- Magellan sets out, History.com
- Ferdinand Magellan, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- First European battle on American soil, History.com
- Lewis and Clark reach La Charette, History.com
- Battle of the Alma, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Chester Arthur becomes third president to serve in one year, History.com
- Gandhi begins fast in protest of caste separation, History.com
- “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repealed, History.com
- King triumphs in Battle of the Sexes, History.com
- Hurricane Maria, National Weather Service San Juan
