Today is Wednesday, May 20, the 140th day of 2026.

There are 225 days left in the year.

Today in history:
On May 20, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which was intended to encourage settlement west of the Mississippi River by making federal land available for private ownership and farming. About 10% of the land area of the United States (270 million acres, or 1.1 million square km) would be privatized by 1934.

Also on this date:
In 1861, North Carolina seceded from the Union, becoming the 10th state to join the Confederacy early in the American Civil War.

In 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis obtained a U.S. patent for putting rivets in men’s work pants to prevent wear and tear, leading to the large-scale production of denim blue jeans.

Today’s Birthdays: Japanese baseball star Sadaharu Oh is 86. Singer-actor Cher is 80. Actor-comedian Dave Thomas is 77. Republican Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho is 75. Political commentator Ron Reagan is 68. Musician Jane Wiedlin (The Go-Go’s) is 68. Actor Bronson Pinchot is 67. TV personality Ted Allen is 61.