Discover what happened on May 20 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

May 20

1498

1498 Archives - History.com

History.com

Discover what happened on August 1 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

August 1

Home

In the 15th century, Europeans began to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of new routes to China and the East, but in the process they discovered an entirely New World: North and South America, plus many other lands.

Exploration

Explorers

India

<a href="http://history.com/">HISTORY.com</a> works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the <a href="http://history.com/">HISTORY.com</a> team. Articles with the “<a href="http://history.com/">HISTORY.com</a> Editors” byline have been written or edited by the <a href="http://history.com/">HISTORY.com</a> editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen.

History.com Editors

1774

1775

1776

1777

1778

1779

1780

1781

1782

1783

1787

1788

1789

1792

1793

1803

1804

1805

1806

1807

1809

1812

1813

1814

1820

1831

1835

1836

1841

1843

1844

1845

1846

1847

1848

1850

1851

1853

1854

1858

1859

1860

1861

1862

1863

1864

1865

1867

1868

1869

1870

1871

1873

1875

1876

1877

1878

1879

1881

1882

1883

1884

1885

1886

1887

1888

1889

1890

1892

1893

1894

1895

1896

1897

1898

1899

1900

1901

1902

1903

1904

1905

1906

1907

1908

1909

1910

1911

1912

1913

1914

1915

1916

1917

1918

1919

1920

1921

1922

1923

A Year In History: 1498

Vasco da Gama reaches India

Columbus lands in South America

Vasco da Gama reaches India

Columbus lands in South America

Wake Up to This Day in History