May 17, 1954 – The U. S. Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling that racial segregation in public educational facilities is unconstitutional.
May 18, 1804 – Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of France by the French Senate.
May 19, 1980 – The Mt. St. Helens volcano erupts in Washington State, its first major eruption since 1857, sending steam and ash eleven miles into the sky. It is the deadliest and most economic destructive volcanic event in U.S. history. A total of 57 people are killed and 200 homes,47 bridges, 15 miles of railway, and 185 miles of highway are destroyed.
May 20, 1927 – 25-year-old Charles Lindberg takes off in the “Spirit of Saint Louis” and becomes the first person to complete a solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. On this same date in 1932 Amelia Earhart would become the first woman to complete a solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic.