On this day: Events on May 20, Vasco da Gama arrived in India, birthday of blue jeans to Christopher Columbus' death

On May 20, several significant events occurred in history and world geography. Right from Vasco da Gama arrival in India to Christopher Columbus death's. Here's all you need to know:

Vasco da Gama arrived in India

After leaving Lisbon, Portugal, two years earlier, Vasco da Gama arrived in Kozhikode (Calicut), Kerala, on May 20, 1498, marking his arrival on the western coast of India. This also marked the first instance of a European reaching India by sea, earning Vasco da Gama the distinction of discovering the sea route to India.

Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive patent for blue jeans

As per Levi Strauss and Co., on May 20, 1873, marks the birth of the blue jean. It was this day when Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis obtained a US patent on the process of putting rivets in men’s work pants for the very first time. As per the company's website, “We consider May 20, 1873 the “birthday” of blue jeans, because although denim pants had been around as workwear for many years, it was the act of placing rivets in these traditional pants for the first time that created what we now call jeans.”

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Christopher Columbus' death

On May 20, 1506, the man who 'discovered'  the Americas, Christopher Columbus, died aged 55. He was the first European explorer of the Americas since the Vikings established settlements in Greenland and Newfoundland in the tenth century, according to History.com. His explorations included the West Indies, as well as regions of South America and Central America.

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Hamburger Hill battle ends

Hill 937 in South Vietnam was finally captured by US and South Vietnamese forces. The American soldiers who fought in this battle nicknamed it as "Hamburger Hill," due to the high casualty rate of 70 percent and brutal combat evoked images of a meat grinder, History.com reported.