May 20th, 1927: Aviator Charles Lindbergh takes off from New York's Long Island aboard the Spirit of Saint Louis. Some thirty-three hours later, Lindbergh lands in Paris — becoming the first person to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean. 1932: Aviator Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland, Canada for Ireland — becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. 1961: The Freedom Riders suffer more violence as they campaign against racial segregation in the South. This time, the civil rights activists are attacked by a white mob in Montgomery, Alabama. That prompts the Federal Government to send in U.S. Marshals to restore order — and protect the activists. 1506: Christopher Columbus, the explorer whose trans-Atlantic voyages led to European coloniziation of the Americas, dies in Spain. And, 1989: In Los Angeles, comedienne Gilda Radner — an original cast member of TV's "Saturday Night Live" — dies of ovarian cancer. She was 42. Today in History, May 20th, Camille Bohannon The Associated Press.