May 22
1455 - The first battle in the 30-year War of Roses took place at St. Albans.
1761 - The first life insurance policy in the United States was issued in Philadelphia.
1849 - Abraham Lincoln received a patent for a floating dry dock.
1927 - An earthquake near Xining, China, measuring an estimated 8.3 on the Richter scale, claimed more than 200,000 lives.
1939 - The foreign ministers of Germany and Italy, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Galeazzo Ciano, signed a "Pact of Steel" committing the two countries to a military alliance.
1947 - President Harry S. Truman's Doctrine (Truman Doctrine) brought aid to Greece and Turkey to combat the spread of Communism in Europe.
1960 - A 9.5 magnitude earthquake, the strongest ever recorded, struck southern Chile, claiming at least 1,655 lives.
1962 - Continental Airlines Flight 11, en route from Chicago to Kansas City, Missouri, crashed after a bomb apparently brought on board by a passenger exploded, killing all 45 occupants of the Boeing 707.
1964 - Speaking at the University of Michigan, President Lyndon B. Johnson outlined the goals of his "Great Society," saying that it "rests on abundance and liberty for all" and "demands an end to poverty and racial injustice."
1968 - The nuclear-powered submarine USS Scorpion, with 99 men aboard, sank in the Atlantic Ocean. (The remains of the sub were later found on the ocean floor 400 miles southwest of the Azores.)
1969 - The lunar module of Apollo 10, with Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene Cernan aboard, flew to within nine miles of the moon’s surface in a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing.
1972 - President Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit Moscow and the Soviet Union.
1985 - U.S. sailor Michael L. Walker was arrested aboard the aircraft carrier Nimitz two days after his father, John A. Walker Jr. was apprehended; both were later convicted of spying for the Soviet Union. (Michael Walker served 15 years in prison and was released in 2000. John Walker Jr. died in prison in 2014.)
1990 - North Yemen and South Yemen merged to form the Republic of Yemen.
1992 - Johnny Carson hosted "The Tonight Show" for the final time on NBC.
2003 - The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution lifting the economic sanctions against Iraq and supporting the U.S.-led administration in Iraq.
2011 - At least 140 people are killed and hundreds more injured as a three-quarter-mile-wide tornado strikes Joplin, Missouri. The tornado is among the deadliest in the nation's history, destroying nearly a third of the city and damaging more than 8,000 buildings, including water and sewage treatment plants.
2012 - Tokyo Skytree, which at 634 (2,081 feet) meters high makes it the tallest tower in the world, opens to the public.
2012 - The Falcon 9, built by billionaire businessman Elon Musk, sped toward the International Space Station with a load of groceries and other supplies, marking the first time a commercial spacecraft had been sent to the orbiting outpost.
2017 - A suicide bomber set off an improvised explosive device that killed 22 people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England.
2020 - “Full House” star Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, pleaded guilty to paying half a million dollars into the University of Southern California as part of a college admissions bribery scheme. (Loughlin would spend two months behind bars; Giannulli began a five-month sentence in November 2020 and was released to home confinement in April 2021.)
Birthdays
22 - Paulina Chavez (actress)
25 - Camren Bicondova (actress)
32 - Anna Baryshnikov (actress)
37 - Novak Djokovic (tennis player)
38 - Julian Edelman (football player)
38 - Molly Ephraim (actress)
42 - Apolo Anton Ohno (speed skater)
43 - Bryan Danielson (professional wrestler)
45 - Maggie Q (actress)
45 - Vivian Green (singer)
46 - Katie Price (model)
46 - Ginnifer Goodwin (actress)
50 - A.J. Langer (actress)
50 - Sean Gunn (actor)
51 - Donell Jones (singer)
52 - Alison Eastwood (actress)
52 - Anna Belknap (actress)
54 - Naomi Campbell (model)
55 - Michael Kelly (actress)
57 - Brooke Smith (actress)
60 - Mark Christopher Lawrence (actor)
63 - Ann Cusack (actress)
81 - Tommy John (baseball player)
82 - Barbara Parkins (actres)
86 - Frank Converse (actor)
86 - Richard Benjamin (actor)
===================================
Today in Sports History - May 22
1968 - Willie Stargell (Pittsburgh Pirates) hit three home runs, a single and a double in a game against the Chicago Cubs.
1970 - The Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks were granted NHL franchises for the 1970-71 season.
1975 - The Kentucky Colonels defeat the Indiana Pacers in five games to win the ABA championship.
1977 - Janet Guthrie set the fastest time of the second weekend of qualifying, becoming the first woman to earn a starting spot in the Indianapolis 500 since its inception in 1911.
1985 - Pete Rose passed Hank Aaron as the National League all-time hits leader with 2,108.
1990 - Andre Dawson is intentionally walked a record five times in one game.
1994 - The new NBA franchise in Toronto announces the team name will be "Raptors."
2002 - Mark Prior became only the 14th Chicago Cubs player since 1920 to win his major league debut. The Cubs beat the Pirates 7-4.
2003 - At the Colonial in Fort Worth, TX, Annika Sorenstam became the first woman to play on the PGA tour in 58 years. She ended the day at 1-over par.
2003 - High school basketball star LeBron James signs a $90 million endorsement contract with Nike.
1455 - The first battle in the 30-year War of Roses took place at St. Albans.
1761 - The first life insurance policy in the United States was issued in Philadelphia.
1849 - Abraham Lincoln received a patent for a floating dry dock.
1927 - An earthquake near Xining, China, measuring an estimated 8.3 on the Richter scale, claimed more than 200,000 lives.
1939 - The foreign ministers of Germany and Italy, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Galeazzo Ciano, signed a "Pact of Steel" committing the two countries to a military alliance.
1947 - President Harry S. Truman's Doctrine (Truman Doctrine) brought aid to Greece and Turkey to combat the spread of Communism in Europe.
1960 - A 9.5 magnitude earthquake, the strongest ever recorded, struck southern Chile, claiming at least 1,655 lives.
1962 - Continental Airlines Flight 11, en route from Chicago to Kansas City, Missouri, crashed after a bomb apparently brought on board by a passenger exploded, killing all 45 occupants of the Boeing 707.
1964 - Speaking at the University of Michigan, President Lyndon B. Johnson outlined the goals of his "Great Society," saying that it "rests on abundance and liberty for all" and "demands an end to poverty and racial injustice."
1968 - The nuclear-powered submarine USS Scorpion, with 99 men aboard, sank in the Atlantic Ocean. (The remains of the sub were later found on the ocean floor 400 miles southwest of the Azores.)
1969 - The lunar module of Apollo 10, with Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene Cernan aboard, flew to within nine miles of the moon’s surface in a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing.
1972 - President Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit Moscow and the Soviet Union.
1985 - U.S. sailor Michael L. Walker was arrested aboard the aircraft carrier Nimitz two days after his father, John A. Walker Jr. was apprehended; both were later convicted of spying for the Soviet Union. (Michael Walker served 15 years in prison and was released in 2000. John Walker Jr. died in prison in 2014.)
1990 - North Yemen and South Yemen merged to form the Republic of Yemen.
1992 - Johnny Carson hosted "The Tonight Show" for the final time on NBC.
2003 - The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution lifting the economic sanctions against Iraq and supporting the U.S.-led administration in Iraq.
2011 - At least 140 people are killed and hundreds more injured as a three-quarter-mile-wide tornado strikes Joplin, Missouri. The tornado is among the deadliest in the nation's history, destroying nearly a third of the city and damaging more than 8,000 buildings, including water and sewage treatment plants.
2012 - Tokyo Skytree, which at 634 (2,081 feet) meters high makes it the tallest tower in the world, opens to the public.
2012 - The Falcon 9, built by billionaire businessman Elon Musk, sped toward the International Space Station with a load of groceries and other supplies, marking the first time a commercial spacecraft had been sent to the orbiting outpost.
2017 - A suicide bomber set off an improvised explosive device that killed 22 people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England.
2020 - “Full House” star Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, pleaded guilty to paying half a million dollars into the University of Southern California as part of a college admissions bribery scheme. (Loughlin would spend two months behind bars; Giannulli began a five-month sentence in November 2020 and was released to home confinement in April 2021.)
Birthdays
22 - Paulina Chavez (actress)
25 - Camren Bicondova (actress)
32 - Anna Baryshnikov (actress)
37 - Novak Djokovic (tennis player)
38 - Julian Edelman (football player)
38 - Molly Ephraim (actress)
42 - Apolo Anton Ohno (speed skater)
43 - Bryan Danielson (professional wrestler)
45 - Maggie Q (actress)
45 - Vivian Green (singer)
46 - Katie Price (model)
46 - Ginnifer Goodwin (actress)
50 - A.J. Langer (actress)
50 - Sean Gunn (actor)
51 - Donell Jones (singer)
52 - Alison Eastwood (actress)
52 - Anna Belknap (actress)
54 - Naomi Campbell (model)
55 - Michael Kelly (actress)
57 - Brooke Smith (actress)
60 - Mark Christopher Lawrence (actor)
63 - Ann Cusack (actress)
81 - Tommy John (baseball player)
82 - Barbara Parkins (actres)
86 - Frank Converse (actor)
86 - Richard Benjamin (actor)
===================================
Today in Sports History - May 22
1968 - Willie Stargell (Pittsburgh Pirates) hit three home runs, a single and a double in a game against the Chicago Cubs.
1970 - The Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks were granted NHL franchises for the 1970-71 season.
1975 - The Kentucky Colonels defeat the Indiana Pacers in five games to win the ABA championship.
1977 - Janet Guthrie set the fastest time of the second weekend of qualifying, becoming the first woman to earn a starting spot in the Indianapolis 500 since its inception in 1911.
1985 - Pete Rose passed Hank Aaron as the National League all-time hits leader with 2,108.
1990 - Andre Dawson is intentionally walked a record five times in one game.
1994 - The new NBA franchise in Toronto announces the team name will be "Raptors."
2002 - Mark Prior became only the 14th Chicago Cubs player since 1920 to win his major league debut. The Cubs beat the Pirates 7-4.
2003 - At the Colonial in Fort Worth, TX, Annika Sorenstam became the first woman to play on the PGA tour in 58 years. She ended the day at 1-over par.
2003 - High school basketball star LeBron James signs a $90 million endorsement contract with Nike.
