May 22

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MMXI

May 22 in recent years

2011 (Sunday)

2010 (Saturday)

2009 (Friday)

2008 (Thursday)

2007 (Tuesday)

2006 (Monday)

2005 (Sunday)

2004 (Saturday)

2003 (Thursday)

2002 (Wednesday)

May 22 is the 142nd day of the year (143rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 223 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 334 BC – The Macedonian army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus.
• 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt
• 1176 – The Hashshashin (Assassins) attempt to murder Saladin near Aleppo.
• 1254 – Serbian King Stephen Uroš I and the Republic of Venice sign a peace treaty.
• 1377 – Pope Gregory XI issues five papal bulls to denounce the doctrines of English theologian John Wycliffe.
• 1455 – Wars of the Roses: at the First Battle of St Albans, Richard, Duke of York, defeats and captures King Henry VI of England.
• 1762 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Hamburg.
• 1807 – A grand jury indicts former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr on a charge of treason.
• 1807 – Most of the English town of Chudleigh is destroyed by fire
• 1809 – On the second and last day of the Battle of Aspern-Essling (near Vienna), Napoleon is repelled by an enemy army for the first time.
• 1816 – A mob in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England, riots over high unemployment and rising grain costs; the rioting spreads to Ely the next day.
• 1819 – The SS Savannah leaves port at Savannah, Georgia, United States, on a voyage to become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The ship arrived at Liverpool, England on June 20.
• 1826 – HMS Beagle departs on its first voyage.
• 1840 – The transporting of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished.
• 1843 – Thousands of people and their cattle head west via wagon train from Independence, Missouri to what would later become the Oregon Territory. It is part of the Great Migration. They follow what is now known as the Oregon Trail.
• 1844 – Persian Prophet The Báb announces his revelation, founding Bábism. He announces to the world the coming of "He whom God shall make manifest". He is considered the forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith.
• 1848 – Slavery is abolished in Martinique.
• 1856 – Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beats Senator Charles Sumner with a cane in the hall of the United States Senate for a speech Sumner had made attacking Southerners who sympathized with the pro-slavery violence in Kansas ("Bleeding Kansas").
• 1863 – American Civil War: Siege of Port Hudson – Union forces begin to lay siege to the Confederate-controlled Port Hudson, Louisiana.
• 1871 – The U.S. Army issued an order for abandonment of Fort Kearny in Nebraska.
• 1872 – Reconstruction: U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signs the Amnesty Act of 1872 into law restoring full civil rights to all but about 500 Confederate sympathizers.
• 1897 – The Blackwall Tunnel under the River Thames is officially opened
• 1903 – Launch of the White Star Liner, SS Ionic.
• 1906 – The Wright brothers are granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their "Flying-Machine".
• 1915 – Lassen Peak erupts with a powerful force, and is the only mountain other than Mount St. Helens to erupt in the continental US during the 20th century.
• 1915 – Three trains collide in the Quintinshill rail crash near Gretna Green, Scotland, killing 227 people and injuring 246; the accident is found to be the result of non-standard operating practices during a shift change at a busy junction.
• 1936 – Aer Lingus (Aer Loingeas) is founded by the Irish government as the national airline of the Republic of Ireland.
• 1939 – World War II: Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel.
• 1942 – Mexico enters World War II on the side of the Allies.
• 1942 – The Steel Workers Organizing Committee disbands, and a new trade union, the United Steelworkers, is formed.
• 1942 – World War II: Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox enlists in the United States Marine Corps as a flight instructor.
• 1947 – Cold War: in an effort to fight the spread of Communism, U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs an act into law that will later be called the Truman Doctrine. The act grants $400 million in military and economic aid to Turkey and Greece, each battling an internal Communist movement.
• 1958 – Sri Lankan riots of 1958: This riot is a watershed event in the race relationship of the various ethnic communities of Sri Lanka. The total number of deaths is estimated to be 300, mostly Sri Lankan Tamils.
• 1960 – An earthquake measuring 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale, now known as the Great Chilean Earthquake, hits southern Chile. It is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded.
• 1962 – Continental Airlines Flight 11 crashes after bombs explode on board.
• 1963 – Assassination attempt of Greek left-wing politician Gregoris Lambrakis, who will die five days afterwards.
• 1964 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces the goals of his Great Society social reforms to bring an "end to poverty and racial injustice" in America.
• 1967 – The L'Innovation department store in the centre of Brussels, Belgium, burns down. It is the most devastating fire in Belgian history, resulting in 323 dead and missing and 150 injured.
• 1968 – The nuclear-powered submarine the USS Scorpion sinks with 99 men aboard 400 miles southwest of the Azores.
• 1969 – Apollo 10's lunar module flies within 8.4 nautical miles (16 km) of the moon's surface.
• 1972 – Ceylon adopts a new constitution, thus becoming a Republic, changes its name to Sri Lanka, and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.
• 1980 – Namco releases the highly influential arcade game Pac-Man.
• 1987 – Hashimpura massacre in Meerut city of India.
• 1987 – First ever Rugby World Cup kicks off with New Zealand playing Italy at Eden Park, Auckland.
• 1990 – North and South Yemen are unified to create the Republic of Yemen.
• 1990 – Microsoft releases the Windows 3.0 operating system.
• 1992 – After 30 years, 66-year-old Johnny Carson hosts The Tonight Show for the last time.
• 1992 – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia join the United Nations.
• 1997 – Kelly Flinn, US Air Force's first female bomber pilot certified for combat, accepts a general discharge in order to avoid a court martial.
• 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: a federal judge rules that United States Secret Service agents can be compelled to testify before a grand jury concerning the scandal, involving President Bill Clinton.
• 2002 – In Washington, D.C., the remains of the missing Chandra Levy are found in Rock Creek Park.
• 2002 – American civil rights movement: a jury in Birmingham, Alabama, convicts former Ku Klux Klan member Bobby Frank Cherry of the 1963 murders of four girls in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church.
• 2003 – In Fort Worth, Texas, Annika Sörenstam becomes the first woman to play the PGA Tour in 58 years.
• 2004 – The U.S. town of Hallam, Nebraska, is wiped out by a powerful F4 tornado (part of the May 2004 tornado outbreak sequence) that broke a width record at an astounding 2.5 miles (4.0 km) wide, which kills one resident.
• 2008 – The Late-May 2008 tornado outbreak sequence unleashes 235 tornadoes, including an EF4 and an EF5 tornado, between May 22 and May 31, 2008. The tornadoes struck 19 states and one Canadian province.
• 2011– An EF5 Tornado strikes the US city of Joplin, Missouri killing at least 158 people, the single deadliest US tornado since modern record keeping began in 1950.

Births

• 1622 – Louis de Buade de Frontenac, French governor of New France (d. 1698)
• 1715 – François-Joachim de Pierre de Bernis, French cardinal and statesman (d. 1794)
• 1724 – Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, French explorer (d. 1772)
• 1770 – Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom (d. 1840)
• 1772 – Ram Mohan Roy, Hindu reformer (d. 1833)
• 1783 – William Sturgeon, English physicist and inventor (d. 1850)
• 1808 – Gérard de Nerval, French writer (d. 1855)
• 1813 – Richard Wagner, German composer (d. 1883)
• 1823 – Solomon Bundy, American politician (d. 1889)
• 1823 – Isabella Glyn, British actress (d. 1889)
• 1841 – Catulle Mendès, French poet (d. 1909)
• 1844 – Mary Cassatt, American artist (d. 1926)
• 1849 – Louis Perrier, Swiss politician (d. 1913)
• 1859 – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Scottish physician and writer (d. 1930)
• 1874 – Daniel François Malan, Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 1959)
• 1879 – Warwick Armstrong, Australian cricketer (d. 1947)
• 1879 – Alla Nazimova, Ukrainian-born actress, scriptwriter, and producer (d. 1945)
• 1885 – Giacomo Matteotti, Italian politician (d. 1924)
• 1885 – Toyoda Soemu, Japanese admiral (d. 1957)
• 1891 – Eddie Edwards, American jazz trombonist (d. 1963)
• 1900 – Yvonne de Gaulle, widow of Charles de Gaulle (d. 1979)
• 1901 – Maurice J. Tobin, 56th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1953)
• 1902 – Al Simmons, American baseball player (d. 1956)
• 1903 – Yves Rocard, French physicist (d. 1992)
• 1904 – Pyotr Sobolevsky, Soviet actor (d. 1977)
• 1904 – Paul Viiding, Estonian poet (d. 1962)
• 1907 – Hergé, Belgian comic-book creator (d. 1983)
• 1907 – Sir Laurence Olivier, English stage and screen actor (d. 1989)
• 1908 – Rattana Pestonji, Thai filmmaker (d. 1970)
• 1908 – Horton Smith. American golfer (d. 1963)
• 1910 – Johnny Olson, American game show announcer (d. 1985)
• 1911 – Anatol Rapoport, Russian-born mathematical psychologist and pianist (d. 2007)
• 1912 – Herbert C. Brown, English-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
• 1913 – František Jílek, Czech conductor (d. 1993)
• 1914 – Vance Packard, American author (d. 1996)
• 1914 – Sun Ra, American musician (d. 1993)
• 1914 – Edward Arthur Thompson, British historian (d. 1994)
• 1917 – Georg Tintner, Austrian-born conductor (d. 1999)
• 1917 – Nathan Davis, American actor (d. 2008)
• 1917 – Daniel Nagrin, American modern dancer and choreographer (d. 2008)
• 1920 – Thomas Gold, Austrian astrophysicist (d. 2004)
• 1922 – Quinn Martin, American television producer (d. 1987)
• 1924 – Charles Aznavour, Armenian-French singer, actor, and composer
• 1925 – James King, American tenor (d. 2005)
• 1925 – Jean Tinguely, Swiss artist (d. 1991)
• 1926 – Peter Wilson, English Polymath (d. 2009)
• 1927 – George Andrew Olah, Hungarian-born chemist, Nobel laureate
• 1927 – Michael Constantine, American actor
• 1927 – Phil Tucker, American director (d. 1985)
• 1928 – T. Boone Pickens, Jr., American businessman
• 1930 – Harvey Milk, American politician and civil rights activist (d. 1978)
• 1930 – Kenny Ball, British musician
• 1932 – Merry Anders, American actress
• 1934 – Peter Nero, American musician
• 1934 – Arne Harris, American television sports director (d. 2001)
• 1935 – Ron Piché, Canadian baseball player
• 1936 – M. Scott Peck, American psychiatrist and writer (d. 2005)
• 1938 – Richard Benjamin, American actor
• 1938 – Frank Converse, American actor
• 1938 – Susan Strasberg, American actress (d. 1999)
• 1940 – Bernard Shaw, American television journalist
• 1940 – Michael Sarrazin, Canadian actor (d. 2011)
• 1941 – Paul Winfield, American actor (d. 2004)
• 1941 – Sir Menzies Campbell, British politician
• 1941 – Martha Langbein, German athlete
• 1942 – Ted Kaczynski. American terrorist, known as the Unabomber
• 1942 – Calvin Simon, American musician (P Funk)
• 1942 – Barbara Parkins, Canadian actress
• 1943 – Tommy John, American baseball player
• 1943 – Betty Williams, Northern Irish political activist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
• 1943 – Gesine Schwan, German politician and science professor
• 1944 – Vaiko, Indian politician
• 1946 – Howard Kendall, English footballer and football manager
• 1946 – George Best, Northern Irish footballer (d. 2005)
• 1947 – Andreas Gerasimos Michalitsianos, Greek-American astronomer and a NASA astrophysicist (d. 1997)
• 1948 – Richard Baker, American politician
• 1950 – Alekos Alavanos, Greek politician
• 1950 – Bernie Taupin, English songwriter
• 1951 – Kenneth Bianchi, American serial killer
• 1952 – Bernhard Brinkmann, German politician
• 1953 – Doris Barnett, German politician
• 1953 – Cha Bum-Kun, Korean footballer
• 1953 – Paul Mariner, English footballer & football manager
• 1955 – Jimmy Lyon, American guitarist (Eddie Money)
• 1955 – Dale Winton, British radio DJ and television presenter
• 1955 – Jerry Dammers, English musician (The Specials)
• 1955 – Chalmers "Spanky" Alford, American jazz guitarist (d. 2008)
• 1955 – Iva Davies, Australian rock star (Icehouse)
• 1956 – Al Corley, American actor and producer
• 1956 – Natasha Shneider, Russian-born musician (d. 2008)
• 1957 – Lisa Murkowski, American politician
• 1957 – Gary Sweet, Australian actor
• 1958 – Denise Welch, English actress and presenter
• 1959 – Steven Morrissey, English singer
• 1960 – Hideaki Anno, Japanese director
• 1961 – Mike Breen, American sportscaster
• 1961 – Ann Cusack, American actress
• 1962 – Brian Pillman, American professional wrestler (d. 1997)
• 1964 – Mark Christopher Lawrence, American Actor & Standup Comedian
• 1964 – Ashley Renee, American fetish model
• 1965 – Fanis Christodoulou, Greek basketball player
• 1966 – Kenny Hickey, American guitarist (Type O Negative)
• 1966 – Jose Mesa, Dominican baseball player
• 1967 – Brooke Smith, American actress
• 1967 – John Vanderslice, American musician
• 1968 – Randy Brown, American basketball player
• 1968 – Kevin Carolan, American actor and comedian
• 1968 – Graham Linehan, Irish television writer and director (Black Books, The IT Crowd)
• 1969 – Michael Joseph Kelly, American Actor
• 1970 – Naomi Campbell, British model and actress
• 1970 – Pedro Diniz, Brazilian Formula One driver
• 1970 – Paddy Atkinson, English footballer and assistant manager
• 1971 – Manuel Ortiz, Mexican professional wrestler
• 1971 – Raimund Marasigan,Filipino Musician
• 1972 – Anna Belknap, American actress
• 1972 – Annabel Chong, Singapore-born pornographic actress
• 1972 – Alison Eastwood, American actress and model
• 1972 – Riley Dobi Noel, American convicted murderer (d. 2004)
• 1973 – Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Danish actor
• 1973 – Julián Tavárez, Dominican baseball player
• 1973 – Danny Tiatto, Australian footballer
• 1974 – John Bale, American baseball player
• 1974 – Sean Gunn, American actor
• 1974 – Graham Fenton, English footballer
• 1974 – A. J. Langer, American actress
• 1975 – Janne Niinimaa, Finnish ice-hockey player
• 1975 – Tracy Brookshaw, American professional wrestler and valet
• 1975 – Salva Ballesta, Spanish footballer
• 1976 – Daniel Erlandsson, drummer of Swedish death metal band Arch Enemy
• 1977 – Alastair Ralphs, Canadian professional wrestler
• 1977 – Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Irish hurler
• 1977 – Dre Bly, American football player
• 1977 – Tom Chambers, British actor
• 1977 – Vinnie Potestivo, American TV producer
• 1978 – Ginnifer Goodwin, American actress
• 1978 – Katie Price, British model and reality TV personality
• 1979 – Nadia Khan, Pakistani TV presenter
• 1979 – Maggie Q, American actress
• 1980 – Steven Baker, Australian Australian rules footballer
• 1980 – Rhett Fisher, American actor and musician
• 1980 – Chad Tracy, American baseball player
• 1980 – Lucy Gordon, British model and actress (d. 2009)
• 1981 – Bryan Danielson, American professional wrestler
• 1981 – Melissa Gregory, American figure skater
• 1981 – Jürgen Melzer, Austrian tennis player
• 1982 – Apolo Anton Ohno, American short track speed skater
• 1982 – Erin McNaught, Australian beauty paegent and TV presenter
• 1982 – Alex Smith, American football player
• 1983 – John Hopkins, American motorcycling racer
• 1984 – Joe Lauzon, American martial artist
• 1985 – Tranquillo Barnetta, Swiss footballer
• 1985 – Chrissie Chau, Hong Kong model
• 1985 – Mauro Boselli, Argentine Footballer
• 1985 – CariDee English, American model
• 1985 – Graham Harrell, American football player
• 1985 – Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1986 – Luca Gentili, Italian footballer
• 1986 – Matt Jarvis, English footballer
• 1987 – Arturo Vidal, Chilean footballer
• 1987 – Novak Djokovic, Serbian tennis player
• 1988 – Emre Anuk, German footballer
• 1988 – Pape M'Bow, Senegalese footballer
• 1992 – Chinami Tokunaga, Japanese singer
• 1993 – Ben Lewis, English photographer

Deaths

• 192 – Dong Zhuo, Chancellor of Han (slain by his adoptive son Lü Bu) (b. 138)
• 337 – Constantine the Great, Roman Emperor (b. 272)
• 748 – Empress Genshō of Japan (b. 680)
• 985 – Saint Bobo of Provence
• 1068 – Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan (b. 1025)
• 1455 – Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, English politician
• 1455 – Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, English commander (b. 1406)
• 1457 – Saint Rita of Cascia, Italian saint (b. 1381)
• 1538 – John Forrest, English Franciscan friar (b. 1471)
• 1540 – Francesco Guicciardini, Italian historian (b. 1483)
• 1666 – Gaspar Schott, German scientist (b. 1608)
• 1667 – Pope Alexander VII (b. 1599)
• 1745 – François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, French military leader (b. 1671)
• 1746 – Thomas Southerne, Irish dramatist (b. 1660)
• 1760 – Israel ben Eliezer, Polish-born mystical rabbi (b. 1700)
• 1772 – Durastante Natalucci, Italian historian (b. 1687)
• 1795 – Ewald Friedrich, Count von Hertzberg, Prussian statesman (b. 1725)
• 1851 – Mordecai Manuel Noah, American writer, journalist (b. 1755)
• 1859 – King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (b. 1810)
• 1861 – Thornsbury Bailey Brown, first Union soldier to be killed by a Confederate soldier in the American Civil War (b. 1829)
• 1868 – Julius Plücker, German mathematician and physicist (b. 1801)
• 1885 – Victor Hugo, French author (b. 1802)
• 1901 – Gaetano Bresci, Italian-American anarchist (b. 1869)
• 1910 – Jules Renard, French author (b. 1864)
• 1932 – Lady Gregory, Irish playwright (b. 1852)
• 1939 – Ernst Toller, German author (b. 1893)
• 1939 – Jiri Mahen, Czech author (b. 1882)
• 1965 – Christopher Stone, first disc jockey in the United Kingdom (b. 1882)
• 1966 – Tom Goddard, English cricketer (b. 1900)
• 1967 – Langston Hughes, American writer (b. 1902)
• 1972 – Cecil Day-Lewis, Irish poet and writer (b. 1904)
• 1972 – Margaret Rutherford, English actress (b. 1892)
• 1975 – Lefty Grove, American baseball player (b. 1900)
• 1983 – Albert Claude, Belgian biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1899)
• 1985 – Wolfgang Reitherman, German-American Disney animator, director and producer (b. 1909)
• 1988 – Giorgio Almirante, Italian politician (b. 1914)
• 1989 – Steven DeGroote, South African classical pianist (b. 1953)
• 1990 – Rocky Graziano, American boxer (b. 1922)
• 1991 – Stan Mortensen, English professional footballer (b. 1921)
• 1992 – Zellig Harris, American linguist (b. 1909)
• 1997 – Alfred Hershey, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1908)
• 1997 – Renzo Montagnani, Italian actor (b. 1930)
• 1998 – José Enrique Moyal, mathematical physicist (b. 1910)
• 1998 – John Derek, American actor, director and photographer (b. 1926)
• 2003 – Ousmane Zongo, Burkinabé shooting victim
• 2004 – Richard Biggs, American actor (b. 1960)
• 2004 – Mikhail Voronin, Russian gymnast (b. 1945)
• 2005 – Charilaos Florakis, Greek politician, long-time General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (b. 1914)
• 2005 – Julia Randall, American poet (b. 1924)
• 2005 – Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor and singer (b. 1914)
• 2006 – Lee Jong-wook, Korean Director-General of the World Health Organisation (b. 1945)
• 2006 – Heather Crowe, Canadian activist (b. 1945)
• 2008 – Robert Asprin, American author (b. 1946)

Holidays and observances

• Abolition Day (Martinique)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Castus and Emilius
  • Fulk
  • Humilita
  • Julia of Corsica
  • Quiteria
  • Rita of Cascia
  • Romanus of Subiaco
  • May 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Harvey Milk Day (California)
• International Day for Biological Diversity (International)
• National Maritime Day (United States)
• National Sovereignty Day (Haiti)
• Republic Day (Sri Lanka)
• Unity Day or National Day, celebrate the unification of North and South Yemen into the Republic of Yemen in 1990.

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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