What happened on May 22? There are more than 271 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About May 22
May 22 is the 143rd day of the year 2024. There are 223 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday. This day falls under the 21st week of the year 2024.
On this day in Brookings, South Dakota 57007 sunrise will occur at 05:50 AM and sunset will occur at 08:57 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Gemini. The modern birthstone for this month is Emerald while the mystical birthstone is Sapphire.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 252 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 21 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For May 22
- 334 BCThe Macedonian army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus.
- 853A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt
- 1176The Hashshashin (Assassins) attempt to murder Saladin near Aleppo.
- 1254Serbian King Stephen Uroš I and the Republic of Venice sign a peace treaty.
- 1377Pope Gregory XI issues five papal bulls to denounce the doctrines of English theologian John Wycliffe.
- 1455Wars of the Roses: at the First Battle of St Albans, Richard, Duke of York, defeats and captures King Henry VI of England.
- 1762Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Hamburg.
- 1807A grand jury indicts former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr on a charge of treason.
- 1807Most of the English town of Chudleigh is destroyed by fire
- 1809On the second and last day of the Battle of Aspern-Essling (near Vienna), Napoleon is repelled by an enemy army for the first time.
- 1816A mob in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England, riots over high unemployment and rising grain costs; the rioting spreads to Ely the next day.
- 1819The 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.
- 1826HMS Beagle departs on its first voyage.
- 1840The transporting of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished.
- 1843Thousands 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.
- 1844Persian 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.
- 1848Slavery is abolished in Martinique.
- 1856Congressman 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”).
- 1863American Civil War: Siege of Port Hudson – Union forces begin to lay siege to the Confederate-controlled Port Hudson, Louisiana.
- 1871The U.S. Army issued an order for abandonment of Fort Kearny in Nebraska.
- 1872Reconstruction: 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.
- 1897The Blackwall Tunnel under the River Thames is officially opened
- 1903Launch of the White Star Liner, SS Ionic.
- 1906The Wright brothers are granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their “Flying-Machine”.
- 1915Lassen 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.
- 1915Three 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.
- 1936Aer Lingus (Aer Loingeas) is founded by the Irish government as the national airline of the Republic of Ireland.
- 1939World War II: Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel.
- 1942Mexico enters World War II on the side of the Allies.
- 1942The Steel Workers Organizing Committee disbands, and a new trade union, the United Steelworkers, is formed.
- 1942World War II: Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox enlists in the United States Marine Corps as a flight instructor.
- 1947Cold 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.
- 1958Sri 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.
- 1960An 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.
- 1962Continental Airlines Flight 11 crashes after bombs explode on board.
- 1963Assassination attempt of Greek left-wing politician Gregoris Lambrakis, who will die five days afterwards.
- 1964U.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.
- 1967The 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.
- 1968The nuclear-powered submarine the USS Scorpion sinks with 99 men aboard 400 miles southwest of the Azores.
- 1969Apollo 10's lunar module flies within 8.4 nautical miles (16 km) of the moon’s surface.
- 1972Ceylon adopts a new constitution, thus becoming a Republic, changes its name to Sri Lanka, and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.
- 1980Namco releases the highly influential arcade game Pac-Man.
- 1987First ever Rugby World Cup kicks off with New Zealand playing Italy at Eden Park, Auckland.
- 1987Hashimpura massacre in Meerut city of India.
- 1990Microsoft releases the Windows 3.0 operating system.
- 1990North and South Yemen are unified to create the Republic of Yemen.
- 1992After 30 years, 66-year-old Johnny Carson hosts The Tonight Show for the last time.
- 1992Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia join the United Nations.
- 1997Kelly Flinn, US Air Force’s first female bomber pilot certified for combat, accepts a general discharge in order to avoid a court martial.
- 1998Lewinsky 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.
- 2002American 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.
- 2002In Washington, D.C., the remains of the missing Chandra Levy are found in Rock Creek Park.
- 2003In Fort Worth, Texas, Annika Sörenstam becomes the first woman to play the PGA Tour in 58 years.
- 2004The 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 mi wide, which kills one resident.
- 2008The 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.
- 2010Air India Express Flight 812 overshoots the runway and crashes. 158 people are killed.
- 2011An EF5 Tornado strikes the US city of Joplin, Missouri killing up to 161 people. It is the single deadliest US tornado since modern record keeping began in 1950.
Who Were Born On May 22?
- 1622Louis de Buade de Frontenac, French governor of New France (d. 1698)
- 1715François-Joachim de Pierre de Bernis, French cardinal and statesman (d. 1794)
- 1724Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, French explorer (d. 1772)
- 1770Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom (d. 1840)
- 1772Ram Mohan Roy, Hindu reformer (d. 1833)
- 1783William Sturgeon, English physicist and inventor (d. 1850)
- 1808Gérard de Nerval, French writer (d. 1855)
- 1813Richard Wagner, German composer (d. 1883)
- 1823Isabella Glyn, British actress (d. 1889)
- 1823Solomon Bundy, American politician (d. 1889)
- 1841Catulle Mendès, French poet (d. 1909)
- 1844Mary Cassatt, American artist (d. 1926)
- 1849Louis Perrier, Swiss politician (d. 1913)
- 1859Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Scottish physician and writer (d. 1930)
- 1874Daniel François Malan, Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 1959)
- 1879Alla Nazimova, Ukrainian-born actress, scriptwriter, and producer (d. 1945)
- 1879Warwick Armstrong, Australian cricketer (d. 1947)
- 1885Giacomo Matteotti, Italian politician (d. 1924)
- 1885Toyoda Soemu, Japanese admiral (d. 1957)
- 1891Eddie Edwards, American jazz trombonist (d. 1963)
- 1900Yvonne de Gaulle, widow of Charles de Gaulle (d. 1979)
- 1901Maurice J. Tobin, 56th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1953)
- 1902Al Simmons, American baseball player (d. 1956)
- 1903Yves Rocard, French physicist (d. 1992)
- 1904Paul Viiding, Estonian poet (d. 1962)
- 1904Pyotr Sobolevsky, Soviet actor (d. 1977)
- 1907Hergé, Belgian comic-book creator (d. 1983)
- 1907Sir Laurence Olivier, English stage and screen actor (d. 1989)
- 1908Horton Smith. American golfer (d. 1963)
- 1908Rattana Pestonji, Thai filmmaker (d. 1970)
- 1910Johnny Olson, American game show announcer (d. 1985)
- 1911Anatol Rapoport, Russian-born mathematical psychologist and pianist (d. 2007)
- 1912Herbert C. Brown, English-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
- 1913František Jílek, Czech conductor (d. 1993)
- 1914Edward Arthur Thompson, British historian (d. 1994)
- 1914Sun Ra, American musician (d. 1993)
- 1914Vance Packard, American author (d. 1996)
- 1917Daniel Nagrin, American modern dancer and choreographer (d. 2008)
- 1917Georg Tintner, Austrian-born conductor (d. 1999)
- 1917Nathan Davis, American actor (d. 2008)
- 1920Thomas Gold, Austrian astrophysicist (d. 2004)
- 1922Quinn Martin, American television producer (d. 1987)
- 1924Charles Aznavour, Armenian-French singer, actor, and composer
- 1925James King, American tenor (d. 2005)
- 1925Jean Tinguely, Swiss artist (d. 1991)
- 1926Peter Wilson, English Polymath (d. 2009)
- 1927George Andrew Olah, Hungarian-born chemist, Nobel laureate
- 1927Michael Constantine, American actor
- 1927Phil Tucker, American director (d. 1985)
- 1928T. Boone Pickens, Jr., American businessman
- 1930Harvey Milk, American politician and civil rights activist (d. 1978)
- 1930Kenny Ball, British musician
- 1932Merry Anders, American actress
- 1934Arne Harris, American television sports director (d. 2001)
- 1934Peter Nero, American musician
- 1935Ron Piché, Canadian baseball player
- 1936M. Scott Peck, American psychiatrist and writer (d. 2005)
- 1938Frank Converse, American actor
- 1938Richard Benjamin, American actor
- 1938Susan Strasberg, American actress (d. 1999)
- 1940Bernard Shaw, American television journalist
- 1940Michael Sarrazin, Canadian actor (d. 2011)
- 1941Martha Langbein, German athlete
- 1941Paul Winfield, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1941Sir Menzies Campbell, British politician
- 1942Barbara Parkins, Canadian actress
- 1942Calvin Simon, American musician (P Funk)
- 1942Ted Kaczynski. American terrorist, known as the Unabomber
- 1943Betty Williams, Northern Irish political activist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- 1943Gesine Schwan, German politician and science professor
- 1943Tommy John, American baseball player
- 1944Vaiko, Indian politician
- 1946George Best, Northern Irish footballer (d. 2005)
- 1946Howard Kendall, English footballer and football manager
- 1947Andreas Gerasimos Michalitsianos, Greek-American astronomer and a NASA astrophysicist (d. 1997)
- 1948Richard Baker, American politician
- 1950Alekos Alavanos, Greek politician
- 1950Bernie Taupin, English songwriter
- 1951Kenneth Bianchi, American serial killer
- 1952Bernhard Brinkmann, German politician
- 1953Cha Bum-Kun, Korean footballer
- 1953Doris Barnett, German politician
- 1953Paul Mariner, English footballer & football manager
- 1955Chalmers “Spanky” Alford, American jazz guitarist (d. 2008)
- 1955Dale Winton, British radio DJ and television presenter
- 1955Iva Davies, Australian rock star (Icehouse)
- 1955Jerry Dammers, English musician (The Specials)
- 1955Jimmy Lyon, American guitarist (Eddie Money)
- 1956Al Corley, American actor and producer
- 1956Natasha Shneider, Russian-born musician (d. 2008)
- 1957Gary Sweet, Australian actor
- 1957Lisa Murkowski, American politician
- 1958Denise Welch, English actress and presenter
- 1959Steven Morrissey, English singer
- 1960Hideaki Anno, Japanese director
- 1961Ann Cusack, American actress
- 1961Mike Breen, American sportscaster
- 1962Brian Pillman, American professional wrestler (d. 1997)
- 1964Mark Christopher Lawrence, American Actor & Standup Comedian
- 1965Fanis Christodoulou, Greek basketball player
- 1966Jose Mesa, Dominican baseball player
- 1966Kenny Hickey, American guitarist (Type O Negative)
- 1966Scott Putski, Former American professional Wrestler.
- 1967Brooke Smith, American actress
- 1967John Vanderslice, American musician
- 1968Graham Linehan, Irish television writer and director (Black Books, The IT Crowd)
- 1968Kevin Carolan, American actor and comedian
- 1968Randy Brown, American basketball player
- 1969Michael Joseph Kelly, American Actor
- 1970Naomi Campbell, British model and actress
- 1970Paddy Atkinson, English footballer and assistant manager
- 1970Pedro Diniz, Brazilian Formula One driver
- 1971Manuel Ortiz, Mexican professional wrestler
- 1971Raimund Marasigan,Filipino Musician
- 1972Alison Eastwood, American actress and model
- 1972Anna Belknap, American actress
- 1972Riley Dobi Noel, American convicted murderer (d. 2004)
- 1973Danny Tiatto, Australian footballer
- 1973Julián Tavárez, Dominican baseball player
- 1973Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Danish actor
- 1974A. J. Langer, American actress
- 1974Graham Fenton, English footballer
- 1974John Bale, American baseball player
- 1974Sean Gunn, American actor
- 1975Janne Niinimaa, Finnish ice-hockey player
- 1975Salva Ballesta, Spanish footballer
- 1975Tracy Brookshaw, American professional wrestler and valet
- 1976Daniel Erlandsson, drummer of Swedish death metal band Arch Enemy
- 1977Alastair Ralphs, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1977Dre Bly, American football player
- 1977Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Irish hurler
- 1977Tom Chambers, British actor
- 1977Vinnie Potestivo, American TV producer
- 1978Ginnifer Goodwin, American actress
- 1978Katie Price, British model and reality TV personality
- 1979Maggie Q, American actress
- 1979Nadia Khan, Pakistani TV presenter
- 1980Chad Tracy, American baseball player
- 1980Lucy Gordon, British model and actress (d. 2009)
- 1980Rhett Fisher, American actor and musician
- 1980Steven Baker, Australian Australian rules footballer
- 1981Bryan Danielson, American professional wrestler
- 1981Jürgen Melzer, Austrian tennis player
- 1981Melissa Gregory, American figure skater
- 1982Alex Smith, American football player
- 1982Apolo Anton Ohno, American short track speed skater
- 1982Erin McNaught, Australian beauty paegent and TV presenter
- 1983John Hopkins, American motorcycling racer
- 1984Joe Lauzon, American martial artist
- 1985CariDee English, American model
- 1985Chrissie Chau, Hong Kong model
- 1985Graham Harrell, American football player
- 1985Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985Mauro Boselli, Argentine Footballer
- 1985Tranquillo Barnetta, Swiss footballer
- 1986Luca Gentili, Italian footballer
- 1986Matt Jarvis, English footballer
- 1987Arturo Vidal, Chilean footballer
- 1987Novak Djokovic, Serbian tennis player
- 1988Pape M'Bow, Senegalese footballer
- 1992Chinami Tokunaga, Japanese singer
- 1993Ben Lewis, English photographer
Who Died On May 22?
- 192Dong Zhuo, Chancellor of Han (slain by his adoptive son Lü Bu) (b. 138)
- 337Constantine the Great, Roman Emperor (b. 272)
- 748Empress Genshō of Japan (b. 680)
- 985Saint Bobo of Provence
- 1068Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan (b. 1025)
- 1455Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, English commander (b. 1406)
- 1455Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, English politician
- 1457Saint Rita of Cascia, Italian saint (b. 1381)
- 1538John Forrest, English Franciscan friar (b. 1471)
- 1540Francesco Guicciardini, Italian historian (b. 1483)
- 1666Gaspar Schott, German scientist (b. 1608)
- 1667Pope Alexander VII (b. 1599)
- 1745François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, French military leader (b. 1671)
- 1746Thomas Southerne, Irish dramatist (b. 1660)
- 1760Israel ben Eliezer, Polish-born mystical rabbi (b. 1700)
- 1772Durastante Natalucci, Italian historian (b. 1687)
- 1795Ewald Friedrich, Count von Hertzberg, Prussian statesman (b. 1725)
- 1851Mordecai Manuel Noah, American writer, journalist (b. 1755)
- 1859King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (b. 1810)
- 1861Thornsbury Bailey Brown, first Union soldier to be killed by a Confederate soldier in the American Civil War (b. 1829)
- 1868Julius Plücker, German mathematician and physicist (b. 1801)
- 1885Victor Hugo, French author (b. 1802)
- 1901Gaetano Bresci, Italian-American anarchist (b. 1869)
- 1910Jules Renard, French author (b. 1864)
- 1932Lady Gregory, Irish playwright (b. 1852)
- 1939Ernst Toller, German author (b. 1893)
- 1939Jiri Mahen, Czech author (b. 1882)
- 1965Christopher Stone, first disc jockey in the United Kingdom (b. 1882)
- 1966Tom Goddard, English cricketer (b. 1900)
- 1967Langston Hughes, American writer (b. 1902)
- 1972Cecil Day-Lewis, Irish poet and writer (b. 1904)
- 1972Margaret Rutherford, English actress (b. 1892)
- 1975Lefty Grove, American baseball player (b. 1900)
- 1983Albert Claude, Belgian biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1899)
- 1985Wolfgang Reitherman, German-American Disney animator, director and producer (b. 1909)
- 1988Giorgio Almirante, Italian politician (b. 1914)
- 1989Steven DeGroote, South African classical pianist (b. 1953)
- 1990Rocky Graziano, American boxer (b. 1922)
- 1991Stan Mortensen, English professional footballer (b. 1921)
- 1992Zellig Harris, American linguist (b. 1909)
- 1997Alfred Hershey, American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1908)
- 1997Renzo Montagnani, Italian actor (b. 1930)
- 1998John Derek, American actor, director and photographer (b. 1926)
- 1998José Enrique Moyal, mathematical physicist (b. 1910)
- 2003Ousmane Zongo, Burkinabé shooting victim
- 2004Mikhail Voronin, Russian gymnast (b. 1945)
- 2004Richard Biggs, American actor (b. 1960)
- 2005Charilaos Florakis, Greek politician, long-time General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (b. 1914)
- 2005Julia Randall, American poet (b. 1924)
- 2005Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor and singer (b. 1914)
- 2006Heather Crowe, Canadian activist (b. 1945)
- 2006Lee Jong-wook, Korean Director-General of the World Health Organisation (b. 1945)
- 2008Robert Asprin, American author (b. 1946)
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