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Today May 22nd 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
334 BC – The Greek army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus.
1176 – Murder attempt by the Hashshashin (Assassins) on Saladin near Aleppo.
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 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.
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 – The HMS Beagle departs on its first voyage, carrying Charles Darwin.
1840 – The transporting of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished.
1842 – Farmers Lester Howe and Henry Wetsel discover Howe Caverns when they stumble upon a large gaping hole in the ground.
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).
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 was officially opened
1903 – Launch of the White Star Liner, SS Ionic.
1906 – The 1906 Summer Olympics, not now recognized as part of the official Olympic Games, open in Athens.
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 – Five 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 – Start of Sri Lankan riots of 1958, this riot was 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.
1990 – North and South Yemen are unified to create the Republic of Yemen.
1990 – The Windows 3.0 operating system is released by Microsoft.
1992 – After 30 years, 66-year-old Johnny Carson hosts The Tonight Show for the last time.
Births
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, DC, 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 – Felipe, Prince of Asturias, of the Spanish Royal Family marries Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano.
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.
2006 – Results from the Montenegrin independence referendum, 2006 are announced. 55.4% of voters vote to become independent from the Serbia and Montenegro Union.
2008 – The Late-May 2008 tornado outbreak sequence unleashes 235 tornadoes, including an EF4 and an EF5 tornado, between 22 May and 31 May 2008. The tornadoes struck 19 states and one Canadian province.
Deaths
1381 – Saint Rita of Cascia, Italian Saint (d. 1457)
1622 – Louis de Buade de Frontenac, 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 Dallas, British Shakepearean 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, British 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, wife 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 – Paul Viiding, Estonian poet (d. 1962)
1907 – Hergé, Belgian comic-book creator (d. 1983)
1907 – 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)
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
1917 – Daniel Nagrin, American modern dancer and choreographer
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)
1927 – George Andrew Olah, Hungarian-born chemist, Nobel laureate
1927 – Michael Constantine, American actor
1927 – Phil Tucker, American director
1928 – T. Boone Pickens, Jr., American businessman
1930 – John Barth, American writer
1930 – Harvey Milk, American politician and civil rights activist (d. 1978)
1930 – Kenny Ball, British musician
1934 – Peter Nero, American musician
1934 – Arne Harris, American television sports director (d. 2001)
1935 – Ron Piché, Quebec baseball player
1936 – M. Scott Peck, American psychiatrist and writer (d. 2005)
1938 – Richard Benjamin, American actor
1938 – Susan Strasberg, American actress (d. 1999)
1940 – Bernard Shaw, American television journalist
1940 – Michael Sarrazin, Canadian actor
1941 – Paul Winfield, American actor (d. 2004)
1941 – Sir Menzies Campbell, British politician
1941 – Martha Langbein, German athlete
1942 – Theodore Kaczynski, American terrorist
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
1946 – Howard Kendall, English footballer and football manager
1946 – George Best, Northern Irish footballer (d. 2005)
1948 – Richard Baker, American politician
1950 – Alekos Alavanos, Greek politician
1950 – Bernie Taupin, English songwriter
1952 – Bernhard Brinkmann, German politician
1953 – Doris Barnett, German politician
1953 – Cha Bum-Kun, Korean footballer
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)
1956 – Al Corley, American actor and producer
1956 – Natasha Shneider, Russian-born musician
1957 – Lisa Murkowski, American politician
1957 – Gary Sweet, Australian actor
1959 – Steven Morrissey, English singer
1960 – Hideaki Anno, Japanese director
1961 – Ann Cusack, American actress
1962 – Brian Pillman, American professional wrestler (d. 1997)
1964 – Ashley Renee, American fetish model
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 – Kevin Carolan, American actor and comedian
1970 – Naomi Campbell, English model and actress
1970 – Pedro Diniz, Brazilian Formula One driver
1971 – Manuel Ortiz, Mexican professional wrestler
1972 – Anna Belknap, American actress
1972 – Annabel Chong, Singapore actress
1972 – Alison Eastwood, American actress and model
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 – A. J. Langer, American actress
1975 – Janne Niinimaa, Finnish ice-hockey player
1975 – Tracy Brookshaw, American professional wrestler and valet
1975 – Salvador Ballesta, Spanish footballer.
1977 – Alastair Ralphs, Canadian professional wrestler
1977 – Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Irish hurler
1977 – Dre Bly, American football player
1977 – Vinnie Potestivo, American TV Producer
1978 – Ginnifer Goodwin, American actress
1978 – Katie Price, British model
1979 – Nadia Khan, TV Presenter
1979 – Maggie Q, American actress
1980 – Rhett Fisher, actor/musician
1980 – Steven Baker, Australian rules footballer
1980 – Chad Tracy, American baseball player
1981 – Bryan Danielson, American professional wrestler
1981 – Jürgen Melzer, Austrian tennis player
1982 – Apolo Anton Ohno, American short track speed skater
1982 – John Bobek, American actor
1983 – John Hopkins, Anglo-American motorcycling racer
1984 – Joe Lauzon, American martial artist
1985 – Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Canadian ice-hockey player
1985 – Tranquillo Barnetta, Swiss footballer
1985 – Caridee English, American model
1987 – Novak Ðokovic, Serbian tennis player
Holidays and observances
337 – Constantine the Great, Roman Emperor (b. 272)
748 – Empress Gensho of Japan (b. 680)
1068 – Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan (b. 1025)
1455 – Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, English politician (killed in battle)
1455 – Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, English commander (killed in battle) (b. 1406)
1457 – Saint Rita of Cascia, Italian saint (b. 1381)
1538 – John Forrest, English Franciscan friar (martyred) (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)
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)
1988 – Giorgio Almirante, Italian politician (b. 1914)
1989 – Steven DeGroote, South African classical pianist (b. 1953)
1990 – Rocky Graziano, American boxer (b. 1922)
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)
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)
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