May 22 Historical Events

The following events took place on May 22. The list is arranged in chronological order.

Found 71 events. Showing 31 - 60.

• 1915
  Lassen Peak erupts with a powerful force, and is the only mountain other than Mount St. Helens to erupt in the contiguous US during the 20th century.
• 1915
  Three trains collide in the Quintinshill rail disaster 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.
• 1926
  Chiang Kai-shek replaces communists in Kuomintang, China.
• 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.
• 1943
  Joseph Stalin disbands Comintern.
• 1945
  Operation Paperclip: United States Army Major Robert B. Staver recommends that the U.S. evacuate German scientists and engineers to help in the development of rocket technology.
• 1947
  Cold War: In an effort to fight the spread of Communism, the 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.
• 1961
  An earthquake rocks New South Wales.
• 1962
  Continental Airlines Flight 11 crashes after bombs explode on board.
• 1963
  Greek left-wing politician Grigoris Lambrakis, is shot and dies five days later.

• 1964
  The 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 center 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, India.
• 1987
  First ever Rugby World Cup kicks off with New Zealand playing Italy at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
• 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, the 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 Chandra Levy are found in Rock Creek Park.