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.
- 1915Lassen 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.
- 1915Three 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.
- 1926Chiang Kai-shek replaces communists in Kuomintang, China.
- 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.
- 1943Joseph Stalin disbands Comintern.
- 1945Operation 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.
- 1947Cold 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.
- 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.
- 1961An earthquake rocks New South Wales.
- 1962Continental Airlines Flight 11 crashes after bombs explode on board.
- 1963Greek left-wing politician Grigoris Lambrakis, is shot and dies five days later.
- 1964The 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.
- 1967The 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.
- 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.
- 1987Hashimpura massacre in Meerut, India.
- 1987First ever Rugby World Cup kicks off with New Zealand playing Italy at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
- 1990North and South Yemen are unified to create the Republic of Yemen.
- 1990Microsoft releases the Windows 3.0 operating system.
- 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, the 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.
- 2002In Washington, D.C., the remains of Chandra Levy are found in Rock Creek Park.
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