| 1246 |
|
Henry Raspe is elected anti-king by the Rhenish prelates in France. |
| 1455 |
|
King Henry VI is taken prisoner by the Yorkists at the Battle of St. Albans, during the War of the Roses. |
| 1804 |
|
The Lewis and Clark Expedition officially begins as the Corps of Discovery departs from St. Charles, Missouri. |
| 1856 |
|
U.S. Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beats Senator Charles Sumner with a cane for Sumner's earlier condemnation of slavery, which included an insult to Brooks' cousin, Senator Andrew Butler. |
| 1863 |
|
Union General Ulysses S. Grant's second attack on Vicksburg fails and a siege begins. |
| 1868 |
|
The "Great Train Robbery" takes place as seven members of the Reno Gang make off with $98,000 in cash from a train's safe in Indiana. |
| 1872 |
|
The Amnesty Act restores civil rights to Southerners. |
| 1882 |
|
The United States formally recognizes Korea. |
| 1908 |
|
The Wright brothers register their flying machine for a U.S. patent. |
| 1939 |
|
Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini sign a "Pact of Steel" forming the Axis powers. |
| 1947 |
|
The Truman Doctrine brings aid to Turkey and Greece. |
| 1967 |
|
The children's program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood premiers. |
| 1972 |
|
Ceylon becomes the Republic of Sri Lanka as its constitution is ratified. |
| 1985 |
|
Baseball player Pete Rose passes Hank Aaron as National League run scoring leader with 2,108. |
| 1987 |
|
An Iraqi missile hits the American frigate USS Stark in the Persian Gulf. |
| 1990 |
|
In the Middle East, North and South Yemen merge to become a single state. |
| |
|
Born on May 22 |
| 1813 |
|
Richard Wagner, German composer. |
| 1828 |
|
Albrecht von Grafe, German eye surgeon, founder of modern opthamology. |
| 1844 |
|
Mary Cassatt, impressionist painter. |
| 1859 |
|
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author, creator of the Sherlock Holmes series. |
| 1907 |
|
Laurence Olivier, actor. |
| 1920 |
|
Thomas Gold, astronomer. |
| 1927 |
|
Peter Mathiessen, writer. |
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