TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – MAY 22
334 BC The Macedonian army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus
1455 King Henry VI is taken prisoner by the Yorkists at the Battle of St. Albans, during the War of the Roses.
1570 1st atlas ‘Theatrum Orbis Terrarum’ (Theatre of the World), published by Abraham Ortelius in Antwerp with 70 maps
1761 The first life insurance policy in the United States was issued in Philadelphia.
1804 The Lewis and Clark Expedition officially begins as the Corps of Discovery departs from St. Charles, Missouri.
1807 Former Vice President Aaron Burr is tried for treason in Richmond VA (acquitted)
1843 1st wagon train with 700 – 1000 migrants, departs Independence, Missouri for Oregon
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.
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.
1892 Dr Washington Sheffield invents toothpaste tube
1900 Associated Press organizes in NYC as non-profit news cooperative
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 Harry S. Truman’s Doctrine brought aid to Greece and Turkey to combat the spread of Communism.
1953 President Eisenhower signs Offshore Oil Bill
1967 “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” debuts on NET (now PBS)
1972 Richard Nixon arrived in Moscow, becoming the first U.S. president to visit the Soviet Union.
1980 The arcade game Pac-Man is released
The game featuring a dot-munching round yellow figure moving through a maze has become one of the best-known video games in history. It was produced by Namco.
1981 The Yorkshire ripper Peter Sutcliffe has been found guilty of killing 13 women and the attempted murder of 7 others. and is sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in jail.
1990 Microsoft releases Windows 3.0
1992 Johnny Carson’s final appearance as host of the Tonight Show
2003 The UN Security Council approved a resolution lifting the economic sanctions against Iraq and supporting the U.S.-led administration in Iraq.
2014 Royal Thai Armed Forces, led by General Prayut Chan-o-cha stage a coup in Thailand, suspending the kingdom’s constitution and taking control of the government, the 12th since the country’s first coup in 1932
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
