Wednesday, May 22, 2013

May 22nd in History



334 BC - The Macedonian army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus.

337 - Emperor Constantine the Great dies

853 - A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt


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.

1802 - Martha Washington, wife of George Washington, 1st First Lady of the United States dies

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 20th.

1826 - HMS Beagle departs on its first voyage.

1848 - Slavery is abolished in Martinique.

1903 - Launch of the White Star Liner, SS Ionic.


1939 - World War II: Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel.

1942 - Mexico enters World War II on the side of the Allies.


1943 - Joseph Stalin disbands Comintern.


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 - 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.

1964 - US 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 - Vietnam War: Vinh Xuan massacre.

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.


1992 - Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia join the United Nations.

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.


2012 - Tokyo Skytree is opened to public. Its the tallest tower in world (634 m), and the second tallest man-made structure on Earth, after Burj Khalifa (829.8 m).


Famous Birthdays

1770 - Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom

1874 - Daniel François Malan, 5th Prime Minister of South Africa 

1900 - Yvonne de Gaulle, wife of Charles de Gaulle 

1927 - Michael Constantine, actor

1940 - Michael Sarrazin, actor

1957 - Gary Sweet, actor

1970 - Naomi Campbell, model and actress

1978 - Katie Price, model, businesswoman, and author

1981 - Jürgen Melzer, tennis player

1987 - Novak Djokovic, tennis player

1991 - Nathan Norman, actor, singer, and dancer 



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