[Legs]

On this Day ~ May 22nd

0012 BC
A daytime meteor shower, possibly Zeta Perseid observed in China

337
Emperor Constantine dies. Although quite dead, his embalmed corpse continues to act as head of state, receving state dignitaries and daily reports from ministers as if nothing had changed.

760
14th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet

1176
Murder attempt by "Assassins" on Saladin near Aleppo

1200
Peace of Goulet

1370
Jews are expelled/massacred from Brussels Belgium

1455
Open battle in England's 30-year War of the Roses (St Albans)

1455
Richard of York takes St Albans, kidnapping King Henry VI

1526
Pope Clemens VII, France, Genoa, Venice, Florence & Milan form Anti-French League of Cognac

1570
1st atlas, with 70 maps, published

1746
Russia & Austria signs treaty of cooperation

1761
1st life insurance policy in US, issued in Philadelphia

1807
Townsend Speakman 1st sells fruit-flavored carbonated drinks (Philadelphia)

1819
1st steam propelled vessel to cross Atlantic (leaves Savannah GA)

1843
1st wagon train, 1000+ departs Independence MO for Oregon

1849
Abraham Lincoln patents a buoying device

1851
Hail the size of pumpkins falls on Bangalore, India.

1863
General Grant begins siege on Vicksburg

1863
War Department establishes Bureau of Colored Troops


1868
Great Train Robbery; 7 men make off with $98,000 in cash

1872
Amnesty Act restores civil rights to Southerners (except for 500)

1892
Dr Washington Sheffield invents toothpaste tube

1906
Wright Brothers patent a flying machine

1910
Johnny Olson, American game show announcer, is born

1926
"Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue" by Gene Austin hits #1

1927
8.3 earthquake strikes Nan-Shan China, 200,000 killed

1933
Loch Ness Monster is 1st reportedly sighted by John Mackay

1936
Aer Lingus is founded by the Irish government as the national airline of the Republic of Ireland.

1940
Prime Minister Winston Churchill flies to Paris

1942
México declares war on Nazi-Germany & Japan

1943
1st jet fighter is tested

1947
1st US ballistic missile fired

1955
Oldest man to drive in the Grand Prix (aged 55) finishes 6th

1956
"Bob Hope Show" last airs on NBC-TV

1957
South Africa Government approves race separation in universities

1961
1st revolving restaurant (Top Of The Space Needle in Seattle), opens

1965
Beatles' "Ticket to Ride" single goes #1

1967
"Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" debuts on NET (now PBS)

1967
Fire at L'Innovation department store kills 322 (Brussels, Belgium)

1972
US President Nixon begins visit Moscow

1973
President Nixon confesses his role in Watergate cover-up

1977
Final European scheduled run of the Orient Express (94 years)

1980
Marlo Thomas & Phil Donahue marry

1981
Peter Sutcliffe is convicted of murdering 13 women in the Yorkshire Ripper trial.

1987
30 killed in a Texas tornado

1990
Microsoft releases Windows 3.0

1992
California Angels are involved in a bus crash in New Jersey

1992
Johnny Carson's final appearance as host of the Tonight Show

1995
Laverne & Shirley 20th anniversary reunionn special, televised

1996
Emmy 23rd Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 16th time

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, DC, the remains of the missing Chandra Levy are found in Rock Creek Park.

2004
The U.S. town of Hallam, Nebraska, is wiped out by a powerful F4 tornado that broke a width record at an astounding 2.5 miles wide. It also killed one local resident.