Did you know
In 1840, The penal transportation of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
May 22 in History
1840 — The penal transportation of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished
May 22 spans 79 recorded events across recorded history, from 192 to 2026. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
79 events
192 – 2026
Today in history
More major events on May 22
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1848 Slavery is abolished in Martinique. Source
- 2002 Civil rights movement: A jury in Birmingham, Alabama, convicts former Ku Klux Klan member Bobby Frank Cherry of the 1963 murder of four girls in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Source
- 2012 SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 2 launches a Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket in the first commercial flight to the International Space Station. Source
Did you know
Penal transportation was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies became their destination. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
While the prisoners may have been released once the sentences were served, they generally did not have the resources to return home. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.
Did you know
In 1840, The penal transportation of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
Did you know
In 1840, The penal transportation of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu.
2nd-century Chinese military general and warlord
Dong Zhuo, courtesy name Zhongying, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. At the end of the reign of the Eastern Han, Dong Zhuo was a general and powerful minister of the imperial government. Originally from Liang Province, Dong Zhuo seized control of the imperial capital Luoyang in 189 when it entered a state of turmoil following the death of Emperor Ling of Han and a massacre of the eunuch faction by the court officials.
192
Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
Periodic comet
Halley's Comet is the only known short-period comet that is consistently visible to the naked eye from Earth, appearing roughly every 75–76 years, though with the majority of recorded apparitions occurring after 75–77 years. It last appeared in the inner parts of the Solar System in 1986 and will next appear in mid-2061. Officially designated 1P/Halley, it is also commonly called Comet Halley, or sometimes simply Halley.
760
A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt.
Part of the Arab–Byzantine wars
The Sack of Damietta was a successful raid on the port city of Damietta on the Nile Delta by the Byzantine navy on 22–24 May 853. The city, whose garrison was absent at the time, was sacked and plundered, yielding not only many captives but also large quantities of weapons and supplies intended for the Arab Emirate of Crete. The Byzantine attack, which was repeated in the subsequent years, shocked the Abbasid authorities, and urgent measures were taken to refortify the coasts and strengthen the local fleet, beginning a revival of the Egyptian navy that culminated in the Tulunid and Fatimid periods.
853
The Hashshashin (Assassins) attempt to assassinate Saladin near Aleppo.
Nizari Isma'ili military order (1090–1256)
The Order of Assassins was a Nizari Isma'ili Shia Islamic military order founded by Hasan-i Sabbah in 1090. Based in the Nizari Isma'ili state, which comprised a network of mountain castles in Persia and Syria, they conducted several high-profile assassinations throughout the Levant during the Crusades. The Assassins held a strict subterfuge policy in the region and are believed to have killed hundreds of people who were deemed enemies of their state over the course of 200 years, including other Shias, as well as Sunnis and Christians alike.
1176
King John of England and King Philip II of France sign the Treaty of Le Goulet.
King of England from 1199 to 1216
John was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empire and contributing to the subsequent growth in power of the French Capetian dynasty during the 13th century. The baronial revolt at the end of John's reign led to the sealing of Magna Carta, a document considered a foundational milestone in English and later British constitutional history.
1200
Henry Raspe is elected anti-king of the Kingdom of Germany in opposition to Conrad IV.
German nobleman and throne claimant (c. 1204 – 1247)
Henry Raspe was the Landgrave of Thuringia from 1231 until 1239 and again from 1241 until his death. In 1246, with the support of the Papacy, he was elected King of Germany in opposition to Conrad IV, but his contested reign lasted a mere nine months.
1246
Serbian King Stefan Uroš I and the Republic of Venice sign a peace treaty.
Serbian state (1217–1346)
The Kingdom of Serbia, also known by historical exonym Rascia, was a medieval Serbian kingdom in Southern Europe comprising most of what is today Serbia, Kosovo, and Montenegro, as well as southeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, parts of coastal Croatia south of the Neretva river, Albania north of the Drin River, North Macedonia, and a small part of western Bulgaria.
1254
Brussels massacre: An estimated 13 Jews are murdered and the rest of the Jewish community is banished from Brussels, Belgium, in an anti-Semitic attack, for allegedly desecrating consecrated Host.
1370 killing of Jews in Brussels, present-day Belgium
The Brussels massacre was an antisemitic episode in Brussels in 1370 in connection with an alleged host desecration at the Brussels synagogue. In May 22, a number of Jews, variously given as six or about twenty, were executed or otherwise killed, while the rest of the small community was banished. Many Jews from then on migrated further east to both modern day Germany and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
1370
Pope Gregory XI issues five papal bulls to denounce the doctrines of English theologian John Wycliffe.
Head of the Catholic Church from 1370 to 1378
Pope Gregory XI was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1370 to his death, in March 1378. He was the seventh and last Avignon pope and the most recent French pope. In 1377, Gregory XI returned the papal court to Rome, ending nearly 70 years of papal residency in Avignon, in modern-day France. His death was swiftly followed by the Western Schism involving two Avignon-based antipopes.
1377
Start of the Wars of the Roses: At the First Battle of St Albans, Richard, Duke of York, defeats and captures King Henry VI of England.
Series of civil wars in England (1455–1487)
The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in the following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought for control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fought between supporters of the House of York and the House of Lancaster, two rival cadet branches of the royal House of Plantagenet. The conflict resulted in the end of Lancaster's male line in 1471, leaving the Tudor family to inherit, through the female line, the Lancaster claim to the throne. Conflict was largely brought to an end upon the union of the two houses through marriage, creating the Tudor dynasty that would subsequently rule England.
1455
The massacre at the festival of Tóxcatl takes place during the Fall of Tenochtitlan, resulting in turning the Aztecs against the Spanish.
1520 killing of unarmed Aztec elites by Spaniards during the conquest of the Aztec Empire
The Massacre in the Great Temple, also called the Toxcatl Massacre, or the Alvarado Massacre, was an event on 22 May 1520, in the Mexica, also known as the Aztec, capital of Tenochtitlan during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, in which the celebration of the Feast of Toxcatl ended in a massacre of Mexica elites.
1520
Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and Danish King Christian IV sign the Treaty of Lübeck ending Danish intervention in the Thirty Years' War.
Ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 800 to 1806
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period, was the ruler and head of state of the Holy Roman Empire. The title was held in conjunction with the title of King of Italy from the 8th to the 16th century, and, almost without interruption, with the title of King of Germany throughout the 12th to 18th centuries.
1629
Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Hamburg.
German state from 1525 to 1947
Prussia was a German state centred on the North European Plain. It originated from the 1525 secularization act of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, expanding its size with the Prussian Army. Prussia, with its capital at Königsberg and then, when it became the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, Berlin, decisively shaped the history of Germany. Prussia formed the German Empire when it united the German states in 1871. It was de facto dissolved by an emergency decree transferring powers of the Prussian government to German Chancellor Franz von Papen in 1932 and de jure by an Allied decree in 1947.
1762
Trevi Fountain is officially completed and inaugurated in Rome.
Fountain in Rome, Italy
The Trevi Fountain is an 18th-century fountain in the Trevi district in Rome, Italy, designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762. Standing 26.3 metres (86 ft) high and 49.15 metres (161.3 ft) wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the world and one of the most famous fountains in the world.
1762
A large earthquake causes heavy damage and loss of life in Istanbul and the Marmara region.
Earthquake in Turkey
The 1766 Istanbul earthquake was a strong earthquake with epicenter in the eastern part of the Sea of Marmara, in the Çınarcık Basin which occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning, 22 May 1766. The earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.1 on the surface-wave magnitude scale, and caused effects in a vast area extending from Izmit to Rodosto. In this area, the earthquake was followed by a tsunami which caused significant damage. The earthquake of 1766 was the last major earthquake to rock Istanbul because of a rupture of the North Anatolian Fault in the Marmara region.
1766
The Lewis and Clark Expedition officially begins as the Corps of Discovery departs from St.
Charles, Missouri.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select group of U.S. Army and civilian volunteers under the command of Captain Meriwether Lewis and his close friend Second Lieutenant William Clark. Clark, along with 30 others, set out from Camp Dubois, Illinois, on May 14, 1804, met Lewis and ten other members of the group in St. Charles, Missouri, then went up the Missouri River. The expedition crossed the Continental Divide of the Americas near the Lemhi Pass, eventually coming to the Columbia River, and the Pacific Ocean in 1805. The return voyage began on March 23, 1806, at Fort Clatsop, Oregon, ending six months later on September 23.
1804
A grand jury indicts former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr on a charge of treason.
Jury that screens potential prosecutions
A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand jury is separate from the courts, which do not preside over its functioning.
1807
On the second and last day of the Battle of Aspern-Essling (near Vienna, Austria), Napoleon I is defeated in a major battle for the first time in his career, and repelled by an enemy army for the first time in a decade.
1809 battle during the War of the Fifth Coalition
In the Battle of Aspern–Essling, Napoleon crossed the Danube near Vienna, but the French and their allies were attacked and forced back across the river by the Austrians under Archduke Charles. It was the first time Napoleon had been personally defeated in a major battle, as well as his first battle defeat in 10 years since the siege of Acre, and his first battle defeat as head of state, although he did suffer a tactical defeat in the Battle of Caldiero and in the Second Battle of Bassano. Archduke Charles drove out the French but fell short of destroying their army. The French lost over 20,000 men, including one of Napoleon's ablest field commanders and closest friends, Marshal Jean Lannes.
1809
A mob in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England, riots over high unemployment and rising grain costs, and the riots spread to Ely the next day.
Town in Cambridgeshire, England
Littleport is a town in East Cambridgeshire, in the Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about 6 miles (10 km) north-east of Ely and 6 miles (10 km) south-east of Welney, on the Bedford Level South section of the River Great Ouse, close to Burnt Fen and Mare Fen. It is served by Littleport railway station. There are two primary schools, Millfield Primary and Littleport Community, and a secondary, Vista Academy. The Littleport riots of 1816 influenced the passage of the Vagrancy Act 1824.
1816
SS Savannah leaves port at Savannah, Georgia, United States, on a voyage to become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
Hybrid sailing/steampowered ship built in 1818; first steamship to cross the Atlantic
SS Savannah was an American hybrid sailing ship/sidewheel steamer built in 1818. She was the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean, transiting mainly under sail power from May to June 1819. In spite of this historic voyage, the great space taken up by her large engine and its fuel at the expense of cargo, and the public's anxiety over embracing her revolutionary steam power, kept Savannah from being a commercial success as a steamship. Originally laid down as a sailing packet, she was, following a severe and unrelated reversal of the financial fortunes of her owners, converted back into a sailing ship shortly after returning from Europe.
1819
HMS Beagle departs on its first voyage.
10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy; notably carried Charles Darwin
HMS Beagle was a Cherokee-class 10-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, one of more than 100 ships of this class. The vessel, constructed at a cost of £7,803, was launched on 11 May 1820 from the Woolwich Dockyard on the River Thames. Later reports say the ship took part in celebrations of the coronation of George IV, passing under the old London Bridge, and was the first rigged man-of-war afloat upriver of the bridge. There was no immediate need for Beagle, so she "lay in ordinary", moored afloat but without masts or rigging. She was then adapted as a survey barque and took part in three survey expeditions.
1826
The Associated Press is formed in New York City as a non-profit news cooperative.
American not-for-profit news agency
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, major U.S. daily newspapers and radio and television broadcasters. Since the Pulitzer Prize was established in 1917, the AP has earned 60 of them, including 36 for photography. The AP distributes its widely used AP Stylebook, its AP polls tracking NCAA sports, and its election polls and results during U.S. elections. It sponsors the National Football League's annual awards.
1846
Slavery is abolished in Martinique.
This is a page on the history of the island of Martinique.
1848
Future U.S.
President Abraham Lincoln is issued a patent for an invention to lift boats, making him the only U.S. president to ever hold a patent.
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.
1849
Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina severely beats Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts with a cane in the hall of the United States Senate for a speech Sumner had made regarding Southerners and slavery.
Lower house of the U.S. Congress
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the United States Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of the Constitution of the United States in enumerated matters to pass or defeat federal legislation, known as bills. Those that are also passed by the Senate are sent to the president for signature or veto. The House's exclusive powers include initiating all revenue bills, impeaching federal officers, and electing the president if no candidate receives a majority of votes in the Electoral College.
1856
American Civil War: Union forces begin the Siege of Port Hudson which lasts 48 days, the longest siege in U.S.
military history.
The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy, which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union to preserve slavery in the United States. The South saw slavery as threatened because of the election of Abraham Lincoln and the growing abolitionist movement in the North. The war ended with Union victory, the dissolution of the Confederacy and the abolition of slavery, freeing four million African Americans.
1863
American Civil War: After ten weeks, the Union Army's Red River Campaign ends in failure.
Land branch of the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War
During the American Civil War, the United States Army, the land force that fought to preserve the collective Union of the states, was often referred to as the Union army, Federal army, or Northern army. It proved essential to the restoration and preservation of the United States as a working, viable republic.
1864
Oliver Winchester founds the Winchester Repeating Arms.
American businessman and politician
Oliver Fisher Winchester was an American businessman and politician, best known as being the founder of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company.
1866
Reconstruction Era: President Ulysses S.
Grant signs the Amnesty Act into law, restoring full civil and political rights to all but about 500 Confederate sympathizers.
The Reconstruction era, often simply called Reconstruction, was a period in United States history that followed the American Civil War (1861–1865) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the abolition of slavery and federal control over, and reintegration of, the former Confederate States into the United States. Three amendments were added to the United States Constitution to grant citizenship and equal civil rights to the newly freed slaves. To circumvent these, former Confederate states imposed poll taxes and literacy tests and sought to intimidate and control the Black population and discourage or prevent them from voting.
1872
Verdi's Requiem is first performed at San Marco in Milan on the first anniversary of Alessandro Manzoni's death.
1874 musical setting of the funeral mass
The Messa da Requiem is a musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass (Requiem) for four soloists, double choir and orchestra by Giuseppe Verdi. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, whom Verdi admired, and is therefore also referred to as the Manzoni Requiem. The first performance, at the San Marco church in Milan on 22 May 1874, conducted by the composer, marked the first anniversary of Manzoni's death. It was followed three days later by the same performers at La Scala. Verdi conducted his work at major venues in Europe.
1874
The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Abdul Hamid II establishes the Ullah millet for the Aromanians of the empire.
For this reason, the Aromanian National Day is sometimes celebrated on this day, although most do so on May 23 instead, which is when this event was publicly announced.
The sultans of the Ottoman Empire, who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty, ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its height, the Ottoman Empire spanned an area from Hungary in the north to Yemen in the south and from Algeria in the west to Iraq in the east. Administered at first from the city of Söğüt from before 1280 and then from the city of Bursa from 1323 or 1324, the empire's capital was moved to Adrianople in 1363 following its conquest by Murad I and then to Constantinople in 1453 following its conquest by Mehmed II.
1905
The Wright brothers are granted U.S.
patent number 821,393 for their "Flying-Machine".
The Wright brothers, Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright, were American aviation pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first successful airplane. They made the first controlled, sustained flight of an engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft with the Wright Flyer on December 17, 1903, four miles (6 km) south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, at what is now known as Kill Devil Hills. In 1904 the Wright brothers developed the Wright Flyer II, which made longer-duration flights including the first circle, followed in 1905 by the first truly practical fixed-wing aircraft, the Wright Flyer III.
1906
Lassen Peak erupts with a powerful force, the only volcano besides Mount St.
Helens to erupt in the contiguous U.S. during the 20th century.
Lassen Peak, commonly referred to as Mount Lassen, is a 10,457-foot (3,187 m) lava dome volcano in Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California. Located in the Shasta Cascade region above the northern Sacramento Valley, it is the southernmost active volcano in the Cascade Range of the Western United States, and part of the Cascade Volcanic Arc stretching from southwestern British Columbia to Northern California. It supports many flora and fauna among its diverse habitats, which reach high elevations and are subject to frequent snowfall.
1915
Three trains collide in the Quintinshill rail disaster near Gretna Green, Scotland, killing 227 people and injuring 246.
1915 railway accident in Scotland
The Quintinshill rail disaster was a multi-train rail crash which occurred on 22 May 1915 outside the Quintinshill signal box near Gretna Green in Dumfriesshire, Scotland. It resulted in the deaths of over 200 people and remains the worst rail disaster in British history.
1915
A British army defeats a force of the Darfur Sultanate under Sultan Ali Dinar due to its superior firepower in the battle of Beringia.
The British Army during the First World War fought the largest and most costly war in its long history. Unlike the French and German Armies, the British Army was made up exclusively of volunteers, as opposed to conscripts, at the beginning of the conflict. Furthermore, the British Army was considerably smaller than its French and German counterparts. During the First World War, there were four distinct British armies. The first comprised approximately 247,000 soldiers of the regular army, over half of whom were posted overseas to garrison the British Empire, supported by some 210,000 reserves and a potential 60,000 additional reserves.
1916
Chiang Kai-shek replaces the communists in Kuomintang China.[vague]
Leader of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1975
Chiang Kai-shek was a Chinese military commander, revolutionary, and statesman who was the President of the Republic of China from 1948 to 1975 and the head of the Nationalist government from 1925 to 1948. As the de facto leader of the Republic of China (ROC), he ruled the country through World War II and oversaw the relocation of its government to Taiwan following defeat in the Chinese Civil War.
1926
Near Xining, China, an 8.3 magnitude earthquake causes 200,000 deaths in one of the world's most destructive earthquakes.
City in Qinghai, China
Xining is the capital and most populous city of Qinghai province in western China and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. As of the 2020 census, it had 2,467,965 inhabitants, of whom 1,954,795 lived in the built-up area made of 5 urban districts. The city lies in the Huangshui River Valley, also known as Tsongkha, and owing to its high altitude, has a cool climate on the borderline between cool semi-arid and dry winter humid continental.
1927
World War II: Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many engaging in total war on an unprecedented scale. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the deaths of 60 to 75 million people, a majority of whom were civilians. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.
1939
During the Anglo-Iraqi War, British troops take Fallujah.
1941 campaign during World War II
The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq, then ruled by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état with assistance from Germany and Italy. The campaign resulted in the downfall of Gaylani's government, the re-occupation of Iraq by the British, and the return to power of the Regent of Iraq, Prince 'Abd al-Ilah, a British ally.
1941
Mexico enters the Second World War on the side of the Allies.
The history of Mexico spans over three millennia, with the earliest evidence of hunter-gatherer settlement 13,000 years ago. Central and southern Mexico, known as Mesoamerica, saw the rise of complex civilizations that developed glyphic writing systems to record political histories and conquests. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire in the early 16th century established New Spain, bringing Spanish rule, Christianity, and European influences.
1942
Joseph Stalin disbands the Comintern.
Leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1953
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was a Soviet revolutionary and politician who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held office as the General Secretary of the Communist Party from 1922 to 1952 and as the premier from 1941 until his death. Despite initially governing the country as part of a collective leadership, he eventually consolidated power to become a dictator by the 1930s. Stalin codified the Communist Party's official interpretation of Marxism as Marxism–Leninism, and his version of it is referred to as Stalinism.
1943
Cold War: The Truman Doctrine goes into effect, aiding Turkey and Greece.
1947–1991 geopolitical rivalry between US and USSR
The Cold War was a period of international geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc. It began in the aftermath of the Second World War and ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The term cold war is used because there was no direct fighting between the two superpowers, though each supported opposing sides in regional conflicts known as proxy wars. In addition to the struggle for ideological and economic influence and an arms race in both conventional and nuclear weapons, the Cold War was expressed through technological rivalries such as the Space Race, espionage, propaganda campaigns, embargoes, and sports diplomacy.
1947
Finnish President J.
K. Paasikivi releases Yrjö Leino from his duties as interior minister after the Finnish parliament adopted a motion of censure of Leino with connection to his illegal handing over of nineteen people to the Soviet Union in 1945.
Juho Kusti Paasikivi was a Finnish politician who served as the president of Finland from 1946 to 1956. Representing the Finnish Party until its dissolution in 1918 and then the National Coalition Party, he previously served as senator, member of parliament, envoy to Stockholm (1936–1939) and Moscow (1940–1941), and Prime Minister of Finland. He also held several other positions of trust, and was an influential figure in Finnish economics and politics for over fifty years.
1948
South Africa's government approves of racial separation in universities.
South African system of racial segregation
Apartheid was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an authoritarian political culture based on baasskap, which ensured that South Africa was dominated politically, socially, and economically by the nation's minority white population. Under this minoritarian system, white citizens held the highest status, followed by Indians, Coloureds and black Africans, in that order. The economic legacy and social effects of apartheid continue to the present day, particularly inequality.
1957
The 1958 riots in Ceylon become a watershed in the race relations of various ethnic communities of Sri Lanka.
The total deaths are estimated at 300, mostly Tamils.
The 1958 anti-Tamil pogrom and riots in Ceylon, also known as the 58 riots, refer to the first island-wide ethnic riots and pogrom to target the minority Tamils in the Dominion of Ceylon after it became an independent dominion from Britain in 1948. The riots lasted from 22 May until 29 May 1958 although sporadic disturbances happened after the declaration of emergency on 27 May 1958. The estimates of the murders range, based on recovered bodies, from 158 to 1,500. Although most of the victims were Tamils, Sinhalese and their property were also affected by retaliatory attacks by Tamil mobs throughout the Batticaloa and Jaffna districts. As the first full-scale race riot in the country in over forty years, the events of 1958 shattered the trust the communities had in one another and led to further polarisation.
1958
The Great Chilean earthquake, measuring 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale, hits southern Chile, becoming the most powerful earthquake ever recorded.
9.4–9.6 magnitude earthquake in Chile
The 1960 Valdivia earthquake and tsunami or the Great Chilean earthquake occurred on 22 May 1960. Most studies have placed it at 9.4–9.6 on the moment magnitude scale, making it the strongest earthquake ever recorded, while some studies have placed the magnitude lower than 9.4. It occurred in the afternoon, and lasted 10 minutes. The resulting tsunamis affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia, and the Aleutian Islands.
1960
Continental Airlines Flight 11 crashes in Unionville, Missouri after bombs explode on board, killing 45.
1962 airliner bombing
Continental Airlines Flight 11, registration N70775, was a Boeing 707 aircraft which exploded in the vicinity of Centerville, Iowa, United States, while en route from O'Hare Airport, Chicago, Illinois, to Kansas City, Missouri, on May 22, 1962. The aircraft crashed in a clover field near Unionville, in Putnam County, Missouri, killing all 45 crew and passengers on board. The investigation determined the cause of the crash was a suicide bombing, committed as insurance fraud.
1962
Greek left-wing politician Grigoris Lambrakis is clubbed over the head, causing his death five days later.
20th-century Greek physician, left-wing politician, and anti-war activist
Grigoris Lambrakis was a Greek politician, physician, athlete, and lecturer. He participated in track and field sports and was a member of the faculty of the School of Medicine at the University of Athens. A member of the Greek resistance to Axis rule during World War II, he later became a prominent anti-war activist. His assassination by right-wing extremists that were allegedly supported by the police and military provoked mass protests and led to a political crisis.
1963
U.S.
President Lyndon B. Johnson launches his Great Society program.
Lyndon Baines Johnson, also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. Johnson was vice president under John F. Kennedy from 1961 until Kennedy's assassination in 1963, when he assumed the presidency. Before becoming vice president, he served in both houses of the U.S. Congress, representing Texas as a member of the Democratic Party.
1964
Egypt closes the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping.
Sea passages between Egypt and Saudi Arabia
The Straits of Tiran are the narrow sea passages between the Sinai and Arabian peninsulas that connect the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea. The distance between the two peninsulas is about 13 km. The Multinational Force and Observers monitors the compliance of Egypt in maintaining freedom of navigation of the straits, as provided under the Egypt–Israel peace treaty.
1967
L'Innovation department store in Brussels, Belgium, burns down, resulting in 323 dead or missing and 150 injured, the most devastating fire in Belgian history.
1967 fire in a department store in Brussels, Belgium
The L'Innovation fire was a fire that took place at the À L'Innovation department store on the Rue Neuve/Nieuwstraat in central Brussels, Belgium, on 22 May 1967. More than 150 firefighters were mobilised to fight it, 251 people were killed, 62 injured, and the department store itself, the work of the Art Nouveau architect Victor Horta, was destroyed.
1967
The nuclear-powered submarine USS Scorpion sinks with 99 men aboard, 400 nautical miles (740 km) southwest of the Azores.
Watercraft capable of independent underwater operation
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or informally to refer to remotely operated vehicles and robots, or to medium-sized or smaller vessels. Submarines are referred to as boats rather than ships regardless of their size.
1968
Apollo 10's Lunar Module flies within 8.4 nautical miles (16 km) of the Moon's surface.
Second crewed mission to orbit the Moon
Apollo 10 was the fourth human spaceflight in the United States' Apollo program and the second to orbit the Moon. NASA, the mission's operator, described it as a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing. It was designated an "F" mission, intended to test all spacecraft components and procedures short of actual descent and landing.
1969
Ceylon adopts a new constitution, becoming a republic and changing its name to Sri Lanka.
Fundamental law of Sri Lanka from 1972 to 1978
The Sri Lankan Constitution of 1972 was a constitution of Sri Lanka, replaced by the 1978 constitution currently in force. It was Sri Lanka's first republican constitution, and its second since independence in 1948. The constitution changed the country's name from Ceylon to Sri Lanka, and established it as an independent republic. The country was officially designated as the "Republic of Sri Lanka," leading to the constitution being known as the 1972 Republican Constitution. The constitution was promulgated on 22 May 1972.
1972
Over 400 women in Derry, Northern Ireland attack the offices of Sinn Féin following the shooting by the Irish Republican Army of a young British soldier on leave.
City in Northern Ireland
Derry, officially Londonderry, is a cathedral city in Northern Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Foyle. Cityside and the old walled city are on the west bank and Waterside is on the east, with two road bridges and one footbridge crossing the river in-between.
1972
Hashimpura massacre occurs in Meerut, India.
1987 mass killing of Muslim youths by police in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India
The Hashimpura massacre was the killing of 42 Indian Muslim men by police on or around 22 May 1987 near Meerut in Uttar Pradesh state, India, during the 1987 Meerut communal riots. Around 19+ personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary rounded up 42 Indian Muslim youths from the Hashimpura mohalla (locality) of the city, took them to the outskirts of the city, shot them in cold blood and dumped their bodies in a nearby irrigation canal. A few days later, the dead bodies were found floating in the canal and a case of murder was registered. Eventually, 19 personnel of the provincial constabulary were accused of committing the massacre. In May 2000, 16 of the 19 accused surrendered and were later released on bail. The other three accused died in the intervening period. In 2002, the Supreme Court of India ordered that the case trial should be transferred from the Ghaziabad district court to a Sessions Court at the Tis Hazari court complex in Delhi.
1987
First ever Rugby World Cup kicks off with New Zealand playing Italy at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
1st Rugby World Cup
The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches while Australia hosted 11 matches. The tournament was won by New Zealand, who were the strong favourites and won all their matches comfortably. New Zealand defeated France 29–9 in the final at Eden Park in Auckland. The New Zealand team was captained by David Kirk and included such rugby greats as Sean Fitzpatrick, John Kirwan, Grant Fox and Michael Jones. Wales finished third, and Australia fourth, after conceding crucial tries in the dying seconds of both their semi-final against France and the third-place play-off against Wales.
1987
North and South Yemen are unified to create the Republic of Yemen.
Country in West Asia (1962–1990)
The Yemen Arab Republic, also known as Yemen (Sanaʽa) and commonly referred to as North Yemen, was a country that existed from 1962 until its unification with the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen in 1990, in the northwestern part of what is now Yemen. Its capital was Sana'a. It bordered South Yemen to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the north and the Red Sea to the west, sharing maritime borders with Djibouti and the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
1990
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia join the United Nations.
Country in Southeast Europe
Bosnia and Herzegovina, often referred to as Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to the north and southwest, with a 20-kilometre-long (12-mile) coast on the Adriatic Sea in the south. Bosnia has a moderate continental climate with hot summers and cold, snowy winters. Its geography is largely mountainous, particularly in the central and eastern regions, which are dominated by the Dinaric Alps. Herzegovina, the smaller, southern region, has a Mediterranean climate and is mostly mountainous. Sarajevo is the capital and the largest city.
1992
A worldwide trade embargo against Haiti goes into effect to punish its military rulers for not reinstating the country's ousted elected leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Country in the Caribbean
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country in the Caribbean on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica and south of The Bahamas. It occupies the western side of the island, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Haiti is the third largest country in the Caribbean by area, and with an estimated population of 11.4 million, it is the most populous Caribbean country. The capital and largest city is Port-au-Prince.
1994
The Burmese military regime jails 71 supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi in a bid to block a pro-democracy meeting.
Burmese politician (born 1945)
Aung San Suu Kyi is a Burmese politician, diplomat and author who served as State Counsellor of Myanmar and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2021. She has served as the general secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD) since the party's founding in 1988 and was registered as its chairperson while it was a legal party from 2011 to 2023. She played a vital role in Myanmar's transition from military junta to partial democracy in the 2010s. She has been widely described as the de facto leader of Myanmar from 2016 to 2021. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.
1996
A U.S.
federal judge rules that U.S. Secret Service agents can be compelled to testify before a grand jury concerning the Lewinsky scandal involving President Bill Clinton.
The United States Secret Service is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is tasked with conducting criminal investigations and providing protection to American political leaders, their families, and visiting heads of state or government.
1998
In Sri Lanka, over 150 Tamil rebels are killed over two days of fighting for control in Jaffna.
Country in South Asia
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It is located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and is separated from India by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with the Maldives to the southwest and India to the northwest, and lies across the Bay of Bengal from Bangladesh and Myanmar to the northeast and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India to the east. Its executive and judicial capital is Colombo, which is also its largest city and the political, financial and cultural centre of the country; neighboring Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital. Sri Lanka's population is 22 million. About 74% of the population are Sinhalese, who speak the Sinhala language, and about 15% are Tamils who speak the Tamil language. Other long-established ethnic groups include the Moors, Indian Tamils, Burghers, Malays, Chinese, and Vedda.
2000
Civil rights movement: A jury in Birmingham, Alabama, convicts former Ku Klux Klan member Bobby Frank Cherry of the 1963 murder of four girls in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.
1954–1968 U.S. social movement
The civil rights movement was a social movement in the United States from 1954 to 1968 which aimed to abolish legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement in the country, which most commonly affected African Americans. The movement had origins in the Reconstruction era in the late 19th century, and modern roots in the 1940s and in Mohandas Gandhi's nonviolent movement in India. After years of nonviolent protests and civil disobedience campaigns, the civil rights movement achieved many of its legislative goals in the 1960s, during which it secured new protections in federal law for the civil rights of all Americans, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
2002
Air India Express Flight 812, a Boeing 737 crashes over a cliff upon landing at Mangalore, India, killing 158 of 166 people on board, becoming the deadliest crash involving a Boeing 737 until the crash of Lion Air Flight 610.
2010 aircraft accident in India
Air India Express Flight 812 was a scheduled international flight from Dubai International Airport, Dubai, to Mangalore International Airport, Mangalore. On 22 May 2010, the Boeing 737-800 passenger jet operating the flight crashed on landing at Mangalore. The captain had continued an unstabilised approach, despite three calls from the first officer to initiate a "go-around", resulting in the aircraft overshooting the runway, falling down a hillside, and bursting into flames. Of the 166 passengers and crew on board, 158 were killed ; only eight survived. This was the first fatal accident involving Air India Express.
2010
Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich 2–0 in the UEFA Champions League final in Madrid, Spain to become the first, and so far only, Italian team to win the historic treble (Serie A, Coppa Italia, Champions League).
Association football club in Italy
Football Club Internazionale Milano, widely referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, and commonly known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is the only team to have an unbroken presence in the top division of Italian football, currently Serie A, since its debut in 1909, having never been relegated to Serie B. Since 1947, Inter has shared the San Siro stadium, the largest stadium in Italy, with AC Milan, with whom it contests the long-standing Derby della Madonnina, one of the most widely followed rivalries in world football.
2010
An EF5 tornado strikes Joplin, Missouri, killing 158 people and wreaking $2.8 billion in damages, the costliest and seventh-deadliest single tornado in U.S.
history.
The Joplin tornado was an extremely devastating EF5 tornado that struck the city of Joplin, Missouri during the early evening hours of May 22, 2011, causing catastrophic damage to it and surrounding regions. As part of a larger late-May sequence of tornadic activity, the extremely violent tornado began just west of Joplin at about 5:34 p.m. CDT (UTC–05:00) and quickly reached a peak width of nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) as it tracked through the southern part of the city, before later impacting rural Jasper and Newton counties and dissipating after 38 minutes on the ground at 6:12 p.m. The tornado was on the ground for a total of 21.62 miles (34.79 km).
2011
Tokyo Skytree opens to the public.
It is the tallest tower in the world (634 m), and the third tallest man-made structure on Earth after Merdeka 118 (680.5 m) and Burj Khalifa (829.8 m).
Tokyo Skytree , a.k.a Tokyo Sky Tree, is a broadcasting and observation tower, located in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It has been the tallest tower in Japan since opening in 2012, and reached its full height of 634 metres in early 2011, making it the tallest tower in the world, displacing the Canton Tower, and the third tallest structure in the world behind Merdeka 118 and Burj Khalifa.
2012
SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 2 launches a Dragon capsule on a Falcon 9 rocket in the first commercial flight to the International Space Station.
2012 American test spaceflight to the ISS
SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 2, also known as Dragon C2+, was the second test-flight for SpaceX's uncrewed Cargo Dragon spacecraft. It launched in May 2012 on the third flight of the company's two-stage Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The flight was performed under a funded agreement from NASA as the second Dragon demonstration mission in the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The purpose of the COTS program is to develop and demonstrate commercial sources for cargo re-supply of the International Space Station (ISS). The Dragon C2+ spacecraft was the first American vehicle to visit the ISS since the end of the Space Shuttle program. It was also the first commercial spacecraft to rendezvous and berth with another spacecraft.
2012
Fusilier Lee Rigby is murdered by two Islamic extremists in Woolwich, Southeast London.
Legacy name for certain soldiers
Fusilier is a name given to various kinds of soldiers; its meaning depends on the historical context. While fusilier is derived from the 17th-century French word fusil – meaning a type of flintlock musket – the term has been used in contrasting ways in different countries and at different times, including soldiers guarding artillery, various elite units, ordinary line infantry and other uses.
2013
General Prayut Chan-o-cha becomes interim leader of Thailand in a military coup d'état, following six months of political turmoil.
Prime Minister of Thailand from 2014 to 2023
Prayut Chan-o-cha is a Thai former politician and military officer who became the 29th prime minister of Thailand after seizing power in the 2014 coup d'état and served until 2023. He was concurrently the minister of defence in his own government from 2019 to 2023. Prayut served as commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army from 2010 to 2014 and led the coup d'état which installed the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the military junta which governed Thailand between 22 May 2014 and 10 July 2019.
2014
An explosion occurs in Ürümqi, capital of China's far-western Xinjiang region, resulting in at least 43 deaths and 91 injuries.
Terrorist bombing in Xinjiang, China
On the morning of 22 May 2014, two sport utility vehicles (SUVs) carrying five assailants were driven into a busy street market in Ürümqi, the capital of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Up to a dozen explosives were thrown at shoppers from the windows of the SUVs. The SUVs crashed into shoppers, then collided with each other and exploded. Forty-three people were killed, including four of the assailants; more than 90 were wounded, making this the deadliest attack of the Xinjiang conflict. The event was designated as a terrorist attack.
2014
The Republic of Ireland becomes the first nation in the world to utilise a public referendum to legalise gay marriage.
Country in Northwestern Europe
Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is a country in Northwestern Europe. It consists of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. Its capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island, with a population of over 1.5 million. The sovereign state shares its only land border with Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, St George's Channel to the south-east and the Irish Sea to the east. It is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The legislature, the Oireachtas, consists of a lower house, Dáil Éireann; an upper house, Seanad Éireann; and an elected president who serves as the largely ceremonial head of state, but with some important powers and duties. The head of government is the Taoiseach, elected by the Dáil and appointed by the president, who appoints other government ministers.
2015
Twenty-two people are killed at an Ariana Grande concert in the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.
American singer, songwriter, and actress (born 1993)
Ariana Grande-Butera is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle register, she is an influential figure in popular music. Publications such as Rolling Stone and Billboard have deemed Grande one of the greatest artists in history, while Time included her on its list of the world's 100 most influential people in 2016 and 2019.
2017
United States President Donald Trump visits the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and becomes the first sitting U.S.
president to visit the Western Wall.
Donald John Trump is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021.
2017
Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 crashes in Model Colony near Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 98 people.
2020 aviation accident in Pakistan
On 22 May 2020, Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303, a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Lahore to Karachi, crashed while on approach to Jinnah International Airport Karachi, killing 97 out of the 99 people on board as well as an additional person on the ground. The aircraft, an Airbus A320 with 91 passengers and 8 crew members on board, was on an unstable approach to Jinnah International Airport, with an excessively high airspeed and altitude. The aircraft subsequently belly landed nearly half-way down the airport runway before the flight crew conducted a go-around. During the go-around, both engines started to fail due to damage sustained during the belly landing. Whilst attempting to land back on the runway, the aircraft lost airspeed and crashed into buildings in Model Colony. All 8 crew members and 89 out of the 91 passengers on board were killed by the impact and post-crash fire. One person who was inside the buildings died ten days after the crash due to burn injuries.
2020
Hypothermia kills 21 runners in the 100 km (60-mile) Gansu ultramarathon disaster in China.
Fatal 2021 marathon event in China
On 22 May 2021, twenty-one professional runners died from hypothermia while competing in a government-run 100-kilometre (62 mi) trail running race held in the Yellow River Stone Forest in Jingtai County, Gansu, China.
2021
A gas explosion at a coal mine in Changzhi, Shanxi, leaves at least 82 people dead.
2026 disaster in Shanxi, China
On 22 May 2026, a gas explosion occurred at the Liushenyu Coal Mine in Qinyuan County, Shanxi, China, killing 82 people.
2026