This Day in History – May 22
1761 – 1st life insurance policy in North America issued in Philadelphia.
1803 – 1st public library opens (Connecticut).
1819 – 1st steam propelled vessel to cross Atlantic (Savannah leaves Georgia).
1843 – 1st wagon train with 700 – 1000 migrants, departs Independence, Missouri for Oregon.
1849 – Abraham Lincoln receives a patent (only US president to do so) for a device to lift a boat over shoals and obstructions.
1892 – Dr. Washington Sheffield invents toothpaste tube.
1906 – Wright Brothers patent an aeroplane.
1919 – A.E. Douglass establishes the relative dates of two archaeological sites using ancient wood samples, marking a major step forward in the dating of archaeological sites.
1926 – “Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue” by Gene Austin hits #1.
1943 – 1st jet fighter is tested.
1945 – 6th US Marine division reaches suburbs of Naha Okinawa.
1953 – US President Eisenhower signs Offshore Oil Bill.
1956 – “Bob Hope Show” last airs on NBC-TV.
1961 – “Mother-In-Law” by Ernie K-Doe hits #1.
1973 – President Nixon confesses his role in Watergate cover-up.
1985 – Pete Rose 1,108th run passes Hank Aaron as National League run scoring leader.
1990 – Microsoft releases Windows 3.0.
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.
2004 – The US town of Hallam, Nebraska, is wiped out by a powerful F4 tornado that broke a width record at an astounding 1.5 miles wide. It also kills one local resident.
2016 – US President Barack Obama arrives in Vietnam for a day tour.
About Author
