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May 22 is the 142nd day of the year (143rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 223 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 334 BC – The Macedonian army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus.
• 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt
• 1176 – The Hashshashin (Assassins) attempt to murder Saladin near Aleppo.
• 1200 – King John of England and King Philip II of France sign the Treaty of Le Goulet.
• 1246 – Henry Raspe is elected anti-king of the Kingdom of Germany, in opposition to Conrad IV.
• 1254 – Serbian King Stephen Uroš I and the Republic of Venice sign a peace treaty.
• 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.
• 1629 – Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and Danish King Christian IV sign the Treaty of Lübeck to end the Danish intervention in the Thirty Years' War.
• 1762 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Hamburg.
• 1807 – A grand jury indicts former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr on a charge of treason.
• 1807 – Most of the English town of Chudleigh is destroyed by fire.
• 1809 – On the second and last day of the Battle of Aspern-Essling (near Vienna, Austria), Napoleon I is repelled by an enemy army for the first time.
• 1816 – A mob in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England, riots over high unemployment and rising grain costs; the rioting spreads to Ely the next day.
• 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 20.
• 1826 – HMS Beagle departs on its first voyage.
• 1840 – The transportation of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished.
• 1848 – Slavery is abolished in Martinique.
• 1849 – President Abraham Lincoln is issued a patent for an invention to lift boats over obstacles in a river, the only patent ever issued to a U.S. President.
• 1856 – Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beats Senator Charles Sumner with a cane in the hall of the United States Senate for a speech Sumner had made attacking Southerners who sympathized with the pro-slavery violence in Kansas ("Bleeding Kansas").
• 1863 – American Civil War: Siege of Port Hudson – Union forces begin to lay siege to the Confederate-controlled Port Hudson, Louisiana.
• 1864 – American Civil War: After ten weeks, the Union Army's Red River Campaign ends with the Union unable to achieve any of its objectives.
• 1871 – The U.S. Army issues an order for abandonment of Fort Kearny in Nebraska.
• 1872 – Reconstruction: U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signs the Amnesty Act into law restoring full civil and political rights to all but about 500 Confederate sympathizers.
• 1885 – Prior to burial in the Panthéon, the body of Victor Hugo was exposed under the Arc de Triomphe during the night.
• 1897 – The Blackwall Tunnel under the River Thames is officially opened
• 1903 – Launch of the White Star Liner, SS Ionic.
• 1906 – The Wright brothers are granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their "Flying-Machine".
• 1915 – Lassen Peak erupts with a powerful force, and is the only mountain other than Mount St. Helens to erupt in the contiguous US during the 20th century.
• 1915 – Three trains collide in the Quintinshill rail disaster near Gretna Green, Scotland, killing 227 people and injuring 246; the accident is found to be the result of non-standard operating practices during a shift change at a busy junction.
• 1926 – Chiang Kai-shek replaces communists in Kuomintang, China.
• 1939 – World War II: Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel.
• 1942 – Mexico enters World War II on the side of the Allies.
• 1942 – The Steel Workers Organizing Committee disbands, and a new trade union, the United Steelworkers, is formed.
• 1942 – World War II: Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox enlists in the United States Marine Corps as a flight instructor.
• 1943 – Joseph Stalin disbands Comintern.
• 1945 – Operation Paperclip – United States Army Major Robert B. Staver recommends that the U.S. evacuate German scientists and engineers to help in the development of rocket technology.
• 1947 – Cold War: in an effort to fight the spread of Communism, the 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.
• 1960 – An earthquake measuring 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale, now known as the Great Chilean Earthquake, hits southern Chile. It is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded.
• 1961 – An earthquake rocks New South Wales.
• 1962 – Continental Airlines Flight 11 crashes after bombs explode on board.
• 1963 – An assassination attempt of Greek left-wing politician Grigoris Lambrakis, who will die five days later.
• 1964 – The U.S. 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 – The L'Innovation department store in the center of Brussels, Belgium, burns down. It is the most devastating fire in Belgian history, resulting in 323 dead and missing and 150 injured.
• 1967 – Vietnam War: Vinh Xuan massacre.
• 1968 – The nuclear-powered submarine the USS Scorpion sinks with 99 men aboard 400 miles southwest of the Azores.
• 1969 – Apollo 10 's lunar module flies within 8.4 nautical miles (16 km) of the moon's surface.
• 1972 – Ceylon adopts a new constitution, thus becoming a Republic, changes its name to Sri Lanka, and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.
• 1980 – Namco releases the highly influential arcade game Pac-Man.
• 1987 – Hashimpura massacre in Meerut, India.
• 1987 – First ever Rugby World Cup kicks off with New Zealand playing Italy at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
• 1990 – North and South Yemen are unified to create the Republic of Yemen.
• 1990 – Microsoft releases the Windows 3.0 operating system.
• 1992 – After 30 years, 66-year-old Johnny Carson hosts The Tonight Show for the last time.
• 1992 – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia join the United Nations.
• 1997 – Kelly Flinn, the US Air Force's first female bomber pilot certified for combat, accepts a general discharge in order to avoid a court-martial.
• 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, D.C., the remains of the missing Chandra Levy are found in Rock Creek Park.
• 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.
• 2003 – In Fort Worth, Texas, Annika Sörenstam becomes the first woman to play the PGA Tour in 58 years.
• 2004 – The U.S. town of Hallam, Nebraska is wiped out by a powerful F4 tornado (part of the May 2004 tornado outbreak sequence) which kills one resident, and becomes the widest tornado on record at 2.5 miles (4.0 km) wide; a record that wouldn't be broken until a the El Reno tornado on May 31, 2013.
• 2008 – The Late-May 2008 tornado outbreak sequence unleashes 235 tornadoes, including an EF4 and an EF5 tornado, between May 22 and May 31, 2008. The tornadoes strike 19 states and one Canadian province.
• 2010 – An Air India Express Boeing 737-800 goes over a cliff and crashes upon landing at Mangalore, India, killing 158 of the 166 people on board. It is the worst crash involving a Boeing 737.
• 2011 – An EF5 tornado strikes Joplin, Missouri, killing 162 people and wreaking $2.8 billion worth in damage—the costliest and seventh-deadliest single tornado in U.S. history.
• 2012 – Tokyo Skytree is opened to public. It is the tallest tower in world (634 m), and the second tallest man-made structure on Earth, after Burj Khalifa (829.8 m).
• 2013 – British soldier Lee Rigby was murdered in a London Street during a terrorist attack.

Births

• 1622 – Louis de Buade de Frontenac, French soldier and politician, 3rd Governor General of New France (d. 1698)
• 1694 – Daniel Gran, Austrian painter (d. 1757)
• 1700 – Michel-François Dandré-Bardon, French history painter and etcher (d. 1785)
• 1715 – François-Joachim de Pierre de Bernis, French cardinal (d. 1794)
• 1724 – Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, French explorer (d. 1772)
• 1733 – Hubert Robert, French painter (d. 1808)
• 1748 – Thomas Roberts, Irish landscape painter (d. 1778)
• 1762 – Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst, English politician (d. 1834)
• 1770 – Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom (d. 1840)
• 1772 – Ram Mohan Roy, Indian reformer (d. 1833)
• 1783 – William Sturgeon, English physicist and inventor, invented the Electromagnet and Electric motor (d. 1850)
• 1808 – Gérard de Nerval, French poet (d. 1855)
• 1813 – Richard Wagner, German composer and director (d. 1883)
• 1823 – Solomon Bundy, American politician (d. 1889)
• 1823 – Isabella Glyn, English actress (d. 1889)
• 1831 – Henry Vandyke Carter, English anatomist, surgeon, and anatomical artist of Gray's Anatomy (d. 1897)
• 1833 – Félix Bracquemond, French painter and etcher (d. 1914)
• 1841 – Catulle Mendès, French poet (d. 1909)
• 1844 – Mary Cassatt, American painter (d. 1926)
• 1848 – Fritz von Uhde, German painter (d. 1911)
• 1849 – Louis Perrier, Swiss colonel and politician (d. 1913)
• 1849 – Aston Webb, English architect (d. 1930)
• 1859 – Arthur Conan Doyle, Scottish physician and author (d. 1930)
• 1859 – Tsubouchi Shōyō, Japanese author, playwright, and educator (d. 1935)
• 1864 – Willy Stöwer, German illustrator (d. 1931)
• 1874 – Daniel François Malan, South African clergyman and politician, 5th Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 1959)
• 1876 – Antonius Bouwens, Dutch target shooter (d. 1963)
• 1879 – Warwick Armstrong, Australian cricketer (d. 1947)
• 1879 – Jean Cras, French navy officer and composer (d. 1932)
• 1885 – Giacomo Matteotti, Italian politician (d. 1924)
• 1885 – Soemu Toyoda, Japanese admiral (d. 1957)
• 1887 – Frederick Garfield Gilmore, Canadian-American boxer (d. 1969)
• 1889 – Hugh Miller (actor), British film actor (d. 1976)
• 1891 – Eddie Edwards, American baseball player and trombonist (Original Dixieland Jass Band) (d. 1963)
• 1900 – Yvonne de Gaulle, French wife of Charles de Gaulle (d. 1979)
• 1901 – Maurice J. Tobin, American politician, 6th United States Secretary of Labor (d. 1953)
• 1902 – Al Simmons, American baseball player and coach (d. 1956)
• 1903 – Yves Rocard, French physicist (d. 1992)
• 1904 – Pyotr Sobolevsky, Russian actor (d. 1977)
• 1904 – Paul Viiding, Estonian poet, author, and critic (d. 1962)
• 1905 – Bodo von Borries, German physicist, co-inventor of the electron microscope (d. 1956)
• 1907 – Hergé, Belgian illustrator (d. 1983)
• 1907 – Martha Angelici, French soprano (d. 1973)
• 1907 – Laurence Olivier, English actor, director, and producer (d. 1989)
• 1907 – Eugène Claudius-Petit, French politician (d. 1989)
• 1908 – Rattana Pestonji, Thai director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer (d. 1970)
• 1908 – Horton Smith. American golfer (d. 1963)
• 1910 – Johnny Olson, American game show host and announcer (d. 1985)
• 1911 – Anatol Rapoport, Russian-American psychologist (d. 2007)
• 1912 – Herbert C. Brown, English-American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
• 1913 – František Jílek, Czech conductor (d. 1993)
• 1914 – Maurice Blackburn, Canadian composer and conductor (d. 1988)
• 1914 – Vance Packard, American journalist and author (d. 1996)
• 1914 – Sun Ra, American pianist, composer, bandleader, and poet (d. 1993)
• 1914 – Edward Arthur Thompson, Irish historian, author, and educator (d. 1994)
• 1917 – Nathan Davis, American actor (d. 2008)
• 1917 – Daniel Nagrin, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2008)
• 1917 – Georg Tintner, Austrian-Canadian conductor (d. 1999)
• 1919 – Paul Vanden Boeynants, Belgian politician, 55th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2001)
• 1920 – Thomas Gold, Austrian-American astrophysicist (d. 2004)
• 1921 – Jalil Shahnaz, Iranian tar player (d. 2013)
• 1922 – Quinn Martin, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1987)
• 1923 – Denise Pelletier, Canadian actress (d. 1976)
• 1924 – Charles Aznavour, French singer-songwriter and actor
• 1925 – James King, American tenor (d. 2005)
• 1925 – Jean Tinguely, Swiss painter and sculptor (d. 1991)
• 1926 – Elek Bacsik, Hungarian-American violinist and guitarist (d. 1993)
• 1927 – Michael Constantine, American actor
• 1927 – George Andrew Olah, Hungarian-American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1927 – Phil Tucker, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1985)
• 1928 – T. Boone Pickens, American businessman
• 1930 – Kenny Ball, English trumpet player (d. 2013)
• 1930 – Harvey Milk, American lieutenant, politician, and activist (d. 1978)
• 1932 – Merry Anders, American actress (d. 2012)
• 1934 – Peter Nero, American pianist and conductor
• 1934 – Arne Harris, American director and producer (d. 2001)
• 1935 – Ron Piché, Canadian baseball player (d. 2011)
• 1936 – M. Scott Peck, American psychiatrist and author (d. 2005)
• 1937 – Guy Marchand, French actor and singer
• 1938 – Richard Benjamin, American actor and director
• 1938 – Frank Converse, American actor
• 1938 – Susan Strasberg, American actress (d. 1999)
• 1939 – Paul Winfield, American actor (d. 2004)
• 1940 – Bernard Shaw, American journalist
• 1940 – Michael Sarrazin, Canadian actor (d. 2011)
• 1941 – Menzies Campbell, Scottish politician
• 1941 – Martha Langbein, German runner
• 1942 – Calvin Simon, American singer (The Parliaments and Parliament-Funkadelic)
• 1942 – Barbara Parkins, Canadian-American actress
• 1943 – Jean-Louis Heinrich, French footballer (d. 2012)
• 1943 – Tommy John, American baseball player and manager
• 1943 – Gesine Schwan, German political scientist
• 1943 – Betty Williams, Irish activist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1944 – Vaiko, Indian politician
• 1944 – Beaton Tulk, Canadian educator and politician, 7th Premier of Newfoundland
• 1946 – George Best, Irish-English footballer (d. 2005)
• 1946 – Howard Kendall, English footballer and manager
• 1946 – Michael Green (physicist), British physicist and co-pioneer of string theory
• 1947 – Joseph P. McFadden, American bishop (d. 2013)
• 1947 – Andreas Gerasimos Michalitsianos, Egyptian-American astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1997)
• 1948 – Richard Baker, American politician
• 1950 – Alekos Alavanos, Greek politician
• 1950 – Bernie Taupin, English singer-songwriter and poet
• 1950 – Bill Whelan, Irish keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (Planxty)
• 1952 – Bernhard Brinkmann, German politician
• 1953 – Doris Barnett, German politician
• 1953 – Cha Bum-Kun, South Korean footballer and manager
• 1953 – Paul Mariner, English footballer, coach, and manager
• 1955 – Chalmers Alford, American guitarist (d. 2008)
• 1955 – Jerry Dammers, Indian-English keyboard player and songwriter (The Specials and The Spatial AKA Orchestra)
• 1955 – Iva Davies, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Icehouse)
• 1955 – Jimmy Lyon, American guitarist (The Greg Kihn Band)
• 1955 – Dale Winton, English radio and television host
• 1955 – John Grimaldi, English musician, songwriter and artist (d. 1983)
• 1956 – Al Corley, American actor, singer, and producer
• 1956 – Natasha Shneider, Russian-American singer, keyboard player, and actress (Eleven) (d. 2008)
• 1957 – Lisa Murkowski, American lawyer and politician
• 1957 – Gary Sweet, Australian actor
• 1958 – Denise Welch, English actress and dancer
• 1959 – Morrissey, English singer-songwriter and pianist (The Smiths, The Nosebleeds, and Slaughter & The Dogs)
• 1959 – Harry Standjofski, Canadian actor, director, and playwright
• 1959 – Jon Sopel, British television presenter and correspondent
• 1960 – Hideaki Anno, Japanese animator, director, and screenwriter
• 1961 – Mike Breen, American sportscaster
• 1961 – Ann Cusack, American actress
• 1961 – Jeremy Gelbwaks, American child actor (The Partridge Family)
• 1962 – Brian Pillman, American football player and wrestler (d. 1997)
• 1964 – Mark Christopher Lawrence, American actor and comedian
• 1964 – Maya Usova, Russian ice dancer
• 1965 – Jay Carney, American journalist, 29th White House Press Secretary
• 1965 – John Cherry, Australian journalist and politician
• 1965 – Fanis Christodoulou, Greek basketball player
• 1965 – Catie Curtis, American singer-songwriter
• 1965 Kathleen McGuire, Australian-American conductor, musician and educator
• 1966 – Kenny Hickey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Type O Negative and Seventh Void)
• 1966 – José Mesa, Dominican-American baseball player
• 1966 – Scott Putski, American wrestler
• 1967 – Brooke Smith, American actress
• 1967 – John Vanderslice, American singer-songwriter and producer (Mk Ultra)
• 1968 – Pedro Bleyer, Bolivian fencer
• 1968 – Randy Brown, American basketball player
• 1968 – Kevin Carolan, American actor
• 1968 – Graham Linehan, Irish actor, director, and author
• 1969 – Michael Joseph Kelly, American actor
• 1969 – Cathy McMorris Rodgers, American politician
• 1970 – Paddy Atkinson, Singaporean-English footballer and manager
• 1970 – Naomi Campbell, English model and actress
• 1970 – Pedro Diniz, Brazilian race car driver
• 1970 – Nadia Khan, Pakistani actress and producer
• 1971 – Raimund Marasigan, Filipino singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer (Eraserheads, Sandwich, Pedicab, Cambio, and Project 1)
• 1971 – Daryn Cresswell, Australian rules footballer
• 1972 – Anna Belknap, American actress
• 1972 – Alison Eastwood, American actress and director
• 1973 – Donell Jones, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1973 – Julián Tavárez, Dominican-American baseball player
• 1973 – Danny Tiatto, Australian footballer
• 1974 – John Bale, American baseball player
• 1974 – Graham Fenton, English footballer and manager
• 1974 – Sean Gunn, American actor
• 1974 – A. J. Langer, American actress
• 1975 – Salva Ballesta, Spanish footballer
• 1975 – Tracy Brookshaw, Canadian-American wrestler and referee
• 1975 – Janne Niinimaa, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1975 – Enrique Palacios, Venezuelan model
• 1976 – Daniel Erlandsson, Swedish drummer (Arch Enemy, Eucharist, Armageddon, and Carcass)
• 1977 – A-1, Canadian bodybuilder and wrestler
• 1977 – Dré Bly, American football player
• 1977 – Tom Chambers, English actor
• 1977 – Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, Irish hurler and footballer
• 1977 – Vinnie Potestivo, American casting director and producer
• 1978 – Ginnifer Goodwin, American actress
• 1978 – Katie Price, English model, businesswoman, and author
• 1978 – Igor Kotjuh, Estonian journalist and poet
• 1979 – Maggie Q, American actress and model
• 1980 – Steven Baker, Australian footballer
• 1980 – Rhett Fisher, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
• 1980 – Lucy Gordon, English model and actress (d. 2009)
• 1980 – Chad Tracy, American baseball player
• 1980 – Tommy Smith, English footballer
• 1981 – Daniel Bryan, American wrestler
• 1981 – Melissa Gregory, American ice dancer
• 1981 – Jana Hlaváčková, Czech tennis player
• 1981 – Jürgen Melzer, Austrian tennis player
• 1981 – Lee Bullock, English footballer
• 1982 – Erin McNaught, Australian model and actress, Miss Australia 2006
• 1982 – Apolo Ohno, American speed skater
• 1982 – Alex Smith, American football player
• 1982 – Hong Yong-Jo, North Korean footballer
• 1982 – Tom Scudamore, British jockey
• 1983 – Abdulrahman Al-Qahtani, Saudi Arabian footballer
• 1983 – John Hopkins, American motorcycle racer
• 1984 – Joe Lauzon, American mixed martial artist
• 1984 – Didier Ya Konan, Ivorian footballer
• 1984 – Bismarck du Plessis, South African rugby player
• 1984 – Laurence Halsted, British fencer
• 1985 – Tranquillo Barnetta, Swiss footballer
• 1985 – Mauro Boselli, Argentinian footballer
• 1985 – Chrissie Chau, Chinese actress and model
• 1985 – CariDee English, American model
• 1985 – Graham Harrell, American football player
• 1985 – Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1985 – Chris Salvatore, American singer-songwriter and actor
• 1986 – Luca Gentili, Italian footballer
• 1986 – Matt Jarvis, English footballer
• 1986 – Thanduyise Khuboni, South African footballer
• 1987 – Christine Danelson, American actress
• 1987 – Novak Djokovic, Serbian tennis player
• 1987 – Vladimir Granat, Russian footballer
• 1987 – Andrew Lauterstein, Australian swimmer
• 1987 – Arturo Vidal, Chilean footballer
• 1988 – Chase Budinger, American basketball player
• 1988 – Pape M'Bow, Senegalese footballer
• 1988 – Anthony Andreu, French footballer
• 1991 – Kyle Bartley, English footballer
• 1991 – Nathan Norman, American actor, singer, and dancer (Devo 2.0)
• 1992 – Chinami Tokunaga, Japanese singer (Berryz Kobo and ZYX)
• 1992 – Robin Knoche, German footballer

Deaths

• 192 – Dong Zhuo, Chinese warlord and politician (b. 138)
• 337 – Constantine the Great, Roman emperor (b. 272)
• 748 – Empress Genshō of Japan (b. 680)
• 1068 – Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan (b. 1025)
• 1455 – Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, English commander (b. 1406)
• 1455 – Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, English commander (b. 1393)
• 1457 – Rita of Cascia, Italian nun and saint (b. 1381)
• 1538 – John Forest, English friar and martyr (b. 1471)
• 1540 – Francesco Guicciardini, Italian historian (b. 1483)
• 1666 – Gaspar Schott, German physicist and mathematician (b. 1608)
• 1667 – Pope Alexander VII (b. 1599)
• 1745 – François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, French marshal (b. 1671)
• 1760 – Baal Shem Tov, Polish rabbi (b. 1700)
• 1772 – Durastante Natalucci, Italian historian (b. 1687)
• 1795 – Ewald Friedrich von Hertzberg, Prussian politician (b. 1725)
• 1802 – Martha Washington, American wife of George Washington, 1st First Lady of the United States (b. 1731)
• 1851 – Mordecai Manuel Noah, American journalist and diplomat (b. 1755)
• 1859 – Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (b. 1810)
• 1861 – Thornsbury Bailey Brown, American soldier (b. 1829)
• 1868 – Julius Plücker, German mathematician and physicist (b. 1801)
• 1885 – Victor Hugo, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1802)
• 1901 – Gaetano Bresci, Italian-American anarchist, assassin of Umberto I of Italy (b. 1869)
• 1910 – Jules Renard, French author and playwright (b. 1864)
• 1932 – Augusta, Lady Gregory, Irish playwright, co-founded the Abbey Theatre (b. 1852)
• 1939 – Ernst Toller, German playwright (b. 1893)
• 1939 – Jiří Mahen, Czech author and playwright (b. 1882)
• 1947 – Edwin Hedley, American rower (b. 1864)
• 1965 – Christopher Stone, English radio host (b. 1882)
• 1966 – Tom Goddard, English cricketer (b. 1900)
• 1967 – Langston Hughes, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1902)
• 1972 – Cecil Day-Lewis, Irish-English poet and author (b. 1904)
• 1972 – Margaret Rutherford, English actress (b. 1892)
• 1975 – Lefty Grove, American baseball player (b. 1900)
• 1983 – Albert Claude, Belgian biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
• 1985 – Wolfgang Reitherman, German-American animator, director, and producer (b. 1909)
• 1988 – Giorgio Almirante, Italian journalist and politician (b. 1914)
• 1989 – Steven De Groote, South African pianist (b. 1953)
• 1990 – Rocky Graziano, American boxer (b. 1922)
• 1991 – Stan Mortensen, English footballer and manager (b. 1921)
• 1992 – Zellig Harris, American linguist (b. 1909)
• 1993 - Mieczysław Horszowski, Polish-American pianist (b. 1892)
• 1997 – Alfred Hershey, American biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
• 1997 – Renzo Montagnani, Italian actor (b. 1930)
• 1998 – John Derek, American actor, director, and photographer (b. 1926)
• 1998 – José Enrique Moyal, Israeli physicist and engineer (b. 1910)
• 2000 – Davie Fulton, Canadian politician and judge (b. 1916)
• 2003 – Ousmane Zongo, Burkinabe-American arts trader (b. 1960)
• 2004 – Richard Biggs, American actor (b. 1960)
• 2004 – Mikhail Voronin, Russian gymnast (b. 1945)
• 2005 – Charilaos Florakis, Greek politician (b. 1914)
• 2005 – Julia Randall, American poet (b. 1924)
• 2005 – Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor and singer (b. 1914)
• 2006 – Heather Crowe, Canadian waitress and activist (b. 1945)
• 2006 – Lee Jong-wook, South Korean diplomat (b. 1945)
• 2008 – Robert Asprin, American author (b. 1946)
• 2010 – Martin Gardner, American author (b. 1914)
• 2011 – Joseph Brooks, American director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (b. 1938)
• 2012 – Muzaffar Ahmed, Bangladeshi economist and educator (b. 1936)
• 2012 – Muzafar Bhutto, Pakistani politician (b. 1970)
• 2012 – Wesley A. Brown, American navy officer and engineer (b. 1927)
• 2012 – Janet Carroll, American actress and singer (b. 1940)
• 2012 – Shiu-Ying Hu, Chinese botanist (b. 1910)
• 2012 – Flinder Anderson Khonglam, Indian physician and politician, 18th Chief Minister of Meghalaya (b. 1945)
• 2012 – Dave Mann, American-Canadian football player (b. 1932)
• 2012 – John Moores, Jr., English businessman and academic (b. 1928)
• 2012 – Jesse Whittenton, American football player (b. 1934)
• 2013 – Bill Austin, American football player and coach (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Henri Dutilleux, French composer (b. 1916)
• 2013 – Andrea Gallo, Italian priest (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Brian Greenhoff, English footballer (b. 1953)
• 2013 – Mick McManus, English wrestler (b. 1920)
• 2013 – Wayne F. Miller, American photographer (b. 1918)
• 2013 – Lee Rigby, English soldier and drummer (b. 1987)
• 2013 – Sigurd Ottovich Schmidt, Russian historian and ethnographer (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Richard Thorp, English actor (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Ibragim Todashev, Russian-American mixed martial artist (b. 1985)

Holidays and observances

• Abolition Day (Martinique)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Castus and Emilius
  • Fulk
  • Humilita
  • Julia of Corsica
  • Quiteria
  • Rita of Cascia
  • Romanus of Subiaco
  • May 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Harvey Milk Day (California)
• International Day for Biological Diversity (International)
• National Maritime Day (United States)
• National Sovereignty Day (Haiti)
• Republic Day (Sri Lanka)
• Unity Day or National Day, celebrate the unification of North and South Yemen into the Republic of Yemen in 1990.

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

• Days of the year
• May