Today in History for May 22:
In 337, Constantine, the first Christian emperor of Rome, died at the age of 47.
In 1216, Louis VIII of France invaded England, the last military invasion of the British Isles.
In 1370, Jews were massacred or expelled from Brussels, in modern-day Belgium, and Flanders. They had been accused of having defiled the "host," the wafer used in the church mass. Until 1820, every 15 years a feast was held to celebrate the event.
In 1611, the first Jesuits arrived in New France, at Port Royal.
In 1819, the first steam-propelled vessel to attempt a transatlantic crossing left Savannah, Ga. "The Savannah" arrived in Liverpool on June 20th.
In 1859, author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
In 1867, Queen Victoria gave royal assent to the British North America Act. Canada became the first Dominion of the British Empire the following July 1st. In 1947, the British government amended the act to allow Canada to draft its own constitution, but it was not patriated until 1982.
In 1868, a train robbery took place near Marshfield, Ind. Seven members of the Reno Gang held up the crew, detached the locomotive and made off with $96,000 in cash, gold and bonds.
In 1877, the Germany Academy announced the discovery of the second part of the Old Testament translation by Martin Luther in his own handwriting. It was found in the Ducal Archives at Zerbst. The text from Joshua to Esther was comprised of 216 quarto pages and dated from 1523.
In 1885, French author Victor Hugo died in Paris at age 83.
In 1893, the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association beat the visiting Ottawa Generals 2-1 in the first Stanley Cup game.
In 1900, The Associated Press was incorporated in New York as a non-profit news co-operative.
In 1906, Orville and Wilbur Wright received a patent for the airplane.
In 1907, actor-director Sir Laurence Olivier was born in Dorking, Surrey, England.
In 1919, the House of Commons passed a bill barring Canadians from receiving foreign hereditary titles.
In 1939, dictators Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini signed the Pact of Steel, a 10-year alliance between Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.
In 1945, the Canadian government announced that Japanese incendiary balloons had been found in Western Canada.
In 1960, a magnitude 9.5 earthquake, the strongest on record, struck southern Chile. According to the U.S. Geological Survey website, the quake claimed approximately 1,655 lives, injured 3,000 people, left two million homeless and caused $550 million worth of damage.
In 1963, a NATO ministerial conference in Ottawa approved in principle the formation of a nuclear strike force under NATO direction.
In 1969, the lunar module of the U.S. Apollo 10 separated from the command module and flew within 15 kilometres of the Moon's surface. It was a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing two months later.
In 1974, Ottawa suspended shipments of all nuclear equipment to India following that country's detonation of a nuclear device.
In 1977, driving at 304 km/h (189 mp/h), Janet Guthrie became the first woman to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 auto race.
In 1979, the Progressive Conservatives under Joe Clark won the federal election, ending the 11-year tenure of Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. But Clark's minority government lost a Commons budget vote the following December, and the ensuing election to Trudeau's Liberals.
In 1987, in Vancouver, 29-year-old Rick Hansen completed his 26-month "Man in Motion" tour. Pumping his wheelchair 3,600 times an hour through 34 countries, he raised millions of dollars for spinal cord research.
In 1988, defrocked American evangelist Jimmy Swaggart delivered his first sermon since confessing on Feb. 21 that he had "sinned against you." Swaggart had been accused of visiting a prostitute.
In 1992, in one of the most publicized departures in TV history, Johnny Carson appeared for the last time as host of "The Tonight Show." He had taken over the show from Jack Paar in October 1962.
In 2000, Israel began withdrawing its troops from southern Lebanon. The 22-year occupation ended two days later.
In 2003, the UN Security Council voted 14-0 to lift 13 years of sanctions against Iraq. The resolution authorized the United States and Britain to administer Iraq and control its oil until a legitimate government was recognized in Iraq. It allowed the resumption of oil exports -- the earnings of which would be used for Iraq's reconstruction.
In 2006, Montenegro voted to split from Serbia.
In 2007, Gary Doer became the first Manitoba premier in 40 years to win three straight majority terms, as his NDP swept to victory in the provincial election. The New Democrats won 36 seats and the Conservatives won 19.
In 2009, a Quebec court found Rwandan Desire Munyaneza, 42, guilty of war crimes committed in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the first conviction under a new Canadian law that allows residents to be tried for crimes committed abroad.
In 2009, a Toronto youth belonging to the so-called Toronto 18 homegrown terror cell, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison. He was found guilty in September of helping and taking part in a terrorist organization, the first verdict under Canada’s new anti-terrorism law.
In 2010, a Boeing 737-800 overshot a tricky hilltop runway at Mangalore's Bajpe airport and plunged over a cliff and burst into flames, killing 158 of the 166 aboard.
In 2011, a massive EF5 tornado ripped through the town of Joplin, Mo., killing 161 people, injuring more than 900 and destroying over 8,000 homes and businesses. It was the deadliest single twister in the U.S. since records were started in 1950.
In 2011, for a second consecutive year, an Icelandic volcano erupted and sent a plume of ash, smoke and steam some 20 kilometres into the air. Over the next few days, hundreds of flights were cancelled across Europe but it was not as disruptive as 2010, when 10 million passengers were stranded.
In 2012, the launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and its unmanned Dragon capsule marked the first time a commercial spacecraft was sent to the International Space Station. It was considered just a test flight and packed with only nonessential items. (It successfully docked to the ISS on May 25.)
In 2013, British soldier Lee Rigby was first run over and then hacked to death by two al-Qaida-inspired extremists in a daylight attack near his barracks in London. (One was sentenced to life without parole while his accomplice received a minimum 45-year sentence.)
In 2015, Irish voters resoundingly backed amending the constitution to legalize gay marriage after the world's first national vote on the issue.
In 2017, a suicide bomber struck outside an arena in Manchester, England, as fans were leaving a concert by U.S. pop star Ariana Grande. Twenty-two people were killed, including an 8-year-old girl, and over 100 others were injured.
In 2018, Alabama doctor Richard Snellgrove was acquitted of prescribing drugs that killed former 3 Doors Down guitarist Matthew Roberts in 2016.
In 2018, Philip Roth, the prize-winning novelist and fearless narrator of sex, death, assimilation and fate, from the comic madness of "Portnoy's Complaint" to the elegiac lyricism of "American Pastoral," died in a New York City hospital of congestive heart failure. He was 85.
In 2019, Judith Kerr, author and illustrator of the bestselling "The Tiger Who Came to Tea" and other beloved children's books, died at the age of 95. The beguiling story of the tea-drinking tiger had been shared by parents with young children since it was first published in 1968 and has never been out of print. It has sold more than five million copies.
In 2020, Statistics Canada reported retail sales posted their largest monthly drop on record in March, with an even larger drop for April expected. The agency said retail sales fell 10.0 per cent to $47.1 billion in March as non-essential businesses began to shut their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A preliminary estimate for April indicated a 15.6 per cent drop for the month.
In 2020, ninety-seven people were killed when a Pakistan International Airlines plane crashed in the port city of Karachi. There were only two survivors of the Airbus A320 crash, which was carrying 91 passengers and eight crew members. A 13-year-old girl from the neighbourhood where the plane went down was critically injured and later died in a hospital.
In 2021, half of Canada's population had now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The news came hours after top vaccine advisers issued further guidance on second doses, potentially clearing the way to mix and match shots of the same overall type.
In 2021, the fallout continued from a report on the BBC's explosive 1995 interview with Princess Diana. The former director of the public broadcaster resigned as board chairman of Britain's National Gallery. The report heavily criticized Tony Hall for a botched internal inquiry into how its journalist obtained the blockbuster interview.
----
The Canadian Press