What Happened On
Carson in 1970
Carson in 1970
Johnny Carson's Last Show
May 22, 1992
Johnny Carson hosts his last The Tonight Show, having hosted it since 1962. His final guests were Robin Williams and Bette Midler. After retiring, Carson continued to occasionally send David Letterman jokes, which he used on his late-night program.
NBC Peacock
May 22, 1956
The NBC Peacock airs its feathers, making its first on-air appearance. NBC used the peacock to promote its color programming and to encourage viewers to buy color TV sets. NBC's owner, RCA, manufactured color television sets.
Presidential Patent
May 22, 1849
Future U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is issued U.S. Patent #6469 for an "Improvement for Buoying Vessels Over Shoals." He is the only U.S. President to have held a patent. His device consisted of large bellows attached to the sides of a boat that expanded via air chambers to help lift a stuck boat over shoals. The device was never put into actual use.
First Woman to Compete in the Indianapolis 500
May 22, 1977
Janet Guthrie qualifies with an average speed of 188.403 mph. She finished 29th of 33 in the actual race on May 27th.
First U.S. President to Visit Moscow
May 22, 1972
U.S. President Richard Nixon visits Moscow for a week of summit talks with the leaders of the Kremlin.
The previous February, Nixon did an 8-day trip to China, making him the first U.S. President visit China.
A Situation of Gravity
May 22, 1943
A Situation of Gravity is published in Liberty Magazine. It was the basis for the movie The Absent Minded Professor (1960).
Korean Independence
May 22, 1882
Korea's independence is recognized by the U.S.
Civil War - First Union Soldier Killed by Enemy Action
May 22, 1861
Bailey Brown is killed in West Virginia by Confederate pickets.
First Life Insurance Policy
May 22, 1761
The first life insurance policy in America is issued, by a Philadelphia company.
First Wedding in New England
May 22, 1621
Governor Edward Winslow marries Susanna White.
Birthdays
Unabomber
Ted Kaczynski (Theodore Kaczynski)
Born May 22, 1942 d. 2023
American mathematician, Unabomber. He was convicted of killing three people and wounding 29 others by sending mail bombs over a period of almost eighteen years. Kaczynski was the target of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI's) longest and costliest investigation. The FBI used the acronym "UNABOM" (UNiversity and Airline BOMber) to refer to his case, resulting in the media calling him the "Unabomber". After some of his writings were published in the media, his brother recognized the writing style and beliefs and tipped off the FBI who then captured him.
Pulsar in the Crab Nebula
Pulsar in the Crab Nebula
We Are Extraterrestrial Waste
Thomas Gold
Born May 22, 1920 d. 2004
Austrian-born astronomer. He established the steady-state theory of the universe (1948), which has since been abandoned by most astronomers. He also proposed a "garbage theory" for the origin of life, in which life on Earth spread from a pile of waste products dumped on Earth long ago by extraterrestrials.
Gold's theory that pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars was initially rejected by the scientific community, but is now widely accepted.
Creator of Sherlock Holmes
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Born May 22, 1859 d. 1930
Scottish physician, author. Creator of Sherlock Holmes (1887). His belief in Spiritualism and the existence of fairies put him at odds with his one-time friend Harry Houdini. Houdini's debunking of mediums and psychics, including debunking Doyle's wife, ended their friendship.
Doyle was also a judge at the world's first bodybuilding contest in 1901.
Jeremy Gelbwaks
Born May 22, 1961
American actor. TV: The Partridge Family (the first Chris). He was replaced after the first season when his real-life family moved.
Susan Strasberg
Born May 22, 1938 d. 1999
American actress. At age 18, she became the youngest actress to star on Broadway with her name above the marquee title, for her role in The Diary of Anne Frank (1955, title role).
Richard Benjamin
Born May 22, 1938
American actor. TV: He & She (Dick). Film: Portnoy's Complaint (1972).
Sid Melton (Sidney Meltzer)
Born May 22, 1917 d. 2011
American actor. TV: Green Acres (1965-69, "handyman" Alf Monroe), Captain Midnight (1954-56, Ikky Mudd), The Danny Thomas Show (1959-64, Uncle Charley Halper), and The Golden Girls (1987-91, Salvadore Petrillo, long-dead husband of Sophia).
George Baker
Born May 22, 1915 d. 1975
American cartoonist. Creator of Sad Sack (1942) depicting a lowly private dealing with the absurdities of military life.
Horton Smith
Born May 22, 1908 d. 1963
American golfer. He won the first Masters tournament (1934), and again in 1936.
Sir Laurence Olivier
Born May 22, 1907 d. 1989
British Oscar and Emmy-winning actor. He starred in and directed Hamlet (1948), which won five Oscars and was the first British film to win a Best Picture Oscar. He was knighted in 1947.
Albrecht von Gräfe
Born May 22, 1828 d. 1870
German eye surgeon. Albrecht von Gräfe is regarded as the greatest German ophthalmologist of the 19th century. He was the first to successfully treat glaucoma.
Richard Wagner
Born May 22, 1813 d. 1883
German opera composer. Music: Ring cycle (1876) and Lohengrin (1850).
Deaths
Thurl Ravenscroft
Died May 22, 2005 b. 1914
American voice actor. Thurl Ravenscroft was the voice of Tony the Tiger in the Kellogg's Frosted Flakes advertisements ("They're g-r-r-r-eat!!!!") and sang the song You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch in Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) television special.
He also did voices for the Disneyland theme park rides, including Uncle Theodore, the lead vocalist of the singing busts in the cemetery on the Haunted Mansion ride.
Invented Perforated Toilet Paper
Seth Wheeler
Died May 22, 1925 b. 1838
American businessman. He invented perforated toilet paper (1891), in which individual sheets could easily be torn from the roll. This was accomplished via perforations starting at each side, but not quite meeting in the middle (See letter 'd' in the image). Wheeler also patented "Ornamental Toilet Paper" (1893).
Julius Plücker
Died May 22, 1868 b. 1801
German mathematician, physicist. Plücker discovered that cathode rays are diverted by magnetic fields, the principle upon which TV picture tubes are made. He also discovered that spectral lines are unique to each chemical, the principle of spectroscopy.
Martha Dandridge Washington
Died May 22, 1802 b. 1731
American first lady. Wife of President George Washington. She is the only actual woman to appear on a U.S. banknote, appearing on the 1891 $1 silver certificate and she and George Washington appeared together on an 1896 $1 silver certificate.
Chi-Rho symbol for Christos
Chi-Rho symbol for Christos
First Roman Emperor to Convert to Christianity
Constantine I
Died May 22, 337 b. circa 272
Roman Emperor (312-337). He was the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity (312). He converted after winning the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. Some accounts say he received instructions in a dream to paint the Christian monogram on his troops' shields, thus fighting the battle in the name of the Christian God. Other accounts say he converted after seeing a cross in the heaven bearing the expression "In this sign conquer."
Constantine used the Chi-Rho symbol as part of a military standard. It was formed by superimposing the first two capital letters, chi and rho (ΧΡ), of the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ for Christos.
Philip Roth
Died May 22, 2018 b. 1933
American Pulitzer-winning author. Writings: Goodbye, Columbus (1959), Portnoy's Complaint (1969), and American Pastoral (1997, Pulitzer).
Martin Gardner
Died May 22, 2010 b. 1914
American mathematician, magician. His Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science (1957) is considered a classic in the field of scientific skepticism. He also wrote the "Mathematical Games" column in Scientific American.
John Derek (Derek Delevan Harris)
Died May 22, 1998 b. 1926
American actor. Film: Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981, in which he directed his wife Bo Derek) and Bolero (1984, wrote and directed, also starring Bo Derek).
Founder of Modern Cell Biology
Albert Claude
Died May 22, 1983 b. 1898
Belgian Nobel-winning biologist, founder of modern cell biology. He was the first to use the electron microscope to study cells (1945).
Victor Marie Hugo
Died May 22, 1885 b. 1802
French poet, author. Writings: Les Misérables (1862). He was exiled from France (1851) for his opposition to Louis Napoleon.
Alexander VII
Died May 22, 1667 b. 1599
Italian religious leader, 237th Pope (1655-67).