ON THIS DAY MAY 22

334BC Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia. Alexander remains undefeated in battle until his death in 323BC, by which time he had forged one of the largest empires in history and a reputation for being one of the most successful military commanders ever.

1176 The Hashshashin (from whom we get the word ‘assassins’) attempt to assassinate Saladin, the first sultan of Egypt and Syria.

1455 Richard, Duke of York, captures King Henry VI, beginning the English War of Roses.

1840 The transportation of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished.

1849 Abraham Lincoln is issued a patent for an invention to lift boats. He is the only US president to hold a patent.

1859 Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes author, Boer War medic, and editor at Bloemfontein’s The Friend, is born.

1919 Dendrochronology – using growth rings in wood to date sites – comes into being.

1927 An earthquake in China kills 200 000. 1939 Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel, a co-operation agreement.

1973 US President Richard Nixon confesses to his role in Watergate cover-up.

1977 The storied Orient Express makes its final, scheduled European run, after 94 years. 1987 The first Rugby World Cup kicks off with New Zealand beating Italy in Auckland.

2010 Inter Milan becomes the only team to win the treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia, and Champions League.

2012 Tokyo Skytree opens to the public. It is the tallest tower in the world, at 634m.

2017 Twenty-two people are killed by an Islamist extremist suicide bomber at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.

2017 Donald Trump becomes the only sitting US president to visit Jerusalem’s Western Wall.

2017 Researchers say mice have been born from frozen sperm stored in space.

2017 The Western Cape declares a drought disaster – the worst in 113 years. The drought was caused by an exceptional 3-year rainfall deficit, and it had to a severe on tourism.

2021 Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, sending rivers of lava towards the nearby city of Goma, prompting evacuations.