TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS TUESDAY, MAY 22, the 142nd day of 2018. There are 223 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:
On this date in 1968, the nuclearpowered submarine USS Scorpion, with 99 men aboard, sank in the Atlantic Ocean. (The remains of the sub were later found 400 miles southwest of the Azores.)
In 1761, the first American life insurance policy was issued in Philadelphia to a Rev. Francis Allison, whose premium was six pounds per year.
In 1868, a major train robbery took place near Marshfield, Ind., as members of the Reno gang made off with $96,000 in loot.
In 1913, the American Cancer Society was founded in New York.
In 1947, the Truman Doctrine was enacted as Congress appropriated military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey.
In 1960, an earthquake of magnitude 9.5, the strongest ever measured, struck Chile, claiming some 1,655 lives.
In 1969, the lunar module of Apollo 10, with Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene Cernan aboard, flew to within nine miles of the moon’s surface in a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing.
In 1972, President Richard Nixon began a visit to the Soviet Union, during which
he signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
In 1992, after a reign lasting nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson hosted NBC’s “Tonight Show” for the final time.
In 1998, voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland turned out to cast ballots giving resounding approval to a Northern Ireland peace accord.
In 2011, a tornado devastated Joplin, Mo., with winds up to 250 mph, claiming at least 159 lives, and destroying about 8,000 homes and businesses.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Singer Charles Aznavour is 94. Conductor Peter Nero is 84. Actor-director Richard Benjamin and actor Frank Converse are 80. Former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw is 78. Actress Barbara Parkins is 76. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher Tommy John is 75. Songwriter Bernie Taupin is 68. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is 61. Singer Morrissey is 59. Actress Ann Cusack and country musician Dana Williams (Diamond Rio) are 57. Rock musician Jesse Valenzuela is 56. Rock musician Dan Roberts (Crash Test Dummies) and actress Brooke Smith are 51. Actor Michael Kelly is 49. Model Naomi Campbell is 48. Olympic gold medal speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno is 36. Tennis player Novak Djokovic is 31.