TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Wednesday, May 22, the 143rd day of 2024. There are 223 days left in the year. On this date in: 1969: In the last test before Apollo 11’s lunar landing, Apollo 10 astronauts Thomas Stafford and Gene Cernan came within 7.8 nautical miles of the moon’s surface on the Lunar Module. Meanwhile, John Young guided the Command Module, becoming the first astronaut to travel solo through the lunar orbit as he monitored the Lunar Module’s progress.

1992: Late-night TV host Johnny Carson hosted “The Tonight Show” for the last time. The previous night’s show was his last episode with guests – Robin Williams and Bette Midler.

2002: A jury in Birmingham, Alabama, convicted former Ku Klux Klansman Bobby Cherry on four counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of four Black girls in a church bombing in 1963. Cherry was sentenced to life in prison and died there in 2004 of cancer.

2004: The documentary film “Fahrenheit 9/11” won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first documentary to win the award since 1956. The film explores the presidency of George W. Bush and the Iraq War.

2007: Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas signed legislation banning discrimination based on gender identity. Douglas had vetoed similar legislation the previous year, expressing concerns over the language.

2011: An EF5 tornado hit Joplin, Missouri, killing 158 people and destroying about a quarter of the city. 2012: SpaceX launched the first commercial flight to the International Space Station, the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Dragon capsule, which docked with the station three days later to deliver cargo.