Today in History

Today is Wednesday, May 22, the 142nd day of 2013. There are 223 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 22, 1913, the American Cancer Society was founded in New York by a group of doctors and business leaders under its original name, the American Society for the Control of Cancer.

On this date:

In 1813, composer Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany.

In 1860, the United States and Japan exchanged ratifications of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce during a ceremony in Washington.

In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appeared before Congress to explain his decision to veto a bill that would have allowed World War I veterans to cash in bonus certificates before their 1945 due date.

In 1939, the foreign ministers of Germany and Italy, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Galeazzo Ciano, signed a "Pact of Steel" committing the two countries to a military alliance.

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 southern Chile, claiming some 1,655 lives.

In 1963, Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis was attacked by right-wingers after delivering a speech in Thessaloniki; he died five days later. (The assassination inspired a book as well as the 1969 Costa-Gavras film "Z.")

In 1968, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Scorpion, with 99 men aboard, sank in the Atlantic Ocean. (The remains of the sub were later found on the ocean floor 400 miles southwest of the Azores.)

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 and Kremlin leaders signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The island nation of Ceylon became the republic of Sri Lanka.

In 1981 "Yorkshire Ripper" Peter Sutcliffe was convicted in London of murdering 13 women and was sentenced to life in prison.

In 1992, after a reign lasting nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson hosted NBC's "Tonight Show" for the last time.

Ten years ago: The U.N. Security Council gave the U.S. and Britain a mandate to rule Iraq, ending 13 years of economic sanctions. Annika Sorenstam became the first woman since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945 to tee off against the men on the pro tour, playing in the first round of the Colonial golf tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. (Sorenstam missed the cut the next day by four shots.)

Five years ago: A Texas appeals court said the state had no right to take more than 400 children from a polygamist group's ranch the previous month. (The children were returned to their parents.) Britain's Conservative Party won a special election that was viewed as a rebuke to Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Gordon Brown. Indiana Jones returned to the big screen in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

One year ago: The Falcon 9, built by billionaire businessman Elon Musk, sped toward the International Space Station with a load of groceries and other supplies, marking the first time a commercial spacecraft had been sent to the orbiting outpost. In Flint, Mich., Elias Abuelazam, a drifter accused of faking car trouble, then stabbing strangers who came to his aid, was convicted of murdering handyman Arnold Minor after jurors rejected an insanity defense. Wesley A. Brown, the first African-American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, died in Silver Spring, Md., at age 85. Green Bay Packers receiver Donald Driver and his professional partner, Peta Murgatroyd, won "Dancing with the Stars" on ABC.

Today's Birthdays: Singer Charles Aznavour is 89. Actor Michael Constantine is 86. Conductor Peter Nero is 79. Actor-director Richard Benjamin is 75. Actor Frank Converse is 75. Former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw is 73. Actress Barbara Parkins is 71. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher Tommy John is 70. Songwriter Bernie Taupin is 63. Actor-producer Al Corley is 57. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is 56. Singer Morrissey is 54. Actress Ann Cusack is 52. Country musician Dana Williams (Diamond Rio) is 52. Rock musician Jesse Valenzuela is 51. Actor Mark Christopher Lawrence is 49. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is 48. Rhythm-and-blues singer Johnny Gill (New Edition) is 47. Rock musician Dan Roberts (Crash Test Dummies) is 46. Actress Brooke Smith is 46. Model Naomi Campbell is 43. Actress Anna Belknap is 41. Actress Alison Eastwood is 41. Singer Donell Jones is 40. Actor Sean Gunn is 39. Actress A.J. Langer is 39. Actress Ginnifer Goodwin is 35. Actress Maggie Q is 34. Olympic gold-medal speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno is 31.

Thought for Today: "It is often said that men are ruled by their imaginations; but it would be truer to say they are governed by the weakness of their imaginations." -- Walter Bagehot, English editor and economist (1826-1877).

Copyright 2013, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.