Today in History

Today is Sunday, May 22, the 143rd day of 2016. There are 223 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 22, 1960, an earthquake of magnitude 9.5, the strongest ever measured, struck southern Chile, claiming some 1,655 lives.

On this date:

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

In 1913, the American Cancer Society was founded in New York under its original name, the American Society for the Control of Cancer.

In 1915, the Lassen Peak volcano in Northern California exploded, devastating nearby areas but causing no deaths.

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 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.

In 1996, "Mission: Impossible," an action-thriller inspired by the TV series and starring Tom Cruise, was released by Paramount Pictures.

Ten years ago: The Department of Veterans Affairs said personal data, including Social Security numbers of 26.5 million U.S. veterans, was stolen from a VA employee after he took the information home without authorization. Seven-year-old Braxton Bilbrey of Arizona swam from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco -- an estimated distance of 1.4 miles -- in 47 minutes.

Five years ago: A tornado devastated Joplin, Missouri, with winds up to 250 mph, claiming at least 159 lives and destroying about 8,000 homes and businesses. President Barack Obama defended his endorsement of Israel's 1967 boundaries as the basis for a future Palestine, telling the American Israel Public Affairs Committee his views reflected longstanding U.S. policy. Joseph Brooks, 73, the Academy Award-winning songwriter of "You Light Up My Life" who was awaiting trial for rape, was found dead in his Manhattan apartment, a suicide.

One year ago: Ireland's citizens voted in a landslide to legalize gay marriage, with 62.1 percent saying "yes" to changing the nation's constitution to define marriage as a union between two people regardless of their sex. Mexican federal police got into a gunbattle with drug cartel suspects at a ranch in the western state of Michoacan (meech-wah-KAHN'); of the 43 people killed, all but one were suspected criminals, raising questions how the operation went down.

Today's Birthdays: Singer Charles Aznavour is 92. Actor Michael Constantine is 89. Conductor Peter Nero is 82. Actor-director Richard Benjamin is 78. Actor Frank Converse is 78. Former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw is 76. Actress Barbara Parkins is 74. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher Tommy John is 73. Songwriter Bernie Taupin is 66. Actor-producer Al Corley is 61. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is 59. Singer Morrissey is 57. Actress Ann Cusack is 55. Country musician Dana Williams (Diamond Rio) is 55. Rock musician Jesse Valenzuela is 54. Actor Mark Christopher Lawrence is 52. Former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is 51. Rhythm-and-blues singer Johnny Gill (New Edition) is 50. Rock musician Dan Roberts (Crash Test Dummies) is 49. Actress Brooke Smith is 49. Actor Michael Kelly is 47. Model Naomi Campbell is 46. Actress Anna Belknap is 44. Actress Alison Eastwood is 44. Singer Donell Jones is 43. Actor Sean Gunn is 42. Actress A.J. Langer is 42. Actress Ginnifer Goodwin is 38. Rhythm-and-blues Vivian Green is 37. Actress Maggie Q is 37. Olympic gold-medal speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno is 34. Actress Camren (cq) Bicondova (TV: "Gotham") is 17.

Thought for Today: "Pride is an admission of weakness; it secretly fears all competition and dreads all rivals." -- Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, American religious leader (1895-1979).