Today in History

Today is Saturday, May 22, the 142nd day of 2021. There are 223 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 22, 2017, a suicide bomber set off an improvised explosive device that killed 22 people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England.

On this date:

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

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

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

In 1962, Continental Airlines Flight 11, en route from Chicago to Kansas City, Missouri, crashed after a bomb apparently brought on board by a passenger exploded, killing all 45 occupants of the Boeing 707.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson, speaking at the University of Michigan, outlined the goals of his "Great Society," saying that it "rests on abundance and liberty for all" and "demands an end to poverty and racial injustice."

In 1967, a fire at the L'Innovation department store in Brussels killed 322 people. Poet and playwright Langston Hughes died in New York at age 65.

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 1992, after a reign lasting nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson hosted NBC's "Tonight Show" for the final time (Jay Leno took over as host three days later).

In 2011, a tornado devastated Joplin, Missouri, with winds up to 250 mph, claiming at least 159 lives and destroying about 8,000 homes and businesses.

In 2018, Stacey Abrams won Georgia's Democratic gubernatorial primary, making her the first woman nominee for Georgia governor from either major party. (Abrams, seeking to become the nation's first Black female governor, was defeated in November by Republican Brian Kemp.)

Ten 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.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama arrived in Vietnam, making him the third sitting president to visit the country since the end of the war.

One year ago: President Donald Trump labeled houses of worship as "essential" and called on governors to let them reopen; he threatened to "override" governors who defied him. As Americans headed into the Memorial Day weekend, health officials urged them to follow social distancing and other measures aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus. In a radio interview, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden suggested that African Americans who backed President Donald Trump "ain't black"; he later said he "should not have been so cavalier." A Pakistani airliner crashed near the airport in Karachi, killing 97 of the 99 people on board. "Full House" star Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, pleaded guilty to paying half a million dollars into the University of Southern California as part of a college admissions bribery scheme. (Loughlin would spend two months behind bars; Giannulli began a five-month sentence in November 2020 and was released to home confinement in April 2021.)

Today's Birthdays: Actor Michael Constantine is 94. Conductor Peter Nero is 87. Actor-director Richard Benjamin is 83. Actor Frank Converse is 83. Former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw is 81. Actor Barbara Parkins is 79. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher Tommy John is 78. Songwriter Bernie Taupin is 71. Actor-producer Al Corley is 66. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is 64. Singer Morrissey is 62. Actor Ann Cusack is 60. Country musician Dana Williams (Diamond Rio) is 60. Rock musician Jesse Valenzuela is 59. Actor Mark Christopher Lawrence is 57. R&B singer Johnny Gill (New Edition) is 55. Rock musician Dan Roberts (Crash Test Dummies) is 54. Actor Brooke Smith is 54. Actor Michael Kelly is 52. Model Naomi Campbell is 51. Actor Anna Belknap is 49. Actor Alison Eastwood is 49. Singer Donell Jones is 48. Actor Sean Gunn is 47. Actor A.J. Langer is 47. Actor Ginnifer Goodwin is 43. R&B singer Vivian Green is 42. Actor Maggie Q is 42. Olympic gold medal speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno is 39. Actor Molly Ephraim (TV: "Last Man Standing") is 35. Tennis player Novak Djokovic is 34. Actor Anna Baryshnikov (TV: "Superior Donuts") is 29. Actor Camren Bicondova is 22.