What are the important events that happened on May 22? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

May 22: Facts & Myths About This Day

May 22 is the 142^nd day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 223 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is May 9, 2025 – a Thursday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 29,131,200 minutes has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘hectatetracontadigon’ day.

Gemini is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Emerald is the modern birthstone for this month. Sapphire is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 271 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,535 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

May 22 Historical Events

• 1807 –
  A grand jury indicts former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr on a charge of treason.
• 1816 –
  A mob in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England, riots over high unemployment and rising grain costs; the rioting spreads to Ely the next day.
• 1826 –
  HMS Beagle departs on its first voyage.
• 1872 –
  Reconstruction: U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signs the Amnesty Act of 1872 into law restoring full civil rights to all but about 500 Confederate sympathizers.
• 1906 –
  The Wright brothers are granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their “Flying-Machine”.
• 1958 –
  Sri Lankan riots of 1958: This riot is a watershed event in the race relationship of the various ethnic communities of Sri Lanka. The total number of deaths is estimated to be 300, mostly Sri Lankan Tamils.
• 1960 –
  An earthquake measuring 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale, now known as the Great Chilean Earthquake, hits southern Chile. It is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded.
• 1963 –
  Assassination attempt of Greek left-wing politician Gregoris Lambrakis, who will die five days afterwards.
• 1990 –
  North and South Yemen are unified to create the Republic of Yemen.
• 2002 –
  In Washington, D.C., the remains of the missing Chandra Levy are found in Rock Creek Park.

Who were born on May 22?

• 1715 –
  François-Joachim de Pierre de Bernis, French cardinal and statesman (d. 1794)
• 1849 –
  Louis Perrier, Swiss politician (d. 1913)
• 1907 –
  Sir Laurence Olivier, English stage and screen actor (d. 1989)
• 1942 –
  Barbara Parkins, Canadian actress
• 1943 –
  Tommy John, American baseball player
• 1956 –
  Natasha Shneider, Russian-born musician (d. 2008)
• 1977 –
  Vinnie Potestivo, American TV producer
• 1980 –
  Chad Tracy, American baseball player
• 1980 –
  Lucy Gordon, British model and actress (d. 2009)
• 1982 –
  Erin McNaught, Australian beauty paegent and TV presenter

Who died on May 22?

• 337 –
  Constantine the Great, Roman Emperor (b. 272)
• 1455 –
  Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, English commander (b. 1406)
• 1772 –
  Durastante Natalucci, Italian historian (b. 1687)
• 1910 –
  Jules Renard, French author (b. 1864)
• 1932 –
  Lady Gregory, Irish playwright (b. 1852)
• 1965 –
  Christopher Stone, first disc jockey in the United Kingdom (b. 1882)
• 1983 –
  Albert Claude, Belgian biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1899)
• 2005 –
  Charilaos Florakis, Greek politician, long-time General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (b. 1914)
• 2006 –
  Heather Crowe, Canadian activist (b. 1945)
• 2006 –
  Lee Jong-wook, Korean Director-General of the World Health Organisation (b. 1945)