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 143^rd day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 223 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is May 9, 2024 – a Wednesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 28,605,600 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 ‘hectatetracontatrigon’ 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 252 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 4,170 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

May 22 Historical Events

• 1377 –
  Pope Gregory XI issues five papal bulls to denounce the doctrines of English theologian John Wycliffe.
• 1848 –
  Slavery is abolished in Martinique.
• 1871 –
  The U.S. Army issued an order for abandonment of Fort Kearny in Nebraska.
• 1915 –
  Three trains collide in the Quintinshill rail crash near Gretna Green, Scotland, killing 227 people and injuring 246; the accident is found to be the result of non-standard operating practices during a shift change at a busy junction.
• 1942 –
  The Steel Workers Organizing Committee disbands, and a new trade union, the United Steelworkers, is formed.
• 1969 –
  Apollo 10's lunar module flies within 8.4 nautical miles (16 km) of the moon’s surface.
• 1987 –
  Hashimpura massacre in Meerut city of India.
• 1997 –
  Kelly Flinn, US Air Force’s first female bomber pilot certified for combat, accepts a general discharge in order to avoid a court martial.
• 1998 –
  Lewinsky scandal: a federal judge rules that United States Secret Service agents can be compelled to testify before a grand jury concerning the scandal, involving President Bill Clinton.
• 2003 –
  In Fort Worth, Texas, Annika Sörenstam becomes the first woman to play the PGA Tour in 58 years.

Who were born on May 22?

• 1823 –
  Solomon Bundy, American politician (d. 1889)
• 1885 –
  Giacomo Matteotti, Italian politician (d. 1924)
• 1912 –
  Herbert C. Brown, English-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
• 1913 –
  František Jílek, Czech conductor (d. 1993)
• 1941 –
  Sir Menzies Campbell, British politician
• 1951 –
  Kenneth Bianchi, American serial killer
• 1955 –
  Iva Davies, Australian rock star (Icehouse)
• 1969 –
  Michael Joseph Kelly, American Actor
• 1987 –
  Novak Djokovic, Serbian tennis player
• 1992 –
  Chinami Tokunaga, Japanese singer

Who died on May 22?

• 985 –
  Saint Bobo of Provence
• 1667 –
  Pope Alexander VII (b. 1599)
• 1745 –
  François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, French military leader (b. 1671)
• 1760 –
  Israel ben Eliezer, Polish-born mystical rabbi (b. 1700)
• 1795 –
  Ewald Friedrich, Count von Hertzberg, Prussian statesman (b. 1725)
• 1989 –
  Steven DeGroote, South African classical pianist (b. 1953)
• 1990 –
  Rocky Graziano, American boxer (b. 1922)
• 1998 –
  John Derek, American actor, director and photographer (b. 1926)
• 2004 –
  Richard Biggs, American actor (b. 1960)
• 2006 –
  Lee Jong-wook, Korean Director-General of the World Health Organisation (b. 1945)