Today is May 22. On this date in:
1761
The first American life insurance policy was issued in Philadelphia to the Rev. Francis Allison, whose premium was 6 pounds per year.
1856
Congressman Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery Democrat, savagely beat Senator Charles Sumner, a Republican from Massachusetts, with a cane in the halls of Congress as tensions rise over the expansion of slavery.
1859
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Our history:Price Hill medium convinced Sherlock Holmes creator
1868
A major train robbery took place near Marshfield, Indiana, as members of the Reno gang made off with $96,000 in loot.
1913
The American Cancer Society was founded in New York under its original name, the American Society for the Control of Cancer.
1925
Cincinnati’s Coney Island opened its Sunlite Pool.
More:Our history: A history of the area’s favorite amusement parks
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.
1960
An earthquake of magnitude 9.5, the strongest ever measured, struck Chile, claiming 1,655 lives.
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.
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.”
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.)
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.
1972
President Richard Nixon began a visit to the Soviet Union, during which he and Kremlin leaders signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
1981
“Yorkshire Ripper” Peter Sutcliffe was convicted in London of murdering 13 women and was sentenced to life in prison.
1992
After a reign lasting nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson hosted NBC’s “Tonight Show” for the final time.
1998
Voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland turned out to cast ballots giving resounding approval to a Northern Ireland peace accord.
2001
Ford Motor Co. said it planned to spend more than $2 billion to replace up to 13 million Firestone tires on its vehicles because of safety concerns.
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.
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.
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