12 History Lessons + 3 Births & 6 Deaths for May 22, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1455 – The First Battle of St Albans marks the beginning of the Wars of the Roses in England.
- 1807 – Former U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr is tried for treason in a Richmond, Virginia court.
- 1843 – The first major wagon train departs from Missouri heading for the Oregon Trail.
- 1906 – The Wright brothers are granted U.S. patent No. 821,393 for their “flying machine.”
- 1939 – Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel, committing to a military and political alliance.
- 1947 – The Truman Doctrine is enacted by Congress to provide aid to Greece and Turkey to prevent the spread of communism.
- 1960 – A devastating earthquake hits Valdivia, Chile, registering a magnitude of 9.5—the strongest ever recorded.
- 1967 – Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood premieres on American television.
- 1990 – Microsoft releases Windows 3.0, its most successful OS at the time.
- 1992 – Johnny Carson hosts The Tonight Show for the final time after nearly 30 years.
- 2010 – The worst air crash in Indian aviation in a decade occurs in Mangalore, killing 158 people.
- 2017 – A suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, kills 22 and injures over 500.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1959 – Morrissey, British singer and lyricist (The Smiths) (66)
- 1970 – Naomi Campbell, British supermodel and activist (55)
- 1990 – Suho, South Korean singer and actor (EXO) (35)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1885 – Victor Hugo, French novelist and dramatist (Les Misérables) (Age 83)
- 1967 – Langston Hughes, American poet and leader of the Harlem Renaissance (Age 65)
- 1990 – Rocky Graziano, American boxing champion (Age 71)
- 1992 – Johnny Carson, iconic host of The Tonight Show (Note: he died in 2005; final show aired this date)
- 2004 – Richard Biggs, American actor (Babylon 5) (Age 44)
- 2015 – John Forbes Nash Jr., Nobel-winning mathematician, subject of A Beautiful Mind (Age 86)
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