Today is Sunday, May 22, the 142nd day of 2005. There are 223 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On May 22, 1868, the “Great Train Robbery” took place near Marshfield, Ind., as seven members of the Reno gang made off with $96,000 in loot.
On this date:
In 1761, the first life insurance policy in the United States was issued, in Philadelphia.
In 1813, composer Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany.
In 1819, the first steam-propelled vessel to attempt a trans-Atlantic crossing, the Savannah, departed from Savannah, Ga. (It arrived in Liverpool, England, on June 20.)
In 1939, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini signed a Pact of Steel committing Germany and Italy to a military alliance.
In 1947, the Truman Doctrine was enacted as Congress appropriated military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey.
In 1969, the lunar module of Apollo 10 flew to within nine miles of the moon’s surface in a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing.
In 1972, President Nixon began a visit to the Soviet Union, during which he and Kremlin leaders signed the SALT One arms limitation treaty.
In 1972, the island nation of Ceylon became the republic of Sri Lanka.
In 1979, Canadians voted in parliamentary elections that put the Progressive Conservatives in power, ending the 11-year tenure of Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
In 1992, after a reign lasting nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson hosted NBC’s “Tonight Show” for the last time.
Ten years ago: The Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, that states cannot limit service in Congress without amending the Constitution. “The CBS Evening News” resumed a single-anchor format with Dan Rather, after Connie Chung was dropped from the broadcast.
Five years ago: The Supreme Court struck down, 5-4, a federal law that shielded children from sex-oriented cable TV channels. A committee of the Arkansas Supreme Court recommended that President Clinton be disbarred for giving false testimony about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case. (Clinton later agreed to give up his Arkansas law license for five years.)
One year ago: In Tunisia, Arab leaders convened their annual summit, but the opening session was overshadowed by the walkout of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who criticized peace efforts. Filmmaker Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11,” a scathing indictment of White House actions after the Sept. 11 attacks, won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Samuel Johnson, who’d built the family’s SC Johnson wax company into a consumer products giant, died at age 76.
Today’s Birthdays: Movie reviewer Judith Crist is 83. Singer Charles Aznavour is 81. Actor Michael Constantine is 78. Conductor Peter Nero is 71. Actor-director Richard Benjamin is 67. Actor Frank Converse is 67. Actor Michael Sarrazin is 65. Former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw is 65. Actress Barbara Parkins is 63. Songwriter Bernie Taupin is 55. Actor-producer Al Corley is 49. Singer Morrissey is 46. Country musician Dana Williams (Diamond Rio) is 44. Rock musician Jesse Valenzuela is 43. Rhythm-and-blues singer Johnny Gill (New Edition) is 39. Rock musician Dan Roberts (Crash Test Dummies) is 38. Model Naomi Campbell is 35. Actress Alison Eastwood is 33. Singer Donell Jones is 32. Actress A.J. Langer is 31.
Thought for Today: “One of the greatest pains to human nature is the pain of a new idea.” — Walter Bagehot, English editor and economist (1826-1877).