TODAY IN HISTORY

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Today is Friday, May 22, the 143rd day of 2020. There are 223 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On May 22, 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.)

On this date:

In 1761, the first American life insurance policy was issued in Philadelphia to a Rev. Francis Allison, whose premium was six pounds per year.

In 1960, an earthquake of magnitude 9.5, the strongest ever measured, struck southern Chile, claiming some 1,655 lives.

In 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.”

In 1992, after a reign lasting nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson hosted NBC’s “Tonight Show” for the final time (Jay Leno took over as host three days later).

In 1998, a federal judge ruled that Secret Service agents could be compelled to testify before the grand jury in the Monica Lewinsky investigation. Voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland turned out to cast ballots giving resounding approval to a Northern Ireland peace accord.

In 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.

One year ago: President Donald Trump abruptly stalked out of a White House meeting with congressional leaders, declaring he would no longer work with Democrats unless they dropped all investigations in the aftermath of the special counsel’s Trump-Russia report; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was praying for Trump and the nation.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Michael Constantine is 93. Conductor Peter Nero is 86. Actor-director Richard Benjamin is 82. Actor Frank Converse is 82. Former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw is 80. Actress Barbara Parkins is 78. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher Tommy John is 77. Songwriter Bernie Taupin is 70. Actor-producer Al Corley is 65. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is 63. Singer Morrissey is 61. Actress Ann Cusack is 59. Country musician Dana Williams (Diamond Rio) is 59.

Thought for Today: “Pride is an admission of weakness; it secretly fears all competition and dreads all rivals.” — Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, American religious leader (1895-1979).

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