On this day in History - May 22

• 334 BC - The Greek army of Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of the Granicus.
• 0337 - Eusebius of Caesaria Constantine the Great dies (b. 0272). Roman emperor.
• 0748 - Empress Genshō of Japan dies (b. 680).
• 1068 - Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan dies (b. 1025).
• 1176 - Murder attempt by the Hashshashin (Assassins) on Saladin near Aleppo.
• 1370 - Início da construção da Bastilha (França).
• 1377 - Pope Gregory XI issues five papal bulls to denounce the doctrines of English theologian John Wycliffe.
• 1381 - Saint Rita of Cascia was born (d. 1457). Italian Saint.
• 1455 - Wars of the Roses: At the First Battle of St Albans, Richard, Duke of York, defeats and captures King Henry VI of England.
• 1455 - Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland dies kilçled in battle. English politician.
• 1455 - Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset dies killed in battle (b. 1406). English commander
• 1457 - Saint Rita of Cascia dies (b. 1381). Italian saint.
• 1538 - John Forrest dies martyred (b. 1471). English Franciscan friar.
• 1540 - Francesco Guicciardini dies (b. 1483). Italian historian.
• 1545 - Portugal - Miranda do Douro é elevada a categoria de cidade e Diocese.
• 1622 - Louis de Buade de Frontenac was born (d. 1698). Governor of New France.
• 1666 - Gaspar Schott dies (b. 1608). German scientist.
• 1667 - Pope Alexander VII dies (b. 1599).
• 1694 - Daniel Gran was born (d. 1757). Austrian painter.
• 1715 - François-Joachim de Pierre de Bernis was born (d. 1794). French cardinal and statesman.
• 1724 - Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne was born (d. 1772). French explorer.
• 1745 - François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie dies (b. 1671). French military leader.
• 1746 - Thomas Southerne dies (b. 1660). Irish dramatist.
• 1760 - Israel ben Eliezer dies (b. 1700). Polish-born mystical rabbi.
• 1762 - Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Hamburg.
• 1770 - Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom was born (d. 1840).
• 1772 - Ram Mohan Roy was born (d. 1833). Hindu reformer.
• 1772 - Durastante Natalucci dies (b. 1687). Italian historian.
• 1795 - Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg dies (b. 1718). German composer and music critic.
• 1795 - Ewald Friedrich, Count von Hertzberg dies (b. 1725). Prussian statesman.
• 1807 - A grand jury indicts former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr on a charge of treason.
• 1808 - Gérard de Nerval was born (d. 1855). French writer.
• 1809 - Second and last Day of the Battle of Aspern-Essling (near Vienna), Napoleon was repelled by an enemy army for the first time.
• 1813 - Richard Wagner was born (d. 1883). German composer. (Der Ring Des Nibelungen).
• 1819 - The SS Savannah leaves port at Savannah, Georgia on a voyage to become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The ship will arrive at Liverpool, England on June 20. This day is now celebrated in the United States as National Maritime Day.
• 1823 - Solomon Bundy was born (d. 1889). American politician.
• 1823 - Isabella Glyn Dallas was born (d. 1889). British Shakepearean actress.
• 1826 - The HMS Beagle departs Plymouth with Charles Darwin aboard.
• 1828 - Restauração da Carta Constitucional na ilha Terceira, após a dissolução das Cortes constitucionais, em Março, e a proclamação de D. Miguel como rei absoluto, em Abril. A Terceira irá tornar-se o centro da resistência contra o regime absolutista.
• 1840 - The transporting of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished.
• 1841 - Catulle Mendès was born (d. 1909). French poet.
• 1842 - Farmers Lester Howe and Henry Wetsel discover Howe Caverns, when they stumble upon a large gaping hole in the ground.
• 1843 - Thousands of people and their cattle headed west via wagon train from Independence, Missouri to what would later become the Oregon Territory. It was part of the Great Migration. They followed what is now known as the Oregon Trail.
• 1844 - Persian Prophet The Báb announces His revelation, founding Bábism. He announced to the world of the coming of "He whom God shall make manifest." He is considered the forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith.
• 1844 - Mary Cassatt was born in Alleghany (d. 14 Jun 1926). American impressionist painter and printmaker, (The Bath).
• 1848 - Slavery is abolished in Martinique.
• 1848 - Fritz von Uhde was born (d. 1911). German painter.
• 1849 - Louis Perrier was born (d. 1913). Swiss politician.
• 1849 - Abraham Lincoln was issued a patent for "buoying boats over shoals" (No. 6,469). He was the first American president to receive a patent.
• 1851 - Tem início o período conhecido por Regeneração, com a formação do governo presidido pelo duque de Saldanha e tendo a participação de Rodrigo da Fonseca Magalhães e de António Maria Fontes Pereira de Melo. Caracteriza-se por ser um período de paz política e progresso material.
• 1851 - Mordecai Manuel Noah dies (b. 1755). American writer, journalist.
• 1852 - Émile Sauret was born. French composer.
• 1856 - Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beats Senator Charles Sumner with a cane in the hall of the United States Senate for a speech Sumner had made attacking Southerners who sympathized with the pro-slavery violence in Kansas ("Bleeding Kansas").
• 1859 - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 7 Jul 1930). Physician and writer ( Sherlock Holmes series).
• 1859 - King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies dies (b. 1810)
• 1866 - Tomás Cipriano Ignacio María de Mosquera y Arboleda assume (pela 4º vez) a presidência da Colômbia
• 1868 - Julius Plücker dies (b. 1801). German mathematician and physicist.
• 1871 - Portugal: Abrem as Conferências Democráticas, no Casino Lisbonense, com a discussão de "O Espírito das Conferências", de Antero de Quental.
• 1872 - Reconstruction: President Ulysses S. Grant signs the Amnesty Act of 1872 into law restoring full civil rights to all but about 500 Confederate sympathizers.
• 1874 - Daniel François Malan was born (d. 1959). First prime minister of apartheid government in South Africa (1948-1954).
• 1875 - Duque de Loulé dies. Portuguese politician.
• 1879 - Alla Nazimova was born (d. 1945). Ukrainian-born actress, scriptwriter and producer
• 1879 - Warwick Armstrong was born (d. 1947). Australian cricketer.
• 1882 - United States formally recognized Korea.
• 1885 - Giacomo Matteotti was born (d. 1924). Italian politician.
• 1885 - Toyoda Soemu was born (d. 1957). Japanese admiral.
• 1885 - Victor Hugo dies (b. 1802). French author.
• 1888 - Hal Gye was born at Ryde New South Wales. Artist and writer who lived and worked in Melbourne in the early twentieth century. He is perhaps best known for his illustration of C.J.Dennis' The Songs of a Sentimental Blokee Edwards was born (d. 1963). Jazz musician.
• 1891 - Eddie Edwards was born (d. 1963). American jazz trombonist.
• 1894 - Friedrich Pollock was born (d. 1970). German sociologist, economist and philosopher.
• 1895 - Jiddu Krishnamurti was born. Indian spiritual teacher.
• 1899 - Portugal assina acordo comercial com os Estados Unidos
• 1900 - Yvonne de Gaulle was born (d. 1979). Wife of Charles de Gaulle.
• 1901 - Maurice J. Tobin was born (d. 1953). 56th Governor of Massachusetts.
• 1901 - Gaetano Bresci dies (b. 1869). Italian-American anarchist.
• 1902 - Al Simmons was born (d. 1956). Baseball Hall of Famer.
• 1903 - Launch of the White Star Liner, SS Ionic.
• 1903 - Yves Rocard was born (d. 1992). French physicist.
• 1904 - Paul Viiding was born (d. 1962). Estonian poet.
• 1906 - The 1906 Summer Olympics, not now recognized as part of the official Olympic Games, opens in Athens.
• 1906 - The Wright brothers are granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their "Flying-Machine".
• 1907 - Sir Laurence Olivier was born (d. 11 Jul 1989). English Academy Award-winning actor: Hamlet [1948]; War Requiem, The Boys from Brazil, Brideshead Revisited, Carrie, The Jazz Singer, Peter the Great, Richard III, Spartacus, The Merchant of Venice, Marathon Man, Khartoum; Emmy Award-winning actor: The Moon and Sixpence [1960], A Long Day’s Journey into Night [1973], Love Among the Ruins [1975], Brideshead Revisited, King Lear [1984];
• 1907 - Hergé was born (d. 1983). Comic book creator and cartoonist (Tin-Tin).
• 1908 - The Wright Brothers patent their aircraft.
• 1908 - Rattana Pestonji was born (d. 1970). Thai filmmaker.
• 1908 - Horton Smith was born (d. 1963). American golfer.
• 1910 - Johnny Olson was born (d. 1985). Game show announcer.
• 1910 - Jules Renard dies (b. 1864). French author.
• 1911 - Portugal: O Escudo torna-se a moeda oficial, em substituição do Real. O escudo será dividido em cem partes iguais, denominados centavos, correspondendo um centavo aos antigos dez réis.
• 1911 - Anatol Rapoport was born (d. 2007). Russian-born mathematical psychologist and pianist.
• 1912 - Herbert Charles Brown was born (d. 19 Dec 2004). English-born American chemist who developed organoboranes which provided many new techniques in synthetic organic chemistry. For this accomplishment, he shared (with Georg Wittig) the 1979 Nobel Prize for Chemistry
• 1914 - Vance Packard was born (d. 1996). Americasn author.
• 1914 - Sun Ra was born (d. 1993). American jazz musician.
• 1915 - Lassen Peak erupts with a powerful force, and is the only mountain to erupt other than Mount St. Helens in the continental US during the 20th century.
• 1915 - Five 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.
• 1917 - Daniel Nagrin was born. American modern dancer and choreographer.
• 1917 - Georg Tintner was born (d. 1999). Austrian-born conductor.
• 1917 - Nathan Davis was born. American actor.
• 1920 - Thomas Gold was born (d. 2004). Austrian astrophysicist.
• 1922 - Quinn Martin was born (d. 1987). American television producer.
• 1924 - Charles Aznavour was born. French singer, actor, composer.
• 1925 - Foi fundada a Sociedade de escritores e compositores teatrais portugueses.
• 1925 - James King was born (d. 2005). American tenor
• 1925 - Jean Tinguely was born (d. 1991). Swiss artist.
• 1926 - Eleine Leighton was born. Drummer: played with Billie Holiday
• 1927 - Michael Constantine was born. Actor.
• 1927 - George Andrew Olah was born. Hungarian-American chemist who won the 1994 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for work conducted in the early 1960s that isolated the positively charged, electron-deficient fragments of hydrocarbons known as carbocations (or carbonium ions).
• 1927 - Phil Tucker was born. American director
• 1928 - Jackie Cain was born. Pop artist.
• 1930 - Kenny Ball was born. British trumpet player
• 1930 - John Barth was born. American writer.
• 1930 - Harvey Milk was born (d. 1978). American politician, civil rights activist.
• 1932 - Lady Gregory dies (b. 1852). Irish playwright.
• 1934 - Arne Harris was born (d. 2001). American television sports director.
• 1934 - Peter Nero was born. American musician.
• 1935 - Ron Piché was born. Quebec baseball player.
• 1936 - Aer Lingus (Aer Loingeas) is founded by the Irish government as the national airline of the Republic of Ireland.
• 1936 - M. Scott Peck was born (d. 2005). American psychiatrist and writer.
• 1937 - Guy Marchand was born. French musician and actor.
• 1937 - Ciro Costa dies in Rio de Janeiro (b. 18 Mar 1879). Brazilian poet ("Pai João", "Estelário", "Sob a Metralha" e "Terra Prometida").
• 1938 - Richard Benjamin was born. American actor.
• 1938 - Susan Strasberg was born. American actress.
• 1939 - World War II: Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel.
• 1939 - Ernst Toller dies (b. 1893). German author.
• 1939 - Jiri Mahen dies (b. 1882). Czech author.
• 1940 - Fernando Matos Silva was born. Portuguese film director.
• 1940 - Bernard Shaw was born. American television journalist.
• 1940 - Michael Sarrazin was born. Canadian actor.
• 1941 - Martha Langbein was born. German athlete.
• 1941 - Sir Menzies Campbell was born. UK Politician, Leader of the Liberal Democrats
• 1941 - Paul Winfield was born (d. 2004). American actor.
• 1942 - Mexico enters World War II on the side of the Allies.
• 1942 - World War II: Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox enlists in the United States Marine Corps as a flight instructor.
• 1942 - The Steel Workers Organizing Committee disbands, and a new trade union, the United Steelworkers, is formed.
• 1942 - Volker Canaris was born. Theatre director.
• 1942 - Calvin Simon was born. American musician (P Funk).
• 1942 - Theodore Kaczynski was born. American terrorist (The Unabomber)
• 1942 - Barbara Parkins was born. Canadian actress
• 1943 - Betty Williams was born. Irish politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1943 - Gesine Schwan was born. German politician and science professor.
• 1943 - Tommy John was born. Baseball player.
• 1946 - George Best was born (d. 2005). Northern Irish footballer.
• 1946 - Howard Kendall was born. English footballer and football manager
• 1947 - Cold War: In an effort to fight the spread of Communism, President Harry S. Truman of the U.S. signs an act into law that will later be called the Truman Doctrine. The act grants $400 million in military and economic aid to Turkey and Greece.
• 1948 - Richard Baker was born. American politician.
• 1949 - Klaus Mann dies (b. 1906). German writer.
• 1950 - Alekos Alavanos was born. Greek politician.
• 1950 - Bernie Taupin was born. English songwriter.
• 1950 - Mahumud Celal Bayar assume a Presidencia da Turquia enquanto Adnan Menderes assume o cargo de primeiro-ministro.
• 1950 - Alfonso Quiñónez Molina dies. President of El Salvador (1923-1927).
• 1952 - Bernhard Brinkmann was born. German politician.
• 1953 - Doris Barnett was born. German politician.
• 1953 - Cha Bum-Kun was born. Korean footballer.
• 1955 - Jimmy Lyon was born. American guitarist (Eddie Money).
• 1955 - Dale Winton was born. UK radio DJ and television presenter.
• 1955 - Jerry Dammers was born. English musician (The Specials).
• 1955 - Chalmers "Spanky" Alford was born (d. 2008). American jazz guitarist.
• 1956 - Al Corley was born. American actor and producer.
• 1957 - Lisa Murkowski was born. American politician.
• 1957 - Steve Arnold was born. Networking guru and activist.
• 1957 - Gary Sweet was born. Australian actor.
• 1958 - Eric Carlson was born. American guitarist (The Mentors).
• 1959 - Steven Morrissey was born. English singer.
• 1960 - An earthquake measuring 9.5 on the Richter scale, now known as the Great Chilean Earthquake, hits southern Chile. It is the most powerful earthquake ever recorded.
• 1960 - Hideaki Anno was born. Japanese director.
• 1962 - Continental Airlines Flight 11 crashes after bombs explode.
• 1962 - Brian Pillman was born (d. 1997). American professional wrestler.
• 1963 - Assassination attempt of Greek left-wing politician Gregoris Lambrakis, who will die five days afterwards.
• 1964 - U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces the goals of his Great Society social reforms to bring an "end to poverty and racial injustice" in America.
• 1964 - Ashley Renee was born. American fetish model.
• 1965 - Christopher Stone dies (b. 1882). First disc jockey in the United Kingdom.
• 1966 - Kenny Hickey was born. American guitarist (Type O Negative).
• 1966 - Jose Mesa was born. Dominican baseball player.
• 1966 - Tom Goddard dies (b. 1900). English cricketer.
• 1967 - The L'Innovation department store in the centre of Brussels, Belgium burns down. It is the most devastating fire in Belgian history, which results in 323 dead and missing and 150 injured.
• 1967 - Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, the longest-running children's series on television, airs its first episode.
• 1967 - Langston Hughes dies (b. 1902). American writer.
• 1968 - The nuclear-powered submarine the USS Scorpion sinks with 99 men aboard 400 miles southwest of the Azores.
• 1968 - James Luecke was born. Saxophonist.
• 1968 - Kevin Carolan was born. American actor and comedian.
• 1969 - Apollo 10's lunar module flies within 8.4 nautical miles of the moon's surface.
• 1970 - Naomi Campbell was born. English model and actress.
• 1970 - Pedro Diniz was born. Brazilian Formula 1 Driver.
• 1971 - Manuel Ortiz was born. Mexican professional wrestler.
• 1972 - Ceylon adopts a new constitution, changes its name to Sri Lanka, and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.
• 1972 - Annabel Chong was born. Singapore actress.
• 1972 - Alison Eastwood was born. American film director.
• 1972 - Anna Belknap was born. American actress.
• 1972 - Cecil Day-Lewis dies (b. 1904). Irish poet and writer.
• 1972 - Margaret Rutherford dies (b. 1892). English actress.
• 1973 - Danny Tiatto was born. Australian footballer
• 1973 - Nikolaj Lie Kaas was born. Danish actor
• 1973 - Julián Tavárez was born. Dominican baseball player
• 1974 - O governo português reconhece como interlocutores, nas conversações a realizar sobre a descolonização, o PAIGC, o MPLA, a UNITA, a FNLA e a FRELIMO.
• 1974 - John Bale was born. American baseball player
• 1974 - A. J. Langer was born. American actress
• 1974 - Sean Gunn was born. American actor.
• 1975 - Janne Niinimaa was born. Finnish ice hockey player.
• 1975 - Salvador Ballesta was born. Spanish footballer.
• 1975 - Tracy Brookshaw was born. American professional wrestler and valet.
• 1975 - Lefty Grove dies (b. 1900). American baseball player.
• 1977 - Alastair Ralphs was born. Canadian professional wrestler.
• 1977 - Dre Bly was born. American football player.
• 1977 - Seán Óg Ó hAilpín was born. Irish GAA Hurler
• 1978 - Ginnifer Goodwin was born. American actress
• 1978 - Katie Price (Jordan) was born. English model and media personality.
• 1979 - Nadia Khan was born. TV Presenter
• 1979 - Maggie Q was born. American actress
• 1980 - Steven Baker was born. Australian rules footballer
• 1980 - Chad Tracy was born. American baseball player
• 1980 - Rhett Fisher was born. Actor/musician (lead singer for Manic Mind)
• 1981 - Bryan Danielson was born. American professional wrestler
• 1981 - Jürgen Melzer was born. Austrian tennis player
• 1982 - Apolo Anton Ohno was born. American short track speed skater
• 1982 - John Bobek was born. American actor
• 1983 - John Hopkins was born. Anglo-American motorcycling racer
• 1983 -Albert Claude dies (b. 24 Aug 1898). Belgian-American cytologist who developed the principal methods of separating and analyzing components of the living cell. For this work, on which modern cell biology is partly based, Claude, his student George Palade, and Christian de Duve shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1974.
• 1984 - Alex Bogdanovic was born. British tennis player.
• 1984 - Joe Lauzon was born. American Mixed-Martial Arts fighter.
• 1985 - Marc-Antoine Pouliot was born. Canadian ice hockey player.
• 1985 - Tranquillo Barnetta was born. Swiss footballer.
• 1985 - Caridee English was born. American model.
• 1986 - Invest, the first Portuguese investment fund is launched.
• 1986 - Stevie Scott was born. American singer.
• 1987 - Novak Đoković was born. Serbian tennis player.
• 1988 - Giorgio Almirante dies (b. 1914). Italian politician.
• 1989 - Steven DeGroote dies (b. 1953). South African classical pianist.
• 1990 - North and South Yemen are unified to create the Republic of Yemen.
• 1990 - The Windows 3.0 operating system is released by Microsoft.
• 1990 - Rocky Graziano dies (b. 1922). American boxer.
• 1992 - After 30 years, 66-year-old Johnny Carson hosts The Tonight Show for the last time.
• 1992 - Chinami Tokunaga was born. Japanese singer.
• 1992 - Zellig Harris dies (b. 1909). American linguist.
• 1995 - Bangladesh Shahityacharcha Kendro established.
• 1996 - A Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores entrega o Prémio de Carreira ao escritor David Mourão-Ferreira.
• 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.
• 1997 - The US Postal Service released a Bugs Bunny commemorative stamp, the first animated character on a US stamp.
• 1997 - Alfred Hershey dies (b. 4 Dec 1908). American biologist who, along with Max Delbrück and Salvador Luria, won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1969.
• 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.
• 1998 - Na Irlanda do Norte, um acordo de paz é aprovado por católicos e protestantes.
• 1998 - Expo 98: Em Lisboa, abriu ao público, em 1998, a última exposição mundial do século. In Portugal just 12,000 people visited the Expo by midday on its first day. Organizers had predicted an average daily attendance of 140,000.
• 1998 - Francisco Lucas Pires dies. Portuguese professor and politician.
• 1998 - José Cayolla dies. Portuguese essayst.
• 1998 - José Enrique Moyal dies (b,. 1910). Mathematical physicist.
• 2000 - John Gielgud dies. British actor.
• 2001 - It was reported that researchers had identified a gene linked to Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disorder.
• 2002 - In Washington, DC, the remains of the missing Chandra Levy are found in Rock Creek Park.
• 2002 - American civil rights movement: A jury in Birmingham, Alabama convicts former Ku Klux Klan member Bobby Frank Cherry of the 1963 murders of four girls in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church.
• 2002 - Pope John Paul (82) arrived in Azerbaijan for a 2-day visit before continuing on to Bulgaria. He hope to improve relations with the Muslim and Christian Orthodox believers.
• 2003 - Prisão preventiva de Paulo Pedroso, no âmbito do processo Casa Pia.
• 2003 - In Fort Worth, Texas, Annika Sörenstam becomes the first woman to play the PGA Tour in 58 years.
• 2003 - Ousmane Zongo dies. Burkinabé shooting victim
• 2004 - A Palma de Ouro do Festival de Cannes é atribuída ao documentário de Michael Moore "Farenheit 9/11".
• 2004 - Felipe, Prince of Asturias of the Spanish Royal Family marries Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano.
• 2004 - The U.S. town of Hallam, Nebraska, is wiped out by a powerful F4 tornado which broke a width record at an astounding 2.5 miles wide. It also killed one.
• 2004 - Richard Biggs dies (b. 1960). American actor.
• 2004 - Mikhail Voronin dies (b. 1945). Russian gymnast.
• 2004 - Manmohan Singh assume o cargo de primeiro-ministro da Índia.
• 2004 - The ship car carrier MV Hyundai, carrying 4,000 cars, sank after colliding with the oil tanker MT Kaminesan just south of Singapore.
• 2005 - Benfica football team managed by Trapattoni wins Portuguese Championship in after 11 years without getting it. / Benfica retoma o título de campeão nacional de futebol, depois de 11 temporadas.
• 2005 - Charilaos Florakis dies (b. 1914). Greek politician, long-time General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece.
• 2005 - Julia Randall dies (b. 1924). American poet.
• 2005 - Thurl Ravenscroft dies (b. 1914). American voice actor and singer.
• 2006 - José Agostinho Baptista vence o Grande Prémio de Poesia da APE, com a obra "Esta voz é quase o vento".
• 2006 - Results from the Montenegrin independence referendum, 2006 are announced. 55.4% of voters voted to become independent from the Serbia and Montenegro Union.
• 2006 - Lee Jong-wook dies (b. 1945). Korean Director-General of the World Health Organisation.
• 2006 - Heather Crowe dies (b. 1945). Canadian activist.
• 2008 - The Late-May 2008 tornado outbreak sequence unleashes 235 tornadoes, including an EF4 and an EF5 tornado, between 22 May and 31 May 2008. The tornadoes struck 19 states and one Canadian province...
• 2008 - Robert Asprin dies (b. 1946). American author.
• International Day for Biological Diversity
• Haiti: National Sovereignty Day
• Israel: Yom Yerushalayim
• Martinique: Abolition Day, celebrating the abolition of slavery
• Sri Lanka: Republic Day
• United States: National Maritime Day
• Yemen: Unity Day/National Day
• Feast day of St Rita.
• Republic of Yemen - National Day.
• National Heroes Day in Sri Lanka.
• National Maritime Day in the United States.
• Municipal holyday in Leiria (Portugal) / Feriado Municipal da cidade de Leiria (Portugal).