May 22 in History

Historical Events on May 22

1863 American Civil War: Union forces begin the Siege of Port Hudson which lasts 48 days, the longest siege in U.S. military history.

1872 Reconstruction Era: President Ulysses S. Grant signs the Amnesty Act into law, restoring full civil and political rights to all but about 500 Confederate sympathizers.

1943 Joseph Stalin disbands the Comintern.

1994 A worldwide trade embargo goes into effect against Haiti to punish its military rulers for not reinstating the country's ousted elected leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

1996 The Burmese military regime jails 71 supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi in a bid to block a pro-democracy meeting.

2000 In Sri Lanka, over 150 Tamil rebels are killed over two days of fighting for control in Jaffna.

2002 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 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.

2015 The Republic of Ireland becomes the first nation in the world to legalize gay marriage in a public referendum.

2017 22 people are killed at an Ariana Grande concert in the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.

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Famous Birthdays on May 22

1907 Laurence Olivier

1942 Ted Kaczynski

1959 Morrissey

1987 Novak Djokovic

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Famous Deaths on May 22

337 Constantine the Great

1885 Victor Hugo

2013 Murder of Lee Rigby

2017 Nicky Hayden

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