May 22
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Featured Event
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On this day in 1807, Aaron Burr went on trial for treason. A political outcast since his fatal duel with Alexander Hamilton, Burr was accused of levying war against the United States and preparing military forces to seize Mexico, then a territory of Spain. He was ultimately acquitted. For his next act, Burr fled to Europe, where he tried to convince Napoleon to conquer Spanish Florida. [Read today’s edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
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Where there is no imagination there is no horror.
Scottish writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, born this day in 1859, created Sherlock Holmes, one of the most vivid and enduring characters in English fiction and a prototype for the modern mastermind detective.
Famous Birthdays
More on May 22
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Courtesy of Carson Entertainment
1992
American comedian Johnny Carson, considered by many to be the king of late-night television, made his final appearance as host of The Tonight Show. [Sort fact from fiction in our pop culture quiz.]
© Gianni Ferrari—Cover/Getty Images
1972
Richard Nixon arrived in Moscow, the first visit by a U.S. president to the Soviet Union. [Test your knowledge of U.S. presidents.]
Pierre St. Amand/National Geophysical Data Center/NOAA
1960
One of the largest earthquakes on record struck the southern coast of Chile, killing about 5,700 people and creating seismic sea waves that caused death and destruction in distant Pacific coastal areas, notably Japan and Hawaii. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about Chile.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1942
Mexico entered World War II by declaring war on Germany, Italy, and Japan. [Test your knowledge of World War II.]
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1939
Adolf Hitler of Germany and Benito Mussolini of Italy signed the Pact of Steel, a full military and political alliance between their countries. [Take our quiz about Adolf Hitler.]
Archives Photographiques, Paris
1885
French poet, novelist, and dramatist Victor Hugo, who was the most important of the French Romantic writers, died at age 83.[How much do you know about French literature?]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital file no. 3a53289)
1849
Future U.S. president Abraham Lincoln was granted a patent for a boat-lifting device; he was the only U.S. president to have a patent. [How much do you know about Abraham Lincoln?]
Bridgeman/Art Resource, New York
1844
American painter Mary Cassatt, who was especially known for her Impressionist works of the intimate lives of contemporary women, was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. [Can you match these famous Impressionists’ surnames to their given names?]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1813
German dramatic composer Richard Wagner, whose operas and music had a revolutionary influence on the course of Western music, was born in Leipzig. [Sort fact from fiction in our music composers quiz.]
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337
Constantine the Great, who had practiced Christianity since his youth and sparked its growth into a world religion, became on his deathbed the first Roman emperor to be baptized in the Christian church. [Test your knowledge of the history of Christianity.]