Today is Tuesday, May 22, the 143rd day of 2012. There are 223 days left in the year.

12 B.C. ― A daytime meteor shower, possibly Zeta Perseid, observed in China

1570 ― First atlas, with 70 maps, published

1761 ― First life insurance policy in U.S., issued in Philadelphia

1807 ― Townsend Speakman first sells fruit-flavored carbonated drinks (Philadelphia)

1884 ― One-armed pitcher Hugh Daily fanned 13 hitters

1906 ― Wright Brothers patent an aeroplane

1939 ― Hitler and Mussolini sign ``Pact of Steel"

1964 ― LBJ presents ``Great Society"

1973 ― President Nixon confesses his role in Watergate cover-up

1990 ― North and South Yemen merge to form Republic of Yemen