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