On This Day in History: May 22

Roman Emperor Constantine I, (Constantine the Great), was baptized in Nicomedia on May 22, 337. He was baptized on his deathbed, shortly before he died on May 22, 337 CE. A practice reflecting a common belief that baptism offered full spiritual cleansing only once.  Expand +

King Philip II of France and King John of England sign the Treaty of Le Goulet, on May 22, 1200 ending a succession conflict between John and his nephew Arthur of Brittany after Richard I's death.  Expand +

 Pope Gregory XI issued five papal bulls condemning the teachings of John Wycliffe. The letters declared Wycliffe a "Master of Errors" and were sent to various authorities in England, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, and the University of Oxford.

The British Parliament passed the Quartering Act, which required American colonies to provide lodging and supplies to British troops.

The first major wagon train to the northwest via the Oregon Trail leaves Elm Grove, Missouri. About 1,000 people with more than 100 wagons and 1,000 head of cattle, oxen, horses, trailing behind them. The trip of about 2,000 miles lasted five months. The 1843 wagon train was the first of many to follow until 1884 when the railroad provided easier and faster transportation. More

Future President Abraham Lincoln was granted Patent No. 6,469, for a device called "Buoying Vessels Over Shoals". This invention was a method of lifting boats over shallow water, which was inspired by a trip to Niagara Falls where Lincoln witnessed a boat getting stuck. Lincoln's device used expandable bellows attached to the sides of a boat. These bellows would be inflated to lift the boat over shoals or obstructions. Lincoln was 40 years old at the time. He remains the only U.S. president to ever receive a patent. More

The Pact of Steel formally known as the Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy was a military and political alliance between Italy and Germany. is signed. The pact was initially drafted to include Japan wanted the focus of the pact to be aimed at the Soviet Union, Italy and Germany wanted the focus of it to be aimed at the British Empire and France. On September 27, 1940, Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy, thus entering the military alliance known as the "Axis." More

A magnitude 9.5 earthquake, The largest earthquake ever measured, - occurred along the coast of Chile causing a tsunami which radiated outward from a subduction zone along the coast. Its waves reached Hawaii in 15 hours and Japan in 22 hours. In Chile, the earthquake and the tsunami that followed took more than 2,000 lives and caused property damage estimated at $550 million (1960 dollars).The tsunami killed 61 people in Hawaii and 122 in Japan. More

A powerful EF5 tornado struck Joplin, Missouri, causing widespread destruction and resulting in the deaths of approximately 160 people. The storm was rated as one of the deadliest tornadoes in modern U.S. history. More