Today in history: May 22
In 1992, after a reign lasting nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson hosted NBC’s “Tonight Show” for the final time. (Jay Leno took over as host three days later.)
1964: Lyndon B. Johnson
On May 22, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson, speaking at the University of Michigan, outlined the goals of his “Great Society,” saying that it “rests on abundance and liberty for all” and “demands an end to poverty and racial injustice.”
1967: Langston Hughes
Poet and playwright Langston Hughes died in New York at age 65.
1968: USS Scorpion
In 1968, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Scorpion, with 99 men aboard, sank in the Atlantic Ocean. (The remains of the sub were later found on the ocean floor 400 miles southwest of the Azores.)
1969: Apollo 10
In 1969, the lunar module of Apollo 10, with Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene Cernan aboard, flew to within nine miles of the moon’s surface in a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing.
1992: Johnny Carson
In 1992, after a reign lasting nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson hosted NBC’s “Tonight Show” for the final time. (Jay Leno took over as host three days later.)
2012: Elon Musk
Ten years ago: The Falcon 9, built by billionaire businessman Elon Musk, sped toward the International Space Station with a load of groceries and other supplies, marking the first time a commercial spacecraft had been sent to the orbiting outpost.
2017: Dina Merrill
Actor Dina Merrill, 93, died at her home in East Hampton, New York.
2018: Stacey Abrams
In 2018, Stacey Abrams won Georgia’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, making her the first woman nominee for Georgia governor from either major party. (Abrams, seeking to become the nation’s first Black female governor, was defeated by Republican Brian Kemp.)
2020: Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli
In 2020, “Full House” star Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, pleaded guilty to paying half a million dollars into the University of Southern California as part of a college admissions bribery scheme. (Loughlin would spend two months behind bars; Giannulli began a five-month sentence in November 2020 and was released to home confinement in April 2021.)
2021: Virgin Galactic
One year ago: Virgin Galactic made its first rocket-powered flight from New Mexico to the fringe of space in a manned shuttle, a step toward offering tourist flights to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere.
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