What Happened in May 1922

Historical Events

Stellar Classification

May 9 The International Astronomical Union formally adopt Annie Jump Cannon's stellar classification system, which with only minor changes, is still used today

May 10 Dr Ivy Williams is 1st woman to be called to the English Bar
May 10 The United States annexes the Kingman Reef in n the North Pacific Ocean
May 10 WHB-AM in Kansas City MO begins radio transmissions
May 13 47th Preakness: L Morris aboard Pillory wins in 1:51.6
May 13 48th Kentucky Derby: Albert Johnson aboard Morvich wins in 2:04.6
May 15 Germany turns over the Upper Silesia region to Poland under Allied pressure and despite a plebiscite in favor of merging with Germany
May 16 White Star Liner Majestic completes 5½ day maiden voyage, from Southampton, England to New York City
May 18 Dutch 2nd Chamber agrees to 48 hour work week (was 45 hrs)
May 20 "Egypt" sinks off Ushant after colliding with "Seine" killing 90

Ruth and Meusel Return

May 20 Babe Ruth and Bob Meusel, previously suspended by Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, return to the NY Yankees lineup and go hitless

1st MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis

May 21 Colonel Jacob Ruppert buys out Colonel Tillinghast L’Hommedieu Huston's interest in NY Yankees for $1,500,000 to become sole owner

Pulitzer for O'Neill

May 21 Pulitzer prize awarded to Eugene O'Neill for his play "Anna Christie"

May 21 Rollin Kirby's "On the Road to Moscow" is the 1st cartoon to receive a Pulitzer Prize
May 23 Comedic play "Abie's Irish Rose" premieres at Fulton Theatre, NYC; runs for 2,327 performances (longest run at the time)
May 23 Future World Heavyweight boxing champion Gene Tunney suffers his only professional defeat in 15-round unanimous points decision against Harry Greb at Madison Square Garden, NY

Laugh-O-Gram Films

May 23 Walt Disney incorporates his 1st film company Laugh-O-Gram Films

May 24 Record temperature in Netherlands for May recorded: 35.6°C (96°F)
May 24 Russian-Italian trade agreement signed
May 25 Babe Ruth suspended 1 day and fined $200 for throwing dirt on an umpire

Lenin's Stroke

May 26 Vladimir Lenin suffers a stroke

Marxist Revolutionary and Soviet Leader Vladimir Lenin

May 29 US Supreme Court rules organized baseball is a sport and not a business and thus not subject to antitrust laws

Lincoln Memorial Dedicated

May 30 Completed Lincoln Memorial dedicated by US Chief Justice William Howard Taft in front of 50,000

May 30 Cubs and Cardinals trade outfielders between morning and afternoon games of doubleheader; Max Flack goes to St. Louis, Cliff Heathcote heads to Chicago; both get hits for new clubs in the nightcap
May 30 Indianapolis 500: Jimmy Murphy becomes first driver to win the race from pole position; accompanied by riding mechanic Ernie Olson
May 30 Latvia & Vatican sign accord

Events in 1922

Famous Birthdays

May 1 Floyd "Candy" Johnson, American jazz saxophonist (Andy Kirk; Count Basie; Bill Doggett), and educator, born in Madison, Illinois (d. 1981)
May 2 A. M. Rosenthal, American journalist and newspaper editor (NY Times), born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada (d. 2006)
May 3 Len Shackleton, English former footballer, born in Bradford, England (d. 2000)
May 3 Marina Svetlova, American ballerina and choreographer (Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo), born in Paris (d. 2009)
May 4 John Paul Hammerschmidt, American politician (Rep-R-AR, 1967-93), born in Harrison, Arkansas (d. 2015)
May 5 J. D. "Jay" Miller, American record producer, born in Iota, Louisiana (d. 1996)
May 5 Monica Lewis, American jazz singer and film actress (Box Office, Affair with a Stranger), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2015)
May 6 Alan Ross, British poet and editor (London Magazine), born in Calcutta, India (d. 2001)
May 6 Camille Laurin, Quebec psychiatrist and politician (Parti Québécois), born in Charlemagne, Quebec (d. 1999)
May 6 Carlos Moorhead, American politician (Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California), born in Long Beach, California (d. 2011)
May 6 John Ernest, American constructionist artist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1994)
May 6 Pat Harder, American NFL fullback (Cardinals, Lions), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 1992)
May 6 Vladimir Etush, Soviet actor and People's Artist of the USSR, born in Moscow, RSFSR (d. 2019)
May 7 Darren McGavin [Richardson], American actor (Murphy Brown, The Night Stalker, A Christmas Story), born in Spokane, Washington (d. 2006)
May 7 Joe O'Donnell, American documentary photographer and photojournalist, born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania (d. 2007)
May 7 Lewis "Lew" Anderson, American actor and musician (The Howdy Doody Show), born in Kirkman, Iowa (d. 2006)

May 9 Sheila Burrell, British actress (Black Orchid, Paranoiac, Laughter in Dark), born in Blackheath, London (d. 2011)
May 10 Nancy Walker, American actress (Rhoda, McMillan & Wife), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1992)
May 11 Ameurfina Melencio-Herrera, Filipino Supreme Court jurist, born in Cabanatuan, Philippines (d. 2020)
May 11 Nestor Chylak, American Baseball HOF umpire (AL 1954-78; 3 x ALCS; 5 x World Series; 6 x MLB All Star games), born in Olyphant, Pennsylvania (d. 1992)
May 12 Barend Busnac, Dutch office clerk and resistance fighter, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1944)
May 12 Marco Denevi, Argentine writer (d. 1998)

Bea Arthur (1922-2009)

May 13 American Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress (Mame; Maude; The Golden Girls), and singer, born in Brooklyn, New York

May 13 Michael Ainsworth, British cricketer (d. 1978)
May 14 Agha Hasan Abedi, Pakistani banker and felon (BCCI), born in Lucknow, British India (d. 1995)

Franjo Tuđman (1922-1999)

May 14 Croatian politician and President of Croatia (1990-1999), born in Veliko Trgovišće, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes

May 14 Richard Deacon, American actor (The Dick Van Dyke Show - "Mel Cooley"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1984)
May 15 Enrico Berlinguer, Italian communist, Secretary-General (CPI), born in Sassari, Italy (d. 1984) [or May 25]
May 15 Jakucho Setouchi, Japanese writer and Buddhist nun (The Tale of Genji), born in Tukushima, Japan (d. 2021)
May 15 Selma Engel [Saartje Wijnberg], Dutch born Jew, the first to tell of Nazi Sobibor extermination camp, born in Groningen, the Netherlands (d. 2018)
May 16 Colin Cole, British Principal King of Arms (highest English and Welsh heraldic office), born in Surry, England (d. 2001)
May 18 George Kitson, British principal of the Central School of Speech and Drama, born in Magherafelt, Northern Ireland (d. 2010)
May 18 Gerda Boyesen, Norwegian-born body psychotherapist (d. 2005)
May 18 Kai Winding, Danish-American Jazz musician and trombonist (Georgia On My Mind), born in Aarhus, Denmark (d. 1983)
May 19 David McLean [Eugene Joseph Huth], American actor known for appearing in Marlboro advertisements (Days of Our Lives, Tate), born in Akron, Ohio (d. 1995)
May 20 Clifford Charles Butler, English physicist (hyperon and meson types of particles) and vice chancellor of Loughborough University, born in Reading, England (d. 1999)
May 22 Judith Crist, American film critic (TV Guide, Today), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 2012)
May 22 Quinn Martin [Irwin Martin Cohn], American television producer (The Fugitive; Cannon; The Streets of San Francisco; Barnaby Jones), born in New York City (d. 1987)
May 24 Sadao Bekku, Japanese classical and film composer (Matango), born in Tokyo (d. 2012)

Christopher Lee (1922-2015)

May 27 English actor (Dracula, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit), born in London

May 27 Sidney Keyes, English poet (Iron Laurel) (d. 1943)
May 28 Barney Rosset, publisher and free speech advocate (publisher of Tropic for Cancer), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2012)
May 28 John Alderson, English police officer, introduced community policing (Chief Constable Devon & Cornwall), born in Barnsley, England (d. 2011)
May 28 Lou Duva, American boxing trainer, born in New York City (d. 2017)
May 29 Iannis Xenakis, Greek-French composer, music theorist, and architect who helped revolutionize 20th century classical music (Metastaseis), born in Brăila, Romania (d. 2001)
May 29 Joe Weatherly, American auto racer (NASCAR Sprint Cup champion 1962-63), born in Norfolk, Virginia (d. 1964)
May 30 Hal Clement [Harry Clement Stubbs], American sci-fi writer (Mission of Gravity; Needle), born in Somerville, Massachusetts (d. 2003)
May 31 Denholm Elliott, English actor (Alfie, Raiders of the Lost Ark), born in London, England (d. 1992)
May 31 Elisabeth, Archduchess of Austria, Princess of Liechtenstein (daughter of Charles I last Emperor of Austria), born in El Pardo Palace, Spain (d. 1993)

Born in 1922

Famous Weddings

Isadora Duncan

May 2 Dancer Isadora Duncan (44) weds Sergei Esenin (26)

Rudolph Valentino

May 13 "Latin Lover" silent actor Rudolph Valentino (27) weds film costume and set designer Natacha Rambova (25) in Mexicali, Mexico; divorce in 1925

Famous Deaths

May 2 Richard T. Greener, African-American pioneering scholar and diplomat who was Harvard College's 1st Black graduate, University of South Carolina 1st Black professor and America's 1st Black diplomat to a white country, dies of natural causes at 78 [1]
May 4 Viktor Kingissepp, Estonian Bolshevik politician (b. 1888)
May 7 Max Wagenknecht, German composer, dies at 64
May 18 Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1907), dies at 76
May 19 Heinrich Quincke, German internist and surgeon (postural drainage), dies at 79
May 21 Sidney Ainsworth, British silent film actor (Not in the News, The Rajah's Tunic), dies at 49
May 22 Ada Jane Jones, English-American popular singer, among the earliest female singers to be recorded, dies of kidney failure at 48
May 28 Carl Teike, German military composer, dies at 58
May 28 John Munro Longyear, American capitalist and developer of timber and mineral lands, dies at 72
May 29 Yevgeny Vakhtangov, Armenian-Russian theatrical director of the Moscow Art Theatre (Vakhtangov Theatre), dies of cancer at 39
May 30 David Mendes Chumaceiro, Curacaos poet (Adelfas), dies at 45

On This Day