May 22nd

Today's Highlight in History:
On May 22nd, 1947, the "Truman Doctrine" was enacted as Congress appropriated military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey.

On this date:
In 1761, the first life insurance policy in the United States was issued, in Philadelphia.

In 1813, composer Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany.

In 1819, the first steam-propelled vessel to attempt a transatlantic crossing, the "Savannah," departed from Savannah, Georgia. (It arrived in Liverpool, England, on June 20th.)

In 1868, the "Great Train Robbery" took place near Marshfield, Indiana, as seven members of the Reno gang made off with $96,000 in loot.

In 1900, The Associated Press (founded in 1848) was incorporated in New York as a non-profit news cooperative.

In 1939, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini signed a "Pact of Steel" committing Germany and Italy to a military alliance.

In 1969, the lunar module of Apollo Ten flew to within nine miles of the moon's surface in a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing.

In 1972, the island nation of Ceylon became the republic of Sri Lanka.

In 1979, Canadians voted in parliamentary elections that put the Progressive Conservatives in power, ending the eleven-year tenure of Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

In 1992, after a reign lasting nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson hosted NBC's "Tonight Show" for the last time.

Ten years ago: After years of conflict, pro-Western North Yemen and pro-Soviet South Yemen merged to form a single nation, the Republic of Yemen. Boxer Rocky Graziano died in New York at age 71.

Five years ago: The Supreme Court ruled, five-to-four, that states cannot limit service in Congress without amending the Constitution. "The CBS Evening News" resumed a single-anchor format with Dan Rather, after Connie Chung was dropped from the broadcast.

One year ago: Columbine High School seniors wearing blue-and-silver gowns marched single file in a graduation ceremony that mixed celebration of the day with sorrow for victims of the recent massacre.

"Freedom is the right to do what you ought to do."

-- Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, American religious leader (1895-1979).