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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573488868914.jpeg" alt="Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a>" />
 <figcaption>Photo of old book courtesy <a href="http://shutterstock.com">shutterstock</a></figcaption>
 </figure>Today is Friday, May 22, the 143rd day of 2020. There are 223 days left in the year.Today's Highlight in History:On May 22, 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.)On this date:In 1761, the first American life insurance policy was issued in Philadelphia to a Rev. Francis Allison, whose premium was six pounds per year.In 1813, composer Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany.In 1915, the Lassen Peak volcano in Northern California exploded, devastating nearby areas but causing no deaths.In 1939, the foreign ministers of Germany and Italy, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Galeazzo Ciano, signed a "Pact of Steel" committing the two countries to a military alliance.In 1960, an earthquake of magnitude 9.5, the strongest ever measured, struck southern Chile, claiming some 1,655 lives.In 1962, Continental Airlines Flight 11, en route from Chicago to Kansas City, Missouri, crashed after a bomb apparently brought on board by a passenger exploded, killing all 45 occupants of the Boeing 707.In 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."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).In 1998, a federal judge ruled that Secret Service agents could be compelled to testify before the grand jury in the Monica Lewinsky investigation. Voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland turned out to cast ballots giving resounding approval to a Northern Ireland peace accord.In 2011, a tornado devastated Joplin, Missouri, with winds up to 250 mph, claiming at least 159 lives and destroying about 8,000 homes and businesses.In 2014, Thailand's military seized power in a bloodless coup.In 2017, a suicide bomber set off an improvised explosive device that killed 22 people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England.Ten years ago: Addressing graduating cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, President Barack Obama said the U.S. had to shape a world order as reliant on diplomacy as on the might of its military to lead, a repudiation of the go-it-alone approach forged by his predecessor, George W. Bush. An Air India Express Boeing 737-800 crashed after overshooting a runway at Mangalore International Airport, killing all but eight of the 166 people aboard. Jordan Romero, at age 13, became the youngest climber to reach the peak of Mount Everest.Five years ago: Ireland's citizens voted in a landslide to legalize gay marriage, with 62.1 percent saying "yes" to changing the nation's constitution to define marriage as a union between two people regardless of their gender. Mexican federal police got into a gunbattle with drug cartel suspects at a ranch in the western state of Michoacan; of the 43 people killed, all but one were suspected criminals, raising questions how the operation went down.One year ago: President Donald Trump abruptly stalked out of a White House meeting with congressional leaders, declaring he would no longer work with Democrats unless they dropped all investigations in the aftermath of the special counsel's Trump-Russia report; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was praying for Trump and the nation. A tornado touched down in Jefferson City, Missouri, causing heavy damage but no deaths or injuries in the state capital, as severe weather swept across the state. Historical officials said researchers working in the murky waters of the northern Gulf Coast had located the wreck of the Gulf schooner Clotilda, the last ship known to have brought enslaved people from Africa to the United States.Today's Birthdays: Actor Michael Constantine is 93. Conductor Peter Nero is 86. Actor-director Richard Benjamin is 82. Actor Frank Converse is 82. Former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw is 80. Actress Barbara Parkins is 78. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher Tommy John is 77. Songwriter Bernie Taupin is 70. Actor-producer Al Corley is 65. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is 63. Singer Morrissey is 61. Actress Ann Cusack is 59. Country musician Dana Williams (Diamond Rio) is 59. Rock musician Jesse Valenzuela is 58. Actor Mark Christopher Lawrence is 56. Former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is 55. Rhythm-and-blues singer Johnny Gill (New Edition) is 54. Rock musician Dan Roberts (Crash Test Dummies) is 53. Actress Brooke Smith is 53. Actor Michael Kelly is 51. Model Naomi Campbell is 50. Actress Anna Belknap is 48. Actress Alison Eastwood is 48. Singer Donell Jones is 47. Actor Sean Gunn is 46. Actress A.J. Langer is 46. Actress Ginnifer Goodwin is 42. Rhythm-and-blues singer Vivian Green is 41. Actress Maggie Q is 41. Olympic gold medal speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno is 38. Actress Molly Ephraim (TV: "Last Man Standing") is 34. Tennis player Novak Djokovic is 33. Actress Anna Baryshnikov (TV: "Superior Donuts") is 28. Actress Camren Bicondova is 21.Thought for Today: "Pride is an admission of weakness; it secretly fears all competition and dreads all rivals." — Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, American religious leader (1895-1979).Copyright 2020, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Today in History -- May 22