Unix Timestamp: 1211414400
Thursday, May 22. 2008, 12:00:00 AM UTC

Tokyo Skytree, the tallest self-supporting tower in the world at 634 metres high, is opened to public.

After months of delays, American company SpaceX successfully launches its unmanned Dragon spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, beginning a test mission to the International Space Station (ISS). //www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18154937 (BBC)

Air India Express Flight 812, with 166 people on board, crashes near Mangalore International Airport. //aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20100522-0 (Aviation Safety Network) //english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/05/20105222203197322.html (Al Jazeera) //www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/21/india.plane.crash/index.html?hpt=T1 (CNN) //news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/10141297.stm (BBC)

Air India Express Flight 812 overshoots the runway at Mangalore International Airport in India, killing 158 and leaving 8 survivors.

Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual head of the Anglican community, declines to invite gay Bishop of New Hshire Gene Robinson and unrecognized conservative Bishop Martyn Minns of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America to the 2008 Lambeth Conference. //news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070522/ts_nm/religion_anglicans_conference_dc (Reuters)

U.S. congressman William J. Jefferson (D-La) refuses to resign, as he denies allegations of bribery after an FBI weekend raid of his office. //www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Congressman-Probe.html?hpex=1148356800en=b424ef0f85199143ei=5094partner=homepage (New York Times)

Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi visits North Korea, to secure the release of the families of the 9 abducted Japanese citizens returned earlier.

Dr. Manmohan Singh assumes office as the 17th and first SikhPrime Minister of the Republic Of India.

A section of the ceiling in Terminal 2E at Paris's Charles de Gaulle International Airport collapses, claiming at least 6 lives.

The Sheffield Winter Gardens are officially opened by Elizabeth II.

U.S. General Tommy Franks, who commanded American-led forces in the recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, announces his retirement.

The Mars Odyssey finds signs of large water ice deposits on the planet Mars.

Recent (discovery of) celebrity deaths: Police find the remains of missing intern Chandra Levy in a park in Washington, DC.

A barge collides with the Interstate 40 bridge across the Arkansas River in eastern Oklahoma, killing 14.

China Airlines Flight 611 disintegrates near the Penghu Islands at Taiwan Strait, killing all 225 people on board.

Estonia hosts the first Eurovision Song Contest in a former Soviet republic.

16th Street Baptist Church bombing: A jury in Birmingham, Alabama, convicts former Ku Klux Klan member Bobby Frank Cherry of the 1963 murders of 4 girls.

Sherpa Temba Tsheri, 16, becomes the youngest person to summit Mount Everest.

The Versailles wedding hall disaster kills 23 in Jerusalem, Israel.

May 23 – The Bahá'í Terraces officially open on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel (site of the Shrine of the Báb and the Bahá'í World Centre).

Jim Jeffords, the United States Senator for Vermont, leaves the Republican Party and becomes an Independent. He joins the Democratic caucus, giving them a 51-49 majority for the remainder of 107th United States Congress.

A Hamas suicide bomber kills 21, mostly teenagers, in the Dolphinarium disco in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal kills his father, the king, his mother and other members of the royal family with an assault rifle and then shoots himself in the Nepalese royal massacre. Dipendra dies June 4, as King of Nepal. His uncle Gyanendra accedes to the throne.

A large trans-Neptunian object (28978 Ixion) is found during the Deep Ecliptic Survey.

Kelly Flinn, the U.S. Air Force's first female bomber pilot certified for combat, accepts a general discharge in order to avoid a court martial.

Pope John Paul II issues the Apostolic Letter "Ordinatio Sacerdotalis" from the Vatican, expounding the Catholic Church's position requiring the reservation of priestly ordination to men alone.

Acting Prime Minister of South KoreaRo Jai-bong resigns in the wake of rioting following a beating death of a student by police on April 26. On May 24, he is succeeded by Chung Won-shik.

The Nordland Days in Leningrad region (Leningrad oblast) open.

An attempted assassination of Miguel Maza Marquez, director of the Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad (DAS) in Bogotá, Colombia is committed by members of the Medellín Cartel, who kill 4 and injure 37.

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: The 10 m (33 ft) high "Goddess of Democracy" statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators.

Boris Yeltsin gains a seat on the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.

NATO agrees to talks with the Soviet Union on reducing the number of short-range nuclear weapons in Europe.

Amid food riots and looting set off by inflation, Argentina declares a nationwide state of siege.

June 1–10 ndash Pope John Paul II visits Norway, Iceland, Finland, Denmark, and Sweden.

Peter Sutcliffe is found guilty of being the Yorkshire Ripper. He is sentenced to life imprisonment on 13 counts of murder and 7 of attempted murder.

The New York Islanders win their first Stanley Cup, from a goal by Bobby Nystrom in overtime of game six of the Stanley Cup playoffs's final round.

The International Court of Justice calls for the release of U.S. Embassy hostages in Tehran.

Pac-Man (the best-selling arcade game of all time) is released.

Exiled leaders Ahmed Abdallah and Mohammed Ahmed return to the Comoros.

Lord Lambton resigns from the British government over a 'call girl' scandal.

An earthquake lasting 20 seconds destroys most of Bingöl, Turkey ndash more than 1,000 are killed, 10,000 made homeless.

Apollo program: "Apollo 10"'s lunar module flies to within 15,400 m of the Moon's surface.

The U.S. nuclear-powered submarine "Scorpion" sinks with 99 men aboard, 400 miles southwest of the Azores.

The U.S. nuclear-powered submarine''Scorpion'' sinks with 99 men aboard, 400 miles southwest of the Azores.

The "Innovation" department store in the centre of Brussels, Belgium burns down. It is the most devastating fire in Belgian history, resulting in 323 dead and missing and 150 injured.

The first skateboard chionship is held. In addition, several hundred Vietnam War protesters in Berkeley, California, march to the Draft Board again to burn 19 more cards. Lyndon Johnson is hung in effigy.

Drilling for the new Montreal subway commences.

Raoul Salan, founder of the French terrorist Organisation armée secrète, is sentenced to life imprisonment in France.

Continental Airlines Flight 11 crashes near Unionville, Missouri after the in-flight detonation of a bomb near the rear lavatory. All 45 passengers and crew aboard are killed.

An Earthquake rocks New South Wales.

The Great Chilean Earthquake: Chile's subduction fault ruptures from Talcahuano to Taitao Peninsula, causing the most powerful earthquake on record (with a magnitude of 9.5) and a tsunami. Because of its power, the seismographs in the city of Valdivia are overloaded and malfunction through the entire earthquake.

The common Nordic Labour Market act is signed.

After two months in Bethesda Naval Hospital, James Forrestal commits suicide, under circumstances that seem suspicious to many.

The Soviets launched the largest Lithuanian deportation to Siberia.

The Kingdom of Transjordan is founded.

WWII: The British Parliament passes a further Emergency Powers (Defence) Act, giving the government full control over all persons and property.

Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel.

An 8.6 magnitude earthquake in Xining, China kills 200,000.

Commissioned Officer Corps of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.

The case of "United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola" is decided.

The Quintinshill railway disaster in Scotland leaves more than 200 dead.

The White Star Liner, "SS Ionic", is launched.

The British conquest of Ijebu-Ode marks a major extension of colonial power into the Nigerian interior.

Sainsbury\'s first store, in Drury Lane, London, is opened.

Sainsbury's first store, in Drury Lane, London, is opened.

Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies is succeeded by his 23-year-old son Francis II of the Two Sicilies.

CongressmanPreston Brooks of South Carolina beats SenatorCharles Sumner with a cane in the hall of the United States Senate, for a speech Sumner had made attacking Southerners who sympathized with the pro-slavery violence in Kansas (Bleeding Kansas). Sumner is unable to return to duty for 3 years while he recovers Brooks becomes a hero across the South.

The Province of Victoria separated from New South Wales

The first major wagon train headed for the American Northwest sets out with one thousand pioneers from Elm Grove, Missouri on the Oregon Trail.

The "SS Savannah" leaves port at Savannah, Georgia on a voyage to become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean, although only a fraction of the trip will be made under steam. The ship arrives at Liverpool, England on June 20.

A grand jury indicts former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr for treason.

June ndash Chesapeake-Leopard Affair: The British warship "HMS Leopard" captures and boards the "USS Chesapeake".

The Treaty of Hamburg takes Sweden out of the war against Prussia.

George Hadley publishes the first explanation of the trade winds."Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society" (London) "'39"': 58–62.{{cite web|first=Anita|last=McConnell|title=Hadley, George (1685–1768)|work=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004|url=//www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/11858|accessdate=2011-09-27|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/11858

Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor crowned king of Hungary.

Heidelberg is taken by invading French forces, and the castle is surrendered on May 23, after which the French blow up the towers of Heidelberg Castle using mines.

France, England, and Netherlands sign the "Hedges Concerto" treaty.

October ndash Robert Blake blockades Prince Rupert's fleet in Kinsale, Ireland.

August ndash The Diggers abandon their last major colony at St. George's Hill, Weybridge, England.

The Guerra dels Segadors breaks out in Catalonia.

Thirty Years\\\' War: Christian IV of Denmark and Wallenstein sign the Treaty of Lübeck, ending Denmark's involvement in the Thirty Years\\\' War.

Francis repudiates the Treaty of Madrid and forms the League of Cognac against Charles, including the Pope, Milan, Venice, and Florence.

First Battle of St Albans: Richard, Duke of York, defeats and captures King Henry VI of England.

July ndash Siege of Berat.

MayndashJune ndash Epibatos and Selymbria also fall to the Turks after the final fall of Constantinople.

July ndash Revolt of Ghent: Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, crushes the Ghent rebellion.

Partial lunar eclipse takes place.

Pope Gregory XI issues five Bulls condemning the opinion of John Wycliffe that Catholic priests should live in poverty like the twelve disciples of Jesus.

Raynald of Chatillon is released from prison in Aleppo.

The Hashshashin attempt to murder Saladin near Aleppo.

Pope Benedict V begins his pontificate as the 132nd pope, chosen by the people of Rome over Pope Leo VIII.

May 23 ndash A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroysDamietta in Egypt.

Tuan Ch'eng-Shih publishes "Miscellaneous Offerings from Yu-yang" in China.

Tuan Ch\'eng-Shih publishes "Miscellaneous Offerings from Yu-yang" in China.

Constantine the Great, first ChristianRoman Emperor of the Western empire (312–324), and of the Roman Empire (324–337), dies in Achyron, near Nicomedia, at age 65 after he is baptized by Eusebius of Nicomedia.