Historical anniversaries are great for “On This Day in History” features and anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with readers and viewers, editors and producers love them, they’re easy to research, and you can easily turn them into newspaper and magazine articles, films, TV/radio/theatre shows, and more.
Here are 31 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries coming up in May 2022 (so you have time to write about them!)
We’ve randomly picked one anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2022. You’ll find hundreds more in the book. The 2023 and 2024 editions are also available if you work further ahead.
1 May 1952 – 70 years ago
The children’s toy Mr Potato Head went on sale. It was manufactured and distributed by Hasbro. The previous day, 30th April 1952, it also became the first toy advertised on U.S. television.
2 May 1982 – 40 years ago
Falklands War: the British submarine HMS Conqueror sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano. More than 300 Argentine sailors were killed.
3 May 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: Japanese American internment. The USA ordered all people of Japanese ancestry living in ‘Military Area No. 1’ (near San Francisco, California) to go to assembly centres and await transportation to permanent relocation centres.
4 May 1932 – 90 years ago
American mobster Al Capone began serving a ten-year prison sentence for tax evasion. He was released in November 1939 because of his declining health due to syphilis.
5 May 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: food rationing began in the USA. The first food item to be rationed was sugar, which was restricted to half of normal consumption.
6 May 1997 – 25 years ago
Four healthcare companies in the USA agreed to pay more than $600 million (£385 million) to the families of over 6,000 people who were infected with AIDS after receiving tainted blood products between 1978 and 1985.
7 May 1847 – 175 years ago
The American Medical Association was founded.
8 May 1847 – 175 years ago
Scottish inventor Robert William Thompson was granted a U.S. patent for the first pneumatic rubber tyre. (He also invented the fountain pen.)
9 May 1962 – 60 years ago
The Beatles signed their first record contract with Parlophone.
10 May 1872 – 50 years ago
Victoria Woodhull became the first woman to be nominated for President of the United States.
11 May 1997 – 25 years ago
The IBM computer ‘Deep Blue’ defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov in a six-game match in New York City, USA. (Kasparov: 1 win, Deep Blue: 2 wins, drawn games: 3.)
12 May 1972 – 50 years ago
The Rolling Stones’ album Exile on Main St. was released.
13 May 1922 – 100 years ago
Birth of Bea Arthur, American stage, film and TV actress and comedian. Best known for her roles as Maude Findlay in the TV sitcoms All in the Family and Maude, and as Dorothy Zbornak in The Golden Girls. (Died 2009.)
14 May 1897 – 125 years ago
The official National March of the United States, The Stars and Stripes Forever by John Phillip Sousa, was performed for the first time, at the unveiling of a statue of George Washington near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
15 May 1942 – 80 years ago
The Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps was established in the USA.
16 May 1997 – 25 years ago
The President of Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko, was overthrown and he fled the country. He was succeeded by rebel leader Laurent Kabila. He renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and banned all political activities and public demonstrations in the capital, Kinshasa.
17 May 1932 – 90 years ago
The U.S. Congress changed the name of Porto Rico back to its original name of Puerto Rico. It had changed the name to Porto Rico in 1899.
18 May 1872 – 150 years ago
Birth of Bertrand Russell, Welsh philosopher, mathematician, historian and writer. Winner of the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature.
19 May 1922 – 100 years ago
The Young Pioneer organisation was founded in the Soviet Union. It was a communist version of the Scouting movement.
20 May 2002 – 20 years ago
East Timor gained its independence from Indonesia, and became the first independent nation of the 21st century.
21 May 1932 – 90 years ago
American aviator Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
22 May 1947 – 75 years ago
Cold War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman signed what is now known as the Truman Doctrine. It granted $400 million in military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey to help fight the spread of communism.
23 May 1992 – 30 years ago
The USA, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed the Lisbon Protocol, agreeing to implement the START arms reduction treaty that had been agreed by the Soviet Union prior to its collapse.
24 May 1922 – 100 years ago
Ecuador gained its independence from Spain.
25 May 2007 – 15 years ago
Google Street View was launched in the USA. It provides panoramic views along streets, and now covers many parts of the world.
26 May 1897 – 125 years ago
Bram Stoker’s horror novel Dracula was published.
27 May 1932 (or 12 May) – 90 years ago
The Disney character Goofy made his debut appearance (as Dippy Dawg) in the Mickey Mouse cartoon Mickey’s Revue.
28 May 1972 – 50 years ago
Death of Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor. Formerly Edward VIII, King of the United Kingdom (1936 – abdicated).
29 May 1922 – 100 years ago
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that organised baseball was a sport not a business. It was therefore not subject to antitrust laws.
30 May 1922 – 100 years ago
The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., USA was dedicated.
31 May 1872 – 150 years ago
Birth of W. Heath Robinson, British cartoonist and illustrator. Known for his humorous, implausible and unnecessarily complex machines that achieved simple objectives.
More anniversaries:
You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2022. The 2023 and 2024 editions are also available if you work further ahead. The 2025 and 2026 editions will be released later this year. Find out more at ideas4writers.com.