1972Richard Nixon begins the first visit by an American President to what's then Soviet Union. He and Soviet leaders sign the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty- part of Cold War detente  between Washington and its communist rivals Moscow and Beijing.

2002A former Ku Klux Klansman becomes the third man convicted for one of the deadliest attacks during America's civil rights era. A jury finds Bobby Frank Cherry guilty of murder in the 1963 church bombing that killed four black girls in Birmingham, Alabama. Cherry receives life in prison and dies behind bars more than 2 years later. 1907Laurence Olivier --- actor, director and producer of both stage and silver screen is born in Dorking,Surrey, England。

And 1992 ''I bid you a very heartfelt good nightJohnny Carson hosts his last Tonight Show on  NBC after nearly 30 years as TV's King of Late-Night.

Today in History,May 22nd,Ed Donahue the Assoicated Press