The following events occurred in May 1922:
May 1, 1922 (Monday) Deruluft (Deutsch-Russische Luftverkehrs A.G.), an international air carrier started jointly by the governments of Germany and the Soviet Union, flew for the first time, with a flight from the Soviet city of Moscow to the German Prussian city of Königsberg, with stops in the Russian city of Smolensk and the Lithuanian city of Kaunas. It was Budget Day in the United Kingdom. Chancellor of the Exchequer Robert Horne estimated a surplus of £38 million and cut 1 shilling off income tax and 4 pence off a pound of tea, as well as lowering postal and telephone rates. Korean children's author Bang Jeong-Hwan and seven other people established the first "Children's Day" in Japanese-occupied Korea. After Korea's liberation from Japan, observance of Eorininal (어린이날) the occasion would be moved to May 5, and would become a South Korean national holiday beginning May 5, 1975. CKOC, the oldest continuously operating radio station in Canada, went on the air in Hamilton, Ontario. Born: Vitaly Popkov, Soviet Air Force flying ace with 40 victories during World War II; in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union) (d. 2010) Sofia Ferreira, Portuguese Communist and dissident who was imprisoned by the government from 1949 to 1953 and from 1959 to 1968; in Alhandra, Portugal (d. 2010) Ruth Brinker, American AIDS activist who founded the relief organization Project Open Hand; as Ruth Appel, in Hartford, South Dakota, United States (d. 2011)
May 2, 1922 (Tuesday) The Venezuelan Congress unanimously elected Juan Vicente Gómez president. American-born dancer Isadora Duncan and the Russian poet Sergei Yesenin were married in Moscow. The Dutch comic Bulletje en Boonestaak first appeared. Born: Roscoe Lee Browne, American character actor and director; in Woodbury, New Jersey, United States (d. 2007) A. M. Rosenthal, Canadian-born American journalist and executive editor of The New York Times from 1977 to 1978; as Abraham Michael Rosenthal, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada (d. 2006) Died: Richard Theodore Greener, 78, American scholar of elocution, philosophy, law and classics, was the first African American undergraduate to receive a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1870 (b. 1844) Mary Annette Anderson, 47, American professor of grammar and history, the first African American woman to be elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society, died after a short illness. (b. 1874)
May 3, 1922 (Wednesday)
General Zhang Zuolin's headquarters issued a triumphant statement reporting that rival warlord Wu Peifu had been killed by artillery fire. This report proved to be false. Born: Robert De Niro Sr., abstract expressionist painter, father of actor Robert De Niro; in Syracuse, New York, United States (d. 1993) John J. Voll, American career officer in the United States Air Force and flying ace with 21 victories in World War II; in Cincinnati, United States (d. 1987)
May 4, 1922 (Thursday) The city of Austin, capital of the U.S. state of Texas, was hit by two different tornadoes in the space of half an hour. The first one, an F2 storm, passed through a largely rural area on the west side of Austin, and largely distracted people from the formation of a second, more powerful F4 storm that swept through the eastern half of the city, and killed at least 12 people. Outside of Kirvin, Texas, the body of a missing 17-year-old white girl Eula Ausley was found. She had been sexually assaulted and beaten to death. Local townspeople immediately formed a posse to hunt down the assailant under the assumption that she had been killed by a black person. Born: Eugenie Clark, American ichthyologist, conservationist and marine biologist; in New York City (d. 2015) Philip Lett, American mechanical engineer who oversaw the development of the M1 Abrams tank; in Newton, Alabama, United States (d. 2014) Odette L. Shotwell, American organic chemist and polio survivor who developed the antibiotics azacolutin and duramycin; in Wiley, Colorado, United States (d. 1998)
Died: Viktor Kingissepp, 34, Estonian politician and leader of the Estonian Communist Party. was arrested and executed by Estonian authorities two days after leading a May Day protest in Tallinn. (b. 1888) Joseph N. McCormack, 74, American surgeon, served as President of the American Medical Association (AMA) who reorganized the AMA into a confederation of the state medical associations in the U.S. and provided the basis for common policies for physician certification and conduct, died of a cerebral hemorrhage. (b. 1847) Asle Gronna, 63, American politician, served as U.S. Representative from North Dakota from 1905 to 1911, and U.S. Senator from North Dakota from 1911 to 1921, was one of only six Senators to vote against declaring war on Germany in 1917 (b. 1858)
May 5, 1922 (Friday) Near Kirvin, Texas, an African American suspect was arrested in connection with the Ausley murder. The county sheriff attempted to drive the suspect to Waco, but a gathering lynch mob blocked the road so he drove him to the county jail in Fairfield instead. There the suspect allegedly confessed and implicated two other African American men who were also arrested. The white mob soon gathered around the Fairfield jail and demanded the prisoners be handed over. Born: Adil Çarçani, Albanian politician, served as the last Communist Prime Minister of Albania from 1981 to 1991; in Fushëbardhë, Principality of Albania (d. 1997) Arnold Cook, blind Australian economics professor who established the first guide dog training center in Australia; in Narrogin, Western Australia, Australia (d. 1981) J. D. "Jay" Miller, American record producer and songwriter; as Joseph Denton Miller, in Iota, Louisiana, United States (d. 1996) Monica Lewis, American jazz singer and actress; as May Lewis, in Chicago, United States (d. 2015)
May 6, 1922 (Saturday) The First Zhili–Fengtian War appeared to have ended in a Zhili clique victory. Wu Peifu ordered the arrest of several prominent officials, including Liang Shiyi. Snap Curry, Mose Jones and Johnny Cornish, the three African American suspects in the murder of a 17-year-old white girl, Eula Ausley, were taken from the county jail in Fairfield, Texas by a white lynch mob (accounts vary as to whether the police handed them over willingly or not) and brought back to Kirvin, Texas. They were then burned alive in the middle of the town square at about 5:00 in the morning. Several weeks of race-related violence and murders ensued. Burning at the stake was carried against other accused African Americans during the month, including May 18 and May 20. The construction of Yankee Stadium began in New York City. Utah's first radio station, KZN in Salt Lake City, went on the air. Born: Ralph F. Hirschmann, German-born American biochemist who guided the first synthesis of an enzyme; in Fürth, Bavaria (d. 2009) Taw Phaya Gyi, Burmese prince, installed as the puppet ruler of the Japanese-occupied State of Burma from 1942 to 1945, grandson of Thibaw Min; in Rangoon, Burma Province, British India (now Yangon, Myanmar) (d. 1948, assassinated) Died: Chhatrapati Rajarshi Shahu, 47, the first Maharaja of Kolhapur, a princely state that is now part of the Indian state of Maharashtra (b. 1874) Henry Pomeroy Davison, 54, American banker, philanthropist and financier who oversaw the raising of donations to the American Red Cross during World War I, died while undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumor. (b. 1867)
May 7, 1922 (Sunday) Jesse Barnes of the New York Giants pitched a 6-0 no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies at the Polo Grounds. He faced the minimum twenty-seven batters possible, but gave up a fifth-inning walk that was erased by a double play. Red Star Olympique defeated Stade Rennais UC, 2 to 0, in the Coupe de France Final. The romantic drama film Beyond the Rocks starring Gloria Swanson was released. Born: Darren McGavin, American actor; as William Lyle Richardson, in Spokane, Washington, United States (d. 2006) Wu Liangyong, Chinese architect and urban planner who oversaw the modernization of Beijing in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics; in Nanjing, Jiangsu, Republic of China Joe O'Donnell, documentary filmmaker, photojournalist and photographer; in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States (d. 2007) Died: John Henry Patterson, 77, American businessman and founder of the National Cash Register Company (b. 1844) Max Wagenknecht, 64, German composer of organ and piano music (b. 1857)
May 8, 1922 (Monday) Eight Russian priests, two laymen and a woman, all in the town of Shuya were sentenced to death in the Soviet Union for resisting the state confiscation of church property and for alleged participation in disturbances. Although Vladimir Lenin demanded execution and Leon Trotsky concurred, Soviet Communist Politburo member Lev Kamenev intervened in the sentence, saving the lives of the three laypersons and three of the priests. Born: Bernardin Gantin, Beninese Roman Catholic prelate who held senior positions in the Roman Curia for 20 years and the highest position in the College of Cardinals for 9 years; in Toffo, French Dahomey (now Benin) (d. 2008) Benedicto Kiwanuka, Ugandan politician and statesman, served as the first Prime Minister of Uganda from March to April 1962; in Kisabwa village, Uganda Protectorate (d. 1972 from torture) Tupua Tamasese Lealofi IV, Samoan politician and statesman, served as the Prime Minister of Western Samoa from 1970 to 1973 and from 1975 to 1976; in Apia, Western Samoa Trust Territory (now Samoa) (d. 1983) Died: Vincent Morrelli, 35, Italian-born American gangster and underboss of the Morello crime family in New York City, was killed in a drive-by shooting near his home in Manhattan. (b. 1886)
May 9, 1922 (Tuesday) The engagement of movie idol Rudolph Valentino and a studio costume designer, Winifred Hudnut (who went by the stage name Natacha Rabmova) was announced after Valentino's wife Jean Acker had obtained a judgment of divorce in California. The U.S. state of South Dakota got its first licensed radio station, WCAT of Rapid City. Died: Charlotte Eilersgaard, 64, Danish novelist and women's rights advocate (b. 1858)
May 10, 1922 (Wednesday) Ivy Williams became the first woman in the United Kingdom to be admitted to the practice of law. The Council of Ambassadors ordered Germany to pay 9 million marks as compensation for the zeppelin dirigibles that had been destroyed instead of being handed over to the Allies under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. After the death of two policemen in Chicago, the police department there raided the headquarters of various union halls in the city and arrested 200 officials including "Big Tim" Murphy (an organized crime figure who controlled multiple unions in the city), Teamsters founder Cornelius Shea and "Frenchy" Mader, president of the Chicago Building and Construction Trades Council. The United States annexed the Kingman Reef, an uninhabited island that is part of the Line Islands in the South Pacific Ocean, as U.S. territory. Although the reef itself has an area of , more than 98% of the reef's surface, nearly all of it except for or is submerged at high tide. After arriving on the motor ship Palmyra Lorrin A. Thurston, an agent of the Palmyra Copra Company, raised the American flag and read a proclamation that declared that he was taking formal possession "on behalf of the United States of America" and claiming exclusive rights for the company for its use, acting under the authority of the Guano Islands Act of 1856. Former U.S. Secretary of State, Elihu Root, and U.S. Commerce Secretary, Herbert Hoover, addressed a meeting of prominent citizens at the invitation of the Russell Sage Foundation to urge support for the Foundation's project of planning for the managed growth of New York City over the next 100 years, as Root outlined his vision for the metropolis in the year 2022.