Today in History.....May 22

On this day in …

* 1761, the first life insurance policy in the United States was issued, in Philadelphia

* 1819, the first steam-propelled vessel to attempt a trans-Atlantic crossing, the Savannah, departed from Savannah, Ga. (It arrived in Liverpool, England, on June 20.)

* 1868, the "Great Train Robbery" took place near Marshfield, Ind., as seven members of the Reno gang made off with $96,000 in loot

* 1939, Adolf Hitler, ym"sh, and Benito Mussolini signed a "Pact of Steel" committing Germany and Italy to a military alliance

* 1947, the "Truman Doctrine" was enacted as Congress appropriated military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey

* 1969, the lunar module of Apollo 10 flew to within nine miles of the moon's surface in a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing

* 1972, President Nixon began a visit to the Soviet Union, during which he and Kremlin leaders signed the SALT I arms limitation treaty. ALSO: The island nation of Ceylon became the republic of Sri Lanka

* 1979, Canadians voted in parliamentary elections that put the Progressive Conservatives in power, ending the 11-year tenure of Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau

* 1992, after a reign lasting nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson hosted NBC's "Tonight Show" for the last time

* 2001, Ford Motor Co. said it planned to spend more than $2 billion to replace up to 13 million Firestone tires on its vehicles because of safety concerns