May 22: National Maritime Day in the United States Prayut Chan-o-cha 1766 – A magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck Constantinople and was followed by a tsunami that caused significant damage. 1874 – Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem was first performed in the San Marco church in Milan to commemorate the first anniversary of Alessandro Manzoni's death. 1998 – In Public Prosecutor v Taw Cheng Kong, the Court of Appeal of Singapore overruled a High Court decision in the only time a statute in Singapore had been ruled unconstitutional. 2014 – Prayut Chan-o-cha (pictured), the commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army, launched a coup d'état against the caretaker government following six months of political crisis. Jovan Vladimir (d. 1016)John Forest (d. 1538)Charles Aznavour (b. 1924)Apolo Ohno (b. 1982) More anniversaries: May 21 May 22 May 23 Archive By email List of days of the year About