January 22Birthdays & History

On this day: January 22 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 613Eight-month-old Heraclius Constantine is crowned as co-emperor (Caesar) by his father Heraclius at Constantinople.Middle East
2. 871Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred I are defeated by the Danelaw Vikings at Basing.Europe
3. 1506The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrives at the Vatican.Europe
4. 1517The Ottoman Empire under Selim I defeats the Mamluk Sultanate and captures present-day Egypt at the Battle of Ridaniya.Middle East
5. 1555The Ava Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in what is now Myanmar.Asia
6. 1689The Convention Parliament convenes to determine whether James II and VII, the last Roman Catholic monarch of England, Ireland and Scotland, had vacated the thrones of England and Ireland when he fled to France in 1688.Europe
7. 1808The Portuguese royal family arrives in Brazil after fleeing the French army's invasion of Portugal two months earlier.EuropeLatin America
8. 1849Second Anglo-Sikh War: The Siege of Multan ends after nine months when the last Sikh defenders of Multan, Punjab, surrender.Asia
9. 1863The January Uprising breaks out in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. The aim of the national movement is to regain Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth from occupation by Russia.Europe
10. 1879Anglo-Zulu War: the Battle of Rorke's Drift, just some 15 km (9.3 mi) away from Isandlwana, results in a British victory.AfricaEurope
11. 1879Anglo-Zulu War: the Battle of Isandlwana results in a Zulu victory.Africa
12. 1890The United Mine Workers of America is founded in Columbus, Ohio.North America
13. 1901Edward VII is proclaimed King of the United Kingdom after the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.Europe
14. 1905Bloody Sunday occurs in Saint Petersburg, beginning the 1905 revolution.Europe
15. 1906SS Valencia runs aground on rocks on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, killing more than 130.North AmericaEurope
16. 1915Over 600 people are killed in Guadalajara, Mexico, when a train plunges off the tracks into a deep canyon.Latin America
17. 1917American entry into World War I: President Woodrow Wilson of the still-neutral United States calls for "peace without victory" in Europe.North AmericaEurope
18. 1919Act Zluky is signed, unifying the Ukrainian People's Republic and the West Ukrainian National Republic.Europe
19. 1924Ramsay MacDonald becomes the first Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.Europe
20. 1927Teddy Wakelam gives the first live radio commentary of a football match, between Arsenal F.C. and Sheffield United at Highbury.Europe
21. 1941World War II: British and Commonwealth troops capture Tobruk from Italian forces during Operation Compass.Europe
22. 1943World War II: Australian and American forces defeat Japanese army and navy units in the bitterly fought Battle of Buna–Gona.OceaniaNorth AmericaAsia
23. 1944World War II: The Allies commence Operation Shingle, an assault on Anzio and Nettuno, Italy.Europe
24. 1946Creation of the Central Intelligence Group, forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency.North America
25. 1946In Iran, Qazi Muhammad declares the independent people's Republic of Mahabad at Chahar Cheragh Square in the Kurdish city of Mahabad; he becomes the new president and Haji Baba Sheikh becomes the prime minister.Middle East
26. 1947KTLA, the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, begins operation in Hollywood.North America
27. 1957Israel withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula.Middle East
28. 1963The Élysée Treaty of cooperation between France and West Germany is signed by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer.Europe
29. 1967Between dozens and hundreds of anti-Somocista demonstrators are killed by the Nicaraguan National Guard in Managua.Latin America
30. 1968Operation Igloo White, a US electronic surveillance system to stop communist infiltration into South Vietnam begins installation.North AmericaAsia
31. 1968Apollo Program: Apollo 5 lifts off carrying the first Lunar module into space.North America
32. 1970The Boeing 747, the world's first "jumbo jet", enters commercial service for launch customer Pan American Airways with its maiden voyage from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to London Heathrow Airport.North AmericaEurope
33. 1971The Singapore Declaration, one of the two most important documents to the uncodified constitution of the Commonwealth of Nations, is issued.Asia
34. 1973In a bout for the world heavyweight boxing championship in Kingston, Jamaica, challenger George Foreman knocks down champion Joe Frazier six times in the first two rounds before the fight is stopped by referee Arthur Mercante Sr..Latin America
35. 1973The Supreme Court of the United States delivers its decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, legalizing elective abortion in all fifty states. This decision is subsequently overturned in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in 2022.North America
36. 1973The crew of Apollo 17 addresses a joint session of Congress after the completion of the final Apollo Moon landing mission.North America
37. 1973A chartered Boeing 707 explodes in flames upon landing at Kano Airport, Nigeria, killing 176.Africa
38. 1987Philippine security forces open fire on a crowd of 10,000–15,000 demonstrators at Malacañang Palace, Manila, killing 13.Asia
39. 1992Space Shuttle program: The space shuttle Discovery launches on STS-42 carrying Dr. Roberta Bondar, who becomes the first Canadian woman and the first neurologist in space.North America
40. 1995Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Beit Lid suicide bombing: In central Israel, near Netanya, two Gazans blow themselves up at a military transit point, killing 19 Israeli soldiers.Middle East
41. 1998Space Shuttle program: space shuttle Endeavour launches on STS-89 to dock with the Russian space station Mir.Europe
42. 1999Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons are burned alive by radical Hindus while sleeping in their car in Eastern India.OceaniaAsia
43. 2006Evo Morales is inaugurated as President of Bolivia, becoming the country's first indigenous president.Latin America
44. 2007At least 88 people are killed when two car bombs explode in the Bab Al-Sharqi market in central Baghdad, Iraq.Middle East
45. 2009U.S. President Barack Obama signs an executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp; congressional opposition will prevent it being implemented.North America
46. 2024Ram Mandir is inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh after 500 years of dispute.Asia

Source: Wikipedia "January 22" / CC BY-SA 4.0