June 22Birthdays & History

On this day: June 22 in history

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

1. 217 BCBattle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV Philopator of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom.Middle East
2. 168 BCBattle of Pydna: Romans under Lucius Aemilius Paullus defeat Macedonian King Perseus who surrenders after the battle, ending the Third Macedonian War.Europe
3. 431The Council of Ephesus, the third ecumenical council, begins, dealing with Nestorianism.Middle EastEurope
4. 813Battle of Versinikia: The Bulgars led by Krum defeat the Byzantine army near Edirne. Emperor Michael I is forced to abdicate in favor of Leo V the Armenian.Europe
5. 816Election of pope Stephen IV following the death of pope Leo III earlier that month.Europe
6. 910The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army near the Rednitz River, killing its leader Gebhard, Duke of Lotharingia (Lorraine).Europe
7. 1527Fatahillah expels Portuguese forces from Sunda Kelapa, now regarded as the foundation of Jakarta.EuropeAsia
8. 1555A Mughal army under Humayun and Bairam Khan defeats an Afghan army under Sikandar Shah Suri in the battle of Sirhind, allowing Humayun to capture Delhi and reestablish the Mughal Empire in India.Asia
9. 1593Battle of Sisak: Allied Christian troops defeat the Ottomans.EuropeMiddle East
10. 1633The Holy Office in Rome forces Galileo Galilei to recant his view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the Universe in the form he presented it in, after heated controversy.Europe
11. 1774The British pass the Quebec Act, setting out rules of governance for the colony of Quebec in British North America.EuropeNorth America
12. 1783A poisonous cloud caused by the eruption of the Laki volcano in Iceland reaches Le Havre in France.Europe
13. 1793Haitian Revolution: The Battle of Cap-Français ends with French Republican troops and black slave insurgents capturing the city.Latin AmericaEurope
14. 1807In the Chesapeake–Leopard affair, the British warship HMS Leopard attacks and boards the American frigate USS Chesapeake.EuropeNorth America
15. 1812France declares war on Russia, starting Napoleon's invasion.Europe
16. 1813War of 1812: After learning of American plans for a surprise attack on Beaver Dams in Ontario, Laura Secord sets out on a thirty kilometres (19 mi) journey on foot to warn Lieutenant James FitzGibbon.North America
17. 1839Cherokee leaders Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot are assassinated for signing the Treaty of New Echota, which had resulted in the Trail of Tears.North America
18. 1870The United States Department of Justice is created by the U.S. Congress.North America
19. 1893The Royal Navy battleship HMS Camperdown accidentally rams the British Mediterranean Fleet flagship HMS Victoria which sinks taking 358 crew with her, including the fleet's commander, Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon.Europe
20. 1897British colonial officers Charles Walter Rand and Lt. Charles Egerton Ayerst are assassinated in Pune, Maharashtra, India by the Chapekar brothers and Mahadeo Vinayak Ranade, who are later caught and hanged.EuropeAsia
21. 1898Spanish–American War: In a chaotic operation, 6,000 men of the U.S. Fifth Army Corps begins landing at Daiquirí, Cuba, about 16 miles (26 km) east of Santiago de Cuba. Lt. Gen. Arsenio Linares y Pombo of the Spanish Army outnumbers them two-to-one, but does not oppose the landings.EuropeNorth AmericaLatin America
22. 1907The London Underground's Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway opens.Europe
23. 1911George V and Mary of Teck are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.Europe
24. 1911Mexican Revolution: Government forces bring an end to the Magonista rebellion of 1911 in the Second Battle of Tijuana.Latin America
25. 1918The Hammond Circus Train Wreck kills 86 and injures 127 near Hammond, Indiana.North America
26. 1922British Army Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson is killed by the Irish Republican Army helping to spark the Irish Civil War.Europe
27. 1940World War II: France is forced to sign the Second Compiègne armistice with Germany, in the same railroad car in which the Germans signed the Armistice in 1918.Europe
28. 1941World War II: Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa.Europe
29. 1942World War II: Erwin Rommel is promoted to Field Marshal after the Axis capture of Tobruk.Africa
30. 1942The Pledge of Allegiance is formally adopted by U.S. Congress.North America
31. 1944World War II: Opening day of the Soviet Union's Operation Bagration against the Army Group Centre.Europe
32. 1944U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs into law the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill.North America
33. 1945World War II: The Battle of Okinawa comes to an end with an American flag-raising ceremony.AsiaNorth America
34. 1948The ship HMT Empire Windrush brought the first group of 802 West Indian immigrants to Tilbury, marking the start of modern immigration to the United Kingdom.AsiaEurope
35. 1948King George VI formally gives up the title "Emperor of India", half a year after Britain actually gave up its rule of India.AsiaEurope
36. 1962Air France Flight 117 crashes on approach to Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport in Guadeloupe, killing 112 people.Europe
37. 1965The Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea is signed.AsiaAsia
38. 1966Vietnamese Buddhist activist leader Thích Trí Quang was arrested as the military junta of Nguyen Cao Ky crushed the Buddhist Uprising.Asia
39. 1969The Cuyahoga River catches fire in Cleveland, Ohio, drawing national attention to water pollution, and spurring the passing of the Clean Water Act and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.North America
40. 1978Charon, the first of Pluto's satellites to be discovered, was first seen at the United States Naval Observatory by James W. Christy.North America
41. 1979Former Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe was acquitted of conspiracy to murder Norman Scott, who had accused Thorpe of having a relationship with him.Europe
42. 1984Virgin Atlantic launches with its first flight from London to Newark.Europe
43. 1986The famous Hand of God goal, scored by Diego Maradona in the quarter-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup match between Argentina and England, ignites controversy. This was later followed by the Goal of the Century. Argentina wins 2–1 and later goes on to win the World Cup.Latin AmericaEurope
44. 1990Cold War: Checkpoint Charlie is dismantled in Berlin.Europe
45. 2000Wuhan Airlines Flight 343 is struck by lightning and crashes into Wuhan's Hanyang District, killing 49 people.Asia
46. 2002An earthquake measuring 6.5 Mw strikes a region of northwestern Iran killing at least 261 people and injuring 1,300 others and eventually causing widespread public anger due to the slow official response.Middle East
47. 2007The small town of Elie, Manitoba is hit by Canada's most intense tornado on record.North America
48. 2009A Washington D.C Metro train traveling southbound near Fort Totten station collides into another train waiting to enter the station. Nine people are killed in the collision (eight passengers and the train operator) and at least 80 others are injured.North America
49. 2012A Turkish Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter plane is shot down by the Syrian Armed Forces, killing both of the plane's pilots and worsening already-strained relations between Turkey and Syria.Middle East
50. 2012Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo is removed from office by impeachment and succeeded by Federico Franco.Latin America
51. 2015The Afghan National Assembly building is attacked by gunmen after a suicide bombing. All six of the gunmen are killed and 18 people are injured.Asia
52. 2022An earthquake occurs in eastern Afghanistan resulting in over 1,000 deaths.Asia
53. 2025The United States conducts airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.North AmericaMiddle East

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