October 22Birthdays & History

On this day: October 22 in history

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

1. 2137 BCA solar eclipse occurs over China, one of the earliest recorded in human history, reportedly resulting in the executions of two astronomers who failed to predict it.Asia
2. 451The Chalcedonian Creed, regarding the divine and human nature of Jesus, is adopted by the Council of Chalcedon, an ecumenical council.Middle East
3. 794Japanese Emperor Kanmu relocates his empire's capital to Heian-kyō (now Kyoto).Asia
4. 906Abbasid general Ahmad ibn Kayghalagh leads a raid against the Byzantine Empire, taking 4,000–5,000 captives.Middle EastEurope
5. 1383The male line of the Portuguese House of Burgundy becomes extinct with the death of King Fernando, leaving only his daughter Beatrice. Rival claimants begin a period of civil war and disorder.Europe
6. 1721The Russian Empire is proclaimed by Tsar Peter I after the Swedish defeat in the Great Northern War.Europe
7. 1724J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (Adorn yourself, O dear soul) in Leipzig on the 20th Sunday after Trinity, based on the communion hymn of the same name.Europe
8. 1730Construction of the Ladoga Canal is completed in Russia.Europe
9. 1739The War of Jenkins' Ear begins with the first attack on La Guaira.Latin AmericaEurope
10. 1746The College of New Jersey (later renamed Princeton University) receives its charter.North America
11. 1777American Revolutionary War: American defenders of Fort Mercer on the Delaware River repulse repeated Hessian attacks in the Battle of Red Bank.North America
12. 1790Northwest Indian War: Native American forces defeat the United States, ending the Harmar Campaign.North America
13. 1797André-Jacques Garnerin makes the first recorded parachute jump, from 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above Paris.Europe
14. 1836Sam Houston is inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of Texas.North America
15. 1844The Millerites (followers of Baptist preacher William Miller) anticipate the end of the world in conjunction with the Second Advent of Christ. The following day becomes known as the Great Disappointment.North America
16. 1859Spain declares war on Morocco.EuropeAfrica
17. 1866A plebiscite ratifies the annexation of Veneto and Mantua to Italy, which had occurred three days before on October 19.Europe
18. 1877The Blantyre mining disaster in Scotland kills 207 miners.Europe
19. 1879Using a filament of carbonized thread, Thomas Edison tests the first practical electric incandescent light bulb; the bulb lasted 131⁄2 hours before burning out.North America
20. 1883The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City opens with a performance of Charles Gounod's Faust.North America
21. 1884The International Meridian Conference designates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich as the world's prime meridian.North America
22. 1895In Paris, an express train derails after overrunning the buffer stop, crossing almost 30 metres (100 ft) of concourse before crashing through a wall and falling 10 metres (33 ft) to the road below.Europe
23. 1907A run on the stock of the Knickerbocker Trust Company sets events in motion that will spark the Panic of 1907.North America
24. 1910Hawley Harvey Crippen (the first felon to be arrested with the help of radio) is convicted of poisoning his wife.Europe
25. 1923The royalist Leonardopoulos–Gargalidis coup d'état attempt fails in Greece, discrediting the monarchy and paving the way for the establishment of the Second Hellenic Republic.Europe
26. 1934In East Liverpool, Ohio, FBI agents shoot and kill the notorious bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd.North America
27. 1936Dod Orsborne, captain of the Girl Pat is convicted of its theft and imprisoned, having caused a media sensation when it went missing.Europe
28. 1941World War II: French resistance member Guy Môquet and 29 other hostages are executed by the Germans in retaliation for the death of a German officer.Europe
29. 1943World War II: In the second firestorm raid on Germany, the British Royal Air Force conducts an air raid on the town of Kassel, killing 10,000 and rendering 150,000 homeless.Europe
30. 1946Over twenty-two hundred engineers and technicians from eastern Germany are forced to relocate to the Soviet Union, along with their families and equipment.Europe
31. 1962Cuban Missile Crisis: President Kennedy, after internal counsel from Dwight D. Eisenhower, announces that American reconnaissance planes have discovered Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba, and that he has ordered a naval "quarantine" of the Communist nation.Latin AmericaNorth AmericaEurope
32. 1963A BAC One-Eleven prototype airliner crashes in UK with the loss of all on board.Europe
33. 1964Jean-Paul Sartre is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, though he does not accept the prize.Europe
34. 1975The Soviet uncrewed space mission Venera 9 lands on Venus.Europe
35. 1981The US Federal Labor Relations Authority votes to decertify the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) for its strike the previous August.North America
36. 1983Two correctional officers are killed by inmates at the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. The incident inspires the Supermax model of prisons.North America
37. 1987John Adams' opera Nixon in China premiered at the Houston Grand Opera.AsiaNorth America
38. 1992Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-52 to deploy the LAGEOS-2 satellite and microgravity experiments.North America
39. 1997Danish fugitive Steen Christensen kills two police officers, Chief Constable Eero Holsti and Senior Constable Antero Palo, in Ullanlinna, Helsinki, Finland during his prison escape.Europe
40. 1999Maurice Papon, an official in the Vichy government during World War II, is jailed for crimes against humanity.Europe
41. 2005Tropical Storm Alpha forms in the Atlantic Basin, making the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season the most active Atlantic hurricane season until surpassed by the 2020 season.Latin AmericaNorth America
42. 2005Bellview Airlines Flight 210 crashes in Nigeria, killing all 117 people on board.Africa
43. 2006A Panama Canal expansion proposal is approved by 77.8% of voters in a national referendum.Latin America
44. 2007A raid on Anuradhapura Air Force Base is carried out by 21 Tamil Tiger commandos, with all except one dying in this attack. Eight Sri Lanka Air Force planes are destroyed and ten damaged.Asia
45. 2008India launches its first uncrewed lunar probe mission Chandrayaan-1.Asia
46. 2012Cyclist Lance Armstrong is formally stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after being charged for doping.Europe
47. 2013The Australian Capital Territory becomes the first Australian jurisdiction to legalize same-sex marriage with the Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013.Oceania
48. 2014Michael Zehaf-Bibeau attacks the Parliament of Canada, killing a soldier and injuring three other people.North America
49. 2019Same-sex marriage is legalised, and abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland as a result of the Northern Ireland Assembly not being restored.Europe

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