April 22

Historic Events

2025

At least 26 people are killed in a terrorist attack on a group of tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba claimed responsibility for the attack. ›

2020

Four police officers are killed after being struck by a truck on the Eastern Freeway in Melbourne while speaking to a speeding driver, marking the largest loss of police lives in Victoria Police history. ›

2016

The Paris Agreement is signed, an agreement to help fight global warming. ›

2005

Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi apologizes for Japan's war record. ›

1993

Eighteen-year-old Stephen Lawrence is murdered in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus in Well Hall, Eltham. ›

1992

A series of gas explosions rip through the streets in Guadalajara, Mexico, killing 206. ›

1977

Optical fiber is first used to carry live telephone traffic. ›

1974

Pan Am Flight 812 crashes on approach to Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, killing all 107 people on board. ›

1970

The first Earth Day is celebrated. ›

1970

Chicano residents in San Diego, California occupy a site under the Coronado Bridge, leading to the creation of Chicano Park. ›

1969

British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston wins the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race and completes the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world. ›

1969

The formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) is announced at a mass rally in Calcutta. ›

1966

American Flyers Airline Flight 280/D crashes on approach to Ardmore Municipal Airport in Ardmore, Oklahoma, killing 83. ›

1954

Red Scare: Witnesses begin testifying and live television coverage of the Army–McCarthy hearings begins. ›

1948

Arab–Israeli War: The port city of Haifa is captured by Jewish forces. ›

1945

World War II: Prisoners at the Jasenovac concentration camp revolt. Five hundred twenty are killed and around eighty escape. ›

1945

World War II: Sachsenhausen concentration camp is liberated by soldiers of the Red Army and Polish First Army. ›

1944

World War II: The 1st Air Commando Group using Sikorsky R-4 helicopters stage the first use of helicopters in combat with combat search and rescue operations in the China Burma India Theater. ›

1944

World War II: In Greenland, the Allied Sledge Patrol attack the German Bassgeiger weather station. ›

1944

World War II: Operation Persecution is initiated: Allied forces land in the Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura) area of New Guinea. ›

1930

The United Kingdom, Japan and the United States sign the London Naval Treaty regulating submarine warfare and limiting shipbuilding. ›

1915

World War I: The use of poison gas in World War I escalates when chlorine gas is released as a chemical weapon in the Second Battle of Ypres. ›

1906

The 1906 Intercalated Games open in Athens. ›

1898

Spanish–American War: President William McKinley calls for 125,000 volunteers to join the National Guard and fight in Cuba, while Congress more than doubles regular Army forces to 65,000. ›

1889

At noon, thousands rush to claim land in the Land Rush of 1889. Within hours the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed with populations of at least 10,000. ›

1876

The first National League baseball game is played at the Jefferson Street Grounds in Philadelphia. ›

1864

The U.S. Congress passes the Coinage Act of 1864 that permitted the inscription In God We Trust be placed on all coins minted as United States currency. ›

1836

Texas Revolution: A day after the Battle of San Jacinto, forces under Texas General Sam Houston identify Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna among the captives of the battle when some of his fellow soldiers mistakenly give away his identity. ›

1809

The second day of the Battle of Eckmühl: The Austrian army is defeated by the First French Empire army led by Napoleon and driven over the Danube in Regensburg. ›

1529

Treaty of Zaragoza divides the eastern hemisphere between Spain and Portugal along a line 297.5 leagues (1,250 kilometres (780 mi)) east of the Moluccas. ›

1519

Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés establishes a settlement at Veracruz, Mexico. ›

1500

Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral lands in Brazil (discovery of Brazil). ›

1073

Election of Pope Gregory VII following the death of Pope Alexander II. ›

960

Basil II is crowned co-Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. ›