The first Earth Day

Born on This Day

Bettie Page Portrait

Bettie Page

1923 - 2008

American model who became the ultimate pin-up star in the 1950s, known for her blue eyes, long jet-black hair and bangs.

Portrait of Lenin

Vladimir Lenin

1870 - 1924

Russian Communist Party founder who led the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution that toppled the country's monarchy. First head of the Soviet Union.

John Waters Christmas 2013

John Waters

1946 -

Filmmaker who brought a campy transgressive streak to indie movies like "Pink Flamingos" as well as mainstream fare, "Hairspray."

Vladimir LeninCorbis via Getty Images

John WatersGetty Images

1915

APR22

The Imperial German Embassy in Washington issues a notice that because Germany and England are at war, passengers on British ships travel at their own risk. On May 7, a German U-boat sinks the Lusitania, with the loss of about 1,195 lives.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on April 22nd

First National League baseball game played

On April 22, 1876, the Boston Red Caps beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 6-5, in the first official National League baseball game. The game, which lasts a little more than two hours, is played in “favorable” weather before 3,000 fans at the Athletics’ grounds at 25th and Jefferson streets. “Great interest was manifested in the result,” the […]

1:58m read read

Ohio criminalizes seduction by male teachers

Ohio passes a statute that criminalizes seduction by all men over the age of 18 who worked as teachers or instructors of women. The law even prohibited men from having consensual sex with women (of any age) whom they were instructing. The penalty for disobeying this law ranged from two to 10 years in prison. […]

1:34m read read

The Oklahoma land rush begins

At precisely high noon, thousands of would-be settlers make a mad dash into the newly opened Oklahoma Territory to claim cheap land. The nearly two million acres of land opened up to white settlement was located in Indian Territory, a large area that once encompassed much of modern-day Oklahoma. Initially considered unsuitable for white colonization, […]

2:56m read read

Second Battle of Ypres begins

On April 22, 1915, German forces shock Allied soldiers along the Western Front by firing more than 150 tons of lethal chlorine gas against two French colonial divisions at Ypres in Belgium. Toxic smoke had been used occasionally in warfare since ancient times, and in 1912, the French used small amounts of tear gas in […]

2:50m read read

WWI Dogs

Germans introduce poison gas

On April 22, 1915, German forces shock Allied soldiers along the western front by firing more than 150 tons of lethal chlorine gas against two French colonial divisions at Ypres, Belgium. This was the first major gas attack by the Germans, and it devastated the Allied line. Toxic smoke has been used occasionally in warfare […]

4:08m read read

Hitler admits defeat

On April 22, 1945, Adolf Hitler, learning from one of his generals that no German defense was offered to the Russian assault at Eberswalde, admits to all in his underground bunker that the war is lost and that suicide is his only recourse. Almost as confirmation of Hitler’s assessment, a Soviet mechanized corps reaches Treuenbrietzen, […]

McCarthy-Army hearings begin

Senator Joseph McCarthy begins hearings investigating the United States Army, which he charges with being “soft” on communism. These televised hearings gave the American public their first view of McCarthy in action, and his recklessness, indignant bluster and bullying tactics quickly resulted in his fall from prominence. In February 1950, Senator McCarthy charged that there […]

2:26m read read

John Irvin Kennedy plays for Phillies, fully integrating National League

On April 22, 1957, John Irvin Kennedy becomes the first African American player on the Philadelphia Phillies, fully integrating the National League 10 years after Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier. In the eighth inning of a 5-1 loss to the Brooklyn Dodgers at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, N.J., Kennedy enters the […]

1:28m read read

Bob Marley headlines One Love Peace Concert

On April 22nd, 1978, international reggae superstar Bob Marley headlines the One Love Peace Concert at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. The lineup included 16 reggae acts (including Marley) with a common goal: to restore peace to the Caribbean island nation, a former British colony then roiling with political strife. Throughout the 1970s, long-simmering […]

1:58m read read

The Blues Brothers make their world premiere on “Saturday Night Live”

On April 22, 1978, “Saturday Night Live” showcases the worldwide television debut of the Blues Brothers—the not-quite-real, not-quite-fake musical creation of SNL cast members Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. The duo came complete with a made-up origin story. According to SNL’s Paul Shaffer, who introduced the new act, it was Marshall Checker, of the legendary […]

1:30m read read

100,000 Chinese students gather at Tiananmen Square, demand to meet Li Peng

Seven days after the death of Hu Yaobang, the deposed reform-minded leader of the Chinese Communist Party, some 100,000 students gather at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to commemorate Hu and voice their discontent with China’s authoritative communist government. An official memorial service for Hu Yaobang was being held in Tiananmen’s Great Hall of the People, and […]

2:02m read read

Sewers explode in Guadalajara, Mexico, killing hundreds

Dozens of sewer explosions in Guadalajara, Mexico, kill more than 200 people and damage 1,000 buildings on April 22, 1992. The series of explosions was caused by a gas leak, the warning signs of which were ignored by the Mexican government and the national oil company. Three days prior to the explosions, the residents of […]

1:30m read read

Former President Richard Nixon dies

On April 22, 1994, former President Richard M. Nixon dies after suffering a stroke four days earlier. In a 1978 speech at Oxford University, Nixon admitted he had screwed up during his presidency but predicted that his achievements would be viewed more favorably with time. He told the young audience, “You’ll be here in the […]

2:04m read read

Peruvian President Fujimori orders assault on Japanese ambassador’s home

In Lima, Peru, Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori orders a commando assault on the Japanese ambassador’s home, hoping to free 72 hostages held for more than four months by armed members of the Tupac Amaru leftist rebel movement. On December 16, 1996, 14 Tupac Amaru terrorists, disguised as waiters and caterers, slipped into the home of […]

1:42m read read

Pat Tillman killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan

Pat Tillman, who gave up his pro football career to enlist in the U.S. Army after the terrorist attacks of September 11, is killed by friendly fire while serving in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. The news that Tillman, age 27, was mistakenly gunned down by his fellow Rangers, rather than enemy forces, was initially […]

2:04m read read

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