A Day in the Past

On this day: 22 March

142 things happened on 22 March, from AD 106 to 2026. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.

Printable worksheet Take the quiz

In the UK 7

UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Around the world 38

1995 31 years ago

Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov returned from the space station Mir aboard Soyuz TM-20 after 437 days in space, setting a record for the longest spaceflight.

Space Find out more: Astronaut (Wikipedia)
2020 6 years ago

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announces a national lockdown and the country's first ever self-imposed curfew, in an effort to fight the spread of COVID-19.

Find out more: Kyriakos Mitsotakis (Wikipedia)

Quick quiz

Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!

  1. In which year did this happen: “The United Kingdom grants full independence to Transjordan”?

    1. 1631
    2. 1946
    3. 1808
    Show the answer

    B: 1946. 1946 — that’s 80 years ago. Find it on the page

  2. In which year did this happen: “The Parliament of Great Britain passed the Stamp Act, requiring that many”?

    1. 1906
    2. 1765
    3. 1936
    Show the answer

    B: 1765. 1765 — that’s 261 years ago. Find it on the page

  3. Which of these happened first?

    1. The Parliament of Great Britain passed the Stamp Act, requiring that many
    2. The United Kingdom grants full independence to Transjordan
    3. Second World War: British and Italian naval forces fought the Second Battle of
    Show the answer

    A: The Parliament of Great Britain passed the Stamp Act, requiring that many. 1765: The Parliament of Great Britain passed the Stamp Act, requiring that many · 1946: The United Kingdom grants full independence to Transjordan · 1942: Second World War: British and Italian naval forces fought the Second Battle of Find it on the page

  4. “Second World War: British and Italian naval forces fought the Second Battle of” happened in 1942. How many years ago was that?

    1. 94 years
    2. 74 years
    3. 84 years
    Show the answer

    C: 84 years. 2026 − 1942 = 84. Find it on the page

Born on this day 40

Famous people whose birthday is 22 March.

Remembering 19

Well-known people who died on 22 March.

Special days 11

Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 22 March somewhere in the world.

For older readers 27 Show stories about war, disasters, crime and other difficult history

Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.

Where these facts come from

Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “March 22” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.