1711
315 years ago
UK story
The first attacks of the Tuscarora War begin in present-day North Carolina.
On this day: 22 September
135 things happened on 22 September, from AD 189 to 2024. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
In the UK 7
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
1761
265 years ago
UK story
George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz are crowned King and Queen, respectively, of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
1885
141 years ago
UK story
Lord Randolph Churchill makes a speech in Ulster in opposition to the Irish Home Rule movement.
1892
134 years ago
UK story
A locomotive shunting falls into a hole in the ground, leading to the burial of the locomotive.
1896
130 years ago
UK story
Queen Victoria surpasses her grandfather King George III as the longest reigning monarch in British history (later surpassed by her great-great-granddaughter Elizabeth II on 9 September 2015).
1910
116 years ago
UK story
The Duke of York's Picture House opens in Brighton, now the oldest continually operating cinema in Britain.
1979
47 years ago
UK story
An American Vela satellite detected an unidentified flash of light near the Prince Edward Islands in the Indian Ocean, thought to be a nuclear weapons test.
Around the world 24
1236
790 years ago
Livonian Crusade: The Livonian Brothers of the Sword were soundly defeated by pagan Samogitian and Semigallian troops at the Battle of Saule.
1359
667 years ago
An Aragonese cavalry force defeats a superior Castilian cavalry force in the Battle of Araviana during the War of the Two Peters.
1499
527 years ago
The Treaty of Basel concludes the Swabian War.
1586
440 years ago
Eighty Years' War: Spanish forces defeated an Anglo-Dutch army at the Battle of Zutphen.* 1789 – The office of United States Postmaster General was formally established.
1726
300 years ago
Bach led the first performance of his cantata Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich, BWV 17, in Leipzig.
1789
237 years ago
Battle of Rymnik: Alexander Suvorov's Russian and allied army defeats superior Ottoman Empire forces.
1789
237 years ago
The office of United States Postmaster General is established.
1792
234 years ago
Primidi Vendémiaire of year one of the French Republican Calendar as the French First Republic comes into being.
1823
203 years ago
Joseph Smith claims to have found the golden plates after being directed by God through the Angel Moroni to the place where they were buried.
1862
164 years ago
A preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation is released by Abraham Lincoln.
1866
160 years ago
The Battle of Curupayty is Paraguay's only significant victory in the Paraguayan War.
1869
157 years ago
Das Rheingold, the first of four operas in Der Ring des Nibelungen by the German composer Richard Wagner (pictured), was first performed in Munich.
1891
135 years ago
The first hydropower plant of Finland is commissioned along the Tammerkoski rapids in Tampere, Pirkanmaa.
1919
107 years ago
The steel strike of 1919, led by the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, begins in Pennsylvania before spreading across the United States.
1948
78 years ago
Led by Gail Halvorsen, the United States Air Force began Operation "Little Vittles", delivering candy to children as part of the Berlin Airlift.
1948
78 years ago
Israeli-Palestine conflict: The All-Palestine Government is established by the Arab League.
1953
73 years ago
The Four Level Interchange, first stack interchange in the world opened in Los Angeles.
1960
66 years ago
The Sudanese Republic is renamed Mali after the withdrawal of Senegal from the Mali Federation.
1965
61 years ago
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 between India and Pakistan over Kashmir ends after the United Nations calls for a ceasefire and after a last engagement near Dograi.
1980
46 years ago
Iraq invades Iran, sparking the nearly eight year Iran–Iraq War.
1994
32 years ago
The Nordhordland Bridge (pictured), crossing Salhusfjorden between Klauvaneset and Flatøy in Vestland, and Norway's second-longest bridge, officially opened.
2003
23 years ago
Dolphin, the first emulator for the GameCube that could run commercial video games, was released.
2014
12 years ago
The NASA spacecraft MAVEN entered into orbit around Mars to study the planet's atmosphere.
2024
2 years ago
Anura Kumara Dissanayake is elected as the 9th President Of Sri Lanka.
Quick quiz
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
-
In which year did this happen: “Queen Victoria surpasses her grandfather King George III as the longest”?
- 1711
- 1896
- 1515
Show the answer
B: 1896. 1896 — that’s 130 years ago. Find it on the page
-
In which year did this happen: “George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz are crowned King and Queen”?
- 1791
- 1761
- 1885
Show the answer
B: 1761. 1761 — that’s 265 years ago. Find it on the page
-
Which of these happened first?
- George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz are crowned King and Queen
- An American Vela satellite detected an unidentified flash of light near the
- Queen Victoria surpasses her grandfather King George III as the longest
Show the answer
A: George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz are crowned King and Queen. 1761: George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz are crowned King and Queen · 1979: An American Vela satellite detected an unidentified flash of light near the · 1896: Queen Victoria surpasses her grandfather King George III as the longest Find it on the page
-
“An American Vela satellite detected an unidentified flash of light near the” happened in 1979. How many years ago was that?
- 57 years
- 47 years
- 37 years
Show the answer
B: 47 years. 2026 − 1979 = 47. Find it on the page
Born on this day 39
Famous people whose birthday is 22 September.
- 1791 Michael Faraday — English physicist and chemist (died 1867) UK Read more about Michael Faraday on Wikipedia
- 1515 Anne of Cleves — Queen consort of England (died 1557) UK Read more about Anne of Cleves on Wikipedia
- 1987 Tom Felton — English actor UK Read more about Tom Felton on Wikipedia
- 1958 Andrea Bocelli — Italian singer-songwriter and producer Read more about Andrea Bocelli on Wikipedia
- 1951 David Coverdale — English singer-songwriter UK Read more about David Coverdale on Wikipedia
- 1694 Philip Stanhope — 4th Earl of Chesterfield, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (died 1773) UK Read more about Philip Stanhope on Wikipedia
- 1902 John Houseman — Romanian-American actor and producer (died 1988) UK Read more about John Houseman on Wikipedia
- 1880 Christabel Pankhurst — English activist, co-founded the Women's Social and Political Union (died 1958) UK Read more about Christabel Pankhurst on Wikipedia
- 1953 Ségolène Royal — French politician Read more about Ségolène Royal on Wikipedia
- 1982 Billie Piper — English actress and singer UK Read more about Billie Piper on Wikipedia
- 1870 Charlotte Cooper — English-Scottish tennis player (died 1966) UK Read more about Charlotte Cooper on Wikipedia
- 1931 Fay Weldon — English author and playwright (died 2023) UK Read more about Fay Weldon on Wikipedia
- 1959 Saul Perlmutter — American astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate Read more about Saul Perlmutter on Wikipedia
- 1984 Thiago Silva — Brazilian footballer Read more about Thiago Silva on Wikipedia
- 1961 Liam Fox — Scottish physician and politician, Secretary of State for Defence UK Read more about Liam Fox on Wikipedia
- 1948 Mark Phillips — English equestrian, trainer, and journalist UK Read more about Mark Phillips on Wikipedia
- 1924 Rosamunde Pilcher — English author (died 2019) UK Read more about Rosamunde Pilcher on Wikipedia
- 1970 Rupert Penry-Jones — English actor UK Read more about Rupert Penry-Jones on Wikipedia
- 1741 Peter Simon Pallas — German zoologist and botanist (died 1811) Read more about Peter Simon Pallas on Wikipedia
- 1985 Jamie Mackie — Scottish footballer UK Read more about Jamie Mackie on Wikipedia
- 1939 Junko Tabei — Japanese mountaineer (died 2016) Read more about Junko Tabei on Wikipedia
- 1923 Dannie Abse — Welsh physician, poet, and author (died 2014) UK Read more about Dannie Abse on Wikipedia
- 1601 Anne of Austria — Queen and regent of France (died 1666) Read more about Anne of Austria on Wikipedia
- 1788 Theodore Hook — English composer and educator (died 1841) UK Read more about Theodore Hook on Wikipedia
- 1992 Philip Hindes — English track cyclist UK Read more about Philip Hindes on Wikipedia
- 1957 Nick Cave — Australian singer-songwriter, author, and actor Read more about Nick Cave on Wikipedia
- 1958 Joan Jett — American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actress Read more about Joan Jett on Wikipedia
- 1895 Paul Muni — Ukrainian-born American actor (died 1967) Read more about Paul Muni on Wikipedia
- 1982 Maarten Stekelenburg — Dutch footballer Read more about Maarten Stekelenburg on Wikipedia
- 1927 Gordon Astall — English footballer and coach (died 2020) UK Read more about Gordon Astall on Wikipedia
- 1969 Sue Perkins — English comedian, actress, and radio host UK Read more about Sue Perkins on Wikipedia
- 1885 Erich von Stroheim — Austrian-American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 1957) Read more about Erich von Stroheim on Wikipedia
- 1940 Anna Karina — Danish-French actress, director, and screenwriter (died 2019) Read more about Anna Karina on Wikipedia
- 1970 Emmanuel Petit — French footballer Read more about Emmanuel Petit on Wikipedia
- 1944 Brian Gibson — English director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2004) UK Read more about Brian Gibson on Wikipedia
- 1966 Ruth Jones — Welsh actress, producer, and screenwriter UK Read more about Ruth Jones on Wikipedia
- 1875 Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis — Lithuanian painter and composer (died 1911) Read more about Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis on Wikipedia
- 1995 Nayeon — South Korean singer Read more about Nayeon on Wikipedia
- 1978 Harry Kewell — Australian footballer and coach Read more about Harry Kewell on Wikipedia
Remembering 20
Well-known people who died on 22 September.
- AD 189 He Jin — Chinese general and regent (born 135) Read more about He Jin on Wikipedia
- 1956 Frederick Soddy — English chemist and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1877) UK Read more about Frederick Soddy on Wikipedia
- 1539 Guru Nanak — Sikh religious leader, founded Sikhism (born 1469) Read more about Guru Nanak on Wikipedia
- 2022 Hilary Mantel — British author (born 1952) UK Read more about Hilary Mantel on Wikipedia
- 1520 Selim I — Ottoman sultan (born 1465) Read more about Selim I on Wikipedia
- AD 530 Pope Felix IV Read more about Pope Felix IV on Wikipedia
- 1774 Pope Clement XIV Read more about Pope Clement XIV on Wikipedia
- 1989 Irving Berlin — Russian-born American composer and songwriter (born 1888) Read more about Irving Berlin on Wikipedia
- 1999 George C. Scott — American actor, director, and producer (born 1927) Read more about George C. Scott on Wikipedia
- 1345 Henry — 3rd Earl of Lancaster, English politician, Lord High Steward (born 1281) UK Read more about Henry on Wikipedia
- 1872 Vladimir Dal — Russian lexicographer and linguist (born 1801) Read more about Vladimir Dal on Wikipedia
- 2007 Marcel Marceau — French mime and actor (born 1923) Read more about Marcel Marceau on Wikipedia
- 1399 Thomas de Mowbray — 1st Duke of Norfolk, English politician, Earl Marshal of The United Kingdom (born 1366) UK Read more about Thomas de Mowbray on Wikipedia
- 1994 Leonard Feather — English-American pianist, composer, producer, and journalist (born 1914) UK Read more about Leonard Feather on Wikipedia
- 2010 Jackie Burroughs — British-born Canadian actress (born 1939) UK Read more about Jackie Burroughs on Wikipedia
- 1253 Dōgen — Japanese monk and philosopher (born 1200) Read more about Dōgen on Wikipedia
- 1576 Walter Devereux — 1st Earl of Essex (born 1541) UK Read more about Walter Devereux on Wikipedia
- 1914 Alain-Fournier — French soldier and author (born 1886) Read more about Alain-Fournier on Wikipedia
- 1408 John VII Palaiologos — Byzantine Emperor (born 1370) Read more about John VII Palaiologos on Wikipedia
- 1554 Francisco Vázquez de Coronado — Spanish explorer (born 1510) Read more about Francisco Vázquez de Coronado on Wikipedia
Special days 19
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 22 September somewhere in the world.
- Christian feast days: Theban Legion, including: Maurice (Western Christianity) Read more about Saint Maurice on Wikipedia
- Earliest date for the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere: Mabon in the Northern Hemisphere, Ostara in the Southern Hemisphere. (Neopagan Wheel of the Year) Read more about Wheel of the Year on Wikipedia
- Christian feast days: Theban Legion, including: Candidus Read more about Saint Candidus on Wikipedia
- Christian feast days: Phocas (the Gardener, or of Sinope) Read more about Saint Phocas on Wikipedia
- Christian feast days: Phocas, Bishop of Sinope Read more about Phocas, Bishop of Sinope on Wikipedia
- Earliest date for the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere: Autumnal Equinox Day (Japan) Read more about Autumnal Equinox Day on Wikipedia
- Christian feast days: Ignatius of Santhià (Lorenzo Maurizio Belvisotti) Read more about Ignatius of Santhià on Wikipedia
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire in 1908. Read more about Public holidays in Bulgaria on Wikipedia
- Baltic Unity Day (Lithuania, Latvia) Read more about Baltic Unity Day on Wikipedia
- Christian feast days: Laud of Coutances Read more about Laud of Coutances on Wikipedia
- Christian feast days: Sadalberga Read more about Sadalberga on Wikipedia
- Earliest date for the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere: The first day of Miķeļi (Latvia) Read more about Miķeļi on Wikipedia
- Christian feast days: Felix and Constantia Read more about Felix and Constantia on Wikipedia
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Mali from France in 1960. Read more about Public holidays in Mali on Wikipedia
- Resistance Fighting Day (Estonia) Read more about Resistance Fighting Day on Wikipedia
- Christian feast days: Digna and Emerita Read more about Digna and Emerita on Wikipedia
- Christian feast days: Philander Chase (Episcopal Church) Read more about Philander Chase on Wikipedia
- Christian feast days: September 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Read more about September 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) on Wikipedia
- American Business Women's Day (United States) Read more about American Business Women's Day on Wikipedia
For older readers 26 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.
- 1934 One of Britain's worst mining accidents took place when an explosion at Gresford Colliery in Wales killed 266 men. Read more about Gresford disaster on Wikipedia
- 1914 First World War: The German submarine U-9 sank three Royal Navy cruisers, resulting in approximately 1,450 deaths. Read more about SM U-9 on Wikipedia
- 1957 François Duvalier (pictured), nicknamed Papa Doc, was elected President of Haiti as a populist before consolidating power and ruling as a dictator for the rest of his life. Read more about François Duvalier on Wikipedia
- 1993 A tugboat towing a barge collided with a rail bridge in Mobile, Alabama, U.S., deforming the tracks and causing the derailment of a passenger train eight minutes later, which killed 47 people and injured an additional 103. Read more about Tugboat on Wikipedia
- 2013 Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan, was attacked by two suicide bombers who killed 127 people. Read more about Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wikipedia
- 1922 After nine days, the great fire of Smyrna was extinguished (aftermath pictured), having caused at least ten thousand deaths. Read more about Burning of Smyrna on Wikipedia
- 1939 A joint military parade by the troops of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union took place in Brest-Litovsk to celebrate their partition of Poland. Read more about German–Soviet military parade in Brest-Litovsk on Wikipedia
- 1975 Sara Jane Moore attempted to assassinate U.S. president Gerald Ford, but failed due to unfamiliarity with her weapon. Read more about Sara Jane Moore on Wikipedia
- 1914 World War I: German naval forces bombarded Papeete in French Polynesia and sank a French gunboat. Read more about Bombardment of Papeete on Wikipedia
- 1991 The Dead Sea Scrolls are made available to the public for the first time. Read more about Dead Sea Scrolls on Wikipedia
- 2006 Twenty-three people were killed in a maglev train collision in Lathen, Germany. Read more about Maglev on Wikipedia
- 1981 During a military exercise, a Turkish Air Force Northrop F-5 crashes in Babaeski as a result of pilot error, killing one crew member and also 65 soldiers on the ground. Read more about Military exercise on Wikipedia
- 1776 Nathan Hale is hanged for spying during the American Revolution. Read more about Nathan Hale on Wikipedia
- AD 904 The warlord Zhu Quanzhong kills Emperor Zhaozong, the penultimate emperor of the Tang dynasty, after seizing control of the imperial government. Read more about Zhu Wen on Wikipedia
- 1941 The Holocaust in Ukraine: On the Jewish New Year Day, the German SS murders 6,000 Jews in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Those are the survivors of the previous killings that took place a few days earlier in which about 24,000 Jews were executed. Read more about The Holocaust in Ukraine on Wikipedia
- 1882 Born: Wilhelm Keitel, German field marshal, head of the German armed forces (OKW), and convicted Nuremberg war criminal (died 1946) Read more about Wilhelm Keitel on Wikipedia
- 1976 Red Dye No. 4 is banned by the US Food and Drug Administration after it is discovered that it causes tumors in the bladders of dogs. Read more about Scarlet GN on Wikipedia
- 1692 Martha Corey, Mary Eastey, Alice Parker, Mary Parker, Ann Pudeator, Wilmot Redd, Margaret Scott, and Samuel Wardwell are hanged, the last of those to be executed in the Salem witch trials. Read more about Martha Corey on Wikipedia
- 1993 A Transair Georgian Airlines Tu-154 is shot down by a missile in Sukhumi, Georgia. Read more about 1993 Sukhumi airliner attacks on Wikipedia
- 1857 The Russian warship Lefort capsizes and sinks during a storm in the Gulf of Finland, killing all 826 aboard. Read more about Russian ship of the line Lefort on Wikipedia
- 1995 An E-3B AWACS crashes outside Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska after multiple bird strikes to two of the four engines soon after takeoff; all 24 on board are killed. Read more about 1995 Alaska Boeing E-3 Sentry accident on Wikipedia
- 1995 The Nagerkovil school bombing is carried out by the Sri Lanka Air Force in which at least 34 die, most of them ethnic Tamil schoolchildren. Read more about Nagarkovil school bombing on Wikipedia
- 1966 Twenty-four people are killed when Ansett-ANA Flight 149 crashes in Winton, Queensland, Australia. Read more about Ansett-ANA Flight 149 on Wikipedia
- — Christian feast days: Emmeram of Regensburg Read more about Emmeram of Regensburg on Wikipedia
- — Christian feast days: Paul Chong Hasang (one of The Korean Martyrs) Read more about Paul Chong Hasang on Wikipedia
- — Christian feast days: Septimius of Iesi (this date since 1623) Read more about Septimius of Iesi on Wikipedia
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 “September 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.