September 22 is the 265th day of the year (266th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 100 days remaining until the end of the year.
It is frequently the day of the Autumnal Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Vernal Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere.
Today in history
66 – Emperor Nero creates the Legion I Italica.
1236 – The Lithuanians and Semigallians defeat the Livonian Brothers of the Sword in the Battle of Saule.
1499 – Treaty of Basel; Switzerland becomes an independent state.
1586 – Battle of Zutphen: Spanish victory over England and Dutch.
1598 – Ben Jonson is indicted for manslaughter.
1692 – Last people hanged for witchcraft in the United States.
1761 – George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz are crowned King and Queen of the Great Britain.
1776 – Nathan Hale is hanged for spying during American Revolution.
1784 – Russia establishes a colony at Kodiak, Alaska.
1789 – The position of United States Postmaster General is established.
1789 – Battle of Rymnik established Alexander Suvorov as a pre-eminent Russian military commander after his allied army defeated superior Ottoman Empire forces.
1792 – Primidi Vendémiaire of year 1 of the French Republican Calendar.
1823 – Joseph Smith, Jr. claims that he is directed by GERD through the Angel Moroni to the place where the Golden plates are stored.
1851 – The city of Des Moines, Iowa is incorporated as Fort Des Moines.
1862 – Slavery in the United States: a preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation is released.
1866 – Battle of Curupaity in the War of the Triple Alliance.
1869 – Richard Wagner's opera Das Rheingold premieres in Munich.
1885 – Lord Randolph Churchill makes a speech in Ulster in opposition to Home Rule e.g. "Ulster will fight and Ulster will be right".
1888 – The first issue of National Geographic Magazine is published
1893 – The first American-made automobile, built by the Duryea Brothers, is displayed.
1896 – Queen Victoria surpasses her grandfather King George III as the longest reigning monarch in British history.
1908 – The independence of Bulgaria is proclaimed.
1910 – The Duke of York's Cinema opens in Brighton. It is still operating today, making it the oldest continually operating cinema in Britain.
1919 – The steel strike of 1919, led by the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, begins in Pennsylvania before spreading across the United States.
1927 – Jack Dempsey loses the "Long Count" boxing match to Gene Tunney.
1934 – An explosion takes place at Gresford Colliery in Wales, leading to the deaths of 266 miners and rescuers.
1937 – Spanish Civil War: Peña Blanca is taken; the end of the Battle of El Mazuco.
1939 – Joint victory parade of Wehrmacht and Red Army in Brest-Litovsk at the end of the Invasion of Poland.
1941 – World War II: On Jewish New Year Day, the German SS murder 6,000 Jews in Vinnytsya, Ukraine. Those are the survivors of the previous killings that took place a few days earlier in which about 24,000 Jews are executed.
1944 – World War II: the Red Army enters Tallinn.
1951 – The first live sporting event seen coast-to-coast in the United States, a college football game between Duke and the University of Pittsburgh, is televised on NBC.
1955 – In Britain, the television channel ITV goes live for the first time.
1960 – The Sudanese Republic is renamed Mali after the withdrawal of Senegal from the Mali Federation.
1965 – The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965/Second Kashmir War between India and Pakistan over Kashmir ends after the UN calls for a cease-fire.
1970 – Tunku Abdul Rahman resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia.
1975 – Sara Jane Moore tries to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford, but is foiled by Oliver Sipple.
1979 – The South Atlantic Flash or Vela Incident is observed near Bouvet Island, thought to be a nuclear weapons test.
1980 – Iraq invades Iran.
1985 – The Plaza Accord is signed in New York City.
1991 – The Dead Sea Scrolls are made available to the public for the first time by the Huntington Library.
1993 – A barge strikes a railroad bridge near Mobile, Alabama, causing the the deadliest train wreck in Amtrak history. 47 passengers are killed.
1993 – A Transair Georgian Airlines Tu-154 is shot down by a missile in Sukhumi, Georgia.
1995 – An E-3B AWACS crashes outside Elmendorf AFB, Alaska after multiple bird strikes to two of the four engines soon after takeoff; all 24 on board are killed.
1995 – Nagerkovil school bombing, is carried out by Sri Lankan Air Force in which 34 (at least) people died, most of them are ethnic Tamil school children.
1997 – Bentalha massacre in Algeria; over 200 villagers are killed.
2003 – David Hempleman-Adams becomes the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean in an open-air, wicker-basket hot air balloon.
2006 – The F-14 Tomcat is retired from the United States Navy.
Births
1515 – Anne of Cleves, wife of Henry VIII of England (d. 1557)
1547 – Philipp Nikodemus Frischlin, German philologist and poet (d. 1590)
1593 – Matthäus Merian, Swiss engraver (d. 1650)
1601 – Anne of Austria, queen of Louis XIII of France (d. 1666)
1606 – Li Zicheng, emperor of China (d. 1645)
1680 – Barthold Heinrich Brockes, German poet (d. 1747)
1694 – Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, English statesman (d. 1773)
1715 – Jean-Étienne Guettard, French physician and scientist (d. 1786)
1717 – Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin, Swedish astronomer (d. 1783)
1722 – John Home, Scottish writer (d. 1808)
1741 – Peter Simon Pallas, German zoologist (d. 1811)
1743 – Quintin Craufurd, British author (d. 1819)
1765 – Paolo Ruffini, Italian mathematician (d. 1822)
1788 – Theodore Edward Hook, English author (d. 1841)
1791 – Michael Faraday, English scientist (d. 1867)
1819 – Wilhelm Wattenbach, German historian (d. 1897)
1829 – Tự Đức, Emperor of Vietnam (d. 1883)
1869 – Adrien-Maurice-Victurnien-Mathieu, 8th duc de Noailles (d. 1953)
1875 – Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, Lithuanian painter and composer (d. 1911)
1876 – André Tardieu, Prime Minister of France (d. 1945)
1878 – Yoshida Shigeru, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1967)
1880 – Dame Christabel Pankhurst, English suffragist (d. 1958)
1882 – Wilhelm Keitel, German field marshal (d. 1946)
1885 – Gunnar Asplund, Swedish architect (d. 1940)
1885 – Ben Chifley, Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1951)
1885 – Erich von Stroheim, Austrian-born actor (d. 1957)
1889 – Hooks Dauss, American baseball player (d. 1963)
1891 – Hans Albers, German actor and singer (d. 1960)
1895 – Paul Muni, Polish-born actor (d. 1967)
1896 – Henry Segrave, British racing driver (d. 1930)
1898 – Katherine Alexander, American actress (d. 1981)
1900 – William Spratling, American silversmith (d. 1967)
1900 – Paul H. Emmett, American chemical engineer (d. 1985)
1901 – Charles B. Huggins, Canadian-born scientist, Nobel laureate (d. 1997)
1902 – John Houseman, Romanian-born actor (d. 1988)
1903 – Joseph Valachi, American gangster (d. 1971)
1904 – Ellen Church, American stewardess (d. 1965)
1905 – Eugen Sänger, Austrian aerospace engineer (d. 1964)
1905 – Haakon Lie, Norwegian politician (d. 2009)
1907 – Philip Fotheringham-Parker, British racing driver (d. 1981)
1910 – György Faludy, Hungarian poet (d. 2006)
1912 – Martha Scott, American actress (d. 2003)
1912 – Herbert Mataré, German physicist and European co-inventor of the transistor
1915 – Arthur Lowe, British actor (d. 1982)
1918 – Hans Scholl, member of The White Rose (d. 1943)
1918 – Henryk Szeryng, Polish-born violinist (d. 1988)
1920 – Eric Baker, British human rights activist (d. 1976)
1920 – Bob Lemon, American baseball player (d. 2000)
1920 – William H. Riker, American political scientist (d. 1993)
1920 – Anders Lassen, Danish military officer (d. 1945)
1922 – Chen Ning Yang, Chinese-born physicist, Nobel laureate
1923 – Dannie Abse, Welsh poet and writer
1924 – Charles Keeping, British illustrator (d. 1988)
1924 – Rosamunde Pilcher, English novelist
1925 – Virginia Capers, American actress (d. 2004)
1927 – Gordon Astall, English footballer
1927 – Tommy Lasorda, American baseball manager
1928 – Eric Broadley, MBE, British automotive engineer (Lola Cars)
1928 – James Lawson, American minister and civil rights activist
1928 – Eugene Roche, American actor (d. 2004)
1929 – Serge Garant, French Canadian conductor (d. 1986)
1930 – P. B. Sreenivas, Indian Multi-lingual (Kannada, Tamil and Telugu) Play-back Singer
1931 – Fay Weldon, British feminist
1931 – George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie, British politician (d. 2003)
1931 – Manzoor Ahmad, Pakistani philosopher
1932 – Ingemar Johansson, Swedish heavyweight professional boxing champion of the world (d. 2009)
1933 – T. Cullen Davis, American oil heir and accused murderer
1934 – Lute Olson, American basketball coach
1936 – Maurice Evans, English footballer and manager (d. 2000)
1938 – Gene Mingo, American football player
1939 – Gilbert Earl Patterson, American minister (d. 2007)
1940 – Anna Karina, Danish born actress
1941 – Jeremiah Wright, American pastor
1942 – David Stern, American basketball commissioner
1943 – Toni Basil, American singer
1946 – King Sunny Ade, Nigerian singer
1946 – Dan Baker, American public address announcer
1946 – Larry Dierker, American baseball player and manager
1947 – Robert Morace, American writer
1948 – Denis Burke, Australian politician
1948 – Jim Byrnes, American actor and musician
1949 – Jim Keith, American conspiracy theorist and author (d. 1999)
1949 – Jim McGinty, Australian politician
1950 – Kirka, Finnish singer (d. 2007)
1951 – David Coverdale, English singer
1952 – Bob Goodlatte, American politician
1952 – Paul Le Mat, American actor
1952 – Gary Holton, English actor and musician (d. 1985)
1952 – M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra, Thai politician, current Governor of Bangkok
1953 – Ségolène Royal, French politician
1954 – Shari Belafonte, American singer, actor, model
1954 – Randy Lanier, American racing driver
1955 – Jeffrey Leonard, Major League baseball player
1956 – Debby Boone, American singer
1956 – Masayuki Suzuki, Japanese singer (Rats & Star)
1957 – Nick Cave, Australian musician
1957 – Johnette Napolitano, American musician
1957 – Giuseppe Saronni, Italian cyclist
1958 – Andrea Bocelli, Italian tenor
1958 – Joan Jett, American rock-and-roll singer
1958 – Neil Cavuto, American television commentator
1959 – Tai Babilonia, American figure skater
1959 – Pope Michael, American anti-pope
1961 – Scott Baio, American actor
1961 – Vince Coleman, American baseball player
1961 – Dr. Liam Fox, British Conservative politician
1961 – Bonnie Hunt, American actress
1961 – Catherine Oxenberg, British actress
1961 – Michael Torke, American composer
1962 – Diogo Mainardi, Brazilian writer
1964 – Juha Turunen, Finnish politician turned criminal
1965 – Andy Cairns, Irish musician
1965 – Tony Drago, Maltese snooker player
1965 – Mark Guthrie, American baseball player
1966 – Moustafa Amar, Egyptian singer
1966 – Stefan Rehn, Swedish footballer
1966 – Mike Richter, American ice hockey player
1967 – Matt Besser, American comedian
1967 – Rickard Rydell, Swedish racing driver
1967 – Félix Savón, Cuban boxer
1967 – Ecaterina Szabo, Romanian gymnast and Olympic champion
1967 – Kim Watkins, Australian television presenter
1969 – Matt Sharp, American musician (Weezer, The Rentals)
1970 – Mike Matheny, American baseball player
1970 – Mystikal, American rapper
1970 – Rupert Penry-Jones, English actor
1970 – Emmanuel Petit, French footballer
1971 – Chesney Hawkes, English singer
1971 – Princess Märtha Louise of Norway
1972 – Dana Vespoli, American porn actress
1974 – Bob Sapp, American boxer and kickboxer
1974 – Yoo Chae-yeong, South Korean singer and actress
1975 – Ethan Moreau, Canadian ice hockey player
1975 – Svilen Noev, Bulgarian singer-songwriter
1977 – Paul Sculthorpe, English rugby league footballer
1978 – Ed Joyce, Irish-English cricketer
1978 – Harry Kewell, Australian soccer player
1979 – Emilie Autumn, American singer and musician
1979 – Swin Cash, American basketball player
1979 – Michael Graziadei, American actor
1980 – Fernanda Tavares, Brazilian model
1981 – Subaru Shibutani, Japanese singer (Kanjani8)
1982 – Mandy Chiang, Hong Kong singer and actress
1982 – Kosuke Kitajima, Japanese swimmer
1982 – Billie Piper, English singer and actress
1984 – Theresa Fu, Hong Kong singer and actress
1984 – Eduardo Rubio, Chilean footballer
1984 – Laura Vandervoort, Canadian actress
1985 – Faris Haroun, Belgian footballer
1987 – Tom Felton, English actor
1988 – Bethany Dillon, American musician
Deaths
1072 – Ouyang Xiu, Chinese historian and scholar-official (b. 1007)
1253 – Dogen, Japanese Zen Buddhist (b. 1200)
1345 – Henry Plantagenet, 3rd Earl of Lancaster (b. 1281)
1399 – Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, English politician (b. 1366)
1520 – Selim I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1465)
1539 – Guru Nanak Dev, founder of Sikhism (b. 1469)
1554 – Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, Spanish explorer
1566 – Johannes Agricola, German Protestant reformer (b. 1494)
1607 – Alessandro Allori, Italian painter (b. 1535)
1658 – Georg Philipp Harsdorffer, German poet (b. 1607)
1662 – John Biddle, English theologian (b. 1615)
1692 – Martha Corey, hanged as a result of the Salem witch trials
1703 – Vincenzo Viviani, Italian mathematician and scientist (b. 1622)
1774 – Pope Clement XIV (b. 1705)
1776 – Nathan Hale, American Revolutionary War captain, hanged by the British as a spy (b. 1755)
1777 – John Bartram, American botanist (b. 1699)
1828 – Shaka, Accredited as being the most influential leader of the Zulu Empire (b. 1787)
1852 – William Tierney Clark, English civil engineer (b. 1783)
1868 – Byakkotai, A group of 19 young Japanese with the samurai corps of Aizu-Han who committed suicide.
1872 – Vladimir Dal, Russian lexicographer (b. 1801)
1873 – Friedrich Frey-Herosé, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1801)
1881 – Solomon L. Spink, U.S. Congressman from Illinois (b. 1831)
1914 – Alain-Fournier, French writer (b. 1886)
1952 – Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, first President of Finland (b. 1865)
1956 – Frederick Soddy, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1877)
1957 – Toyoda Soemu, Japanese admiral (b. 1885)
1961 – Marion Davies, American actress (b. 1897)
1969 – Adolfo López Mateos, president of Mexico (b. 1909)
1981 – Harry Warren, American composer and lyricist (b. 1893)
1987 – Dan Rowan, American actor and comedian (b. 1922)
1988 – Rais Amrohvi, Pakistani poet and psychoanalyst (b. 1914)
1989 – Irving Berlin, American songwriter (b. 1888)
1992 – Aurelio López, Mexican baseball player (b. 1948)
1993 – Maurice Abravanel, Greek-born conductor (b. 1903)
1996 – Ludmilla Chiriaeff, Canadian ballet dancer and director (b. 1924)
1996 – Dorothy Lamour, American actress (b. 1914)
1999 – George C. Scott, American actor (b. 1927)
2000 – Rodney Anoa'i (Yokozuna), American professional wrestler (b. 1966)
2000 – Saburo Sakai, Japanese aviator, (b. 1916)
2001 – Isaac Stern, Ukrainian violinist (b. 1920)
2002 – Jan de Hartog, Dutch-born writer (b. 1914)
2003 – Gordon Jump, American television actor (b. 1932)
2003 – Hugo Young, British journalist (b. 1938)
2004 – Pete Schoening, American mountaineer (b. 1927)
2004 – Ray Traylor (The Big Boss Man), American professional wrestler (b. 1962)
2006 – Edward Albert, American actor (b. 1951)
2006 – Carla Benschop, Dutch basketball player (b. 1950)
2007 – Bodinho, Brazilian footballer (b. 1928)
2007 – Marcel Marceau, French mime artist (b. 1923)
2008 – Thomas Doerflein, German Zookeeper (b. 1963)
Holidays and observances
Annually on September 22 OneWebDay is celebrated.
In ancient Greece, the ninth and final day of the Eleusinian Mysteries, when the initiates made offerings to the dead.
Some Latter Day Saints recognise it as "Trumpet Day," or the day that Joseph Smith received the golden plates, which later became The Book of Mormon, from the angel Moroni.
RC Saints – It has been or still is the feast day of the following saints:
o Saint Candidus
o Saints Saint Digna & Saint Emerita
o Saint Emmeramus
o Saint Maurice
o Saint Phocas
o Saint Salaberga
o Theban Legion
o Saint Thomas of Villanueva
French Republican Calendar – Raisin (Grape) Day, first day in the Month of Vendémiaire.
Bulgaria – Independence Day (from The Ottoman Empire) 1908.
Mali – Independence Day (from France, 1960).
United States – American Business Women's Day
In Europe and in cities throughout the world, Car Free Day.
