Historical Events on August 22

  • 1770: James cook lands on Possession Island and not only names it but claims it and the eastern coast of Australia for Britain.
  • 1777: Fort Stanwix is abandoned when British forces hear about rumors that the Continental Army is sending reinforcements.
  • 1780: the HMS Resolution returns to England with James Cook, who was killed on Hawaii.
  • 1798: French troops are sent to Kilcummin, Ireland to aid the rebellion there.
  • 1831: The slave rebellion led by Nat Turner begins in Southampton County, Virginia. It leads to the death of 60 white people and 250 black people.
  • 1846: The 2nd Federal Republic of Mexico is established.
  • 1846: The 2nd Federal Republic of Mexico is established.
  • 1864: The Twelve Nations sign the 1st Geneva Convention.
  • 1902: American automaker Cadillac Motor is founded on this day.
  • 1941: German troops engage in the Siege of Leningrad.
  • 1944: German Wehrmacht infantry forces begin the Holocaust of Amiri on the Greek island of Crete. 164 Greeks die as a result.
  • 1953: The penal colony on Devil’s Island is closed permanently.
  • 1962: The OAS tries to assassinate Charles de Gaulle – President of France.
  • 1985: 55 people are killed during the Manchester Air Disaster when a fire erupts on a commercial aircraft at Manchester Airport.
  • 1989: Nolan Ryan becomes the first MLB pitcher to record 5,000 strikeouts when he strikes out Rickey Henderson on this day.

Famous Birthdays on August 22

  • French author and poet Georges de Scudery is born in 1601.
  • French author and poet Jean Regnault de Segrais is born in 1624.
  • French physicists, mathematician and inventor of pressure cooking Denis Papin is born in 1647.
  • Pope Leo XII is born in 1760.
  • American screenwriter and producer Julius J. Epstein is born in 1909.
  • English businessman and pilot Leonard Pagliero is born in 1913.
  • American general Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. is born in 1934.
  • American novelists and short story writer Annie Proulx is born in 1935.
  • American singer-songwriter Chuck Brown is born in 1936.
  • American journalist and producer John Callaway is born in 1936.