Discover what happened on July 22 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

July 22

Discover what happened on July 22 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

What Happened on July 22 | HISTORY

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2003

2013

As the Great Depression continued worldwide, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany. Nazis declared a national boycott of Jewish-owned businesses and opened their first concentration camp, Dachau. In the U.S., after President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt narrowly escaped assassination, he inaugurated his New Deal programs, ended Prohibition and began speaking directly to Americans with radio fireside chats. A “monster” appeared in Scotland’s Loch Ness, King Kong loomed large on movie screens and the first drive-in theater opened in New Jersey.

1933

1934

1862

2005

In 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved into 15 separate states, the Persian Gulf war both began and ended and a coup in Haiti overthrew that country’s first democratically elected president. In the U.S., Los Angeles police beat motorist Rodney King on videotape, and Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls won their first NBA championship. Nirvana released its landmark single “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” helping bring indie music mainstream, while movies like “Slacker” and “My Own Private Idaho” heralded the ascendance of independent film.

1991

1864

1987

1916

In 1942, the U.S. Navy defeated the Japanese Navy in the Battle of Midway, a turning point of the war in the Pacific, while in Germany, Nazi officials met to plan the “Final Solution” and Anne Frank’s family went into hiding. As FDR ordered Japanese Americans into wartime incarceration camps, false reports of a Japanese attack set California skies ablaze with anti-aircraft fire in the “Battle of Los Angeles.” Americans supported the war effort with scrap drives and victory gardens.

1942

America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

World War I pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. New military technology resulted in unprecedented carnage. By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people—soldiers and civilians alike—were dead.

World War I

The 21st century saw the dawn of the war on terrorism, as the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing dramatically changed society. Economic issues moved to the forefront during the Great Recession. The COVID-19 pandemic upended lives and economies around the world. Awareness of social inequality grew as the killings of Black Americans, including Trayvon Martin and George Floyd, spurred widespread protests.

21st Century

In the 15th century, Europeans began to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of new routes to China and the East, but in the process they discovered what they labeled a "New World," although Indigenous people had lived there for centuries. Other explorers have pushed the limits of flight and seafaring, and traversed the frozen Continent of Antarctica.

Exploration

Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.

Crime

The Civil War was America's bloodiest and most divisive conflict, pitting the Union Army against the Confederate States of America. The war resulted in the deaths of more than 620,000 people, with millions more injured and the South left in ruins.

Civil War

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History.com Editors

Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art, literature and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.

Art, Literature and Film History

World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

World War II

The Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union lasted for decades and resulted in anti-communist suspicions and international incidents that led two superpowers to the brink of nuclear disaster.

Cold War

Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.

This Day In History: July 22

Jessica Lynch gets hero’s welcome

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Prince George, first child of Prince William and Kate Middleton, is born

This Day in History Video: What Happened on July 22

Wiley Post flies solo around the world

Qusay and Uday Hussein killed

John Dillinger gunned down

Lincoln tells his cabinet about Emancipation Proclamation

“March of the Penguins” released widely in the U.S.

Cannibal and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is caught

Battle of Atlanta

Gorbachev accepts ban on intermediate‑range nuclear missiles

Preparedness Day bombing in San Francisco

Deportations from Warsaw ghetto to Treblinka begin

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