April 22
Events
Pre-1600
1601–1900
1901–present
- 1906 - The 1906 Intercalated Games open in Athens.
- 1915 - World War I: The use of poison gas in World War I escalates when chlorine gas is released as a chemical weapon in the Second Battle of Ypres.
- 1930 - The United Kingdom, Japan and the United States sign the London Naval Treaty regulating submarine warfare and limiting shipbuilding.
- 1944 - The 1st Air Commando Group using Sikorsky R-4 helicopters stage the first use of helicopters in combat with combat search and rescue operations in the China Burma India Theater.
- 1944 - World War II: Operation Persecution is initiated: Allied forces land in the Hollandia area of New Guinea.
- 1944 - World War II: In Greenland, the Allied Sledge Patrol attack the German Bassgeiger weather station.
- 1945 - World War II: Prisoners at the Jasenovac concentration camp revolt. Five hundred twenty are killed and around eighty escape.
- 1945 - World War II: Sachsenhausen concentration camp is liberated by soldiers of the Red Army and Polish First Army.
- 1948 - Arab–Israeli War: The port city of Haifa is captured by Jewish forces.
- 1951 - Korean War: The Chinese People's Volunteer Army begin assaulting positions defended by the Royal Australian Regiment and the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry at the Battle of Kapyong.
- 1954 - Red Scare: Witnesses begin testifying and live television coverage of the Army–McCarthy hearings begins.
- 1966 - American Flyers Airline Flight 280/D crashes on approach to Ardmore Municipal Airport in Ardmore, Oklahoma, killing 83.
- 1969 - British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston wins the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race and completes the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world.
- 1969 - The formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) is announced at a mass rally in Calcutta.
- 1970 - The first Earth Day is celebrated.
- 1970 - Chicano residents in San Diego, California occupy a site under the Coronado Bridge, leading to the creation of Chicano Park.
- 1974 - Pan Am Flight 812 crashes on approach to Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, killing all 107 people on board.
- 1977 - Optical fiber is first used to carry live telephone traffic.
- 1992 - A series of gas explosions rip through the streets in Guadalajara, Mexico, killing 206.
- 1993 - Eighteen-year-old Stephen Lawrence is murdered in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus in Well Hall, Eltham.
- 2005 - Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi apologizes for Japan's war record.
- 2016 - The Paris Agreement is signed, an agreement to help fight global warming.
- 2020 - Four police officers are killed after being struck by a truck on the Eastern Freeway in Melbourne while speaking to a speeding driver, marking the largest loss of police lives in Victoria Police history.
- 2025 - At least 26 people are killed in a terrorist attack on a group of tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The Resistance Front, an offshoot of the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba claimed responsibility for the attack.
Births
Pre-1600
1601–1900
- 1610 - Pope Alexander VIII
- 1658 - Giuseppe Torelli, Italian violinist and composer
- 1690 - John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, English politician, Lord President of the Council
- 1707 - Henry Fielding, English novelist and playwright
- 1711 - Paul II Anton, Prince Esterházy, Austrian soldier
- 1724 - Immanuel Kant, German anthropologist, philosopher, and academic
- 1732 - John Johnson, English architect and surveyor
- 1744 - James Sullivan, American lawyer and politician, 7th Governor of Massachusetts
- 1766 - Germaine de Staël, French author and political philosopher
- 1812 - Solomon Caesar Malan, Swiss-English orientalist
- 1816 - Charles-Denis Bourbaki, French general
- 1830 - Emily Davies, British suffragist and educator, co-founder and an early Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge University
- 1832 - Julius Sterling Morton, American journalist and politician, 3rd United States Secretary of Agriculture
- 1844 - Lewis Powell, American soldier, attempted assassin of William H. Seward
- 1852 - William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
- 1854 - Henri La Fontaine, Belgian lawyer and author, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1858 - Ethel Smyth, English composer
- 1858 - Fritz Mayer van den Bergh, Belgian art collector and art historian
- 1870 - Vladimir Lenin, Russian revolutionary and founder of Soviet Russia
- 1872 - Princess Margaret of Prussia
- 1873 - Ellen Glasgow, American author
- 1874 - Wu Peifu, Chinese warlord, politician, and marshal of the Beiyang Army
- 1876 - Róbert Bárány, Austrian-Swedish otologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1876 - Georg Lurich, Estonian wrestler and strongman
- 1879 - Bernhard Gregory, Estonian-German chess player
- 1884 - Otto Rank, Austrian-American psychologist and academic
- 1886 - Izidor Cankar, Slovenian historian, author, and diplomat
- 1887 - Harald Bohr, Danish mathematician and footballer
- 1889 - Richard Glücks, German SS officer
- 1891 - Laura Gilpin, American photographer
- 1891 - Vittorio Jano, Italian engineer
- 1891 - Harold Jeffreys, English mathematician, geophysicist, and astronomer
- 1891 - Nicola Sacco, Italian-American anarchist
- 1892 - Vernon Johns, African-American minister and activist
- 1899 - Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-born novelist and critic
- 1900 - Nellie Beer, British politician, Lord Mayor of Manchester
1901–present
- 1904 - J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist and academic
- 1905 - Robert Choquette, American-Canadian author, poet, and diplomat
- 1906 - Eric Fenby, English composer and educator
- 1906 - Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten
- 1909 - Rita Levi-Montalcini, Italian neurologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1909 - Indro Montanelli, Italian journalist and historian
- 1909 - Spyros Markezinis, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece
- 1910 - Norman Steenrod, American mathematician and academic
- 1912 - Kathleen Ferrier, English operatic singer
- 1912 - Kaneto Shindo, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1914 - Baldev Raj Chopra, Indian director and producer
- 1914 - Jan de Hartog, Dutch-American author and playwright
- 1914 - José Quiñones Gonzales, Peruvian soldier and pilot
- 1914 - Michael Wittmann, German SS officer
- 1916 - Hanfried Lenz, German mathematician and academic
- 1916 - Yehudi Menuhin, American-Swiss violinist and conductor
- 1917 - Yvette Chauviré, French ballerina
- 1917 - Sidney Nolan, Australian painter
- 1918 - William Jay Smith, American poet and academic
- 1918 - Mickey Vernon, American baseball player and coach
- 1919 - Donald J. Cram, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1919 - Carl Lindner, Jr., American businessman and philanthropist
- 1922 - Richard Diebenkorn, American soldier and painter
- 1922 - Charles Mingus, American bassist, composer, and bandleader
- 1922 - Wolf V. Vishniac, American microbiologist and academic
- 1923 - Peter Kane Dufault, American soldier, pilot, and poet
- 1923 - Bettie Page, American model and actress
- 1923 - Aaron Spelling, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1924 - Nam Duck-woo, South Korean politician, 12th Prime Minister of South Korea
- 1926 - Charlotte Rae, American actress and singer
- 1926 - James Stirling, Scottish architect, designed the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart and Seeley Historical Library
- 1927 - Laurel Aitken, Cuban-Jamaican singer
- 1928 - Estelle Harris, American actress and comedian
- 1929 - Michael Atiyah, English-Lebanese mathematician and academic
- 1929 - Robert Wade-Gery, English diplomat, British High Commissioner to India
- 1930 - Enno Penno, Estonian politician, Prime Minister of Estonia in exile
- 1931 - John Buchanan, Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Premier of Nova Scotia
- 1931 - Ronald Hynd, English dancer and choreographer
- 1933 - Anthony Llewellyn, Welsh-American chemist and astronaut
- 1935 - Christopher Ball, English linguist and academic
- 1935 - Paul Chambers, African-American bassist and composer
- 1935 - Bhama Srinivasan, Indian-American mathematician and academic
- 1936 - Glen Campbell, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1936 - Pierre Hétu, Canadian pianist and conductor
- 1937 - Jack Nicholson, American actor and producer
- 1937 - Jack Nitzsche, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and conductor
- 1938 - Alan Bond, English-Australian businessman
- 1938 - Gani Fawehinmi, Nigerian lawyer and activist
- 1938 - Issey Miyake, Japanese fashion designer
- 1938 - Adam Raphael, English journalist and author
- 1939 - Mel Carter, American singer and actor
- 1939 - John Foley, English general and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey
- 1939 - Ray Guy, Canadian journalist and author
- 1939 - Jason Miller, American actor and playwright
- 1939 - Theodor Waigel, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of Finance
- 1941 - Greville Howard, Baron Howard of Rising, English politician
- 1942 - Giorgio Agamben, Italian philosopher and academic
- 1942 - Mary Prior, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Bristol
- 1943 - Keith Crisco, American businessman and politician
- 1943 - Janet Evanovich, American author
- 1943 - Louise Glück, American poet
- 1943 - John Maples, Baron Maples, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
- 1943 - Scott W. Williams, American mathematician and professor
- 1944 - Steve Fossett, American businessman, pilot, and sailor
- 1944 - Doug Jarrett, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1944 - Joshua Rifkin, American conductor and musicologist
- 1945 - Eddy Baldewijns, Belgian politician
- 1945 - Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Indian civil servant and politician, 22nd Governor of West Bengal
- 1945 - Demetrio Stratos, Greek-Egyptian singer-songwriter
- 1946 - Steven L. Bennett, American captain and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient
- 1946 - Paul Davies, English physicist and author
- 1946 - Louise Harel, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1946 - Archy Kirkwood, Baron Kirkwood of Kirkhope, Scottish lawyer and politician
- 1946 - Nicholas Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford, English economist and academic
- 1946 - John Waters, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1948 - John Pritchard, English bishop
- 1949 - Spencer Haywood, American basketball player
- 1950 - Peter Frampton, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1950 - Jancis Robinson, English journalist and critic
- 1950 - Lee Tamahori, New Zealand film director
- 1951 - Aivars Kalējs, Latvian organist, composer, and pianist
- 1951 - Ana María Shua, Argentinian author and poet
- 1952 - Marilyn Chambers, American actress
- 1957 - Donald Tusk, Polish journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Poland
- 1959 - Terry Francona, American baseball player and manager
- 1959 - Ryan Stiles, American-Canadian actor and comedian
- 1960 - Mart Laar, Estonian historian and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Estonia
- 1961 - Jeff Hostetler, American football player
- 1961 - Alo Mattiisen, Estonian composer
- 1962 - Jeff Minter, British video game designer and programmer
- 1962 - Danièle Sauvageau, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1963 - Rosalind Gill, English sociologist and academic
- 1963 - Sean Lock, English comedian and actor
- 1966 - Mickey Morandini, American baseball player and manager
- 1966 - Jeffrey Dean Morgan, American actor
- 1967 - David J. C. MacKay, English physicist, engineer, and academic
- 1967 - Sherri Shepherd, American actress, comedian, and television personality
- 1970 - Regine Velasquez, Filipino singer and actress
- 1976 - Dan Cloutier, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1978 - Paul Malakwen Kosgei, Kenyan runner and coach
- 1979 - Zoltán Gera, Hungarian international footballer and manager
- 1979 - Daniel Johns, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1980 - Quincy Timberlake, Kenyan-Australian activist, engineer, and politician
- 1982 - Kaká, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 - Sam W. Heads, English-American entomologist and palaeontologist
- 1983 - Shkëlzen Shala, Albanian entrepreneur and veganism activist
- 1986 - Amber Heard, American actress
- 1986 - Marshawn Lynch, American football player
- 1987 - David Luiz, Brazilian footballer
- 1988 - Dee Strange-Gordon, American baseball player
- 1990 - Machine Gun Kelly, American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor
- 1990 - Kevin Kiermaier, American baseball player
- 1990 - Eve Muirhead, Scottish curler
- 1991 - Danni Wyatt, English cricketer
- 2011 - Violet McGraw, American actress
Deaths
Pre-1600
1601–1900
- 1616 - Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright
- 1672 - Georg Stiernhielm, Swedish linguist and poet
- 1699 - Hans Erasmus Aßmann, German poet
- 1758 - Antoine de Jussieu, French botanist and physician
- 1778 - James Hargreaves, British inventor
- 1806 - Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, French admiral
- 1821 - Gregory V of Constantinople, Greek patriarch and saint
- 1833 - Richard Trevithick, English engineer and explorer
- 1850 - Friedrich Robert Faehlmann, Estonian philologist and physician
- 1854 - Nicolás Bravo, Mexican general and politician, 11th President of Mexico
- 1871 - Martín Carrera, Mexican general and president
- 1877 - James P. Kirkwood, Scottish-American engineer
- 1892 - Édouard Lalo, French violinist and composer
- 1893 - Chaim Aronson, Lithuanian businessman and author
- 1894 - Kostas Krystallis, Greek author and poet
- 1896 - Thomas Meik, English engineer, founded Halcrow Group
1901–present
- 1908 - Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- 1925 - André Caplet, French composer and conductor
- 1929 - Henry Lerolle, French painter and art collector
- 1932 - Ferenc Oslay, Hungarian-Slovene historian and author
- 1933 - Henry Royce, English engineer and businessman, co-founded Rolls-Royce Limited
- 1945 - Wilhelm Cauer, German mathematician and academic
- 1945 - Käthe Kollwitz, German painter and sculptor
- 1950 - Charles Hamilton Houston, American lawyer and academic
- 1951 - Horace Donisthorpe, English myrmecologist and coleopterist
- 1978 - Will Geer, American actor
- 1980 - Jane Froman, American actress and singer
- 1980 - Fritz Strassmann, German chemist and physicist
- 1983 - Earl Hines, American pianist and bandleader
- 1984 - Ansel Adams, American photographer and environmentalist
- 1985 - Paul Hugh Emmett, American chemist and academic
- 1985 - Jacques Ferron, Canadian physician and author
- 1986 - Mircea Eliade, Romanian historian and author
- 1987 - Erika Nõva, Estonian architect
- 1988 - Grigori Kuzmin, Russian-Estonian astronomer and academic
- 1988 - Irene Rich, American actress
- 1989 - Emilio G. Segrè, Italian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1990 - Albert Salmi, American actor
- 1994 - Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States
- 1995 - Jane Kenyon, American poet and author
- 1996 - Erma Bombeck, American journalist and author
- 1996 - Jug McSpaden, American golfer and architect
- 1999 - Munir Ahmad Khan, Pakistani nuclear engineer
- 2003 - Felice Bryant, American songwriter
- 2005 - Erika Fuchs, German translator
- 2005 - Philip Morrison, American physicist and academic
- 2005 - Eduardo Paolozzi, Scottish sculptor and artist
- 2006 - Henriette Avram, American computer scientist and academic
- 2006 - Alida Valli, Italian actress
- 2007 - Juanita Millender-McDonald, American educator and politician
- 2009 - Jack Cardiff, British cinematographer, director and photographer
- 2010 - Richard Barrett, American lawyer and activist
- 2012 - George Rathmann, American chemist, biologist, and businessman
- 2013 - Richie Havens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 2013 - Lalgudi Jayaraman, Indian violinist and composer
- 2013 - Robert Suderburg, American pianist, composer, and conductor
- 2014 - Oswaldo Vigas, Venezuelan painter
- 2015 - Dick Balharry, Scottish environmentalist and photographer
- 2017 - Donna Leanne Williams, Australian writer, artist, and activist
- 2020 - Shirley Knight, American actress
- 2021 - Adrian Garrett, American professional baseball player
- 2022 - Guy Lafleur, Canadian ice hockey player
- 2023 - Len Goodman, English ballroom dancer and television personality
Holidays and observances