On This Day: 22 February

22 February in world history

• 2019A group broke into the North Korean embassy in Madrid, Spain, and stole several mobile telephones and digital storage devices.
• 2011Bahraini uprising: Tens of thousands of people marched in protest in Manama against the deaths of seven people killed by police and army forces during previous protests.
• 2011An earthquake registering 6.3 ML struck Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 185 people and causing around NZ$40 billion in damage.
• 2006At approximately 6:44 a.m. local Iraqi time, explosions occurred at the al-Askari Shrine in Samarra, Iraq. The attack on the shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, caused the escalation of sectarian tensions in Iraq into a full-scale civil war.
• 2005The 6.4 Mw Zarand earthquake shakes the Kerman province of Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), leaving 612 people dead and 1,411 injured.
• 1998The cherry-throated tanager, a critically endangered bird which had not been definitively sighted in over a century, was rediscovered in Conceição do Castelo, Brazil.
• 1980Miracle on Ice: In Lake Placid, New York, the United States hockey team defeats the Soviet Union hockey team 4–3.
• 1974Samuel Byck attempted to hijack an aircraft at Baltimore/Washington International Airport with the intention of crashing it into the White House to assassinate U.S. president Richard Nixon, but he was stopped by police.
• 1973Cold War: Following President Richard Nixon's visit to the People's Republic of China, the two countries agree to establish liaison offices.
• 1959Lee Petty won the first edition of the Daytona 500, a NASCAR auto race at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida.
• 1958Following a plebiscite in both countries the previous day, Egypt and Syria join to form the United Arab Republic.
• 1944World War II: American aircraft mistakenly bomb the Dutch towns of Nijmegen, Arnhem, Enschede and Deventer, resulting in 800 dead in Nijmegen alone.
• 1943World War II: Members of the White Rose resistance, Sophie Scholl, Hans Scholl, and Christoph Probst are executed in Nazi Germany.
• 1909The sixteen United States Navy battleships of the Great White Fleet, led by Connecticut, completed a circumnavigation of the globe.
• 1889President Grover Cleveland signs a bill admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states.
• 1881Cleopatra's Needle, a 3,500-year-old Ancient Egyptian obelisk is erected in Central Park, New York.
• 1847Mexican–American War: The Battle of Buena Vista: Five thousand American troops defeat 15,000 Mexican troops.
• 1316The Catalan forces of Ferdinand of Majorca defeated troops loyal to Princess Matilda of Hainaut at the Battle of Picotin on the Peloponnese peninsula in modern-day Greece.

Born on 22 February

• 1963Vijay Singh, Fijian-American golfer
• 1946Nagima Aitkhozhina, Kazakh biologist (died 2020)
• 1943Horst Köhler, Polish-German economist and politician, 9th President of Germany (died 2025)
• 1928Clarence 13X, American religious leader, founded the Nation of Gods and Earths (died 1969)
• 1836Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya, Indian scholar and academic (died 1906)India
• 1796Alexis Bachelot, French priest and missionary (died 1837)

Died on 22 February

• 2006S. Rajaratnam, Singaporean politician, 1st Senior Minister of Singapore (born 1915)
• 1973Winthrop Rockefeller, American colonel and politician, 37th Governor of Arkansas (born 1912)
• 1958Abul Kalam Azad, Indian scholar and politician, Indian Minister of Education (born 1888)India
• 1944Kasturba Gandhi, Indian activist (born 1869)India

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 22 February in history?

2019: A group broke into the North Korean embassy in Madrid, Spain, and stole several mobile telephones and digital storage devices. 2011: Bahraini uprising: Tens of thousands of people marched in protest in Manama against the deaths of seven people killed by police and army forces during previous protests. 2011: An earthquake registering 6.3 ML struck Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 185 people and causing around NZ$40 billion in damage. 2006: At approximately 6:44 a.m. local Iraqi time, explosions occurred at the al-Askari Shrine in Samarra, Iraq. The attack on the shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, caused the escalation of sectarian tensions in Iraq into a full-scale civil war.

Which famous people were born on 22 February?

Vijay Singh, Fijian-American golfer (1963); Nagima Aitkhozhina, Kazakh biologist (died 2020) (1946); Horst Köhler, Polish-German economist and politician, 9th President of Germany (died 2025) (1943); Clarence 13X, American religious leader, founded the Nation of Gods and Earths (died 1969) (1928).

Which day is observed on 22 February?

Birthday of Scouting and Guiding founder Robert Baden-Powell and Olave Baden-Powell, and its related observance: Founder's Day or "B.-P. day; Birthday of Scouting and Guiding founder Robert Baden-Powell and Olave Baden-Powell, and its related observance: World Thinking Day (World A; Crime Victims Day (Europe); Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Saint Lucia from the United Kingdom in 1979.; Founding Day (Saudi Arabia).