Date·Lore

On This Day · The 22nd day of the year

January 22

January 22 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1689 and 2009. The Convention Parliament convenes to determine whether James II and VII, the last Roman Catholic monarch of England, Ireland and Scotland, had vacated the thrones of England and Ireland when he fled to France in 1688.

♒ZodiacAquarius ◈BirthstoneGarnet ❀Birth flowerCarnation

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on January 22?

January 22 is the 22nd day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1689 and 2009. Famous people born on January 22 include U Thant, Galina Zybina and Lord Byron.

The shape of the day

January 22's record stretches 320 years, from 1689 to 2009. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and politics and nation-building recur.

Aquarius is the sign for January 22 — read more on the Aquarius page, or see January's birthstone & birth flower.

Released on January 22

Movies, games, albums & shows

2026

  • Game Arknights: Endfield
  • Movie Send Help
  • TV Finding Her Edge
  • TV The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin

2025

  • Game Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist
  • Game Mika and the Witch's Mountain

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1689

    Convention Parliament (1689)

    The Convention Parliament convenes to determine whether James II and VII, the last Roman Catholic monarch of England, Ireland and Scotland, had vacated the thrones of England and Ireland when he fled to France in 1688.

  2. 1879

    Anglo-Zulu War

    Anglo-Zulu War: the Battle of Isandlwana results in a Zulu victory.

  3. 1906

    SS Valencia

    SS Valencia runs aground on rocks on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, killing more than 130.

  4. 1924

    Ramsay MacDonald

    Ramsay MacDonald becomes the first Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

  5. 1941

    World War II

    World War II: British and Commonwealth troops capture Tobruk from Italian forces during Operation Compass.

  6. 1946

    Iran

    In Iran, Qazi Muhammad declares the independent people's Republic of Mahabad at Chahar Cheragh Square in the Kurdish city of Mahabad; he becomes the new president and Haji Baba Sheikh becomes the prime minister.

  7. 1970

    Boeing 747

    The Boeing 747, the world's first "jumbo jet", enters commercial service for launch customer Pan American Airways with its maiden voyage from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to London Heathrow Airport.

  8. 1973

    Supreme Court of the United States

    The Supreme Court of the United States delivers its decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, legalizing elective abortion in all fifty states. This decision is subsequently overturned in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in 2022.

  9. 2006

    Evo Morales

    Evo Morales is inaugurated as President of Bolivia, becoming the country's first indigenous president.

  10. 2009

    Barack Obama

    U.S. President Barack Obama signs an executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp; congressional opposition will prevent it being implemented.

Famous birthday twins

Born on January 22

U Thant

b. 1909

Burmese educator and diplomat, 3rd United Nations Secretary-General

Galina Zybina

b. 1931

Russian shot putter and javelin thrower

Lord Byron

b. 1788

English poet and playwright

August Strindberg

b. 1849

Swedish novelist, poet, and playwright

Sergei Eisenstein

b. 1898

Russian director and screenwriter

William Kidd

b. 1645

Scottish sailor and pirate hunter (probable);

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

b. 1729

German philosopher and author

Francis Bacon

b. 1561

English philosopher and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales

Deaths

  • 1982Eduardo Frei Montalva
  • 1973Lyndon B. Johnson
  • 1959Mike Hawthorn
  • 1957Ralph Barton Perry
  • 1922Pope Benedict XV
  • 1901Queen Victoria

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Anastasius of Persia
  • —Christian feast day: Gaudentius of Novara
  • —Christian feast day: László Batthyány-Strattmann
  • —Christian feast day: Laura Vicuna
  • —Christian feast day: Vincent Pallotti
  • —Christian feast day: Vincent of Saragossa
  • —Christian feast day: Vincent, Orontius, and Victor
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed William Joseph Chaminade

Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

Born on this day?

Make your birthday card.

Drop in your birth year and we'll work out your exact age, the day of the week you were born, your Chinese zodiac, your generation, and the countdown to your next candle.