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On This Day · The 22nd day of the year

January 22

A look at January 22 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including U Thant and Galina Zybina, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

♒ZodiacAquarius ◈BirthstoneGarnet ❀Birth flowerCarnation
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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 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.

    President of the United
  2. 2006

    Evo Morales

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

    Indigenous Bolivian President of
  3. 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.

    Highest court of jurisdiction
  4. 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.

    American wide-body four-engined jet
  5. 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.

    Country in West Asia
  6. 1941

    World War II

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

    1939–1945 global conflict
  7. 1924

    Ramsay MacDonald

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

    Prime Minister of the
  8. 1906

    SS Valencia

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

    Passenger steamship (1882–1906)
  9. 1879

    Anglo-Zulu War

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

    British colonial war in
  10. 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.

    Parliament of England held
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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, Chilean lawyer and politician, 28th President of Chile
  • 1973Lyndon B. Johnson, American lieutenant and politician, 36th President of the United States
  • 1959Mike Hawthorn, English racing driver
  • 1957Ralph Barton Perry, American philosopher and academic
  • 1922Pope Benedict XV, Head of the Catholic Church from 1914 to 1922
  • 1901Queen Victoria, of the United Kingdom

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

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