February 22 is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar . There are 312 days remaining until the end of the year (313 in leap years ). This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday (58 in 400 years each) than on Saturday or Sunday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Tuesday or Thursday (56).
Events
705 – Empress Wu Zetian abdicates the throne, restoring the Tang dynasty .1316 – Battle of Picotin between Ferdinand of Majorca and the forces of Matilda of Hainaut 1371 – Robert II becomes King of Scotland , beginning the Stuart dynasty.1495 – King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city's throne.1632 – Galileo 's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems 1651 – St. Peter's Flood : A storm surge floods the Frisian coast , drowning 15,000 people.1744 – War of the Austrian Succession : The Battle of Toulon causes several Royal Navy captains to be court-martialed , and the Articles of War to be amended.1797 – The last Invasion of Britain begins near Fishguard , Wales .1819 – By the Adams–Onís Treaty , Spain sells Florida to the United States for five million U.S. dollars.1821 – Greek War of Independence : Alexander Ypsilantis crosses the Prut river at Sculeni into the Danubian Principalities .1847 – Mexican–American War : The Battle of Buena Vista : Five thousand American troops defeat 15,000 Mexicans troops.1848 – The French Revolution of 1848 , which would lead to the establishment of the French Second Republic , begins.1853 – Washington University in St. Louis is founded as Eliot Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri .1855 – The Pennsylvania State University is founded in State College, Pennsylvania (as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania).1856 – The United States Republican Party opens its first national convention in Pittsburgh .1862 – Jefferson Davis is officially inaugurated for a six-year term as the President of the Confederate States of America in Richmond, Virginia . He was previously inaugurated as a provisional president on February 18, 1861.1872 – The Prohibition Party holds its first national convention in Columbus, Ohio , nominating James Black as its presidential nominee.1879 – In Utica, New York , Frank Woolworth opens the first of many of five-and-dime Woolworth stores.1899 – Filipino forces led by General Antonio Luna launch counterattacks for the first time against the American forces during the Philippine–American War . The Filipinos fail to regain Manila from the Americans.1904 – The United Kingdom sells a meteorological station on the South Orkney Islands to Argentina , the islands are subsequently claimed by the United Kingdom in 1908.1909 – The sixteen battleships of the Great White Fleet , led by USS Connecticut , return to the United States after a voyage around the world.1915 – World War I : The Imperial German Navy institutes unrestricted submarine warfare .1921 – After Russian forces under Baron Roman von Ungern-Sternberg drive the Chinese out, the Bogd Khan is reinstalled as the emperor of Mongolia .1924 – U.S. President Calvin Coolidge becomes the first President to deliver a radio address from the White House .1942 – World War II : President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur out of the Philippines as the Japanese victory becomes inevitable.1943 – World War II: Members of the White Rose resistance, Sophie Scholl , Hans Scholl , and Christoph Probst are executed in Nazi Germany .1944 – World War II: American aircraft mistakenly bomb the Dutch towns of Nijmegen , Arnhem , Enschede and Deventer , resulting in 800 dead in Nijmegen alone.1944 – World War II: The Soviet Red Army recaptures Krivoi Rog .
1948 – Communist coup in Czechoslovakia .1957 – Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam survives a communist shooting assassination attempt in Buôn Ma Thuột .1958 – Egypt and Syria join to form the United Arab Republic .1959 – Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500 .1972 – The Official Irish Republican Army detonates a car bomb at Aldershot barracks, killing seven and injuring nineteen others.1973 – Cold War : Following President Richard Nixon 's visit to the People's Republic of China , the two countries agree to establish liaison offices.1974 – The Organisation of the Islamic Conference summit begins in Lahore , Pakistan. Thirty-seven countries attend and twenty-two heads of state and government participate. It also recognizes Bangladesh .1974 – Samuel Byck tries and fails to assassinate U.S. President Richard Nixon .
1979 – Independence of Saint Lucia from the United Kingdom.1980 – Miracle on Ice : In Lake Placid, New York , the United States hockey team defeats the Soviet Union hockey team 4–3.1983 – The notorious Broadway flop Moose Murders Eugene O'Neill Theatre .1986 – Start of the People Power Revolution in the Philippines .1994 – Aldrich Ames and his wife are charged by the United States Department of Justice with spying for the Soviet Union.1995 – The Corona reconnaissance satellite program, in existence from 1959 to 1972, is declassified.1997 – In Roslin, Midlothian , Scottish scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly has been successfully cloned .2002 – Angolan political and rebel leader Jonas Savimbi is killed in a military ambush.2005 – The 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.2006 – At least six men stage Britain's biggest robbery , stealing £53m (about $92.5 million or €78 million) from a Securitas depot in Tonbridge , Kent .2011 – New Zealand 's second deadliest earthquake strikes Christchurch , killing 185 people.2011 – Bahraini uprising : Tens of thousands of people march in protest against the deaths of seven victims killed by police and army forces during previous protests.
2012 – A train crash in Buenos Aires , Argentina , kills 51 people and injures 700 others.2014 – President Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine is impeached by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine by a vote of 328–0, fulfilling a major goal of the Euromaidan rebellion.2015 – A ferry carrying 100 passengers capsizes in the Padma River , killing 70 people.
Births
1040 – Rashi , French rabbi and author (d. 1105)1403 – Charles VII of France (d. 1461)1440 – Ladislaus the Posthumous , Hungarian king (d. 1457)1500 – Rodolfo Pio da Carpi , Italian cardinal (d. 1564)1514 – Tahmasp I , Iranian ruler (d. 1576)1732 – George Washington , American general and politician, 1st President of the United States (d. 1799)1749 – Johann Nikolaus Forkel , German musicologist and theorist (d. 1818)1778 – Rembrandt Peale , American painter and curator (d. 1860)1788 – Arthur Schopenhauer , German philosopher and author (d. 1860)1796 – Alexis Bachelot , French priest and missionary (d. 1837)1796 – Adolphe Quetelet , Belgian mathematician, astronomer, and sociologist (d. 1874)1806 – Józef Kremer , Polish historian and philosopher (d. 1875)1810 – Frédéric Chopin , Polish pianist and composer (d. 1849)1817 – Carl Wilhelm Borchardt , German mathematician and academic (d. 1880)1819 – James Russell Lowell , American poet and critic (d. 1891)1824 – Pierre Janssen , French astronomer and mathematician (d. 1907)1825 – Jean-Baptiste Salpointe , French-American archbishop (d. 1898)1836 – Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya , Indian scholar and academic (d. 1906)1840 – August Bebel , German theorist and politician (d. 1913)1849 – Nikolay Yakovlevich Sonin , Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1915)1857 – Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell , English general, co-founded The Scout Association (d. 1941)1857 – Heinrich Hertz , German physicist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1894)
1863 – Charles McLean Andrews , American historian, author, and academic (d. 1943)1864 – Jules Renard , French author and playwright (d. 1910)1876 – Zitkala-Sa , American author and activist (d. 1938)1874 – Bill Klem , American baseball player and umpire (d. 1951)1879 – Johannes Nicolaus Brønsted , Danish chemist and academic (d. 1947)1881 – Joseph B. Ely , American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1956)1881 – Albin Prepeluh , Slovenian journalist and politician (d. 1937)
1882 – Eric Gill , English sculptor and illustrator (d. 1940)1883 – Marguerite Clark , American actress (d. 1940)1886 – Hugo Ball , German author and poet (d. 1927)1887 – Savielly Tartakower , Polish journalist, author, and chess player (d. 1956)1888 – Owen Brewster , American captain and politician, 54th Governor of Maine (d. 1961)1889 – Olave Baden-Powell , English scout leader, founded the Girl Guides (d. 1977)1889 – R. G. Collingwood , English historian and philosopher (d. 1943)
1891 – Vlas Chubar , Russian economist and politician (d. 1939)1892 – Edna St. Vincent Millay , American poet and playwright (d. 1950)1895 – Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre , Peruvian politician (d. 1979)1897 – Karol Świerczewski , Polish general (d. 1947)1899 – George O'Hara , American actor and screenwriter (d. 1966)1900 – Luis Buñuel , Spanish-Mexican director and producer (d. 1983)1903 – Morley Callaghan , Canadian author and playwright (d. 1990)1903 – Frank P. Ramsey , English economist, mathematician, and philosopher (d. 1930)
1907 – Sheldon Leonard , American actor, director, and producer (d. 1997)1907 – Robert Young , American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1998)
1908 – Rómulo Betancourt , Venezuelan politician, 56th President of Venezuela (d. 1981)1908 – John Mills , English soldier and actor (d. 2005)
1914 – Renato Dulbecco , Italian-American virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)1917 – Reed Crandall , American illustrator (d. 1982)1918 – Sid Abel , Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 2000)1918 – Don Pardo , American radio and television announcer (d. 2014)
1921 – Jean-Bédel Bokassa , Central African general and politician, 2nd President of the Central African Republic (d. 1996)1921 – Giulietta Masina , Italian actress (d. 1994)
1922 – Marshall Teague , American race car driver (d. 1959)1922 – Joe Wilder , American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 2014)
1923 – Bleddyn Williams , Welsh rugby player and sportscaster (d. 2009)1925 – Edward Gorey , American illustrator and poet (d. 2000)1925 – Gerald Stern , American poet and academic
1926 – Kenneth Williams , English actor and screenwriter (d. 1988)1927 – Florencio Campomanes , Filipino political scientist and chess player (d. 2010)1927 – Donald May , American actor
1927 – Guy Mitchell , American singer (d. 1999)
1928 – Clarence 13X , American religious leader, founded the Nation of Gods and Earths (d. 1969)1928 – Texas Johnny Brown , American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
1928 – Paul Dooley , American actor
1928 – Bruce Forsyth , English singer and television host
1929 – James Hong , American actor and director1930 – Marni Nixon , American soprano and actress (d. 2016)1932 – Ted Kennedy , American soldier, lawyer, and politician (d. 2009)1933 – Katharine, Duchess of Kent 1933 – Sheila Hancock , English actress and author
1934 – Sparky Anderson , American baseball player and manager (d. 2010)1936 – J. Michael Bishop , American microbiologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate1937 – Joanna Russ , American author and activist (d. 2011)1938 – Steve Barber , American baseball player (d. 2007)1938 – Ishmael Reed , American author, poet, and playwright
1940 – Judy Cornwell , English actress1941 – Hipólito Mejía , Dominican politician, 52nd President of the Dominican Republic 1942 – Christine Keeler , English model and dancer1943 – Terry Eagleton , English philosopher and critic1943 – Horst Köhler , Polish-German economist and politician, 9th President of Germany
1943 – Otoya Yamaguchi , Japanese assassin of Inejiro Asanuma (d. 1960)
1944 – Jonathan Demme , American director, producer, and screenwriter1944 – Robert Kardashian , American lawyer and businessman (d. 2003)
1944 – Christopher Meyer , English diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States
1944 – Tom Okker , Dutch tennis player and painter
1946 – Kresten Bjerre , Danish footballer and manager (d. 2014)1947 – Pirjo Honkasalo , Finnish director, cinematographer, and screenwriter
1947 – Harvey Mason , American drummer
1947 – John Radford , English footballer and manager
1947 – Frank Van Dun , Belgian philosopher and theorist
1949 – Niki Lauda , Austrian race car driver1949 – Olga Morozova , Russian tennis player and coach
1950 – Julius Erving , American basketball player and sportscaster1950 – Lenny Kuhr , Dutch singer-songwriter
1950 – Genesis P-Orridge , English singer-songwriter
1950 – Julie Walters , English actress and author
1951 – Ellen Greene , American singer and actress1952 – Albert Bryant, Jr. , American general1952 – Cyrinda Foxe , American model and actress (d. 2002)
1952 – Bill Frist , American physician and politician
1952 – Bernard Silverman , English minister, statistician, and academic
1953 – Graham Lewis , English bass player1953 – Nigel Planer , English actor and screenwriter
1955 – David Axelrod , American journalist and political adviser1955 – Tim Young , Canadian ice hockey player
1956 – Hugh Hewitt , American lawyer, academic, and radio host1957 – Willie Smits , Dutch microbiologist and engineer1958 – Dave Spitz , American bass player and songwriter1959 – Jiří Čunek , Czech politician1959 – Kyle MacLachlan , American actor
1960 – Charles Cullen , American serial killer1960 – Thomas Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde , Scottish politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
1961 – Akira Takasaki , Japanese guitarist, songwriter, and producer1962 – Steve Irwin , Australian zoologist and television host (d. 2006)1963 – Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis , English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport 1963 – Devon Malcolm , Jamaican-English cricketer
1963 – Vijay Singh , Fijian-American golfer
1964 – Ed Boon , American video game designer, co-created Mortal Kombat 1964 – Gigi Fernández , Puerto Rican-American tennis player
1965 – Chris Dudley , American basketball player and politician1965 – Kieren Fallon , Irish jockey
1965 – Pat LaFontaine , American ice hockey player
1966 – Rachel Dratch , American actress and comedian1966 – Jason Feddy , English singer-songwriter
1966 – Thorsten Kaye , German-English actor
1967 – Psicosis II , Mexican wrestler1968 – Shawn Graham , Canadian politician, 31st Premier of New Brunswick 1968 – Bradley Nowell , American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1996)
1968 – Jeri Ryan , American model and actress
1968 – Jayson Williams , American basketball player and sportscaster
1969 – Thomas Jane , American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter1969 – Clinton Kelly , American fashion consultant and television host
1969 – Brian Laudrup , Danish footballer and sportscaster
1971 – Super Caló , Mexican wrestler1971 – Lea Salonga , Filipino actress and singer
1972 – Michael Chang , American tennis player and coach1972 – Claudia Pechstein , German speed skater
1973 – Philippe Gaumont , French cyclist (d. 2013)1973 – Juninho Paulista , Brazilian footballer
1973 – Scott Phillips , American drummer and producer
1974 – James Blunt , English singer-songwriter and guitarist1974 – Nina Flowers , Puerto Rican-American drag queen performer and DJ
1974 – Chris Moyles , English radio and television host
1975 – Drew Barrymore , American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter1977 – Timo Rose , German actor, director, and producer1977 – Hakan Yakin , Swiss footballer
1978 – Jenny Frost , English singer and dancer1979 – Brett Emerton , Australian footballer1979 – Lee Na-young , South Korean actress
1980 – Shamari Fears , American singer-songwriter and actress1980 – Kang Sung-hoon , South Korean singer
1981 – Jeanette Biedermann , German singer-songwriter and actress1983 – Clint McKay , Australian cricketer1983 – Shaun Tait , Australian cricketer
1984 – Tommy Bowe , Irish rugby player1984 – Branislav Ivanović , Serbian footballer
1985 – Hameur Bouazza , Algerian footballer1985 – Georgios Printezis , Greek basketball player
1986 – Rajon Rondo , American basketball player1987 – Han Hyo-joo , South Korean actress and model1987 – Sergio Romero , Argentinian footballer
1988 – Jonathan Borlée , Belgian sprinter1988 – Efraín Juárez , Mexican footballer
1988 – Ximena Navarrete , Mexican model and actress, Miss Universe 2010
1988 – Sebastian Tyrała , Polish-German footballer
1989 – Alia Sabur , American engineer, lawyer, and academic1989 – Anna Sundstrand , Swedish singer, dancer, and actress
1989 – Franco Vázquez , Argentinian footballer
1990 – Luca Profeta , Italian footballer1992 – Alexander Merkel , Kazakhstani-German footballer
Deaths
556 – Maximianus of Ravenna , Italian bishop and saint (b. 499)606 – Pope Sabinian 965 – Otto, Duke of Burgundy (b. 944)1071 – Arnulf III, Count of Flanders (b. 1055)1371 – David II of Scotland (b. 1324)1511 – Henry, Duke of Cornwall (b. 1511)1512 – Amerigo Vespucci , Italian cartographer and explorer (b. 1454)1500 – Gerhard VI, Count of Oldenburg , German noble (b. 1430)1627 – Olivier van Noort , Dutch explorer (b. 1558)1674 – Jean Chapelain , French poet and critic (b. 1595)1680 – La Voisin , French occultist (b. 1640)1690 – Charles Le Brun , French painter and theorist (b. 1619)1731 – Frederik Ruysch , Dutch physician and anatomist (b. 1638)1732 – Francis Atterbury , English bishop (b. 1663)1799 – Heshen , Chinese politician (b. 1750)1816 – Adam Ferguson , Scottish historian and philosopher (b. 1723)1875 – Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot , French painter and illustrator (b. 1796)1875 – Charles Lyell , Scottish-English geologist and lawyer (b. 1797)
1888 – Anna Kingsford , English physician and activist (b. 1846)1890 – John Jacob Astor III , American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1822)1890 – Carl Bloch , Danish painter and academic (b. 1834)
1897 – Charles Blondin , French tightrope walker and acrobat (b. 1824)1898 – Heungseon Daewongun , Korean king (b. 1820)1903 – Hugo Wolf , Austrian composer (b. 1860)1904 – Leslie Stephen , English historian, author, and critic (b. 1832)1913 – Ferdinand de Saussure , Swiss linguist and author (b. 1857)1923 – Théophile Delcassé , French politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1852)1939 – Antonio Machado , Spanish-French poet and author (b. 1875)1942 – Stefan Zweig , Austrian journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1881)1943 – Christoph Probst , German activist (b. 1919)1943 – Hans Scholl , German activist (b. 1918)
1943 – Sophie Scholl , German activist (b. 1921)
1944 – Kasturba Gandhi , Indian activist (b. 1869)1958 – Abul Kalam Azad , Indian scholar and politician, Indian Minister of Education (b. 1888)1960 – Paul-Émile Borduas , Canadian-French painter and critic (b. 1905)1961 – Nick LaRocca , American trumpet player and composer (b. 1889)1965 – Felix Frankfurter , Austrian-American lawyer and jurist (b. 1882)1971 – Frédéric Mariotti , French actor (b. 1883)1973 – Jean-Jacques Bertrand , Canadian lawyer and politician, 21st Premier of Quebec (b. 1916)1973 – Elizabeth Bowen , Anglo-Irish author (b. 1899)
1973 – Katina Paxinou , Greek actress (b. 1900)
1973 – Winthrop Rockefeller , American colonel and politician, 37th Governor of Arkansas (b. 1912)
1976 – Angela Baddeley , English actress (b. 1904)1976 – Florence Ballard , American singer (b. 1943)
1978 – Phyllis McGinley , American author and poet (b. 1905)1978 – Dennie Moore , American actress (b. 1902)
1980 – Oskar Kokoschka , Austrian painter, poet and playwright (b. 1886)1982 – Josh Malihabadi , Indian-Pakistani poet and author (b. 1898)1983 – Adrian Boult , English conductor (b. 1889)1983 – Romain Maes , Belgian cyclist (b. 1913)
1985 – Salvador Espriu , Spanish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1913)1985 – Alexander Scourby , American actor (b. 1913)
1985 – Efrem Zimbalist , Russian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1889)
1987 – David Susskind , American talk show host and producer (b. 1920)1987 – Andy Warhol , American painter and photographer (b. 1928)
1992 – Markos Vafiadis , Greek general and politician (b. 1906)1994 – Papa John Creach , American violinist (b. 1917)1995 – Ed Flanders , American actor (b. 1934)1997 – Joseph Aiuppa , American gangster (b. 1907)1998 – Abraham A. Ribicoff , American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (b. 1910)1999 – William Bronk , American poet and academic (b. 1918)1999 – Menno Oosting , Dutch tennis player (b. 1964)
2002 – Roden Cutler , Australian lieutenant and politician, 32nd Governor of New South Wales (b. 1916)2002 – Chuck Jones , American animator, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1912)
2002 – Jonas Savimbi , Angolan general, founded UNITA (b. 1934)
2004 – Andy Seminick , American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1920)2005 – Lee Eun-ju , South Korean actress and singer (b. 1980)2005 – Simone Simon , French actress (b. 1910)
2007 – George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe , English admiral and politician, Leader of the House of Lords (b. 1918)2007 – Dennis Johnson , American basketball player and coach (b. 1954)
2012 – Sukhbir , Indian author and poet (b. 1925)2012 – Frank Carson , Irish-English comedian and actor (b. 1926)
2012 – Marie Colvin , American journalist (b. 1956)
2012 – Rémi Ochlik , French photographer and journalist (b. 1983)
2013 – Atje Keulen-Deelstra , Dutch speed skater (b. 1938)2013 – Jean-Louis Michon , French-Swiss scholar and translator (b. 1924)
2013 – Wolfgang Sawallisch , German pianist and conductor (b. 1923)
2014 – Charlotte Dawson , New Zealand–Australian television host (b. 1966)2014 – Trebor Jay Tichenor , American pianist and composer (b. 1940)
2014 – Leo Vroman , Dutch-American hematologist, poet, and illustrator (b. 1915)
2015 – Chris Rainbow , Scottish singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1946)2016 – Yolande Fox , American model and singer, Miss America 1951 (b. 1928)2016 – Sonny James , American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances External links
Months and days of the year
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
