April 22 facts for kids

2025 Calendar

April 22 in recent years

April 22 is the 112th day of the year (113th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 253 days remain until the end of the year.

April 22nd is a day filled with many important events throughout history, from explorers discovering new lands to significant moments in wars and the start of global movements like Earth Day. Many famous people, including scientists, artists, and leaders, were also born or passed away on this day.

Important Events in History
Famous Births
Notable Deaths
Holidays and Observances
See also

Important Events in History

Early Discoveries and Treaties (Before 1600)

1500 – The Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral arrived in what is now Brazil.
1519 – Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés set up a settlement called Veracruz in Mexico.
1529 – The Treaty of Zaragoza was signed. This agreement divided the eastern part of the world between Spain and Portugal, setting a boundary line far east of the Moluccas.

Big Changes and New Beginnings (1601–1900)

1809 – During the Battle of Eckmühl, the Austrian army was defeated by the French army led by Napoleon.
1836 – After the Battle of San Jacinto, Texas forces found Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna among the captured soldiers.
1864 – The U.S. Congress passed a law allowing the phrase In God We Trust to be put on all U.S. coins.
1876 – The very first National League baseball game was played in Philadelphia.
1889 – Thousands of people rushed to claim land in the Land Rush of 1889. In just a few hours, the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie were formed, each with at least 10,000 people.
1898 – During the Spanish–American War, President William McKinley asked for 125,000 volunteers to join the National Guard to fight in Cuba. Congress also greatly increased the size of the regular Army.

Modern Times and Global Impact (1901–Present)

1906 – The 1906 Intercalated Games began in Athens, Greece.
1915 – During World War I, the use of poison gas became more widespread when chlorine gas was used as a weapon in the Second Battle of Ypres.
1930 – The United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States signed the London Naval Treaty. This treaty set rules for submarine warfare and limited how many ships countries could build.
1944 – The 1st Air Commando Group used Sikorsky R-4 helicopters for the first time in combat. They performed combat search and rescue missions in the China Burma India Theater.
1944 – In New Guinea, Allied forces landed in the Hollandia area as part of "Operation Persecution."
1945 – Prisoners at the Jasenovac concentration camp bravely revolted. About eighty prisoners managed to escape.
1945 – The Sachsenhausen concentration camp was freed by soldiers from the Red Army and the Polish First Army.
1948 – During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the port city of Haifa was taken by Jewish forces.
1951 – In the Korean War, Chinese forces began attacking positions held by Australian and Canadian soldiers at the Battle of Kapyong.
1954 – The Army–McCarthy hearings began, with witnesses testifying on live television during a time of great fear about communism in the U.S. (known as the Red Scare).
1969 – British sailor Sir Robin Knox-Johnston finished the first solo non-stop trip around the world, winning the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race.
1970 – The very first Earth Day was celebrated, encouraging people to protect our planet.
1977 – Optical fiber was used for the first time to carry live telephone calls.
1992 – A series of gas explosions in Guadalajara, Mexico, caused a lot of damage and sadly killed many people.
2005 – Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi apologized for Japan's actions during past wars.
2016 – The Paris Agreement was signed. This important agreement aims to help countries work together to fight global warming.

Famous Births

Born Before 1600

1451 – Isabella I of Castile, a powerful Queen of Spain.
1592 – Wilhelm Schickard, a German astronomer and mathematician.

Born Between 1601 and 1900

1610 – Pope Alexander VIII.
1658 – Giuseppe Torelli, an Italian violinist and composer.
1707 – Henry Fielding, a famous English novelist and playwright.
1724 – Immanuel Kant, an important German philosopher.
1766 – Germaine de Staël, a French writer and political thinker.
1830 – Emily Davies, a British activist who helped start Girton College, Cambridge University for women.
1854 – Henri La Fontaine, a Belgian lawyer and author who won the Nobel Peace Prize.
1858 – Ethel Smyth, an English composer.
1870 – Vladimir Lenin, a Russian revolutionary who helped found Soviet Russia.
1876 – Róbert Bárány, an Austrian-Swedish doctor who won a Nobel Prize for his work on the ear.
1899 – Vladimir Nabokov, a famous Russian-born novelist.

Born After 1900

1904 – J. Robert Oppenheimer, an American physicist known for his work on the atomic bomb.
1909 – Rita Levi-Montalcini, an Italian neurologist who won a Nobel Prize.
1916 – Yehudi Menuhin, a world-famous American-Swiss violinist and conductor.
1917 – Sidney Nolan, a well-known Australian painter.
1919 – Donald J. Cram, an American chemist who won a Nobel Prize.
1922 – Charles Mingus, an American jazz musician and composer.
1923 – Aaron Spelling, an American TV producer and screenwriter.
1926 – Charlotte Rae, an American actress and singer.
1928 – Estelle Harris, an American actress and comedian.
1936 – Glen Campbell, a popular American singer-songwriter and guitarist.
1937 – Jack Nicholson, a famous American actor.
1938 – Issey Miyake, a Japanese fashion designer.
1943 – Louise Glück, an American poet.
1944 – Steve Fossett, an American businessman and adventurer known for his record-breaking flights and sailing.
1950 – Peter Frampton, an English singer-songwriter and guitarist.
1957 – Donald Tusk, a Polish politician who served as Prime Minister of Poland.
1959 – Ryan Stiles, an American-Canadian actor and comedian.
1963 – Sean Lock, an English comedian and actor.
1966 – Jeffrey Dean Morgan, an American actor.
1970 – Regine Velasquez, a Filipino singer and actress.
1979 – Kaká, a famous Brazilian footballer.
1986 – Amber Heard, an American actress.
1986 – Marshawn Lynch, an American football player.
1987 – David Luiz, a Brazilian footballer.
1990 – Machine Gun Kelly, an American rapper, singer, and actor.
1990 – Eve Muirhead, a Scottish curler who won Olympic gold.
2011 – Violet McGraw, an American actress.

Notable Deaths

Passed Away Before 1600

296 – Pope Caius.
536 – Pope Agapetus I.
835 – Kūkai, a Japanese Buddhist monk who founded a special type of Buddhism.
1585 – Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg, a German prince-bishop.

Passed Away Between 1601 and 1900

1616 – Miguel de Cervantes, a famous Spanish novelist who wrote Don Quixote.
1778 &James Hargreaves, a British inventor.
1833 – Richard Trevithick, an English engineer and inventor.
1854 – Nicolás Bravo, a Mexican general and former President of Mexico.
1892 – Édouard Lalo, a French violinist and composer.

Passed Away After 1900

1908 – Henry Campbell-Bannerman, a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1933 – Henry Royce, an English engineer who helped create Rolls-Royce Limited.
1945 – Käthe Kollwitz, a German painter and sculptor.
1978 – Will Geer, an American actor.
1980 – Fritz Strassmann, a German chemist and physicist.
1984 – Ansel Adams, a famous American photographer and environmentalist.
1989 – Emilio G. Segrè, an Italian-American physicist who won a Nobel Prize.
1994 – Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the United States.
1996 – Erma Bombeck, an American journalist and author.
2005 – Eduardo Paolozzi, a Scottish sculptor and artist.
2009 – Jack Cardiff, a British cinematographer and director.
2013 – Richie Havens, an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.
2022 – Guy Lafleur, a legendary Canadian ice hockey player.
2023 – Len Goodman, an English ballroom dancer and TV personality.

Holidays and Observances

Christian feast day:

* Acepsimas of Hnaita and companions (Catholic Church) * Arwald * Epipodius and Alexander * Hudson Stuck (Episcopal Church) * John Muir (Episcopal Church) * Opportuna of Montreuil * Pope Caius * Pope Soter * St Senorina * April 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Fighter Aviation Day (Brazil)
Discovery Day (Brazil)
Earth Day (International observance) and its related observance: International Mother Earth Day
Holocaust Remembrance Day (Serbia)