September 22 is the 265th day of the year (266th in leap years). There are 100 days remaining until the end of the year. (Photo: The first issue of National Geographic Magazine is published, September 22, 1888.)

Today in History

• The last hanging of accused witches takes place in England’s North American colonies (1692)
• George III ascends the British throne (1761)
• Nathan Hale is sorry that he has only one life to give for his country (1776)
• Joseph Smith (according to Joseph Smith) discovers the golden plates containing the Book of Mormon (1823)
• The first issue of National Geographic is published (1888)
• Jack Dempsey loses the “Long Count” boxing match to Gene Tunney (1927)
• Sara Jane Moore tries to assassinate President Gerald Ford (1975)
• Iraq invades Iran (1980)

Birthdays

• Anne of Cleves, wife of Henry VIII (1515)
• Michael Faraday, electromagnetism pioneer (1791)
• Charlotte Cooper, tennis player and first female Olympic champion (1870)
• Wilhelm Keitel, who “merely followed orders” (1882)
• Paul Muni, actor (1895)
• John Houseman, Paper Chase professor (1902)
• سید روح‌اللّه مصطفوی موسوی خمینی (Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini), Iranian theocrat (1902)
• Joseph Valachi, Mafia soldier (1903)
• Ellen Church, first female flight attendant (1904)
• Ilse Koch, Red Witch of Buchenwald (1906)
• Will Elder, Mad cartoonist (1921)
• Tommy Lasorda, baseball manager (1927)
• Jeremiah Wright, Obama pastor (1941)
• Toni Basil, mind blown by “Mickey” (1943)
• King Sunny Adé, Jùjú musician (1946)
• Paul Le Mat, actor (1952)
• Shari Belafonte, singer and actress (1954)
• Randy Lanier, racing driver and drug smuggler (1954)
• Debby Boone, teen idol (1956)
• Joan Jett, runaway (1958)
• Scott Baio, teen idol (1960)
• Elizabeth Bear, science fiction writer (1971)

Deaths

• गुरु नानक (Guru Nanak Dev), founder of Sikhism (1539)
• Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, character in Richard II (1399)
• Shaka kaSenzangakhona, Zulu ruler (1828)
• Dan Rowan, Laugh-In straight man (1987)
• Irving Berlin, songwriter (1989)
• Dorothy Lamour, sarong queen (1996)
• George C. Scott, actor (1999)
• Isaac Stern, violinist (2001)
• Marcel Marceau, mime (2007)
• Eddie Fisher, who left Debbie for Liz (2010)

Holidays and Celebrations

• American Business Women’s Day (US)
• Car-Free Day (Europe and Montreal, Canada)
• Hobbit Day (part of Tolkien Week, American Tolkien Society)
• Independence Day (Bulgaria, Mali)
• OneWebDay (Internet)
• Resistance Fighting Day (Estonia)

Various autumnal equinox celebrations happen either on September 22 or September 23, depending on the year.

(*O.S., or Old Style, when used, refers to the fact that Russia did not convert from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar until 1918.)