July 22nd in History

Lockheed Vega “Winnie Mae,” in which aviator Wiley Post completed the first solo flight around the world

Today in History

  • English settlers arrive on Roanoke Island to re-establish the mysteriously deserted colony (1587)
  • Alexander Mackenzie becomes the first recorded human being to complete a transcontinental crossing of North America (1793)
  • Katharine Lee Bates writes “America the Beautiful” after admiring the view from the top of Pikes Peak (1893)
  • The first motorcar race is held between Paris and Rouen. The winner achieves an average speed of 17 km/h (11 mph) (1894)
  • Wiley Post completes the first solo flight around the world in the Lockheed Vega “Winnie Mae” (now at the National Air and Space Museum). The flight lasts seven days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes (1933)
  • FDR’s plan to add Supreme Court justices is defeated (1937)
  • The US imposes gasoline rationing (1942)
  • The deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto begins (1942)
  • Drug lord Pablo Escobar escapes from his luxury prison to avoid extradition to the US (1992)

Birthdays

  • William Archibald Spooner, absent-minded Oxford don known for “spoonerisms” (1844)
  • Emma Lazarus, poet who wrote the inscription on the Statue of Liberty (“Give me your tired, your poor…”) (1849)
  • Edward Hopper, painter (1882)
  • James Whale, horror film director (1889)
  • Rose Kennedy, matriarch of the Kennedy family (1890)
  • Stephen Vincent Benét, writer (1898)
  • Amy Vanderbilt, etiquette columnist (1908)
  • Bob Dole, US senator and presidential candidate (1923)
  • Orson Bean, actor (1928)
  • Oscar de la Renta, fashion designer (1932)
  • Tom Robbins, novelist (1932)
  • Louise Fletcher, actress (1934)
  • Alex Trebek, game show host (1940)
  • Vaughn Bode, illustrator (1941)
  • George Clinton, singer-songwriter (1941)
  • Bobby Sherman, singer-songwriter (1943)
  • Danny Glover, actor (1946)
  • Paul Schrader, filmmaker (1946)
  • Albert Brooks, comedian and actor (1947)
  • Don Henley, singer-songwriter, member of The Eagles (1947)
  • Alan Menken, composer (1949)
  • S. E. Hinton, author (1950)
  • Willem Dafoe, actor (1955)
  • John Leguizamo, comedian and actor (1964)
  • David Spade, comedian and actor (1964)
  • Tim Brown, football player (1966)
  • Rhys Ifans, actor (1968)
  • Colin Ferguson, actor (1972)
  • Rufus Wainwright, singer-songwriter (1973)
  • Franka Potente, actress (1974)

Deaths

  • John A. Roebling, designer of the Brooklyn Bridge (1869)
  • Sanford Fleming, developed standard time (1915)
  • James Whitcomb Riley, poet (1916)
  • Flo Ziegfeld, impressario (1932)
  • John Dillinger, gangster (1934)
  • Carl Sandburg, poet (1967)
  • Illinois Jacquet, saxophonist (2004)
  • Estelle Getty, actress (2008)
  • Dennis Farina, actor (2013)

Holidays and Celebrations

  • Birthday of the Late King Sobhuza (Swaziland)
  • Fragile X Awareness Day
  • National Press Day (Azerbaijan)
  • Pi Approximation Day (22/7)
  • Ratcatcher’s Day
  • Revolution Day (Gambia)
  • Sarawak Self-Government Day (Sarawak, Malaysia)

July 22 is the 203rd day of the year (204th in leap years). There are 162 days remaining until the end of the year.