Summary of the Day ✨ 22 April (22/04)
A series of tragic events unfolded across the globe as terrorists killed 26 tourists in Kashmir while Melbourne police suffered their deadliest loss in history when four officers were struck by a truck. International efforts to combat climate advanced with the signing of the Paris Agreement while historical wounds were addressed through Japan’s apology for wartime atrocities and racial tensions highlighted by the murder of Stephen Lawrence.
Historical Events 📜
- 2025: At least 26 people are killed in a terrorist attack on a group of tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba claimed responsibility for the attack.
- 2020: Four police officers are killed after being struck by a truck on the Eastern Freeway in Melbourne while speaking to a speeding driver, marking the largest loss of police lives in Victoria Police history.
- 2016: The Paris Agreement is signed, an agreement to help fight global warming.
- 2005: Japan’s Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi apologizes for Japan’s war record.
- 1993: Eighteen-year-old Stephen Lawrence is murdered in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus in Well Hall, Eltham.
- 1992: A series of gas explosions rip through the streets in Guadalajara, Mexico, killing 206.
- 1977: Optical fiber is first used to carry live telephone traffic.
- 1974: Pan Am Flight 812 crashes on approach to Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, killing all 107 people on board.
- 1970: The first Earth Day is celebrated.
- 1970: Chicano residents in San Diego, California occupy a site under the Coronado Bridge, leading to the creation of Chicano Park.
- 1969: British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston wins the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race and completes the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world.
- 1969: The formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) is announced at a mass rally in Calcutta.
- 1966: American Flyers Airline Flight 280/D crashes on approach to Ardmore Municipal Airport in Ardmore, Oklahoma, killing 83.
- 1954: Red Scare: Witnesses begin testifying and live television coverage of the Army–McCarthy hearings begins.
- 1951: Korean War: The Chinese People’s Volunteer Army begin assaulting positions defended by the Royal Australian Regiment and the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry at the Battle of Kapyong.
Famous Births 👶
- 2011: Violet McGraw, American actress
- 1992: Adam Lanza, American mass murderer (died 2012)
- 1991: Danni Wyatt, English cricketer
- 1990: Machine Gun Kelly, American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor
- 1990: Kevin Kiermaier, American baseball player
- 1990: Eve Muirhead, Scottish curler
- 1988: Dee Strange-Gordon, American baseball player
- 1987: David Luiz, Brazilian footballer
- 1986: Amber Heard, American actress
- 1986: Marshawn Lynch, American football player
- 1983: Sam W. Heads, English-American entomologist and palaeontologist
- 1983: Shkëlzen Shala, Albanian entrepreneur and veganism activist
- 1982: Kaká, Brazilian footballer
- 1980: Quincy Timberlake, Kenyan-Australian activist, engineer, and politician
- 1979: Zoltán Gera, Hungarian international footballer and manager
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2023: Len Goodman, English ballroom dancer and television personality (born 1944)
- 2022: Guy Lafleur, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1951)
- 2021: Adrian Garrett, American professional baseball player (born 1943)
- 2020: Shirley Knight, American actress (born 1936)
- 2017: Donna Leanne Williams, Australian writer, artist, and activist (born 1963)
- 2015: Dick Balharry, Scottish environmentalist and photographer (born 1937)
- 2014: Oswaldo Vigas, Venezuelan painter (born 1926)
- 2013: Richie Havens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1941)
- 2013: Lalgudi Jayaraman, Indian violinist and composer (born 1930)
- 2013: Robert Suderburg, American pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1936)
- 2012: George Rathmann, American chemist, biologist, and businessman (born 1927)
- 2010: Richard Barrett, American lawyer and activist (born 1943)
- 2009: Jack Cardiff, British cinematographer, director and photographer (born 1914)
- 2007: Juanita Millender-McDonald, American educator and politician (born 1938)
- 2006: Henriette Avram, American computer scientist and academic (born 1919)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Acepsimas of Hnaita and companions (Catholic Church) - Christian feast day:
Arwald - Christian feast day:
Epipodius and Alexander - Christian feast day:
Hudson Stuck (Episcopal Church) - Christian feast day:
John Muir (Episcopal Church) - Christian feast day:
Opportuna of Montreuil - Christian feast day:
Pope Caius - Christian feast day:
Pope Soter - Christian feast day:
St Senorina - Christian feast day:
Theodore of Sykeon - Christian feast day:
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)