What Happened on August 22
Significant Events
- 1485 Battle of Bosworth Field - Henry Tudor's forces defeat English King Richard III during last battle in the Wars of the Roses
- 1639 Madras (now Chennai), India, founded by the British East India Company on sliver of land bought from local Nayak rulers
- 1642 Civil War in England began between Royalists & Parliament
- 1864 First Geneva Convention adopted in Geneva "for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field"
- 1864 First Geneva Convention, governing the protection of victims in warfare, signed by 12 nations
- 1945 Vietnam conflict begins as Ho Chi Minh leads a successful coup
August 22 in Film & TV
- 1932 BBC begins experimental regular TV broadcasts
August 22 in Music
August 22 in Sport
- 1851 Yacht "America" wins 1st Royal Yacht Squadron Cup (America's Cup)
Did You Know?
The first air raid in history; Austria launches pilotless balloons against the Italian city of Venice
On August 22, 1849
Famous Birthdays
Claude Debussy
(1862 - 1918)
Dorothy Parker
(1893 - 1967)
Leni Riefenstahl
(1902 - 2003)
Deng Xiaoping
(1904 - 1997)
Carl Yastrzemski
79 Years Old
Mats Wilander
54 Years Old
Famous Weddings
- 1848 Soldier and later US President Ulysses Grant (26) marries Julia Dent
- 1900 Oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny (44) weds Carrie Estelle Betzold in New Mexico Territory
- 1925 Prime Minister of Canada Lester B. Pearson (28) weds teacher Maryon Elspeth Moody (23)
- 1931 FBI agent Melvin Purvis (27) weds childhood sweetheart Marie Rosanne Willcox at St. John's Episcopal Church in Florence, South Carolina
- 1944 Writer Jack Kerouac (22) weds author Edie Kerouac Parker
Famous Divorces
- 1968 Cynthia Lennon sues Beatle member John Lennon for divorce on grounds of adultry
- 2011 Actress Melissa Gilbert (47) divorces actor Bruce Boxleitner (61) due to irreconcilable differences after 16 long years of marriage
- 2012 "General Hospital" actress Vanessa Marcil (39) divorces actor Carmine Giovinazzo (44) due to irreconcilable differences after 2 years of marriage
Stilicho
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil
Michael Collins
Jomo KenyattaAugust in History
First Faltering Steps of Jane Eyre
With hope, pride – and some subterfuge – Charlotte Brontë sent her hefty manuscript of Jane Eyre to publishers in London on this day, then crossed her fingers.
August 15, 1847
A Kiss For Adolf Hitler
A woman spectator leaned over and kissed Adolf Hitler at the Berlin Olympic Games on this day. Hitler pretended to be amused, but his guards were to suffer.
August 15, 1936
The 17 Year-Old Witness to the Eruption of Vesuvius
17 year-old Pliny the Younger's account of the eruption of Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii made the event famous long after Pompeii was buried and forgotten.
August 24, 79 AD
How 200 Conquistadors Conquered an Empire of 10 Million
How did a mere 200 Spanish conquistadors capture the Incan Emperor-god Atahualpa, execute him and conquer an entire empire?
August 29, 1533