Apple announced that over 1 million people had pre-ordered the iPhone 4S in the first 24 hours
Released just two days after Steve Jobs's death, the 4S shattered previous records despite critics calling it a disappointment. It introduced Siri, th...
October 22 in History
Significant events that happened on this day.
Historical Events
2011
2008
India successfully launched its first mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-1
MajorThe spacecraft carried 11 scientific instruments from India, USA, UK, Germany, Sweden, and Bulgaria. It confirmed the presence of water molecules on t...
1999
Maurice Greene set the 100-meter world record at 9.79 seconds in Athens
The American sprinter shaved 0.05 seconds off the previous record in what was called the greatest 100 meters ever run at that time. He celebrated by d...
1975
A Soviet space probe sent back the first images from the surface of Venus
MajorVenera 9 survived Venus's crushing atmosphere and 900°F temperatures for 53 minutes before being destroyed. The grainy black-and-white images showed a...
1964
Jean-Paul Sartre declined the Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first person to voluntarily refuse it
The French philosopher said he didn't want to be transformed into an institution and that writers should refuse official honors. He had actually tried...
1962
President Kennedy announced the Cuban Missile Crisis to the world in a televised address
MajorJFK revealed that Soviet nuclear missiles had been discovered in Cuba, just 90 miles from Florida. He announced a naval quarantine of Cuba and warned...
1945
A massive crowd of women in Paris rioted when they couldn't get nylon stockings
After years of wartime shortages, 40,000 women stormed a department store for the first nylon stockings available since before World War II. The stamp...
1883
The Metropolitan Opera House opened in New York City with a performance of Gounod's Faust
The original "Met" was built on Broadway between 39th and 40th streets because wealthy patrons couldn't get boxes at the old Academy of Music. The ope...
1879
Thomas Edison successfully tested an electric light bulb that burned for 13.5 hours
MajorUsing a carbonized cotton thread as the filament, Edison achieved the breakthrough that made electric lighting practical. He and his team then tested...
1836
Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of Texas
Just months after leading Texas to victory at the Battle of San Jacinto, Houston took office in the newly independent nation. He served in his sock fe...
1797
André-Jacques Garnerin made the first successful parachute jump from a hot air balloon
The French aeronaut jumped from 3,200 feet above Paris in a canvas parachute attached to a basket. The landing was rough and the parachute swung viole...