The Paris Agreement on climate change was signed by 175 countries in a single day
MajorThis set a record for the most countries to sign an international agreement on the first day it was open for signature. World leaders gathered at the...
April 22 in History
Significant events that happened on this day.
Historical Events
2016
1993
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum opened in Washington, D.C.
President Bill Clinton and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel dedicated the museum on the National Mall. The timing was particularly poignant as it occurr...
1983
The German magazine Stern announced it had discovered Hitler's secret diaries, which turned out to be forgeries
Stern paid $3.7 million for what they claimed were 60 volumes of Hitler's handwritten journals. Within two weeks, forensic analysis revealed the diari...
1976
Barbara Walters became the first female co-anchor of a network evening news program
ABC announced Walters would join Harry Reasoner on the ABC Evening News with an unprecedented $1 million annual salary. The move was groundbreaking bu...
1970
The first Earth Day was celebrated, launching the modern environmental movement
MajorAn estimated 20 million Americans participated in rallies, teach-ins, and demonstrations across the United States. The event led directly to the creat...
1954
The Army-McCarthy hearings began on live television, exposing Senator Joseph McCarthy's tactics
The televised hearings between McCarthy and Army officials were watched by 80 million Americans over 36 days. McCarthy's bullying behavior and baseles...
1952
The first atomic bomb was detonated on live television during a test in Nevada
CBS broadcast the explosion live from Frenchman Flat in the Nevada desert, marking the first time a nuclear detonation was shown on TV. Viewers across...
1944
Allied forces accidentally bombed the town of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, despite Swiss neutrality
American B-24 bombers mistakenly dropped 378 bombs on the neutral Swiss town, killing 40 civilians and destroying dozens of buildings. The pilots had...
1915
German forces used poison gas for the first time in warfare at the Second Battle of Ypres
MajorGerman troops released 168 tons of chlorine gas against French colonial troops in Belgium, creating a greenish cloud that caused panic and thousands o...
1889
The Oklahoma Land Rush began at noon when over 50,000 settlers raced to claim free land
When a cannon fired, thousands of settlers on horseback, in wagons, and on foot rushed across the border to stake claims to nearly 2 million acres of...
1884
The first roller coaster in America began operating at Coney Island
LaMarcus Adna Thompson's 'Switchback Railway' opened and charged riders five cents for a thrilling six-mile-per-hour ride. The attraction was an immed...
1864
Congress authorized the phrase 'In God We Trust' to be printed on U.S. coins
The Coinage Act of 1864 allowed the motto to appear on American currency for the first time, initially on the two-cent piece. The phrase wouldn't beco...
1724
Immanuel Kant was born in Königsberg, Prussia
MajorThe philosopher who would revolutionize Western philosophy with his 'Critique of Pure Reason' entered the world. Kant famously never traveled more tha...