On this day: July 22

Events on July 22

• 838 Arab–Byzantine wars: The forces of the Abbasid Caliphate defeated Byzantine troops led by Emperor Theophilos at the Battle of Anzen, near present-day Dazman, Turkey. Wikipedia
• 1456 Ottoman wars in Europe: Siege of Belgrade: John Hunyadi, Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, defeats Mehmet II of the Ottoman Empire. Wikipedia
• 1587 Roanoke Colony: A second group of English settlers arrives on Roanoke Island off North Carolina to re-establish the deserted colony. Wikipedia
• 1598 William Shakespeare's play, The Merchant of Venice, is entered on the Stationers' Register. By decree of Queen Elizabeth, the Stationers' Register licensed printed works, giving the Crown tight control over all published material. Wikipedia
• 1796 Surveyors of the Connecticut Land Company name an area in Ohio "Cleveland" after Gen. Moses Cleaveland, the superintendent of the surveying party. Wikipedia
• 1802 Emperor Gia Long conquers Hanoi and unified Viet Nam, which had experienced centuries of feudal warfare. Wikipedia
• 1802 Gia Long conquered Hanoi and unified modern-day Vietnam, which had experienced centuries of feudal warfare. Wikipedia
• 1833 The Slavery Abolition Act passes in the British House of Commons, initiating the gradual abolition of slavery in most parts of the British Empire. Wikipedia
• 1864 American Civil War: In the Battle of Atlanta, Confederate General John Bell Hood leads an unsuccessful attack on Union troops under General William T. Sherman on Bald Hill outside Atlanta. Wikipedia
• 1864 American Civil War: Confederate forces unsuccessfully attacked Union troops at the Battle of Atlanta. Wikipedia
• 1880 Abdur Rahman is proclaimed emir of Afghanistan after having been accepted as ruler by the British. Wikipedia
• 1916 Preparedness Day Bombing: In San Francisco, a bomb explodes on Market Street during a parade, killing ten and injuring 40. Wikipedia
• 1936 Spanish Civil War: The Popular Executive Committee of Valencia takes power in the Valencian Community. Wikipedia
• 1937 New Deal: The United States Senate votes down President Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court of the United States. Wikipedia
• 1943 World War II: Allied forces capture Palermo during the Allied invasion of Sicily. Wikipedia
• 1943 World War II: Axis occupation forces violently disperse a massive protest in Athens, killing 22. Wikipedia
• 1944 World War II: In opposition to the government-in-exile based in London, the Soviet-backed Polish Committee of National Liberation was proclaimed to govern territory recaptured from Germany. Wikipedia
• 1946 King David Hotel bombing: A Zionist underground organisation, the Irgun, bombs the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, site of the civil administration and military headquarters for Mandatory Palestine, resulting in 91 deaths. Wikipedia
• 1976 Japan completed its last reparation to the Philippines for war crimes committed during imperial Japan's conquest of the country in the Second World War. Wikipedia
• 1976 Japan completes its last reparation to the Philippines for war crimes committed during imperial Japan's conquest of the country in the Second World War. Wikipedia
• 1977 Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping is restored to power. Wikipedia
• 1991 American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, after police discovered human remains in his apartment. Wikipedia
• 1992 Near Medellín, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escapes from his luxury prison fearing extradition to the United States. Wikipedia
• 2002 The Israel Defense Forces bombed the home of Salah Shehade, the leader of the military arm of Hamas, killing him, his family and neighboring civilians. Wikipedia
• 2003 Iraq War: Members of 101st Airborne of the United States, aided by Special Forces, attack a compound in Iraq, killing Saddam Hussein's sons Uday and Qusay, along with Mustapha Hussein, Qusay's 14-year-old son, and a bodyguard. Wikipedia
• 2011 Norway attacks: A bomb explodes, targeted at government buildings in central Oslo, followed by a massacre at a youth camp on the island of Utøya. Wikipedia

Born on July 22

• 1478 Philip I of Castile (died 1506) Wikipedia
• 1535 Katarina Stenbock, queen of Gustav I of Sweden (died 1621) Wikipedia
• 1713 Jacques-Germain Soufflot, French architect, designed the Panthéon (died 1780) Wikipedia
• 1784 Friedrich Bessel, German mathematician and astronomer (died 1846) Wikipedia
• 1878 Janusz Korczak, Polish pediatrician and author (died 1942) Wikipedia
• 1882 Edward Hopper, American painter and etcher (died 1967) Wikipedia
• 1887 Gustav Ludwig Hertz, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1975) Wikipedia
• 1888 Selman Waksman, Jewish-American biochemist and microbiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1973) Wikipedia
• 1898 Alexander Calder, American sculptor, known for his kinetic sculptures (died 1976) Wikipedia
• 1923 Bob Dole, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (died 2021) Wikipedia
• 1934 Louise Fletcher, American actress (died 2022) Wikipedia
• 1946 Danny Glover, American actor, director, and producer Wikipedia
• 1955 Willem Dafoe, American actor Wikipedia
• 1960 John Leguizamo, Colombian-American actor, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia
• 1964 David Spade, American actor, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia
• 1973 Rufus Wainwright, American-Canadian singer-songwriter Wikipedia
• 1974 Franka Potente, German actress Wikipedia
• 1980 Dirk Kuyt, Dutch footballer Wikipedia
• 1992 Selena Gomez, American singer and actress Wikipedia
• 1998 Federico Valverde, Uruguayan footballer Wikipedia
• 1998 Marc Cucurella, Spanish footballer Wikipedia
• 2013 Prince George of Wales Wikipedia

Died on July 22

• 698 Wu Chengsi, nephew of Chinese sovereign Wu Zetian Wikipedia
• 1274 Henry I of Navarre, Count of Champagne and Brie and King of Navarre Wikipedia
• 1376 Simon Langham, Archbishop of Canterbury (born 1310) Wikipedia
• 1461 Charles VII of France (born 1403) Wikipedia
• 1676 Pope Clement X (born 1590) Wikipedia
• 1826 Giuseppe Piazzi, Italian mathematician and astronomer (born 1746) Wikipedia
• 1832 Napoleon II, French emperor (born 1811) Wikipedia
• 1869 John A. Roebling, German-American engineer, designed the Brooklyn Bridge (born 1806) Wikipedia
• 1908 Randal Cremer, English politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1828) Wikipedia
• 1950 William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canadian economist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Canada (born 1874) Wikipedia
• 1967 Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian (born 1878) Wikipedia
• 1979 Sándor Kocsis, Hungarian footballer and manager (born 1929) Wikipedia
• 2014 Johann Breyer, German SS officer (born 1925) Wikipedia
• 2025 Ozzy Osbourne, English musician and media personality (born 1948) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day: Abd-al-Masih Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Anna Wang Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Mary Magdalene Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Markella Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Nohra (Maronite Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Philip Evans and John Lloyd Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: July 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Sarawak Independence Day (Sarawak, Malaysia) Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “July 22” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.