January 22 is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 343 days remaining (344 in leap years).
- 1771 - Spain cedes Port Egmont in the Falkland Islands to England
- 1824 - Ashantis crush British forces in the Gold Coast
- 1840 - British colonists reach New Zealand
- 1879 - Anglo-Zulu War: Zulu troops massacre British troops at Isandhlwana[?]
- 1889 - Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, DC.
- 1899 - Leaders of six Australian colonies meet in Melbourne to discuss confederation
- 1901 - Edward VII becomes King after his mother, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, dies.
- 1905 - 'Bloody Sunday' in St. Petersburg, beginning of the 1905 revolution
- 1917 - World War I: President Woodrow Wilson calls for "peace without victory" in Europe.
- 1924 - Ramsay MacDonald becomes the first Labour[?] Prime Minister.
- 1931 - Sir Isaac Isaacs[?] sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia
- 1941 - World War II: The United Kingdom captures Tobruk[?] from Nazi forces.
- 1944 - World War II: Allies begin Operation Shingle (an assault on Anzio[?], Italy).
- 1947 - The first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, KTLA, begins operation in Hollywood, California.
- 1953 - The Crucible, a drama by Arthur Miller, opens on Broadway.
- 1957 - Israel withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula (they invaded Egypt on October 29, 1956)
- 1957 - The New York City "Mad Bomber[?]," George P. Metesky[?], is arrested in Waterbury, Connecticut[?] and is charged with planting more than 30 bombs.
- 1962 - The Organization of American States (OAS) suspends Cuba's membership.
- 1963 - Elisée treaty between France and Germany
- 1968 - Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, debuts on NBC.
- 1973 - The Supreme Court of the United States delivers its decision in Roe vs. Wade striking down state laws restricting abortion during the first six months of pregnancy.
- 1973 - George Foreman breaks Joe Frazier's professional career undefeated heavyweight world boxing champion status.
- 1980 - Andrei Sakharov is arrested in Moscow
- 1983 - Bjorn Borg retires from tennis after winning 5 consecutive Wimbledon championships.
- 1984 - The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to use a computer mouse and GUI interface, is introduced.
- 1990 - Robert Tappan Morris is convicted of releasing the 1988 Internet worm
- 1992 - Rebel forces occupy Zaire's national radio station in Kinshasa and broadcast a demand for the government's resignation.
- 1992 - Dr. Roberta Bondar becomes the first Canadian woman in space.
- 1995 - Israeli-Palestinian conflict: In central Israel, two suicide bombers from the Gaza Strip blow themselves-up at a military transit point killing 19 Israelis.
- 1997 - Madeleine Albright becomes the first female secretary of state after confirmation by the United States Senate.
- 1998 - Suspected "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski pleads guilty and accepts a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
- 2001 - Four of the "Texas 7[?]" are caught at a convenience store in Woodland Park, Colorado and a fifth killed himself inside a motor home.
- 2002 - AOL Time Warner brings a federal suit against Microsoft seeking damages. The suit alleges that the market for AOL's Netscape Navigator Internet browser was harmed when Microsoft started to give away a competing browser.
- 2002 - Kmart Corp becomes the largest retailer in American history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
- 2003 - The Netherlands vote for a new parliament after the previous had only been into power for 86 days.
- 2003 - Last successful contact with the spacecraft Pioneer 10, one of the most distant man-made objects.
- 1440 - Ivan III, grand duke of Moscow (+ 1505)
- 1561 - Sir Francis Bacon, philosopher (+ 1626)
- 1729 - Gotthold Ephraim Lessig[?], author and philosopher (+ 1781)
- 1775 - Andre Marie Ampere, physicist (+ 1836)
- 1788 - George Gordon, Lord Byron, poet (+ 1824)
- 1849 - August Strindberg, poet and writer (+ 1912)
- 1875 - D. W. Griffith, director (+1948)
- 1893 - Conrad Veidt[?], actor (+ 1943)
- 1904 - George Balanchine, choreographer (+ 1983) (N.S.)
- 1906 - Robert E. Howard, author (+ 1936)
- 1909 - U Thant[?], 3rd United Nations Secretary General (+ 1974)
- 1909 - Ann Sothern[?], actress (+ 2001)
- 1911 - Bruno Kreisky[?], Prime Minister of Austria[?] (+ 1990)
- 1915 - Heinrich Albertz[?], theologian and politician (+ 1993)
- 1931 - Sam Cooke, singer (+ 1964)
- 1932 - Piper Laurie, actress
- 1934 - Bill Bixby, actor (+ 1993)
- 1936 - Joseph Wambaugh[?], author
- 1940 - John Hurt, actor
- 1948 - George Foreman, boxer
- 1953 - Jim Jarmusch, director
- 1957 - Mike Bossy[?], ice hockey player
- 1959 - Linda Blair[?], actress
- 1960 - Michael Hutchence, musician ("INXS") (+ 1997)
- 1975 - Balthazar Getty[?], actor
- 1666 - Shah Jahan, Mogul Emperor of India
- 1901 - Queen Victoria I of the United Kingdom
- 1922 - Pope Benedict XV
- 1945 - Else Lasker-Schuler[?], poet
- 1959 - Mike Hawthorn, racing champion
- 1968 - Duke Kahanamoku, American swimmer
- 1973 - Lyndon Johnson, President of the United States
- 1975 - Andrew George Burry, manufacturer and businessman, dies at 101
- 1988 - Parker Fennelly[?], comedian, actor
- 1993 - Abe Kobo[?], writer
- 1994 - Telly Savalas[?], actor
- 1995 - Rose Kennedy, matriarch of the Kennedy family
- 2002 - Jack Shea[?], Olympics speed skating gold medalist
See Also: January,
February,
March,
April,
May,
June,
July,
August,
September,
October,
November,
December
January 21 - January 23 - December 22 - February 22 - Historical anniversaries