On This Day - April 22nd

Featured Event:

First Earth Day (1970) 🌎

First celebrated on this day in 1970 in the U.S., Earth Day—founded by American politician and conservationist Gaylord Anton Nelson—helped spark the environmental movement and quickly grew into an international event.

Other Events:

1370: Construction began on the Bastille, the medieval fortress that came to symbolize French despotism. 🇫🇷

1864: The U.S. Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1864, which led to “In God We Trust” being printed on U.S. coins. 🪙

1915: During World War I, German forces introduced the systematized use of chemical warfare when they released chlorine gas along a 6km front at the Second Battle of Ypres. 🪖

2016: More than 170 countries signed the Paris Agreement on climate change, a landmark treaty that sought to control and reduce greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere; it took effect in November 2016. 🤝

Holidays:

Fighter Aviation Day 🇧🇷

Discovery Day 🇧🇷

Earth Day 🌎

Holocaust Remembrance Day 🇷🇸

Featured Birthdays:

1724: Immanuel Kant 🇩🇪 (Philosopher)

1870: Vladimir Lenin 🇷🇺 (Soviet Leader)

1904: J. Robert Oppenheimer 🇺🇸 (Physicist)

1937: Jack Nicholson 🇺🇸 (Actor)

Featured Deaths:

1616: Miguel de Cervantes 🇪🇸 (Author)

1994: Richard Nixon 🇺🇸 (President)

2023: Barry Humphries 🇦🇺 (Actor)