1056: A supernova in the Crab Nebula is visible in African skies to the naked eye.
1864: The US Congress passed legislation that allowed the “In God We Trust” inscription on the currency. The inscription was added to one-cent and two-cent coins. The legislation is known as the Coinage Act of 1864.
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1906: The 1906 Olympic Games begin in Athens. While the meet in practice was the second Olympic Games of the modern era, it is not recognized as such by the International Olympic Committee.
1915: Germans introduce poison gas. On April 22, 1915, German forces shock Allied soldiers along the western front by firing more than 150 tons of lethal chlorine gas against two French colonial divisions at Ypres, Belgium. This was the first major gas attack by the Germans, and it devastated the Allied line.
On April 22, 1945, Adolf Hitler, learning from one of his generals that no German defense was offered to the Russian assault at Eberswalde, admits to all in his underground bunker that the war is lost and that suicide is his only recourse.
1970: The first Earth Day. Earth Day, an event to increase public awareness of the world’s environmental problems, is celebrated in the United States for the first time on April 22, 1970. Millions of Americans, including students from thousands of colleges and universities, participated in rallies, marches, and educational programs across the country.
Earth Day was the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, a staunch environmentalist who hoped to provide unity to the grassroots environmental movement and increase ecological awareness.
1977: Optical fiber is used for telephone transmissions for the first time
Fiber-optic technology allows sending information over long distances using light pulses. It has played an important role in the development of modern-day global communications.
1978: On April 22nd, 1978, international reggae superstar Bob Marley headlines the One Love Peace Concert at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. The lineup included 16 reggae acts (including Marley) with a common goal: to restore peace to the Caribbean island nation, a former British colony then roiling with political strife.
1992: Dozens of sewer explosions in Guadalajara, Mexico, killed more than 200 people and damaged 1,000 buildings on April 22, 1992. The series of explosions was caused by a gas leak, the warning signs of which were ignored by the Mexican government and the national oil company.
Three days before the explosions, the residents of a working-class neighborhood in Guadalajara noticed a foul smell in the air. The people experienced stinging in their eyes and throats. Some felt nauseous. Despite complaints, the local authorities did not seriously investigate the issue. On April 22, at about 11:30 a.m., a series of powerful explosions began.
1994: 7,000 Tutsi slaughtered by Hutus in the stadium at Kibuye, Rwanda.
1997: In Lima, Peru, Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori orders a commando assault on the Japanese ambassador’s home, hoping to free 72 hostages held for more than four months by armed members of the Tupac Amaru leftist rebel movement.
On December 16, 1996, 14 Tupac Amaru terrorists, disguised as waiters and caterers, slipped into the home of Japanese Ambassador Morihisa Aoki, where a reception honoring the birthday of the Japanese emperor was being held. The armed terrorists took 490 people hostage. Police promptly surrounded the compound, and the rebels agreed to release 170 women and elderly guests but declared they would kill the remaining 220 if their demands were not met. The hero status of the Peruvian troops involved in the successful raid was later called into question when evidence of summary executions of captured insurgents emerged.
2000: 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez seized in Miami, returned to his Cuban father. On April 22, 2000, in a dramatic pre-dawn raid, armed immigration agents seized 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy at the center of a custody dispute, from his relatives’ home in Miami; Elian was reunited with his father at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington.
2020: Sudan bans female genital mutilation, a practice condemned by human rights groups and the U.N. but which persists in several traditional cultures in parts of Africa.
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY APRIL 22
Mikel Obi, 37 years
Mikel John Obi MON, also known as John Obi Mikel was born in 1987 in Jos on 22 April 1987. He is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Mikel began his career with local club Plateau United, before joining Norwegian club Lyn at the age of 17 in 2004.
Machine Gun Kelly, 34 years
Colson Baker, known professionally as MGK, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He was born on 22 April 1990 in Houston, Texas. He is noted for his genre duality across alternative rock with hip hop.
Gani Fawehinmi (22 April 1938 – 5 September 2009)
Chief Abdul-Ganiyu “Gani” Oyesola Fawehinmi GCON, SAN was born in Ondo in 1938. He was a Nigerian author, publisher, philanthropist, social critic, human and civil rights lawyer, and politician. He held the chieftaincy title of the Lamofin of Ondo. He died at the age of 71.
