A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on March 22nd. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
On March 22, 1621, the European (basically British) colonists of Plymouth Colony, a “Pilgrim” venture for displaced religious zealots to find a place to practice their religion in peace, signed a peace treaty with Chief (or “Sachem”) Massasoit of the Wampanoag Native American coalition of tribes that had occupied what is now Massachusetts.
On March 22, 1872, the State of Illinois became the first state to enact a law requiring equal treatment of men and women in hiring.
On March 22, 1943, a battalion of military police fighting for Germany was attacked by Byelorussian partisans near the village of Khatyn.
On March 22, 1960, scientists Arthur Schawlow and Charles Townes of Bell Labs in New Jersey patented their invention of the LASER, a device that concentrates and focuses visible light that today we find useful in a myriad of applications.
On March 22, 1972, the US Supreme Court decided that unmarried Americans were allowed to have sex!
On March 22, 1978, Karl Wallenda of the famous “Flying Wallendas” family of risk takers and circus performers, tragically died during a daring high wire stunt, falling to his death from a high wire strung between 2 hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
On March 22, 1995, Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov made it back to Earth after spending a record 437 days and 18 hours in space.
On March 22, 1997, figure skater Tara Lipinski, age 14, became the youngest skater ever to win a World Championship.
On March 22, 2017, John Carroll University’s Paranormal Research Group had the privilege of viewing an early screening of the new science fiction/space/alien movie Life, and despite high expectations we were not disappointed.
On March 22, 2024, the fifth movie in the Ghostbusters franchise made its wide release across the United States, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, a movie featuring some of the original characters and actors from the 1984 smash hit film as well as some of the new crew introduced in the 2021 third edition in the lineal series, Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
On March 22, 2024, the Princess of Wales, Catherine Middleton Windsor, the wife of the future King of the UK, William, Prince of Wales, announced that she is being treated for an unspecified cancer discovered during her recent abdominal surgery.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.