Pioneering balloonist André-Jacques Garnerin became the modern world's first successful parachutist by jumping from a hydrogen balloon over Paris More
View Historical Events by Day:
What Happened Today in History on October 22
Explore the historical events that shaped our world on October 22nd. From major milestones to cultural achievements, see what happened on this day in history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
Note: Sources for the historical content shown, include research and reviews of relevant Online History Resources or printed material. When possible, we show a link to a source which provides additional or unique perspective about the event.
We do our best to provide accurate information but would appreciate being notified if any incorrect information is found. You may do so by using our Feedback link.
President John F. Kennedy alerts the American people to the Cuban missile crisis, declaring a naval blockade to prevent further missile shipments to the island country 90 miles (145 km) off the coast of the U.S. The crisis brought the two superpowers to the brink of nuclear war.
The 13-day confrontation which started when the U.S. discovered Soviet nuclear missiles being deployed in Cuba ended with the removal of the Russian missiles from Cuba and a U.S. agreement not to invade Cuba and a secret removal of U.S. missiles from Turkey. President Kennedy Speech
Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar mission, was launched on October 22, 2008. The mission, using data from a NASA radar that flew aboard the spacecraft, found water molecules on the lunar surface, both as hydroxyl and water confirming the presence of water ice in permanently shadowed regions at the lunar poles.
WikiLeaks, a website founded by Julian Assange, released thousands of U.S. documents provided by Chelsea Manning, relating to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan including field reports on civilian casualties and the treatment of prisoners, These "war logs" were made available to the public after by WikiLeaks and also released by some News organizations like The Guardian, Der Spiegel, and The New York Times.
Chelsea Manning was arrested in 2010 for leaking hundreds of thousands of classified U.S. government documents to WikiLeaks. She was sentenced in 2013 to 35 years in prison. President Obama commuted her sentence in January 2017, leading to her release in May 2017 after serving nearly seven years.
Assange agreed to a plea deal on June 25, 2024 in which he pleaded guilty in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, to an Espionage Act charge of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U.S. national defense documents in return for a sentence of time served. Following the hearing Assange flew to Australia.
Canada's Parliament Hill in Ottawa is attacked by a lone gunman, resulting in the death of a soldier and the attacker.