Box-office #1
The Empire Strikes Back
1980 · dir. Irvin Kershner
Wide US release on May 23, 1980. Goes on to become the highest-grossing film of the year.
Sci-fiStar Wars $538M worldwide
On this day
September 22 Tuesday, September 22, 2026
A curious almanac of what happened on September 22 across the years — history, birthdays, the songs that ruled the charts, the films that packed cinemas, and the science that nudged the world forward.
13
Events
7
Birthdays
8
Holidays
US history 164 years ago
A preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation is released by Abraham Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln issues a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that enslaved people in states still in rebellion will be freed.
History
What happened on September 22
13 verified entries Full timeline
- 904War
The warlord Zhu Quanzhong kills Emperor Zhaozong, the penultimate emperor of the Tang dynasty, after seizing control of the imperial government.
Zhu Quanzhong assassinates Emperor Zhaozong, taking control as the penultimate ruler of the Tang dynasty.
- 1236War
The Samogitians defeat the Livonian Brothers of the Sword in the Battle of Saule.
The Samogitians defeat the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, marking a significant victory against the crusading order.
- 1359European history
An Aragonese cavalry force defeats a superior Castilian cavalry force in the Battle of Araviana during the War of the Two Peters.
Aragonese forces defeat a larger Castilian army at the Battle of Araviana during the War of the Two Peters.
- 1499European history
The Treaty of Basel concludes the Swabian War.
The Treaty of Basel ends the Swabian War, bringing peace between the Holy Roman Empire and the Swiss Confederacy.
- 1586European history
Eighty Years' War: A Spanish force led by the Marquis del Vasto successfully fights its way past a joint English/Dutch ambush in the Battle of Zutphen.
A Spanish force led by the Marquis del Vasto defeats a joint English-Dutch ambush in the Battle of Zutphen.
- 1692US history
Martha Corey, Mary Eastey, Alice Parker, Mary Parker, Ann Pudeator, Wilmot Redd, Margaret Scott, and Samuel Wardwell are hanged, the last of those to be executed in the Salem witch trials.
Eight individuals are hanged, marking the final executions in the Salem witch trials.
- 1711US history
The first attacks of the Tuscarora War begin in present-day North Carolina.
The Tuscarora War begins with attacks on colonial settlements in present-day North Carolina.
- 1761UK history
George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz are crowned King and Queen, respectively, of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz are crowned king and queen, respectively, of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
- 1862US history
A preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation is released by Abraham Lincoln.
Abraham Lincoln issues a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that enslaved people in states still in rebellion will be freed.
- 1891Technology
The first hydropower plant of Finland is commissioned along the Tammerkoski rapids in Tampere, Pirkanmaa.
A hydropower plant begins operation on the Tammerkoski rapids in Tampere, marking Finland's first hydroelectric power facility.
- 1980World history
Iraq invades Iran, beginning the Iran-Iraq War
Iraqi forces launched a full-scale invasion of Iran, initiating an eight-year conflict that would become one of the longest conventional wars of the 20th century. The war resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties on both sides.
- 1991World history
The Dead Sea Scrolls are made available to the public for the first time.
The Dead Sea Scrolls become publicly accessible for the first time.
- 2024Politics
Anura Kumara Dissanayake is elected as the 9th President Of Sri Lanka.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of the leftist National People's Power coalition, becomes Sri Lanka's ninth president in a historic election marking the first time a Marxist-leaning candidate wins the office.
Born today
Famous birthdays on September 22
7 this date All birthdays
Ibragim Todashev
Russian-American mixed martial artist
Ibragim Todashev, a Chechen-born mixed martial artist and friend of Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was born in 1985 and was shot dead by an FBI agent during an interview in Orlando, Florida, in 2013.
Born
1985
Died
2013
Michael Faraday
English physicist and chemist
1791 – 1867
Charles Brenton Huggins
Canadian-American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate
1901 – 1997
T. S. Sinnathuray
Judge of the High Court of Singapore
1930 – 2016
David Stern
American lawyer and businessman, 4th Commissioner of the NBA
1942 – 2020
Paul Hoffert
American keyboard player, composer, and academic
b. 1943 · 83
Saul Perlmutter
American astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate
b. 1959 · 67
Music
The number one songs on September 22
Across the years Full chart history
🇬🇧 #1 on September 22, 1991
"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You"
by Bryan Adams
#1 for 16 weeks
Also #1 on this day
- 2025"Golden"— Huntrix / Ejae / Audrey Nuna / Rei Ami & KPop Demon Hunters Cast
- 2024"Taste"— Sabrina Carpenter
- 2023"Paint the Town Red"— Doja Cat
- 2022"Forget Me"— Lewis Capaldi
- 2021"Bad Habits"— Ed Sheeran
- 2020"WAP"— Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion
Film & TV
At the movies
Box office #1 and premieres All releases
🏆 Sport September 22, 1927
Gene Tunney defeats Jack Dempsey in the Long Count Fight in Chicago
Tunney retained his heavyweight title in a controversial rematch when referee Dave Barry delayed the count after Tunney was knocked down in the seventh round, giving him extra time to recover. Tunney won by unanimous decision.
Read the story
🔬 Science September 22, 1995
Java 1.0 is unveiled
Sun Microsystems releases a programming language that will become the backbone of enterprise computing and Android.
Read the storyToday is also
Holidays & observances
8 celebrated today
American Business Women's Day (United States)
International
American Business Women's Day is an American holiday, nationally recognized on September 22
Baltic Unity Day (Lithuania, Latvia)
International
Baltic Unity day or Day of Baltic Unity is a commemorative day celebrated on September 22 in Lithuania and Latvia, as well as Latvian and Lithuanian communities abroad
Earliest date for the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere: Autumnal Equinox Day (Japan)
International
Autumnal Equinox Day is a public holiday in Japan that usually occurs on September 22 or 23, the date of Southward equinox in Japan Standard Time
Earliest date for the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere: Mabon in the Northern Hemisphere, Ostara in the Southern Hemisphere. (Neopagan Wheel of the Year)
International
The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals, observed by a range of modern pagans, marking the year's chief solar events and the midpoints between them
Earliest date for the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere: The first day of Miķeļi (Latvia)
International
Miķeļi or Miķeļdiena is a Latvian autumn equinox and annual harvest festival and market
Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire in 1908.
International
The official public holidays in Bulgaria are listed in the table below
❝
I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.
— Abraham Lincoln · born September 22, 1809