Portal:United States/Anniversaries/February/February 22
- 1732 – George Washington (pictured), who would become one of the founding fathers and the first President of the United States, is born on his family estate in Westmoreland County, Virginia.
- 1856 – The Republican Party opens its first national meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- 1862 – Jefferson Davis is officially inaugurated for a six-year term as the President of the Confederate States of America in Richmond, Virginia. He was previously inaugurated as a provisional president on February 18, 1861.
- 1872 – The Prohibition Party holds its first national convention in Columbus, Ohio, nominating James Black as its presidential nominee.
- 1889 – President Grover Cleveland signs a bill admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states.
- 1974 – Samuel Byck tries and fails to assassinate U.S. President Richard Nixon.
- 1980 – In what would be called the Miracle on Ice, the United States hockey team defeats the Soviet Union hockey team 4-3 at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
On this day for the United States
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Events
- 1819 - By the Adams–Onís Treaty, Spain sells Florida to the United States for US$5 million.
- 1847 - Mexican–American War: The Battle of Buena Vista - 5,000 American troops drive off 15,000 Mexican.
- 1853 - The Washington University is founded in St. Louis as Eliot Seminary.
- 1855 - The Pennsylvania State University is founded.
- 1856 - The Republican Party opens its first national meeting in Pittsburgh.
- 1862 - Jefferson Davis is officially inaugurated for a six-year term as the President of the Confederate States of America in Richmond, Virginia. He was previously inaugurated as a provisional president on February 18, 1861.
- 1876 - Johns Hopkins University is founded in Baltimore.
- 1879 - In Utica, New York, Frank Woolworth opens the first of many of 5 and 10-cent Woolworth stores.
- 1889 - President Grover Cleveland signs a bill admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states.
- 1923 - The United States begins the first transcontinental airmail route.
- 1924 - Calvin Coolidge becomes the first President of the United States to deliver a radio broadcast from the White House.
- 1942 - World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur out of the Philippines as American defense collapses.
- 1944 - American aircraft bombard the Dutch towns of Nijmegen, Arnhem, Enschede and Deventer by mistake, resulting in 800 dead in Nijmegen alone.
- 1959 - Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500.
- 1973 - Cold War: Following United States President Richard Nixon's visit to the People's Republic of China, the two countries agree to establish liaison offices.
- 1974 - Samuel Byck tries and fails to assassinate U.S. President Richard Nixon.
- 1994 - Aldrich Ames and his wife are charged by the United States Department of Justice with spying for the Soviet Union.
Births
- 1732 - George Washington, First President of the United States (d. 1799)
- 1778 - Rembrandt Peale, American artist (d. 1860)
- 1819 - James Russell Lowell, American poet and essayist (d. 1891)
- 1839 - Francis Pharcellus Church, American editor and publisher (d. 1906)
- 1874 - Bill Klem, Major League Baseball Hall of Fame umpire (d. 1951)
- 1883 - Marguerite Clark, American silent film actress (d. 1940)
- 1892 - Edna St. Vincent Millay, American writer (d. 1950)
- 1899 - Dwight Frye, American actor (d. 1943)
- 1899 - George O'Hara, American actor (d. 1966)
- 1903 - Robert Weede, American baritone (d. 1972)
- 1907 - Sheldon Leonard, American actor (d. 1997)
- 1907 - Robert Young, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1913 - Buddy Tate, American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist (d. 2001)
- 1917 - Jane Bowles, American writer and playwright (d. 1973)
- 1918 - Charlie Finley, American sports entrepreneur (d. 1996)
- 1918 - Don Pardo, American radio and television announcer
- 1918 - Robert Wadlow, tallest person in history (d. 1940)
- 1921 - Wayne Booth, American literary critic (d. 2005)
- 1925 - Edward Gorey, American illustrator (d. 2000)
- 1926 - Bud Yorkin, American film director (d. 2015)
- 1928 - Paul Dooley, American actor
- 1929 - James Hong, Chinese American actor
- 1929 - Rebecca Schull, American actress
- 1930 - Marni Nixon, American singer (d. 2016)
- 1930 - James McGarrell, American painter (d. 2020)
- 1932 - Ted Kennedy, U.S. senator from Massachusetts (d. 2009)
- 1936 - Ernie K-Doe, American singer (d. 2001)
- 1938 - Steve Barber, American baseball player (d. 2007)
- 1938 - Ishmael Reed, American writer
- 1940 - Billy Name, American photographer and Andy Warhol archivist (d. 2016)
- 1944 - Jonathan Demme, American director (d. 2017)
- 1944 - Robert Kardashian, American lawyer (d. 2003)
- 1945 - Leslie Charleson, American actress
- 1945 - Oliver, American singer (d. 2000)
- 1948 - John Ashton, American actor
- 1950 - Julius Erving, American basketball player
- 1950 - Ellen Greene, American actress
- 1952 - Bill Frist, U.S. senator from Tennessee
- 1962 - Lenda Murray, American bodybuilder
- 1965 - Pat LaFontaine, American ice hockey player
- 1966 - Rachel Dratch, American actress and comedienne
- 1968 - Bradley Nowell, American musician (d. 1996)
- 1968 - Jeri Ryan, American actress
- 1969 - Byron Stroud, American bassist
- 1972 - Michael Chang, American tennis player
- 1975 - Drew Barrymore, American actress
- 1982 - Jenna Haze, American pornographic actress
- 1982 - Robert Weiner, Jr., American water polo player
- 1985 - Sean Garballey, American politician
- 1986 - Miko Hughes, American actor
- 1986 - Rajon Rondo, American basketball player
Deaths
- 1890 - John Jacob Astor III, American businessman (b. 1822)
- 1961 - Nick LaRocca, American jazz musician (b. 1889)
- 1968 - Peter Arno, American cartoonist (b. 1904)
- 1974 - Samuel Byck, American attempted assassin of Richard Nixon (b. 1930)
- 1976 - Florence Ballard, American singer (The Supremes) (b. 1943)
- 1987 - Andy Warhol, American artist, director, and writer (b. 1928)
- 1994 - Papa John Creach, American musician (b. 1917)
- 1995 - Ed Flanders, American actor (b. 1934)
- 1997 - Joseph Aiuppa, American gangster (b. 1907)
- 1998 - Abraham Ribicoff, American politician (b. 1910)
- 2002 - Chuck Jones, American animator (b. 1912)
- 2002 - Daniel Pearl, American journalist (b. 1963)
- 2003 - Daniel Taradash, American screenwriter (b. 1913)
- 2004 - Andy Seminick, American baseball player (b. 1920)
- 2006 - Anthony Burger, American musician and singer (b. 1961)
- 2007 - Dennis Johnson, American basketball player (b. 1954)
- 2007 - Howard Verne Ramsey, oldest U.S. veteran of WWI (b. 1898)
- 2021 - Lawrence Ferlinghetti, American poet (b. 1919)
Holidays and observances