Today in History: April 22
Today is Tuesday, April 22, the 112th day of 2025. There are 253 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On April 22, 1889, the Oklahoma Land Rush began at noon as thousands of homesteaders staked claims to nearly 1.9 million acres of land that was formerly part of Indian Territory. The cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie were established with as many as 10,000 settlers each by the end of the day.
Also on this date:
In 1915, German forces unleashed its first full-scale use of chlorine gas against Allied troops at the start of the Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium during World War I, resulting in the death of thousands of soldiers from poison gas attacks.
In 1954, the publicly televised sessions of the Senate Army-McCarthy hearings began, marking a significant moment in American history.
In 1970, an estimated 20 million Americans participated in gatherings for the first Earth Day, an event proposed by Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin to promote environmental protections.
In 1994, Richard M. Nixon, the 37th president of the United States and the first to resign from office, passed away at a New York hospital at the age of 81.
In 2000, 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 in a dramatic predawn raid. Elian was later reunited with his father at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington.
In 2005, Zacarias Moussaoui pleaded guilty in a federal courtroom outside Washington, D.C., to conspiring with the Sept. 11 hijackers to kill Americans, resulting in a life sentence in May 2006.
In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, operated by BP, sank into the Gulf of Mexico two days after a massive explosion that claimed the lives of 11 workers.
Today’s Birthdays:
- Actor Jack Nicholson is 88 years old today.
- Singer Mel Carter celebrates his 86th birthday.
- Author Janet Evanovich turns 82 today.
- Filmmaker John Waters is 79.
- Basketball Hall of Famer Spencer Haywood is 76.
- Singer Peter Frampton celebrates his 75th birthday.
- Actor-comedian Ryan Stiles is 66.
- Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan turns 59 today.
- Actor Sheryl Lee celebrates her 58th birthday.
- Actor-talk show host Sherri Shepherd is 58.
- Actor Eric Mabius turns 54 today.
- Entrepreneur Sam Altman is 40.
- Actor Amber Heard celebrates her 39th birthday.
- Former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch turns 39 today.
- Rapper-singer Machine Gun Kelly is 35.
