October 22

2137 BC The Chinese royal astronomers Ho and Hi dedicated too much of their time to consuming alcohol. On October 22, 2137 BC. they failed to predict a forthcoming eclipse. The emperor was very cross because, without knowing that there was an eclipse coming, he was unable to organize teams to beat drums and shoot arrows in the air to frighten away the invisible dragon. The Sun did survive, but the two astronomers lost their heads for such negligence.

1707 On October 22, 1707, four Royal Navy ships ran aground off the Scilly Isles killing more than 1,500 sailors and Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell. In the aftermath of this disaster, there was a growing recognition of the need for improved maritime navigation in the area. The Bishop Rock Lighthouse was eventually built on Bishop Rock off the Isles of Scilly to help prevent similar tragedies in the future. It became operational in 1858. 

An 18th-century engraving of the disaster, with HMS Association in the centre

1781 Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France was born to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette on October 22, 1781. By early 1788 Louis Joseph was suffering from frequent high fevers and the Royal Physicians informed the royal couple that he was terminally ill with consumption. Marie-Antoinette spent most of her time nursing him during his last agonizing months. On June 4, 1789, Louis Joseph died at the age of seven after which the King sank into sporadic bouts of clinical depression.

1797 Andre-Jacques Garnerin made the first jump from a balloon with a frameless parachute on October 22, 1797. He was dropped from about 1,000 meters (3,200 feet) over Monceau Park in Paris in a 23-ft.-diameter parachute made of white canvas with a basket attached. Garnerin was airsick on the way down as his invention lacked the hole in the top to steady it.

First use of a frameless parachute, by André Garnerin in 1797. Wikipedia

1811 Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt was born on October 22, 1811, in the village of Doborján in Sopron County, in the Kingdom of Hungary. Franz displayed a huge musical talent at a young age, easily sight-reading multiple staves at once. He made his first public performances at the age of nine. They were such a success that on one occasion Beethoven, who was in the audience, rushed up on stage and kissed him.

1825 Diario Oficial El Peruano (The Peruvian Official Daily) was founded on October 22, 1825 by Simón Bolívar after he'd ordered Tomás de Heres to create a publication supporting his presence in Peru. It was founded under the name of El Peruano Independiente and changed names several times over the following decades  Now known as Diario Oficial El Peruano, it is the oldest newspaper still in existence in Latin America.

Photo of the first edition of the Official Gazette El Peruano

1844 French actress Sarah Bernhardt was born in Paris as Rosine Bernardt on October 22, 1844 to Julie Bernardt and an unknown father. She made her name in 1869 at the Odéon in the breeches part of Zanetto in Francois Francois Coppée's The Passer-by. Bernhardt starred in some of the most popular French plays of her era including Victor Hugo's Ruy Blasand and Edmond Rostand's L'Aiglon. Hugo praised her "golden voice" while Rostand called her "the queen of the pose and the princess of the gesture."

1844 Following much study of Bible prophecies, William Miller, an American Baptist preacher and the leader of the Millerite Adventists, declared in 1843 that Jesus Christ would return on October 22, 1844. He's calculated from the Book of Daniel that 2,300 years would pass from the order given by the king of the Persian empire, Artaxerxes I,  to Ezra to rebuild Jerusalem, to Christ's return. Many of his 50,000 followers sold goods and properties and sat on a hill waiting for an event that didn't occur.

1850 The first Wenlock Olympian Games, a precursor to the modern Olympics, was centred on the little market town of Much Wenlock in Shropshire, England, between October 22-23, 1850 The first meeting was held at Much Wenlock racecourse. Early Games included cycling on penny farthings, a blindfolded wheelbarrow race and an old women’s race.

Wenlock Olympics

1883 The original Metropolitan Opera House held its grand opening in New York City on October 22, 1883. The first performance was Faust, by Charles Gounod. The theater was demolished in 1967 and replaced by a 40-story office tower, 1411 Broadway, which was intended to provide a steady income for the Metropolitan Opera Company.

1919 In 1927 secretary Nan Britton wrote what is considered to be the first kiss-and-tell book. In The President's Daughter, Britton claimed she had been Warren G. Harding's mistress throughout his presidency and that her daughter, Elizabeth, born on October 22, 1919, had been fathered by Harding. She was ridiculed in court when she tried to sue for child support, but was confirmed by DNA testing in 2015.

1934 Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd died aged 30 in an Ohio cornfield on October 22, 1934 after being shot eight times by FBI agents. Although there was a $25,000 reward for his capture, Charles 'Pretty Boy' Floyd was considered a hero in his area of Oklahoma. One reason for this was that he was renowned for destroying mortgage documents during robberies, freeing many from property debt.

1940 After the invasion of Belgium by Nazi Germany in May 1940 during World War II, the Belgian government, under Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot, fled first to Bordeaux in France. Then evading French and Spanish authorities, Pierlot arrived in England on October 22, 1940, marking the beginning of the Belgian government in exile in London.

1953 The Ford Thunderbird began life in February 1953 in direct response to Chevrolet's new sports car, the Corvette. Production of the Thunderbird began the following year with the car beginning sales as a 1955 model on October 22, 1954. Ford positioned the Thunderbird as an upscale model and it is credited in developing a new market segment, the personal luxury car.

1957 American forces suffered their first casualties in Vietnam on October  22, 1957 when 13 Advisory Americans were wounded in three terrorist bombings. The USA first intervened directly in the Vietnam War by sending troops in 1964. 2,500,000 US troops went to Vietnam, 58,000 were killed or reported missing, 200,000 wounded, and 100,000 are alleged to have committed suicide; Vietnamese casualties are unknown.

1998 October 22 was designated International Stuttering Awareness Day (ISAD) in 1998. The day is intended to raise public awareness of stuttering, which affects one percent of the world's population. The day is known as International Stammering Awareness Day in the UK and Ireland.

2001 Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi were the first two players in tennis history to win all four Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal. With only their mothers as witnesses, they married on October 22, 2001 at his Las Vegas home. Agassi was first married between 1997-1999 to actress Brooke Shields.

2014 Mark Zuckerberg's wife is American-born Chinese, and the Facebook founder has been learning Mandarin for a number of years. On October 22, 2014, Zuckerberg visited Tsinghua University for an interview, throughout the duration of which, he spoke in Mandarin.