March 22

1312 The Knights Templar was established in the 12th century to protect Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land during the Crusades. Over time, the order became extremely wealthy and influential, owning vast estates and properties across Europe. On March 22, 1312, Pope Clement V issued the papal bull "Vox in excelso" which officially dissolved the Order of the Knights Templar. 

1630 The first legislation to prohibit gambling was enacted by The Massachusetts Bay Colony on March 22, 1630. It outlawed the possession of cards, dice, and gaming tables. This law was part of a larger effort by the Puritan leaders of the colony to promote virtue and curb vice among the colonists. 

1638 In 1634 Puritan housewife Anne Hutchinson and her family emigrated to Boston in New England. She started holding weekly Bible study meetings for the women there, during which she criticized the preaching of the clergy and the authority of the Puritan leaders in religious matters. Following a church trial on March 22, 1638, she was excommunicated for dissenting from Puritan orthodoxy. Anne Hutchinson's protest helped to establish the principle of freedom of religion in America.

Anne Hutchinson on Trial by Edwin Austin Abbey

1727 Moulay Ismail ibn Sharif second ruler of the Moroccan Alaouite dynasty, died on March 22, 1727. He is alleged to have fathered a total of 867 children, including 525 sons and 342 daughters. It is estimated that he had 2,000 concubines. This is widely considered to be the record number of offspring that can be verified.

1758 On February 16, 1758 minister, theologian, and philosopher Jonathan Edwards was installed as President of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). Almost immediately after becoming president, Edwards, a strong supporter of smallpox inoculations, decided to get inoculated himself in order to encourage others to do the same. Unfortunately, he died of the inoculation on March 22, 1758. His last words were, “Trust in God and you will not fear”.

1784 The Emerald Buddha was installed on March 22, 1784 in its current location at the Wat Phra Kaew on the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok. The figurine is of the meditating Buddha seated in yogic posture. It is made of a semi-precious green stone (jade or jasper rather than emerald), clothed in gold and is considered the palladium of the Kingdom of Thailand.

Image of Emerald Buddha in Rainy Season Vestments. By Credit Jan S. Peterson.

1794 The Slave Trade Act of 1794 was a significant piece of legislation that marked the first major step taken by the United States government towards limiting the slave trade. This act was signed into law by President George Washington on March 22, 1794, and it prohibited American ships from engaging in the transportation of enslaved individuals from Africa to the United States or other countries.

1813 The Lord Nelson Statue, erected on Bridgetown, Barbados' Trafalgar Square on March 22, 1813, is older than the statue and square of the same name and fame in London. Trafalgar Square was renamed National Heroes Square in April 1999, in honor of the national heroes of Barbados.

1822 Italian composer Gioachino Rossini married Spanish soprano Isabella Colbran on March 22, 1822. Colbran and Rossini separated in 1837 and the soprano succumbed to a gambling habit. Rossini continued to send support until her death in 1845 at age 60.

Isabella Colbran, prima donna of the Teatro San Carlo

1832 German politician, poet, novelist and playwright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe died in Weimar on March 22, 1832 of apparent heart failure. His last words, according to his doctor Carl Vogel, were a request to open the second shutter so that more light (“mehr licht”) may come in. Goethe was buried in the Ducal Vault at Weimar's Historical Cemetery together with with his close friend Friedrich Schiller, who died over a quarter of a century earlier.

1872 The Illinois Women's Employment Act was passed by the State of Illinois on March 22. 1872. It prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex in hiring and promotion in certain industries, such as factories, laundries, and other businesses. The Illinois Women's Employment Act was the first state-level law of its kind in the United States, and it helped pave the way for future legal protections against sex discrimination in the workplace. 

1890 The journalist and explorer Henry Morton Stanley married the Welsh neoclassicist artist, Dorothy Tennant at Westminster Abbey in 1890. They adopted a child named Denzi. Dorothy Tennant edited her husband's autobiography, reportedly removing any references to other women in Stanley's life. After Stanley's death, Dorothy married, in 1907, Henry Jones Curtis, a pathologist, surgeon and writer.

Portrait of Lady Dorothy Stanley, by George Frederick Watts

1895 The first screening of the Lumière brothers' first movie Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory took place on March 22, 1895 in Paris, at the "Society for the Development of the National Industry", in front of an audience of 200 people. The 46-second film is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made.

1896 The Panhellenic Games were arranged in Greece in anticipation of the inaugural modern Olympic Games to be held later that year in Athens. Among the events that took place during the Panhellenic Games was a race from Marathon to Athens on March 22, 1896, which was contested solely by athletes who were members of Greek sports clubs. Charilaos Vasilakos emerged victorious, becoming the winner of the first modern marathon race in a time of 3 hours and 18 minutes.

Vasilakos in the middle. Marathon runners in training, 1896.

1903 On March 22, 1903, the U.S. side of Niagara Falls ran dry. This was due to an ice jam from the mainland to Goat Island, which diverted the water from the American channel. People were able to walk over the river bed above Green Island and between the mainland and Goat Island.

1913 The Missouri flag was made the official flag of the state on March 22, 1913. Designed by Mary Elizabeth Oliver, the red and white stripes represent valor and purity, respectively. The blue represents three things: the permanency, vigilance, and justice of the state. The three colors also highlight the French influence on the state in its early years.

1916  Orphaned at 16, J.R.R Tolkien went to live in a Birmingham boarding house, where he fell in love with a female lodger, Edith Mary Bratt. J.R.R. courted Edith, but it was a forbidden love, as he was a Catholic and she a Protestant. His guardian, Father Francis ordered him to not have any contact until he was 21. Tolkien obeyed, but remained steadfast and five years later he declared his love to Edith. They married in the Catholic Church of St. Mary Immaculate at Warwick on March 22, 1916.

1923 French mime artist Marcel Marceau was born on March 22, 1923. He was most famous for his stage persona as "Bip the Clown," which he first played at the Théâtre de Poche in Paris in 1947.
Marceau referred to mime as the "art of silence," and he performed professionally worldwide for over 60 years. He was said to be single-handedly responsible for reviving the art of mime after World War II.

1926 The first directional road markings were introduced onto Britain on March 22, 1926, at Hyde Park Corner, London. These markings were painted in white onto the road surface and included arrows to indicate the direction of traffic flow. Initially, the scheme was introduced as a trial but was later more widely adopted throughout the country. This development marked a significant milestone in the history of road infrastructure and traffic management in Britain.

1933 Construction of the first Nazi concentration camp at Dachau was completed on March 22, 1933. Originally intended to hold political prisoners, after its opening by Heinrich Himmler, Dachau's purpose was gradually enlarged to include the imprisonment of Jews, German and Austrian criminals, and finally foreign nationals from countries that Germany occupied or invaded. 

1942 On March 22, 1942, the BBC began broadcasting messages in Morse code to the French Resistance.  Broadcasting in Morse code allowed the BBC to transmit messages covertly, as they could be intercepted and understood only by those with knowledge of Morse code, such as resistance members. The  broadcasts provided valuable information, updates on the war, encouragement, and coded messages to coordinate resistance activities and convey intelligence.

1960 Albert Einstein was the first to have the idea of stimulated emission that could produce a laser. From that point many years were spent to see if the idea worked. In 1957, Charles Hard Townes and Arthur Leonard Schawlow, working at Bell Labs, began a serious study of the infrared laser. They called the concept an "optical maser". They were granted the first patent for a laser under the title “Masers and Maser Communications System” on March 22, 1960.

1962 Barbra Streisand made her Broadway debut aged 19 on March 22, 1962 in the musical I Can Get It For You Wholesale where she portrayed the character of Miss Marmelstein. The production was held at the Sam S. Shubert Theatre in New York City and ran for 300 performances. Streisand was awarded the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her performance. 

1963 Please Please Me, The Beatles' debut studio album was released on March 22, 1963. Parlophone rush-released the LP in the United Kingdom to capitalize on the success of the singles "Please Please Me" and "Love Me Do."

Wikipedia

1989 Canadian ice hockey goaltender Clint Malarchuk survived a life-threatening injury during a game between the visiting St. Louis Blues and Malarchuk's Buffalo Sabres on March 22, 1989. The skate of Steve Tuttle of the Blues hit the right front side of Malarchuk's neck, severing his carotid artery. The injury was so bad that eleven fans fainted, two had heart attacks and at least three players vomited on the ice. after being treated with 300 stitches, Malarchuk was back on the ice just a week later.

1995 Cosmonaut Valeriy Polyakov returned to Earth on March 22, 1995 after setting a record of 438 days in space. He spent his days aboard the Mir space station conducting experiments and performing scientific research. It was revealed that Polyakov did not suffer from any prolonged performance impairments as a result of his long period in space.

Valeri Polyakov By Mil.ru, Wikipedia

1997 Paul McCartney's original birth certificate was sold to a private American Beatles collector for $84,146 on March 22, 1997. The auction was held by the Fame Bureau in London.  The birth certificate  was signed by the registrar of births for the City of Liverpool. It listed McCartney's full name as James Paul McCartney, was sold to a private Beatles collector for $84,146 on March 22, 1997.

2015 The world record for the most balls caught by a dog with its paws in one minute belongs to a talented 9-year-old beagle named Purin! This impressive pup managed to snag an amazing 14 mini soccer balls in that timeframe on March 22, 2015.