Our front page for October 22 — written and set by The Yesterday Times from the events below. Not an archival document.
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On October 22 in 1964, 62 years ago, Sartre Refuses Nobel Prize in Literature. This page reports 13 stories from the date, 25 people born on this day.
The stories in full
Stockholm Desk
1964 — Sartre Refuses Nobel Prize in Literature
The 59-year-old author of "Being and Nothingness" asked the Academy not to consider him, yet the 273000 kronor prize marks the first rejection by a literature laureate.
STOCKHOLM, October 22 — The Swedish Academy's selection of Jean-Paul Sartre for the Nobel Prize in Literature collapsed into controversy today when the French philosopher announced he would not accept the award. The 59-year-old author of "Being and Nothingness" and "Nausea" informed the Academy he had never wished for the distinction and did not want it pressed upon him.
Sartre, who had asked the Academy not to consider him, said accepting would compromise his independence as a writer. The Academy proceeded with the announcement anyway, citing its inability to contact Sartre beforehand. The prize money of 273,000 kronor will revert to the Nobel Foundation.
The refusal marks the first time a literature laureate has rejected the prize. Sartre's decision aligns with his existentialist philosophy and his political engagements; he has criticized both Western capitalism and Soviet communism.
Jean-Paul Sartre is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, though he does not accept the prize.
MENLO PARK, N.J., October 22 — The age of gaslight began its retreat from American hearths tonight as Thomas Edison's laboratory completed a test that promises to bring electric illumination within reach of ordinary households. After months of experiments with platinum and other metals, the inventor turned to a filament of carbonized cotton thread, and the result exceeded every expectation.
The lamp burned continuously for thirteen and one-half hours before the filament finally failed.
Using a filament of carbonized thread, Thomas Edison tests the first practical electric incandescent light bulb; the bulb lasted 131⁄2 hours before burning out.
1883 — Faust Opens Metropolitan Opera House on Broadway and 39th
Gounod's opera christens the new house before a capacity audience of 3,000.
The auditorium fills for the opening night performance of Faust — Wikimedia Commons
NEW YORK, October 22 — Henry Abbey brought the curtain up on his gamble tonight. The theatrical manager, who has invested his fortune and reputation in the Metropolitan Opera House, watched from the wings as Charles Gounod's "Faust" filled the new auditorium on Broadway between 39th and 40th Streets.
The house, built in eleven months at a cost exceeding $1.7 million, seats 3,000 with standing room for hundreds more.
The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City opens with a performance of Charles Gounod's Faust.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., October 22 — Space Shuttle Columbia roared off Pad 39-B this morning on a mission to deploy an Italian-built laser-ranging satellite and conduct microgravity research. The 10-day flight marks NASA's first operational use of the shuttle since last summer's grounding for fuel line inspections.
Commander James Wetherbee and five crewmates will release LAGEOS-2 on flight day two.
Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-52 to deploy the LAGEOS-2 satellite and microgravity experiments.
Second firestorm attack on Germany leaves 150,000 homeless.
Smoke rises from burning factories as RAF bombers strike Kassel — Wikimedia Commons
KASSEL, Germany, Oct. 22 — The Royal Air Force has conducted its second firestorm raid on Germany, striking the town of Kassel and killing 10,000 persons.
The attack has rendered 150,000 homeless. Smoke rose from burning factories as RAF bombers struck the target.
This marks a continuation of British saturation bombing tactics against German industrial centers.
World War II: In the second firestorm raid on Germany, the British Royal Air Force conducts an air raid on the town of Kassel, killing 10,000 and rendering 150,000 homeless.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 — American reconnaissance photographs spread across a desk in the White House this morning showed the evidence that would alter the Cold War's course.
President Kennedy announced tonight that U.S. planes have discovered Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba and that he has ordered a naval quarantine of the Communist nation. Kennedy reached his decision after internal counsel from former President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Cuban Missile Crisis: President Kennedy, after internal counsel from Dwight D. Eisenhower, announces that American reconnaissance planes have discovered Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba, and that he has ordered a naval "quarantine" of the Communist nation.
1724 — Bach Performs New Cantata at Leipzig Communion
Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele receives first performance under composer's direction.
LEIPZIG, Oct. 22 — A new standard for sacred music has been established in this Saxon city, one that binds congregational devotion to the highest craft of the composer's art.
Johann Sebastian Bach today led the first performance of his chorale cantata Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, scored for the communion service at St. Thomas Church. The work takes its text and melody from the hymn of the same name, a staple of Lutheran communion liturgy.
Bach, in his second year as cantor, has undertaken to produce a complete cycle of chorale cantatas for the church year.
J. S. Bach led the first performance of the chorale cantata Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (Adorn yourself, O dear soul), based on the communion hymn of the same name, in Leipzig.
2012 — Lance Armstrong Stripped of Seven Tour de France Titles in Doping Case
Cyclist loses record championships after formal charges.
AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 22 — The most decorated cyclist in Tour de France history became its most disgraced today, as Lance Armstrong was formally stripped of his seven yellow jerseys.
Armstrong lost the record championships after being charged for doping. The sanction erases consecutive victories from 1999 through 2005. The case marks the culmination of years of allegations that had shadowed Armstrong's comeback from cancer and his Livestrong foundation's prominence in charitable fundraising.
Cyclist Lance Armstrong is formally stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after being charged for doping.
2013 — ACT Passes Same-Sex Marriage Law in Australian First
Territory legislature approves Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013.
CANBERRA, October 22 — Katy Gallagher, Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, signed the Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013 into law this morning, making the ACT the first Australian jurisdiction to legalize same-sex marriage.
The legislation passed the ACT Legislative Assembly after amendments designed to strengthen it against likely federal court challenge. The federal government has indicated it will contest the law in the High Court, arguing marriage is a matter of national law under the Constitution.
Same-sex couples may register to marry from Tuesday. The first ceremonies could proceed before any court ruling. The ACT government expressed confidence the law would survive challenge, citing constitutional advice.
The Australian Capital Territory becomes the first Australian jurisdiction to legalize same-sex marriage with the Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013.
1895 — Express Train Crashes Through Station Wall; One Killed
Granville–Paris Express overruns buffer at 16:00, locomotive falls 10 metres.
PARIS, October 22 — A 60-centimetre wall proved no barrier to the Granville–Paris Express at 16:00 today when the locomotive crashed through Gare Montparnasse and fell 10 metres onto the Place de Rennes below.
The engine landed on its nose. Marie-Augustine Aguilard, a woman in the street, died when masonry struck her. Two of 131 passengers were injured, as were the fireman and two conductors.
The Granville–Paris Express overran the buffer stop at Gare Montparnasse at 16:00 on 22 October 1895.
The locomotive crashed through a 60-centimetre thick wall and fell 10 metres onto the Place de Rennes, landing on its nose.
The only fatality was Marie-Augustine Aguilard, a woman on the street below killed by falling masonry.
The engine driver was fined 50 francs and sentenced to two months in prison for approaching the station too fast.
It took 48 hours before the railway could begin removing the locomotive, which was eventually lowered by a 250-tonne winch.
1836 — Sam Houston Inaugurated First President of Republic
Victor of San Jacinto takes oath as Texas establishes independent government.
COLUMBIA, October 22 — Sam Houston was inaugurated today as the first President of the Republic of Texas. The former commander of Texian forces at San Jacinto took the oath in this raw new capital, where government functions from a modest frame building.
Sam Houston is inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of Texas.
1797 — Garnerin Parachutes 1,000 Metres Over Paris
Aeronaut descends from balloon in untested silk canopy.
PARIS, October 22 — At 1,000 metres above the Parc Monceau, André-Jacques Garnerin cut loose from his balloon and became the first man to descend by parachute. The silk canopy, unproven at such height, carried him to earth unharmed.
André-Jacques Garnerin makes the first recorded parachute jump, from 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above Paris.
2008 — India Joins Lunar Elite With First Moon Probe Launch
India became Asia's third space power when it dispatched an uncrewed probe toward the moon on October 22.
BANGALORE, October 22 — Asia's third space power has arrived at the moon's doorstep. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle lifted from Sriharikota at dawn. Controllers at the Indian Space Research Organisation reported nominal first-stage performance. The spacecraft carries instruments from NASA and the European Space Agency.
India launches its first uncrewed lunar probe mission Chandrayaan-1.
1844Sarah BernhardtSarah Bernhardt was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas fils, Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo, Fédora and La Tosca by Victorien Sardou, and L'Aiglon by Edmond Rostand.
1973Ichiro Suzuki(53 this year)Ichiro Suzuki, also known mononymously as Ichiro , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played for 28 seasons.
1882N. C. WyethNewell Convers Wyeth was an American painter and illustrator.
1821Collis Potter HuntingtonCollis Potter Huntington was an American industrialist and railway magnate.
1964Amit Shah(62 this year)Amit Anilchandra Shah is an Indian politician who is serving as the 31st Minister of Home Affairs since 2019, the longest-serving holder of the office in Indian history.
1971Jennifer Lee(55 this year)Jennifer Michelle Lee is an American filmmaker and playwright.
1592Gustav HornCount Gustav Horn was a Swedish nobleman, military officer, and Governor-General.
1729Johann Reinhold ForsterJohann Reinhold Forster was a German Reformed pastor and naturalist.
1870Lord Alfred DouglasLord Alfred Bruce Douglas, also known as Bosie Douglas, was an English poet and journalist, and a lover of Oscar Wilde.
1873Rama TirthaSwami Rama Tirtha, also known as Swami Rama, was an Indian teacher of the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta.
1882Edmund DulacEdmund Dulac was a French-British naturalised magazine illustrator, book illustrator and stamp designer.
1895Johnny MorrisonJohn Dewey Morrison, nicknamed "Jughandle Johnny", was an American professional baseball player.
1904Constance BennettConstance Campbell Bennett was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer.
1907Jimmie FoxxJames Emory Foxx, nicknamed "Double X" and "the Beast", was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and Philadelphia Phillies.
1919Doris LessingDoris May Lessing was a British novelist – sometimes identified as Rhodesian early in her career – and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2007.
1921Aleksandr KronrodAleksandr Semyonovich Kronrod was a Soviet mathematician and computer scientist, best known for the Gauss–Kronrod quadrature formula which he published in 1964.
1925Robert RauschenbergMilton Ernest "Robert" or "Bob" Rauschenberg was an American painter and multi-media artist, whose work has been associated with numerous mid-20th century art movements including the New York School, Conceptual Art, Pop art, and Neo-Dada.
1930Estela de Carlotto(96 this year)Enriqueta Estela Barnes de Carlotto is an Argentine human rights activist and president of the association of Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo.
1942Annette FunicelloAnnette Joanne Funicello was an American actress and singer.
1947Raymond Bachand(79 this year)Raymond Bachand is a former politician, a businessman and a lawyer in Quebec, Canada.
1956Luis Guzmán(70 this year)Luis Guzmán is a Puerto Rican actor.
1965Piotr Wiwczarek(61 this year)Piotr Paweł Wiwczarek, also known as Peter, is a Polish musician who is the vocalist and lead guitarist for the death metal band Vader, as the only constant member of the band since its inception.
1968Shelby Lynne(58 this year)Shelby Lynn Moorer, known professionally as Shelby Lynne, is an American singer and songwriter and the older sister of singer-songwriter Allison Moorer.
1971Amanda Coetzer(55 this year)Amanda Coetzer is a South African former professional tennis player.
1984Aleks Marić(42 this year)Aleksandar "Aleks" Marić is an Australian-Serbian former professional basketball player.
Quote of the Day
“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.” — Charles Dickens, David Copperfield
October 22 History Quiz
Which writer famously declined the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964?
Jean-Paul Sartre
What 1962 event did President Kennedy announce involving Soviet missiles?
Cuban Missile Crisis
In what year did the Metropolitan Opera House first open with a performance of Faust?
Every event on this page was picked by hand from the historical record, written up as a news report, and checked against its source. Photographs are matched to the event they illustrate and verified before they are used. Sources are linked on each story.
Valley of the Dolls, Jacqueline Susann
“You Light Up My Life”, 
The Silmarillion, J. R. R. Tolkien
“Total Eclipse Of The Heart”, 
“I'll Make Love To You”, 
Taltos, Anne Rice
“Gold Digger”, 
A Breath of Snow and Ashes, Diana Gabaldon
The Affair, Lee Child
“Bad Habit”, 
Verity, Colleen Hoover
