12 stories from 1761 to 2024, written as the news broke.
The Yesterday Times front page for September 22.
On September 22, Lincoln declared slaves would be freed, scrolls long hidden saw daylight, two monarchs began reigns, another broke a record, war erupted in the Gulf, and a probe reached Mars to study vanished air.
September 22 in History
War Department
1862 — Lincoln Issues Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation
Slaves in rebel states to be declared free come January; border states exempted in this first draft
WASHINGTON, September 22 — President Abraham Lincoln read aloud to his cabinet the document that will, on the first of January next, declare freedom to every slave held in rebel territory. The preliminary Emancipation Proclamation pledges that after one hundred days all persons held as slaves within states then in arms against the Union shall be forever free. The measure carries no immediate force; its effect waits upon the new year and continued Confederate refusal to lay down arms. States loyal to the Union are expressly excluded from its terms. Lincoln has cast the proclamation as a war measure under his power as commander-in-chief.
A preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation is released by Abraham Lincoln.
1991 — Dead Sea Scrolls Open to Public After 40 Years of Scholarly Secrecy
Ancient manuscripts preserved in clay jars now viewable at Israel Museum — photographs and translations released for general study
Clay jars held the scrolls in the Qumran caves — Lytoke123456
JERUSALEM, September 22 — After four decades confined to a circle of academic specialists, the Dead Sea Scrolls today became available to scholars and the public without restriction. The Israel Antiquities Authority announced that photographic plates, transcriptions, and concordances for all remaining unpublished texts are released effective immediately.
The scrolls, discovered beginning in 1947 in caves near the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, include the oldest known manuscripts of Hebrew biblical books and numerous sectarian writings from the Second Temple period. Clay jars found in the Qumran caves had preserved the parchment and papyrus fragments for nearly two millennia.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are made available to the public for the first time.
1761 — George III and Charlotte Crowned King and Queen of Great Britain in Splendid Westminster Ceremony
The 22-year-old Hanoverian heir received the crown in the Abbey rite before the assembled Spiritual and Temporal peers.
The King and Queen exchange vows at the coronation ceremony — Joshua Reynolds
LONDON, September 22 — In an age when monarchs across Europe still claimed divine authority by hereditary right, the coronation of George III and his consort Charlotte marked the formal investiture of a young king upon whom the stability of the Hanoverian succession now rested. The ceremony, conducted in Westminster Abbey before the assembled Lords Spiritual and Temporal, followed the ancient form prescribed for English kings since time immemorial.
George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz are crowned King and Queen, respectively, of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
1896 — Victoria Becomes Longest-Reigning British Sovereign
1896: The Queen surpasses her grandfather George III's sixty-year record — a reign begun in 1837 now enters its seventh decade; the milestone observed privately at Balmoral
The Queen sits among her children and grandchildren at a family gathering — Eduard Uhlenhuth
BALMORAL, September 22 — Queen Victoria today completed sixty years and ninety-three days upon the throne, exceeding by one day the reign of her grandfather King George III and assuming the distinction of longest-reigning British monarch. The record, achieved this morning, was observed by the Queen in private devotion at her Scottish residence; no public ceremony marked the occasion.
Her Majesty, now in her seventy-eighth year, ascended the throne on June 20, 1837, upon the death of her uncle King William IV. She was then but eighteen years of age. The reign has encompassed the transformation of Britain into the pre-eminent industrial and imperial power of the age, the extension of the franchise, the consolidation of the Australian colonies, the suppression of the Indian Mutiny, and the elevation of the Queen to Empress of India. The Prince Consort, Albert, died in 1861; the Queen has worn mourning ever since.
The previous record, held by George III from 1801 until his death in 1820, stood at twenty-one thousand five hundred eighty-nine days. Victoria's reign has already seen twelve prime ministers, the most recent being Lord Salisbury. The Queen is surrounded at Balmoral by members of her family, including grandchildren of the houses of Prussia, Hesse, and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Her descendants occupy or are consort to thrones across Europe. The Princess of Wales is expected to join the household at Osborne next month. The Queen's physicians report her health satisfactory for the season.
Queen Victoria surpasses her grandfather King George III as the longest reigning monarch in British history (later surpassed by her great-great-granddaughter Elizabeth II on 9 September 2015).
Iraq's September 22 invasion of Iran opened a conflict that could last nearly eight years, with fighting in Khorramshahr's streets and Revolutionary Iran's 1979 upheaval now met by external assault.
An Iraqi soldier drags a wounded comrade through a rubble-strewn street in Khorramshahr — Kazem Akhavan
BAGHDAD, September 22 — Nearly eight years of war. That is the span now opened by Iraq's invasion of Iran, launched today with columns crossing the border on multiple fronts.
Fighting erupted in Khorramshahr, where Iraqi soldiers dragged wounded comrades through rubble-strewn streets. The invasion, ordered by President Saddam Hussein, targets Khuzestan province and other border regions.
Tehran reports heavy resistance. Revolutionary Iran, still in turmoil after the 1979 upheaval, now faces external assault. The conflict pits Arab against Persian, Baathist against theocrat, with the Strait of Hormuz and regional oil flows at risk.
Washington and Moscow watch. Neither superpower has intervened, though both maintain naval presence nearby. The United Nations has called for restraint.
Baghdad claims limited objectives. Iranian leaders promise holy war.
Iraq invades Iran, sparking the nearly eight year Iran–Iraq War.
2014 — NASA's MAVEN Spacecraft Enters Mars Orbit to Probe Lost Atmosphere
India's Mangalyaan orbiter reached Mars two days before MAVEN, making this week the first time two nations have operated fresh probes at the red planet simultaneously.
PASADENA, September 22 — NASA's MAVEN spacecraft entered orbit around Mars today, firing thrusters to brake into a looping path around the red planet. The craft, first NASA mission dedicated to studying Mars' upper atmosphere, will investigate how the planet lost its atmosphere over time. Scientists believe ancient Mars held flowing water; solving the atmospheric puzzle may explain where it went. MAVEN's arrival follows India's Mangalyaan orbiter by two days, marking an unprecedented week of Martian exploration.
MAVEN is the first NASA spacecraft to study Mars' upper atmosphere.
The spacecraft entered orbit around Mars on September 22, 2014.
MAVEN's mission is to investigate how Mars lost its atmosphere over time.
1776 — Patriot Nathan Hale Hanged for Spying Near British Lines
The 21-year-old Connecticut schoolmaster crossed enemy lines in civilian dress.
NEW YORK, September 22 — The apple orchard stood near the British camp. There, this morning, Captain Nathan Hale of the Continental Army was hanged for spying. The 21-year-old Connecticut schoolmaster had crossed enemy lines in civilian dress.
Nathan Hale is hanged for spying during the American Revolution.
1857 — Russian Warship Lefort Lost in Gulf Storm; 826 Dead
1857 — Imperial frigate capsizes in Finland Gulf — no survivors from naval disaster
HELSINGFORS, September 22 — The worst Russian naval loss in a generation. All 826 souls aboard the frigate Lefort perished when she capsized and sank during a storm in the Gulf of Finland.
The warship, sailing from Kronstadt to the Mediterranean, encountered sudden squalls.
The Russian warship Lefort capsizes and sinks during a storm in the Gulf of Finland, killing all 826 aboard.
1914 — German U-Boat Sinks Three British Cruisers; 1,400 Dead
Submarine warfare enters a new and terrible phase — nearly 1,500 sailors perish in seventy minutes — the North Sea claims three of His Majesty's ships
LONDON, September 22 — The submarine, that engine of secretive destruction, has announced its arrival as the dominant force of naval warfare with a slaughter unprecedented in British maritime history.
A German submarine sinks three British cruisers over a seventy-minute period, killing almost 1,500 sailors.
1993 — Barge Strikes Bridge; Amtrak Train Plunges Into Bayou — 47 Dead
Barge captain lost in fog before dawn yesterday struck railroad bridge at Big Bayou Canot, shifting span out of alignment
MOBILE, Ala., September 22 — Willie Odom had no business being there. The barge captain, reportedly lost and off course in a fog-shrouded waterway before dawn, struck the railroad bridge at Big Bayou Canot with such force that the span shifted out of alignment.
A barge strikes a railroad bridge near Mobile, Alabama, causing the deadliest train wreck in Amtrak history. Forty-seven passengers are killed.
1869 — Wagner's 'Rheingold' Staged in Munich Against Composer's Wish
King Ludwig II overrules Wagner — first performance of the Ring's prelude opera — Bayreuth still unfinished
MUNICH, September 22 — Against the express desire of the composer, Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold received its premiere this evening at the National Theatre, commanded by His Majesty King Ludwig II of Bavaria.
Das Rheingold premiered as a single opera at the National Theatre of Munich on 22 September 1869.
The 1869 Munich premiere was staged against Wagner's wishes on the orders of King Ludwig II of Bavaria.
Das Rheingold was Wagner's first work to adopt his principles of rejecting conventional opera forms like arias and ensembles.
The score of Das Rheingold was completed in 1854, but Wagner waited until 1874 to finish the whole Ring cycle.
Das Rheingold received its first performance as part of the Ring cycle at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 13 August 1876.
2024 — Anura Kumara Dissanayake Wins Sri Lanka Presidential Election
Marxist party leader becomes ninth president — first-round victory ends decades of two-family rule — economic crisis dominates mandate
COLOMBO, September 22 — Anura Kumara Dissanayake, leader of the leftist National People's Power coalition, has been elected as the ninth President of Sri Lanka, defeating incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa in a decisive first-round victory.
Anura Kumara Dissanayake is elected as the 9th President Of Sri Lanka.
1791 — Michael Faraday, English physicist and chemist born, Michael Faraday, English physicist and chemist (died 1867)
1959 — Saul Perlmutter, astrophysicist born, Saul Perlmutter, American astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate
1942 — David Stern, NBA commissioner born, David Stern, American lawyer and businessman, 4th Commissioner of the NBA (died 2020)
1885 — Erich von Stroheim, film director born, Erich von Stroheim, Austrian-American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 1957)
1987 — Tom Felton, actor known as Draco Malfoy born, Tom Felton, English actor
1480 — Tenali Rama, court poet of Vijayanagara born, Tenali Rama, poet in the court of Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire (died 1528)
1901 — Charles Brenton Huggins, Nobel laureate born, Charles Brenton Huggins, Canadian-American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1997)
Quote of the Day
“Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink.” — Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
September 22 History Quiz
On September 22, 1776, Nathan Hale was executed by which army for spying?
British Army
The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Lincoln on September 22 of which year?
1862
In 1896, Queen Victoria surpassed which monarch to become Britain's longest-reigning?
