Discover what happened on June 22 in history, featuring major milestones in science, sports, military history, entertainment, environmental awareness, and notable moments connected to Michigan history.
What Happened on June 22 in History?
Important events on this day include President Franklin Roosevelt signing the GI Bill, Detroit’s Joe Louis becoming heavyweight champion of the world, the discovery of Pluto’s moon Charon, and the Cuyahoga River fire that helped spark the modern environmental movement in America.
JUNE 22 – TODAY IN HISTORY:
1832 – J.I. Howe patented the pin machine.
1847 – The doughnut was invented.
1855 – The Sault Ste. Marie Locks opened.
1868 – Arkansas was re-admitted to the Union.
1870 – Congress created the Department of Justice.
1874 – Dr. Andrew Taylor Still began the first known practice of osteopathy.
1882 – A patent was issued for the Air-Conditioned Rocking Chair. It had a propeller fan mounted overhead that was turned by the chair’s motion. The faster you rocked, the faster the fan turned.
1909 – The first transcontinental auto race ended in Seattle, WA. The race started in New York, NY.
1937 – Detroit’s Joe Louis won the title of world heavyweight champion boxer. He would hold the title for a record-setting 12 years.
1939 – The first U.S. water-ski tournament was held at Jones Beach, on Long Island, NY.
1942 – The Pledge of Allegiance was formally adopted by the U.S. Congress.
1942 – V-Mail, or Victory-Mail, was sent for the first time.
1944 – President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, commonly known as the “GI Bill of Rights”, to provide broad benefits for veterans of the war.
1946 – Jet airplanes were used to transport mail for the first time.
1959 – Eddie Lubanski rolled 24 consecutive strikes in a bowling tournament in Miami, FL.
1964 – The U.S. Supreme Court voted that Henry Miller’s book, “Tropic of Cancer”, could not be banned.
1969 – The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, OH, caught fire, drawing national attention to water pollution, and spurring the passing of the Clean Water Act and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
1970 – President Richard Nixon signed the 26th Amendment to the Constitution, lowering the voting age to 18.
1973 – Skylab astronauts splashed down safely in the Pacific after a record 28 days in space.
1974 – In Chicago, IL the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) Skydeck opened.
1978 – James W. Christy and Robert S. Harrington discovered the only known moon of Pluto. The moon is named Charon.
1981 – Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to killing John Lennon six months earlier.
1982 – Pete Rose got hit number 3,772, passing Hank Aaron for second place on the all-time list.
1984 – The movie “Karate Kid” premiered in theaters.
1988 – The movie “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” debuted in theaters.
1992 – The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that hate-crime laws that ban cross-burning and similar expressions of racial bias violated free-speech rights.
1993 – Former First Lady Pat Nixon died at age 81.
1998 – The Supreme Court ruled that evidence illegally obtained by authorities could be used at revocation hearings for a convicted criminal’s parole.
1998 – The 75th National Marbles Tournament began in Wildwood, NJ.
1999 – Robert Downey Jr. was sentenced to six weeks in a rehab center for failing a routine drug test.
1999 – The Supreme Court ruled that persons with remediable handicaps cannot claim discrimination in employment under the Americans with Disability Act.
2001 – The movie “The Fast and the Furious” debuted in theaters.
2002 – The Disney animated feature “Lilo and Stitch” opened in theaters nationwide.
2004 – More than 500 thousand copies of Bill Clinton’s autobiography, “My Life”, sold in its first day, surpassing the nonfiction sales record set by his wife Hillary Clinton’s book, “Living History”.
2009 – Eastman Kodak Company announced that it would discontinue sales of the Kodachrome Color Film, ending it’s 74-year run as a photography icon.
2018 – The movie “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”, the fifth overall installment of the “Jurassic Park” film series, premiered in theaters.
2021 – Governor Gretchen Whitmer lifted the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in Michigan.
2025 – The United States conducted airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites in Fordow , Natanz , and Isfahan .
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON JUNE 22:
Brit Hume – 83 years old (1943) – Journalist and author
J. Michael Kosterlitz – 83 years old (1943) – British-American physicist
Howard Kaylan – 79 years old (1947) – Pop-rock singer-songwriter and musician
Todd Rundgren – 78 years old (1948) – Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
Meryl Streep – 77 years old (1949) – Actress
Lindsay Wagner – 77 years old (1949) – Actress
Elizabeth Warren – 77 years old (1949) – Academic and politician
Cyndi Lauper – 73 years old (1953) – Singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
Tim Russ – 70 years old (1956) – Actor, director, and screenwriter
Jennifer Finney Boylan – 68 years old (1958) – Author
Bruce Campbell – 68 years old (1958) – Actor, director, producer and writer
Erin Brockovich – 66 years old (1960) – Lawyer and environmentalist
Tracy Pollan – 66 years old (1960) – Actress
Clyde Drexler – 64 years old (1962) – Basketball player and coach
Cadillac Anderson – 62 years old (1964) – Basketball player
Amy Brenneman – 62 years old (1964) – Actress
Dan Brown – 62 years old (1964) – Author and academic
Darrell Armstrong – 58 years old (1968) – Basketball player and coach
Mary Lynn Rajskub – 55 years old (1971) – Actress and comedian
Kurt Warner – 55 years old (1971) – Football player and sportscaster
Carson Daly – 53 years old (1973) – Radio and television host
Donald Faison – 52 years old (1974) – Actor
Champ Bailey – 48 years old (1978) – Football player
Joey Cheek – 47 years old (1979) – Speed skater
Ian Kinsler – 44 years old (1982) – Baseball player
Dustin Johnson – 42 years old (1984) – Golfer
Danny Green – 39 years old (1987) – Basketball player
DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR JUNE 22:
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