12 History Lessons + 5 Births & 5 Deaths for April 22, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1500 – Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral officially discovers Brazil.
- 1864 – The U.S. Congress passes the Coinage Act, mandating the inscription “In God We Trust” be placed on coins.
- 1889 – The Oklahoma Land Rush begins as thousands of settlers race to claim land in the newly opened Oklahoma Territory.
- 1915 – German forces use poison gas (chlorine) for the first time in warfare at the Second Battle of Ypres in WWI.
- 1945 – Soviet troops enter Berlin in the final major offensive of the European theater of WWII.
- 1954 – The U.S. Army-McCarthy hearings begin, investigating conflicting accusations between Senator Joseph McCarthy and the Army.
- 1970 – The first Earth Day is celebrated in the United States, marking the beginning of the modern environmental movement.
- 1972 – Apollo 16 astronauts John Young and Charles Duke land on the Moon.
- 1993 – The Holocaust Memorial Museum is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
- 1994 – Richard Nixon, the 37th U.S. president, dies four days after suffering a stroke.
- 2004 – Pat Tillman, former NFL player turned U.S. Army Ranger, is killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire.
- 2016 – The Paris Agreement on climate change is signed by 175 parties at the United Nations.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1937 – Jack Nicholson, actor (The Shining, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) (88)
- 1950 – Peter Frampton, rock musician (Frampton Comes Alive!) (75)
- 1977 – Sherri Shepherd, comedian and TV host (The View) (48)
- 1986 – Amber Heard, actress (Aquaman, The Danish Girl) (39)
- 1990 – Machine Gun Kelly (Colson Baker), rapper and actor (The Dirt) (35)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1724 – Immanuel Kant, German philosopher known for Critique of Pure Reason (79)
- 1984 – Ansel Adams, American photographer and environmentalist (82)
- 1994 – Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States (81)
- 2004 – Pat Tillman, former NFL player and U.S. soldier (27)
- 2015 – Deborah Lacey, American actress (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) (died around this date; age and source debated)
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