On September 22 in history, several significant events occurred:
- In 1862, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that enslaved people in Confederate states would be free as of January 1, 1863. This shifted the Civil War's focus to ending slavery.
- In 1776, Nathan Hale, an American spy during the Revolutionary War, was executed by the British in New York City.
- In 1980, the Iran-Iraq War began when Iraq invaded Iran, marking one of the deadliest and longest conventional wars of the 20th century.
- In 1914, three British cruisers were sunk by a German submarine, causing nearly 1,500 deaths.
- The first issue of National Geographic magazine was published in 1888.
- In 1975, an assassination attempt on U.S. President Gerald Ford was foiled.
- In 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed the legislation establishing the Peace Corps.
- In 1993, the deadliest train wreck in Amtrak history occurred near Mobile, Alabama, killing 47 people.
- On this day in 1792, the French Republic was proclaimed.
- Other notable events include the last executions during the Salem witch trials in 1692 and the founding of the trade union "Solidarity" in Poland in 1980.
These events reflect milestones in politics, war, social progress, and culture on September 22 throughout history.
