On September 22, several significant historical events occurred across different years:
- In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that enslaved people in Confederate states would be freed as of January 1, 1863, marking a pivotal step toward abolition during the American Civil War.
- In 1980, the Iran-Iraq War began with Iraq invading Iran, resulting in one of the 20th century's deadliest and longest conventional wars lasting nearly eight years with massive losses on both sides.
- Earlier notable events include the execution of American patriot Nathan Hale in 1776 for spying during the Revolutionary War, and the assassination of Shaka Zulu, founder of the Zulu Kingdom, in 1828.
- In 1957, women voted for the first time in Haiti, a key milestone in gender rights.
- Other events include surviving an assassination attempt on US President Gerald Ford in 1975, the publication of the first issue of National Geographic in 1888, and the founding of the Polish trade union Solidarity in 1980.
September 22 has also seen historical milestones in science, culture, and political history such as Michael Faraday's birth in 1791 and the opening of the Duke of York's Picture House in 1910, the oldest cinema in Britain.
