On this day in history

August 22

5 births · 6 deaths · 2 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

541

Battle of Bosworth Field

541 years ago

Born this day

1749

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Would be 277

Oldest record

541st

Battle of Bosworth Field

event anniversary

Famous births5

1749 · 277 yrs

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language.

LiteratureWould be 277

Photo: Joseph Karl Stieler · Public domain

1862 · 164 yrs

Claude Debussy

Achille Claude Debussy (French:; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer, born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term.

MusicWould be 164

Photo: Adam Cuerden · Public domain

1902 · 124 yrs

Leni Riefenstahl

Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (German:; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German filmmaker, photographer, and actress. She is considered one of the most controversial personalities in film history.

FilmWould be 124

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain

1904 · 122 yrs

Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 1978 to 1989.

PoliticsWould be 122

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain

1920 · 106 yrs

Ray Bradbury

Ray Douglas Bradbury (US: BRAD-berr-ee; 22 August 1920 – 5 June 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.

LiteratureWould be 106

Photo: Alan Light · CC BY 2.0

Famous deaths6

1485 · 541 yrs

Richard III of England

Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch, the House of York; the former had ruled England since 1154.

RoyaltyWould be 574

Photo: Barthel ii · Public domain

1883 · 143 yrs

Ivan Turgenev

Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818–1883) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, translator and popularizer of Russian literature in the West. His first major publication, a short story collection titled A Sportsman's Sketches (1852), was a milestone of Russian realism.

LiteratureWould be 207

Photo: Ilya Repin · Public domain

1958 · 68 yrs

Roger Martin du Gard

Roger Martin du Gard (French:; 23 March 1881 – 22 August 1958) was a French novelist, winner of the 1937 Nobel Prize in Literature.

LiteratureWould be 145

Photo: Nobel Foundation · Public domain

1978 · 48 yrs

Jomo Kenyatta

Jomo Kenyatta (c. 1897 – 22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978.

PoliticsWould be 132

Photo: Pridan Moshe · Public domain

1986 · 40 yrs

Celâl Bayar

Mahmut Celâlettin "Celâl" Bayar (16 May 1883 – 22 August 1986) was a Turkish economist and politician who was the president of Turkey from 1950 to 1960. He previously served as the prime minister of Turkey from 1937 to 1939.

PoliticsWould be 143

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain

2023 · 3 yrs

Toto Cutugno

Salvatore "Toto" Cutugno (Italian:; 7 July 1943 – 22 August 2023) was an Italian pop singer-songwriter, musician, and television presenter. He was best known for his worldwide hit song, "L'Italiano", released on his 1983 album of the same title.

MusicWould be 83

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain

Events2

1485 · 541 yrs

Battle of Bosworth Field

The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field ( BOZ-wərth) was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England and Wales in the latter half of the 15th century.

War

1864 · 162 yrs

Geneva Convention of 1864

The Geneva Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field (French: Convention pour l'amélioration du sort des blessés et des malades dans les forces armées en campagne), more commonly referred to as the First Geneva Convention or Geneva Convention I and abbreviated as GCI,…

Politics

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