This Day In History : January 22

1943 United States

Fastest Temperature Change on Record in Spearfish, South Dakota

On January 22, 1943, Spearfish, South Dakota, experienced the fastest temperature change ever recorded. Within just two minutes, the temperature rose by 49 degrees Fahrenheit (27.2 degrees Celsius), from -4°F (-20°C) to 45°F (7.2°C), due to a Chinook wind descending from the Black Hills. This rapid shift remains a meteorological anomaly and a testament to the region's unique weather patterns.

Also on This Day in History January 22

Discover what happened on January 22 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries,
famous births and notable deaths.

Births on This Day, January 22
  • 1908 Lev Davidovich Landau

    Soviet physicist who worked in such fields as low-temperature physics, atomic and nuclear physics, and solid-state, stellar-energy, and plasma physics.

  • 1903 William Henry Burt

    American zoologist and mammalogist who studied various aspects of mammalogy, including home range, territoriality, morphology, behavior, and evolution.

  • 1880 Frigyes Riesz

    Hungarian mathematician and pioneer of functional analysis, which has found important applications to mathematical physics.

  • 1855 Albert Neisser

    Albert Ludwig Sigismund Neisser was a German physician, who specialized in dermatology and venereal diseases.

  • 1874 Leonard Eugene Dickson

    American mathematician who made important contributions to the theory of numbers and the theory of groups.

Deaths on This Day, January 22
  • 1831 John Blenkinsop

    English inventor, designer of the first practical and successful railway locomotive. 

  • 1951 Harald August Bohr

    Danish mathematician who devised a theory that concerned generalizations of functions with periodic properties, the theory of almost periodic functions.

  • 1984 Elso Sterrenberg Barghoorn

    American paleontologist whose continuing investigations of plant fossils successively pushed back the estimates of the origin of life to more than 3.4 thousand million years ago.

  • 1900 David Edward Hughes

    Anglo-American inventor of the carbon microphone, which was a significant contribution to telephony.

  • 1966 Albert Wallace Hull

    American physicist who independently discovered the powder method of X-ray analysis of crystals (1917), which permits the study of crystalline materials in a finely divided microcrystalline, or powder, state.

1997

Space debris hits person on Earth

In 1997, American Lottie Williams was reportedly the first human to be struck by a remnant of a space vehicle after re-entering the earth's atmosphere.
2002

Kmart Corp Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

On January 22, 2002, Kmart Corp, the largest retailer in United States history at the time, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This significant event marks a financial restructuring attempt amidst challenges in the retail industry, impacting stakeholders and reflecting broader economic shifts.
1970

Boeing 747 Enters Commercial Service, Redefining Air Travel

On January 22, 1970, the Boeing 747, the world's first Jumbo Jet, begins commercial service with launch customer Pan American Airways. Its inaugural flight departs from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to London Heathrow Airport, marking a new era in aviation with its unprecedented size and capacity.
1975

Landsat 2 Launches to Advance Earth Observation Technology

On January 22, 1975, Landsat 2, an Earth Resources Technology Satellite, is successfully launched into orbit. This mission aims to enhance global environmental monitoring and resource management through high-resolution imaging of Earth's surface, continuing the legacy of its predecessor in satellite-based remote sensing.
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