September 22

Today in History
• 1499 - Switzerland becomes an independent state
• 1692 - Last people hanged for witchcraft (8) in the US, 19 hanged overall
• 1735 - Robert Walpole becomes the 1st British "Prime Minister" to live at 10 Downing Street
• 1784 - Russian trappers establish a colony on Kodiak Island, Alaska
• 1792 - Day one of the short-loved French Republican calendar
• 1851 - City of Des Moines, Iowa incorporated as Fort Des Moines
• 1908 - Bulgaria declares independence from the Ottoman Empire (Turkey)
• 1913 - Coal mine explosion kills 263 at Dawson, New Mexico


Holidays - Traditional and Obscure
• American Business Women’s Day
• Chainmail Day
• Hobbit Day
• Mali Independence Day
• National Centenarian's Day
• National Elephant Appreciation Day
• National Ice Cream Cone Day
• Native American Day

Birthdays
• 1515 - Anne of Cleves, Queen of England (1539-40)
• 1523 - Charles de Bourbon, French cardinal
• 1715 - Jean-Étienne Guettard, French physician and scientist
• 1791 - Michael Faraday, scientist, invented 1st electric motor
• 1829 - Tu Duc, Emperor of Vietnam (1847-1883)
• 1876 - André Tardieu, French politician, Prime Minister of France
• 1878 - Shigeru Yoshida, Japanese Prime Minister (1946-54)
• 1885 - Ben Chifley, Australian politician and the 16th Prime Minister of Australia