A birthday on the globe
22 October on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born
For 22 October, the English Wikipedia lists 61 events and 231 births. 31 of the events stand at their places as rays of light; six more are dashed circles, where the sentence links only to a country or a sea. The taller the ray, the longer ago it happened. The people born that day come further down, as blue points.
A birthday, yours or someone else’s:
Turn it into a greetingScroll: the globe turns to each place
The day you were born, on the globe.
Three things from your day
Scroll: your day first, then 22 October through the years
The Earth on 22 October
The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in October 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.
On 22 October the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 11.0° south. In London, the day lasts about 10 hours 20 minutes.
Beyond 79° south the Sun no longer sets; beyond 79° north it no longer rises.
The line between day and night is tilted on the globe exactly as on this day of the year. On the dark side you can see the lights of towns.
Britain & Ireland · Westminster Abbey
1727
George II and Caroline of Ansbach were crowned king and queen of Great Britain in Westminster Abbey.
On the map: Westminster Abbey.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
Europe · Leipzig
1724
J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (Adorn yourself, O dear soul) in Leipzig on the 20th Sunday after Trinity, based on the communion hymn of the same name.
On the map: Leipzig.
Asia · Council of Chalcedon
451
The Chalcedonian Creed, regarding the divine and human nature of Jesus, is adopted by the Council of Chalcedon, an ecumenical council.
On the map: the coordinates Wikidata gives for the article “Council of Chalcedon”.
Asia · Heian-kyō
794
Japanese Emperor Kanmu relocates his empire's capital to Heian-kyō (now Kyoto).
On the map: Heian-kyō.
Oceania · Australian Capital Territory
2013
The Australian Capital Territory becomes the first Australian jurisdiction to legalize same-sex marriage with the Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013.
On the map: Australian Capital Territory.
Latin America · Panama Canal expansion project
2006
A Panama Canal expansion proposal is approved by 77.8% of voters in a national referendum.
On the map: Panama Canal expansion project.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish.
North America · Princeton University
1746
The College of New Jersey (later renamed Princeton University) receives its charter.
On the map: Princeton University.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
North America · Washington, D.C.
1884
The International Meridian Conference designates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich as the world's prime meridian.
On the map: Washington, D.C..
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish.
North America · Santa Ana, California
1924
The educational non-profit organization Toastmasters International was founded at a YMCA in Santa Ana, California.
On the map: Santa Ana, California.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
22 October
What the other Wikipedias remember#
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Spanish and were translated for this page.
From Wikipedia in Spanish · Apatzingán de la Constitución
1814
In Apatzingán (Mexico), the country's first constitution is promulgated.
On the map: Apatzingán de la Constitución.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Spanish.
The article on Wikipedia in Spanish: Apatzingán de la Constitución
From Wikipedia in Spanish · London
1951
In London (United Kingdom), the protocol for the accession of Greece and Turkey to NATO is signed.
On the map: London.
Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Spanish.
22 October
Born on 22 October#
The English Wikipedia lists 231 births for this day. The blue points are the birthplaces of 59 of these people: those written about in the most Wikipedia editions, where Wikidata gives a place of birth.
Born on 22 October
1844
Sarah Bernhardt, French actress and manager (died 1923)
Place of birth: Paris.
Born on 22 October
1919
Doris Lessing, British novelist, poet, playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2013)
Place of birth: Kermanshah.
Born on 22 October
1811
Franz Liszt, Hungarian pianist and composer (died 1886)
Place of birth: Raiding.
Born on 22 October
1870
Ivan Bunin, Russian author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1953)
Place of birth: Voronezh.
Born on 22 October
1949
Arsène Wenger, French footballer and manager
Place of birth: Strasbourg.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1938
Derek Jacobi, English actor
Place of birth: Leytonstone.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1972
Saffron Burrows, English-American actress
Place of birth: St Pancras.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1992
21 Savage, British-American rapper
Place of birth: Plaistow.
22 October
Number one in the charts that week
At the cinema
An animal recorded that day
The record can be seen in GBIF, which brings together wildlife records from around the world.
All your birthdays
The weather that day
Data: Met Office Hadley Centre (HadCET); NOAA (GHCN-Daily, Mauna Loa).
Above the Earth
Sources: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (launches); GFZ Potsdam (Kp index). Days are counted in Universal Time.
Football that day
International matches played that day:
Source: the “International football results” dataset kept by Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
Also that day
The earthquake’s page at the USGS
Source: the USGS catalogue. The day is counted in Universal Time (UTC).
In those days
Make a link for someone
Type the name, pick the day and the year of birth. The link opens straight on their day, with their name in the greeting.
The link carries the name, date and place typed here; anyone who gets it can see them.
Put another birthday beside it
Your mother’s, your child’s, a friend’s: the two days appear side by side.
Below: 22 October through the years.
The whole globe of the day
Drag the globe to turn it. Touch a ray or a point to read what happened there.
Everything Wikipedia lists for 22 October
The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 24 events have no place on the map: the sentence links to no place with coordinates, only to places too wide to mark, or to several countries.
- 2137 BC
A solar eclipse occurs over China, one of the earliest recorded in human history, reportedly resulting in the executions of two astronomers who failed to predict it.
Oceans · Solar eclipse of October 22, 2137 BCWikipedia: Solar eclipse of October 22, 2137 BC - 451
The Chalcedonian Creed, regarding the divine and human nature of Jesus, is adopted by the Council of Chalcedon, an ecumenical council.
Asia · Council of ChalcedonWikipedia: Council of Chalcedon - 794
Japanese Emperor Kanmu relocates his empire's capital to Heian-kyō (now Kyoto).
Asia · Heian-kyōWikipedia: Emperor Kanmu - 906
Abbasid general Ahmad ibn Kayghalagh leads a raid against the Byzantine Empire, taking 4,000–5,000 captives.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Ahmad ibn Kayghalagh - 1383
The male line of the Portuguese House of Burgundy becomes extinct with the death of King Fernando, leaving only his daughter Beatrice. Rival claimants begin a period of civil war and disorder.
Europe · PortugalWikipedia: 1383–1385 Portuguese interregnum - 1633
At the Battle of Liaoluo Bay Ming Chinese naval forces defeated a Dutch East India Company fleet in the Taiwan Strait, the largest naval encounter between Chinese and European forces before the First Opium War more than two hundred years later.
Asia · Battle of Liaoluo BayWikipedia: First Opium War - 1707
In one of the worst maritime disasters in the history of the British Isles, at least 1,400 sailors on four Royal Navy ships were lost in stormy weather off the Isles of Scilly.
Britain & Ireland · Scilly naval disaster of 1707Wikipedia: Scilly naval disaster of 1707 - 1721
The Russian Empire is proclaimed by Tsar Peter I after the Swedish defeat in the Great Northern War.
Asia · Russian EmpireWikipedia: Great Northern War - 1724
J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele (Adorn yourself, O dear soul) in Leipzig on the 20th Sunday after Trinity, based on the communion hymn of the same name.
Europe · LeipzigWikipedia: Johann Sebastian Bach - 1727
George II and Caroline of Ansbach were crowned king and queen of Great Britain in Westminster Abbey.
Britain & Ireland · Westminster AbbeyWikipedia: George II of Great Britain - 1730
Construction of the Ladoga Canal is completed in Russia.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Ladoga Canal - 1739
The War of Jenkins' Ear begins with the first attack on La Guaira.
Latin America · La GuairaWikipedia: War of Jenkins' Ear - 1740
A two-week massacre of ethnic Chinese in Batavia, Dutch East Indies, came to an end with at least 10,000 people killed.
Asia · 1740 Batavia massacreWikipedia: 1740 Batavia massacre - 1746
The College of New Jersey (later renamed Princeton University) receives its charter.
North America · Princeton UniversityWikipedia: Princeton University - 1777
American Revolutionary War: American defenders of Fort Mercer on the Delaware River repulse repeated Hessian attacks in the Battle of Red Bank.
North America · Battle of Red BankWikipedia: Battle of Red Bank - 1790
Northwest Indian War: Native American forces defeat the United States, ending the Harmar Campaign.
North America · Harmar campaignWikipedia: Northwest Indian War - 1797
André-Jacques Garnerin makes the first recorded parachute jump, from 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above Paris.
no place on the mapWikipedia: André-Jacques Garnerin - 1836
Sam Houston is inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of Texas.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Sam Houston - 1844
The Millerites (followers of Baptist preacher William Miller) anticipate the end of the world in conjunction with the Second Advent of Christ. The following day becomes known as the Great Disappointment.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Second Coming - 1859
Spain declares war on Morocco.
Africa · MoroccoWikipedia: Hispano-Moroccan War - 1866
A plebiscite ratifies the annexation of Veneto and Mantua to Italy, which had occurred three days before on October 19.
Europe · MantuaWikipedia: Veneto - 1877
The Blantyre mining disaster in Scotland kills 207 miners.
Britain & Ireland · Blantyre mining disasterWikipedia: Blantyre mining disaster - 1879
Using a filament of carbonized thread, Thomas Edison tests the first practical electric incandescent light bulb; the bulb lasted 131⁄2 hours before burning out.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Thomas Edison - 1883
The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City opens with a performance of Charles Gounod's Faust.
North America · Metropolitan Opera HouseWikipedia: Metropolitan Opera House - 1884
The International Meridian Conference designates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich as the world's prime meridian.
North America · Washington, D.C.Wikipedia: International Meridian Conference - 1895
In Paris, an express train derails after overrunning the buffer stop, crossing almost 30 metres (100 ft) of concourse before crashing through a wall and falling 10 metres (33 ft) to the road below.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Montparnasse derailment - 1907
A run on the stock of the Knickerbocker Trust Company sets events in motion that will spark the Panic of 1907.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Panic of 1907 - 1910
Hawley Harvey Crippen (the first felon to be arrested with the help of radio) is convicted of poisoning his wife.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Hawley Harvey Crippen - 1923
The royalist Leonardopoulos–Gargalidis coup d'état attempt fails in Greece, discrediting the monarchy and paving the way for the establishment of the Second Hellenic Republic.
Europe · Second Hellenic RepublicWikipedia: Leonardopoulos–Gargalidis coup attempt - 1924
The educational non-profit organization Toastmasters International was founded at a YMCA in Santa Ana, California.
North America · Santa Ana, CaliforniaWikipedia: Toastmasters International - 1934
In East Liverpool, Ohio, FBI agents shoot and kill the notorious bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd.
North America · East Liverpool, OhioWikipedia: East Liverpool, Ohio - 1936
Dod Orsborne, captain of the Girl Pat is convicted of its theft and imprisoned, having caused a media sensation when it went missing.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Dod Orsborne - 1936
The Royal Navy cutlass was withdrawn from combat service.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Royal Navy cutlasses - 1940
After evading Vichy French and Francoist Spanish authorities, Belgian prime minister Hubert Pierlot arrived in London, marking the beginning of the Belgian government in exile.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Vichy France - 1941
World War II: French resistance member Guy Môquet and 29 other hostages are executed by the Germans in retaliation for the death of a German officer.
no place on the mapWikipedia: World War II - 1943
World War II: In the second firestorm raid on Germany, the British Royal Air Force conducts an air raid on the town of Kassel, killing 10,000 and rendering 150,000 homeless.
Europe · KasselWikipedia: Bombing of Kassel in World War II - 1945
Workers at the Cigar Factory in Charleston, South Carolina, began a labor strike against the American Tobacco Company that lasted more than five months.
North America · Cigar FactoryWikipedia: Cigar Factory - 1946
Over twenty-two hundred engineers and technicians from eastern Germany are forced to relocate to the Soviet Union, along with their families and equipment.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Operation Osoaviakhim - 1962
Cuban Missile Crisis: President Kennedy, after internal counsel from Dwight D. Eisenhower, announces that American reconnaissance planes have discovered Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba, and that he has ordered a naval "quarantine" of the Communist nation.
Latin America · Cuban Missile CrisisWikipedia: Cuban Missile Crisis - 1963
A BAC One-Eleven prototype airliner crashes in UK with the loss of all on board.
Britain & Ireland · 1963 BAC One-Eleven test crashWikipedia: 1963 BAC One-Eleven test crash - 1964
Jean-Paul Sartre is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, though he does not accept the prize.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Nobel Prize in Literature - 1964
The first volume of Ian Fleming's children's novel Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang was published posthumously.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Ian Fleming - 1966
With their album The Supremes A' Go-Go, the Supremes became the first all-female group to reach number one on the Billboard 200 chart.
no place on the mapWikipedia: The Supremes A' Go-Go - 1975
The Soviet uncrewed space mission Venera 9 lands on Venus.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Venera 9 - 1981
The US Federal Labor Relations Authority votes to decertify the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) for its strike the previous August.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Federal Labor Relations Authority - 1983
Two correctional officers are killed by inmates at the United States Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois. The incident inspires the Supermax model of prisons.
North America · Marion, IllinoisWikipedia: Marion, Illinois - 1987
John Adams' opera Nixon in China premiered at the Houston Grand Opera.
no place on the mapWikipedia: John Adams - 1989
TAN-SAHSA Flight 414 crashed in approach to Toncontín International Airport, killing 131 out of 146 people onboard.
Latin America · TAN-SAHSA Flight 414Wikipedia: TAN-SAHSA Flight 414 - 1992
Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-52 to deploy the LAGEOS-2 satellite and microgravity experiments.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Space Shuttle Columbia - 1997
Danish fugitive Steen Christensen kills two police officers, Chief Constable Eero Holsti and Senior Constable Antero Palo, in Ullanlinna, Helsinki, Finland during his prison escape.
Europe · UllanlinnaWikipedia: Steen Christensen - 1999
Maurice Papon, an official in the Vichy government during World War II, is jailed for crimes against humanity.
Europe · Vichy FranceWikipedia: Vichy France - 2005
Bellview Airlines Flight 210 crashes in Nigeria, killing all 117 people on board.
Africa · Bellview Airlines Flight 210Wikipedia: Bellview Airlines Flight 210 - 2005
Tropical Storm Alpha forms in the Atlantic Basin, making the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season the most active Atlantic hurricane season until surpassed by the 2020 season.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Tropical Storm Alpha - 2006
A Panama Canal expansion proposal is approved by 77.8% of voters in a national referendum.
Latin America · Panama Canal expansion projectWikipedia: 2006 Panama Canal expansion referendum - 2007
A raid on Anuradhapura Air Force Base is carried out by 21 Tamil Tiger commandos, with all except one dying in this attack. Eight Sri Lanka Air Force planes are destroyed and ten damaged.
Asia · SLAF AnuradhapuraWikipedia: Raid on Anuradhapura Air Force Base - 2008
India launches its first uncrewed lunar probe mission Chandrayaan-1.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Exploration of the Moon - 2012
Cyclist Lance Armstrong is formally stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after being charged for doping.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Lance Armstrong - 2013
The Australian Capital Territory becomes the first Australian jurisdiction to legalize same-sex marriage with the Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013.
Oceania · Australian Capital TerritoryWikipedia: Same-sex marriage in Australia - 2014
Michael Zehaf-Bibeau attacks the Parliament of Canada, killing a soldier and injuring three other people.
North America · 2014 shootings at Parliament HillWikipedia: 2014 shootings at Parliament Hill - 2015
A sword-wielding man attacked students and teachers at a high school in Trollhättan, killing three people in Sweden's deadliest school attack.
Europe · 2015 Trollhättan school attackWikipedia: 2015 Trollhättan school attack - 2019
Same-sex marriage is legalised, and abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland as a result of the Northern Ireland Assembly not being restored.
Britain & Ireland · Northern IrelandWikipedia: Same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland
What the other Wikipedias remember
For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Spanish and were translated for this page.
- 1814
In Apatzingán (Mexico), the country's first constitution is promulgated.
Latin America · Apatzingán de la ConstituciónTranslated from the list on Wikipedia in SpanishWikipedia: Apatzingán de la Constitución - 1951
In London (United Kingdom), the protocol for the accession of Greece and Turkey to NATO is signed.
Who was born on 22 October
In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 231 are shown.
- 1844
Sarah Bernhardt, French actress and manager (died 1923)
- 1919
Doris Lessing, British novelist, poet, playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2013)
KermanshahWikipedia: Doris Lessing - 1811
Franz Liszt, Hungarian pianist and composer (died 1886)
RaidingWikipedia: Franz Liszt - 1870
Ivan Bunin, Russian author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1953)
VoronezhWikipedia: Ivan Bunin - 1949
Arsène Wenger, French footballer and manager
StrasbourgWikipedia: Arsène Wenger - 1943
Catherine Deneuve, French actress and singer
17th arrondissement of ParisWikipedia: Catherine Deneuve - 1970
Javier Milei, Argentine politician and economist, President of Argentina
Buenos AiresWikipedia: Javier Milei - 1929
Lev Yashin, Russian footballer (died 1990)
MoscowWikipedia: Lev Yashin - 1881
Clinton Davisson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1958)
BloomingtonWikipedia: Clinton Davisson - 1917
Joan Fontaine, English-American actress (died 2013)
- 1952
Jeff Goldblum, American actor and producer
West HomesteadWikipedia: Jeff Goldblum - 1915
Yitzhak Shamir, Belarusian-Israeli civil servant and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Israel (died 2012)
RuzhanyWikipedia: Yitzhak Shamir - 1913
Robert Capa, Hungarian-American photographer and journalist (died 1954)
BudapestWikipedia: Robert Capa - 1938
Christopher Lloyd, American actor, comedian and producer
StamfordWikipedia: Christopher Lloyd - 1967
Carlos Mencia, Honduran-American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
San Pedro SulaWikipedia: Carlos Mencia - 1920
Timothy Leary, American psychologist and author (died 1996)
SpringfieldWikipedia: Timothy Leary - 1818
Leconte de Lisle, French poet and author (died 1894)
Saint-PaulWikipedia: Leconte de Lisle - 1903
George Wells Beadle, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1989)
- 1913
Bảo Đại, Vietnamese emperor (died 1997)
- 1939
Joaquim Chissano, Mozambican politician, 2nd President of Mozambique
Gaza ProvinceWikipedia: Joaquim Chissano - 1964
Dražen Petrović, Croatian basketball player (died 1993)
ŠibenikWikipedia: Dražen Petrović - 1973
Ichiro Suzuki, Japanese baseball player
ToyoyamaWikipedia: Ichiro Suzuki - 1921
Georges Brassens, French singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1981)
- 1887
John Reed, American journalist and poet (died 1920)
PortlandWikipedia: John Reed - 1938
César Luis Menotti, Argentine footballer and manager (died 2024)
- 1844
Louis Riel, Canadian Métis scholar and politician (died 1885)
Saint BonifaceWikipedia: Louis Riel - 1962
Bob Odenkirk, American actor and comedian
BerwynWikipedia: Bob Odenkirk - 1988
Parineeti Chopra, Indian actress
- 1938
Derek Jacobi, English actor
LeytonstoneWikipedia: Derek Jacobi - 1689
John V, Portuguese king (died 1750)
- 1946
Deepak Chopra, Indian-American physician and author
New DelhiWikipedia: Deepak Chopra - 1969
Spike Jonze, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
RockvilleWikipedia: Spike Jonze - 1975
Míchel Salgado, Spanish footballer
As NevesWikipedia: Míchel Salgado - 1925
Robert Rauschenberg, American painter and illustrator (died 2008)
Port ArthurWikipedia: Robert Rauschenberg - 1071
William IX, Duke of Aquitaine (died 1126)
- 1858
Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein (died 1921)
Palace in DłużekWikipedia: Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein - 1904
Karl Guthe Jansky, American physicist and radio engineer (died 1950)
- 1956
Luis Guzmán, Puerto Rican actor
- 1968
Shaggy, Jamaican singer-songwriter and DJ
KingstonWikipedia: Shaggy - 1996
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Norwegian ski runner
- 1893
Ernst Öpik, Estonian astronomer and astrophysicist (died 1985)
- 1972
Saffron Burrows, English-American actress
St PancrasWikipedia: Saffron Burrows - 1973
Andrés Palop, Spanish footballer and manager
L'AlcúdiaWikipedia: Andrés Palop - 1992
21 Savage, British-American rapper
PlaistowWikipedia: 21 Savage - 1965
Valeria Golino, Italian actress
- 1729
Johann Reinhold Forster, German pastor and botanist (died 1798)
- 1783
Constantine Samuel Rafinesque, Ottoman-French polymath and naturalist (died 1840)
ConstantinopleWikipedia: Constantine Samuel Rafinesque - 1964
Amit Shah, Indian politician, Minister of Home Affairs (since 2019).
MumbaiWikipedia: Amit Shah - 1939
George Cohen, English footballer (died 2022)
LondonWikipedia: George Cohen - 1975
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, American actor
MissoulaWikipedia: Jesse Tyler Ferguson - 1898
Dámaso Alonso, Spanish poet and philologist (died 1990)
MadridWikipedia: Dámaso Alonso - 1701
Maria Amalia, Holy Roman Empress (died 1756)
- 1971
Jennifer Lee, American filmmaker
East ProvidenceWikipedia: Jennifer Lee - 1923
Bert Trautmann, German footballer and coach (died 2013)
- 1986
Ștefan Radu, Romanian footballer
BucharestWikipedia: Ștefan Radu - 1659
Georg Ernst Stahl, German chemist and physician (died 1734)
AnsbachWikipedia: Georg Ernst Stahl - 1987
Donny Montell, Lithuanian singer-songwriter
VilniusWikipedia: Donny Montell - 1781
Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France (died 1789)
- 1988
Corey Hawkins, American actor
Washington, D.C.Wikipedia: Corey Hawkins - 1943
Jan de Bont, Dutch director, producer, and cinematographer
EindhovenWikipedia: Jan de Bont
What is celebrated on 22 October
- Christian feast day: Abercius of Hieropolis
- Christian feast day: Cordula of Cologne
- Christian feast day: Donatus of Fiesole
- Christian feast day: Mellonius
- Christian feast day: Nunilo and Alodia
- Christian feast day: Pope John Paul II
- Christian feast day: October 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- International Stuttering Awareness Day
- Jidai Matsuri (Kyoto, Japan)
A greeting link for someone
Type a name and, if you like, the year of birth. The link opens with a greeting, and beside each event it says how old the person turned that day, or how many years before their birth it happened.
The name and the year go only into the link you send.
All 366 days
How the globe is made
Where the events come from
Each edition of this page uses the day’s list from Wikipedia in its own language: Romanian, English, Spanish, Chinese. The lists are written by volunteers and differ from one edition to the next; the text of each event is Wikipedia’s, with a link to the article. A row that appears twice in a list is shown once. The lists have not been checked event by event: they are Wikipedia’s, mistakes included.
For events before 1582, and for countries that moved to the Gregorian calendar later (Britain in 1752, Russia in 1918), the same day may be counted Old Style in one list and New Style in another.
The chapter “What the other Wikipedias remember” adds up to five events a day from the lists of the other three editions, only for years in which the English list has nothing on that day. They were translated for this page, passed the same filters as the tour, and are not counted among the events of the English list.
How an event gets onto the map
The place comes from Wikidata. If the sentence links to the article about the event itself (a battle, an opening, an earthquake), dated to the same year, the ray stands on its coordinates or on those of its location. Otherwise it stands on the first place the sentence links to: a town, a building, a mountain, an island. This second step can be wrong: sometimes the sentence only mentions the place. That is why the page says, under each event, which place the ray stands on.
When the sentence links to a single state or province, or to a single sea, lake or desert larger than 5,000 km², the globe shows a dashed circle, not a ray. The circle has the area Wikidata gives, with its radius kept between 1.2° and 16°, or a radius of 4.5° when Wikidata gives no area; it says only that the sentence links to that place. Organisations, ships, spacecraft, museum objects, rivers, mountain ranges, languages and continents are never used as places. When a sentence names several states and no exact place, the event stays in the list only.
What the height means
The height of a ray shows how many years have passed, on a logarithmic scale: 10 years, 100 years and 1,000 years are equal steps apart; anything older than about 2,600 years has the tallest ray. The colour runs from pale yellow for recent years to violet for antiquity.
Where the tour stops
In each region the tour stops at up to three events (five in Britain and Ireland), chosen mainly by three things: whether Wikipedia’s editors put the event in the “On this day” box of their main page (the English, Spanish and Chinese editions), how many Wikipedia editions have an article about it, and how many of the four lists include it. Events whose sentence or article is about a war, an attack, a crime or a disaster are left out of the tour; they stay in the whole list, in Wikipedia’s wording. The filter is a list of words and a list of Wikidata types, so it can miss some.
The tour of births names the people with articles in the most editions and leaves aside those whom the list or Wikidata describes as rulers, politicians, commanders, leaders of movements or criminals; they stay in the list.
The Earth and the Sun
The daytime images are NASA’s Blue Marble Next Generation mosaics, one for each month of 2004; the night side is Black Marble 2016. The tilt of the line between day and night is computed for the day; the hour is chosen so that the place being read is in daylight. The latitude where the Sun stands overhead is the average of the four years of the leap cycle; in a given year it can differ by up to 0.4°.
The day you were born
The number ones come from the weekly lists on Wikipedia: Billboard for the United States (from 1940; the Hot 100 from August 1958), the UK Singles Chart (from November 1952), Los 40 Principales for Spain (from July 1966) and, for Romania, the Romanian Top 100 and Airplay 100 (2001–2021, with missing weeks). The page shows the chart of the week in which the day of birth falls, with its date; Billboard and the UK chart are dated at the end of their week. For Romania before 2001 and for China these sources have no weekly chart.
The films are those that reached cinemas in the United States up to ten days before or three days after that day (some of them in a few cinemas at first), from the English Wikipedia’s yearly lists (from 1968), in order of how many editions have an article about them. The events “in those days” are the ones on the neighbouring days’ lists that carry the year of birth, passed through the same filter as the tour.
The day of birth, year included
The Moon, the star sign and the constellation are worked out by the page itself, for noon Universal Time on the day. The lit part of the Moon is rounded and can differ by a few per cent from that at the hour of birth. The sign follows the usual zodiac of twelve equal parts starting at the March equinox; the constellation is the one the Sun actually stood in front of, by the borders set by the International Astronomical Union, and within a day of a border the page does not name it. When the Sun changes sign while it is that day anywhere on Earth, the page gives the moment of crossing, rounded to ten minutes and accurate to within about a quarter of an hour, and the clock time in a few cities, with the time zone and summer time of that year.
The year in the Chinese calendar is the one your device’s own calendar gives for the date, checked against the Hong Kong Observatory’s tables. “All your birthdays” uses the same sources as the rest of the chapter for the same day in every year since the birth: the temperature, well-known launches that took place on that very day, matches of the teams the edition follows, snow deeper than 10 cm and strong geomagnetic storms. The three things at the top and the four on the picture are chosen in a fixed order (the song, the animal, a full Moon, a well-known launch before an ordinary earthquake); on the picture you can change them.
When the link carries a year of birth, the page adds a few things about that exact day. The weather is the Met Office’s Central England temperature record and the readings from New York’s Central Park; the “usual high” is the average of the daily highs of 1961–1990 for that date, with two days either side. The carbon dioxide figure is the monthly mean at the Mauna Loa observatory, where measurements begin in March 1958.
The earthquake is the one with the largest magnitude in the USGS catalogue for that day, counted in Universal Time. Before the 1960s the catalogue has gaps even above magnitude 5.5, so in the older years many days have no earthquake. The page gives only the magnitude and the place: the country the epicentre falls in or, when the epicentre is at sea within 300 km of a coast, the nearest country; farther out, only the ocean.
The launches are those that reached orbit or left for the Moon and the planets, from Jonathan McDowell’s GCAT catalogue. If nothing left that day, the page shows the nearest launch within three days before or after, and says how many days away it was. The geomagnetic storm appears only when the Kp index reached at least 5 in one of the day’s eight three-hour intervals.
The animal comes from GBIF: an observation made by a person (the animal seen or heard, or its tracks), dated to that exact day, with coordinates and a CC0 or CC BY licence. Only a few hundred well-known species are searched (mammals, birds, turtles, butterflies); of those noted that day, mammals and species with articles in many Wikipedia editions come first; birds noted almost every day, and species used recently, wait their turn. Observations dated 1 January are left out, because records without a day are often filed there. An observation shows that the animal was recorded there, not how many animals there were.
The matches are those between national teams. Only matches of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia are shown, along with those at the big final tournaments. The picture to send is drawn in the page from the day’s globe and the facts above, and stays on your device until you send it.
Sources
- Events, births and holidays: the day’s page on Wikipedia, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates, places of birth and the number of editions: Wikidata (CC0).
- The Earth by day: NASA Blue Marble Next Generation. The Earth by night: NASA Black Marble 2016.
- Borders and regions: Natural Earth.
- World population and births per year: UN World Population Prospects 2024.
- Charts and films: Wikipedia’s lists for Billboard, the UK Singles Chart, Los 40 Principales, Romanian Top 100, Airplay 100 and American films by year (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Weather: Met Office Hadley Centre, HadCET (Open Government Licence) and NOAA GHCN-Daily, New York Central Park. Carbon dioxide: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa.
- Earthquakes: the USGS catalogue. Launches: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (CC BY). Kp index: GFZ Potsdam (CC BY 4.0). Matches: International football results, Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
- Animal observations: GBIF, with a link to each record; species names come from Wikidata.