August 22
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1485: The Wars of the Roses ends
England’s houses of Lancaster and York—both descended from the same royal line—had feuded and backstabbed for three decades, as each struggled to claim the throne. On this day in 1485, they met in their final battle, and the Wars of the Roses were over. Henry Tudor (the future Henry VII) defeated the Yorkist king Richard III in the Battle of Bosworth Field, effectively establishing the Tudor dynasty on the English throne.
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Featured Event
Børre Høstland/The Fine Art Collections, The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design; Gift of Olaf Schou 1910, NG.M.00939 (CC BY 4.0)
The Scream is stolen
The Scream (1893), a painting by Edvard Munch, was stolen from the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway; it was recovered two years later. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about artists and painters.]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
Charles Platiau—Reuters/Alamy
Born this day in 1908 in France, Henri Cartier-Bresson helped establish photojournalism as an art form, snapping spontaneous though impeccably composed and timed images that captured what he called the “decisive moment.”
Famous Birthdays
More on August 22
© Jerry Coli/Dreamstime.com
1989
In a game against the Oakland Athletics, Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers struck out Rickey Henderson to become the first MLB pitcher to register 5,000 strikeouts; he ended his career with a record-setting 5,714. [How much do you know about baseball?]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1978
Rebel Sandinistas occupied the National Palace in Managua, Nicaragua, holding more than 1,000 hostages for two days, in opposition to the government of Anastasio Somoza Debayle. [Test your knowledge of Latin American history.]
U.S. Department of State
1973
U.S. President Richard M. Nixon named Henry A. Kissinger secretary of state. [Take our famous people in history quiz.]
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
1932
The BBC begins its first experimental broadcast programming as the Empire Service. By the early 21st century the service broadcast in more than 40 languages to roughly 120 million people worldwide.
AP Images
1904
Chinese communist leader Deng Xiaoping, who abandoned many orthodox communist doctrines and attempted to incorporate elements of the free enterprise system into the Chinese economy, was born. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about China.]
Culver Pictures
1893
American short-story writer and poet Dorothy Parker, who was especially known for her wit, was born. [Take our quiz about famous authors.]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1865
William Sheppard received the first U.S. patent for liquid soap. [Test your knowledge of inventions.]
© Photos.com/Getty Images
1862
French composer Claude Debussy, a seminal force in the music of the 20th century, was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. [How much do you know about classical composers?]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1851
The first America’s Cup was won by the American yacht America in a race around the Isle of Wight. [Take our quiz about vocabulary at sea.]
Giraudon/Art Resource, New York
1642
The English Civil Wars, fought between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians, began when King Charles I formally raised the royal standard at Nottingham.