Famous people born on September 22nd
September 22 is a notably wide-ranging birthday on the calendar, linking influential statesmen, pioneering scientists, and genre-defining artists. The date brings together leaders who shaped foreign policy, researchers who changed how we understand the universe, and performers who left enduring marks on music, film, and television. With 34 notable figures represented, it is a day that reflects both public service and cultural reinvention across centuries.
Notable highlights
- Lord Chesterfield (1694) - Remembered for his polished letters on manners and rhetoric, a lasting snapshot of 18th-century social and political life.
- Shigeru Yoshida (1878) - Guided Japan's postwar recovery and helped define the pragmatic "Yoshida Doctrine" prioritizing economic growth and security alignment.
- Michael Faraday (1791) - His experiments in electromagnetism and electrochemistry laid foundations for electric motors, generators, and modern field theory.
- Chen Ning Yang (1922) - Co-developed the theory showing parity is not conserved in weak interactions, a breakthrough that reshaped particle physics.
- Saul Perlmutter (1959) - Led a team whose supernova measurements helped reveal the accelerating expansion of the universe, central to the concept of dark energy.
- Joan Jett (1958) - A hard-rock trailblazer whose punchy songwriting and guitar-forward style helped expand the mainstream space for women in rock.
- Andrea Bocelli (1958) - Popularized classical crossover worldwide, bringing operatic technique to arena-scale audiences and global chart success.
- Nick Cave (1957) - Known for literate, emotionally intense songwriting that blends gothic storytelling with reinvention across decades.
- Tommy Lasorda (1927) - A charismatic Los Angeles Dodgers manager whose leadership and storytelling made him one of baseball's most recognizable ambassadors.
- Tom Felton (1987) - Became globally familiar through the Harry Potter films, later building a career that mixes screen roles with music and memoir.
On this day
- 1776 - Nathan Hale is executed by the British for espionage during the American Revolutionary War.
- 1862 - President Abraham Lincoln issues the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, setting a path to free enslaved people in rebelling states.
- 1980 - Iraq invades Iran, triggering the Iran-Iraq War.
- 1994 - The TV sitcom "Friends" premieres, becoming a defining pop-culture phenomenon of the 1990s.