On this day: February 22
1518 Strasbourg 'Dancing Plague': the first well-recorded outbreak of contagious dancing
On 22 February 1518, a woman in Strasbourg began dancing uncontrollably in the street; within days dozens joined, an episode later chronicled as the first well-documented European 'dancing plague' of the early modern period.
First Successful Use of an Artificial Kidney, February 22, 1945
On February 22, 1945, Dutch physician Willem Kolff performed the first successful clinical treatment using a rotating drum artificial kidney—an early dialysis machine—marking a milestone in renal therapy during wartime Netherlands.
1842 Scandal: Britain’s First Widely Reported Medical Quackery Case
On February 22, 1842, British newspapers published exposés of Joshua Brookes’s alleged patent-medicine practices, marking what historians often cite as the first widely documented medical quackery scandal in Victorian Britain.
CIA Releases Declassified Project Blue Book Findings
The CIA has declassified and released documents associated with Project Blue Book, the U.S. Air Force’s mid-20th-century UFO investigation program, providing public access to case files, summaries, and agency analyses previously withheld or classified.
CIA Releases Cold War 'Killing' Manuals from 1950s–1970s
In February 2007 the CIA declassified manuals and training materials from the Cold War era that included instructions on covert killing, sabotage and clandestine operations, prompting renewed scrutiny of past agency practices and calls for transparency.
FBI Adds John Dillinger to First Most Wanted List
On Feb. 22, 1934, the FBI publicly placed John Dillinger on its inaugural Ten Most Wanted list, marking a new federal effort to enlist public help in capturing notorious Depression-era fugitives.
First successful artificial kidney treatment, 22 February 1945
On 22 February 1945, Dr. Willem Kolff reported the first successful clinical use of a rotating drum artificial kidney—an early dialysis machine—that sustained a patient's life by removing toxins and excess fluid when their kidneys failed.
U.S. Olympic Hockey Upsets Soviet Union in 1980 'Miracle on Ice'
On February 22, 1980, the U.S. men's hockey team, composed mainly of college players, defeated the heavily favored Soviet Union 4–3 at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics — a result that stunned the hockey world and advanced the U.S. to the gold-medal game.