On This Day, Jan. 22: Supreme Court legalizes abortion in Roe vs. Wade

UPI Staff
·3 min read
Demonstrators holding a March for Life banner walk in front of the Supreme Court of the United States during the 45th Anuual March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Friday. On January 22, 1973, in its historic Roe vs. Wade decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down state bans and made abortion legal. Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI
Demonstrators holding a March for Life banner walk in front of the Supreme Court of the United States during the 45th Anuual March for Life in Washington, D.C., on Friday. On January 22, 1973, in its historic Roe vs. Wade decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down state bans and made abortion legal. Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI
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Jan. 22 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1771, Spain ceded the Falkland Islands to Britain.

In 1901, Queen Victoria of Britain died at age 82 after a reign of 64 years. She was succeeded by her son, Edward VII.

In 1914, attorneys for world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson, a Black prizefighter, filed a brief for a new trial with the U.S. Court of Appeals, challenging Johnson's conviction under the Mann Act.

File Photo by Library of Congress/UPI
File Photo by Library of Congress/UPI
On January 22, 2012, Joe Paterno, the former Penn State football coach who won a record 409 games in his storied six-decade career but was forced out amid a sex scandal involving an ex-assistant coach, died of lung cancer. He was 85. File Photo by George Powers/UPI
On January 22, 2012, Joe Paterno, the former Penn State football coach who won a record 409 games in his storied six-decade career but was forced out amid a sex scandal involving an ex-assistant coach, died of lung cancer. He was 85. File Photo by George Powers/UPI

In 1924, senators investigating the Teapot Dome lease scandal declared they would use all the legal powers of the government to get to the truth.

In 1943, U.S. and Australian troops took New Guinea in the first land victory over the Japanese in World War II.

U.S. Army troops land at Anzio, Italy, in Operation Shingle on January 22, 1944. File Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army
U.S. Army troops land at Anzio, Italy, in Operation Shingle on January 22, 1944. File Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army

In 1944, U.S. troops invaded Italy, landing at Anzio beach in a move to outflank German defensive positions.

In 1973, in its historic Roe vs. Wade decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down state bans and made abortion legal. The high court overturned the ruling June 24, 2022, in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

Australian-manned M3 General Stuart tanks attack Japanese pillboxes in the final assault on Buna, Papua New Guinea, on January 2, 1943. On January 22, 1943, U.S. and Australian troops took New Guinea in the first land victory over the Japanese in World War II. File Photo by George Silk/Australian government
Australian-manned M3 General Stuart tanks attack Japanese pillboxes in the final assault on Buna, Papua New Guinea, on January 2, 1943. On January 22, 1943, U.S. and Australian troops took New Guinea in the first land victory over the Japanese in World War II. File Photo by George Silk/Australian government

In 1987, Glen Tremml, 27, pedaled the ultralight aircraft Eagle over Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., for a human-powered flight record of 37.2 miles.

In 1991, Iraq launched a Scud missile attack against Israel, injuring 98 people.

Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge talks about the recent arrest of terrorist Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the September 11 attacks, while speaking to the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., on March 3, 2003. On January 22, U.S. Senate approved the nomination of Ridge to be the first secretary of Homeland Security by a 94-0 vote. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

In 1998, Theodore Kaczynski, known as the "Unabomber," accused of sending bombs that killed and wounded people, pleaded guilty to all counts against him in California and New Jersey. He was sentenced to life in prison.

In 2003, the U.S. Senate approved the nomination of former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge to be the first secretary of Homeland Security by a 94-0 vote.

Pedestrians drop off flowers at the makeshift memorial outside the apartment building where 28-year-old actor Heath Ledger died in New York on January 22, 2008. File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI
Pedestrians drop off flowers at the makeshift memorial outside the apartment building where 28-year-old actor Heath Ledger died in New York on January 22, 2008. File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI

In 2008, Heath Ledger, star of Brokeback Mountain, A Knight's Tale and The Dark Knight, died of a drug overdose. He was 28.

File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI
File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI

In 2012, Joe Paterno, the former Penn State football coach who won a record 409 games in his storied six-decade career but was forced out amid a sex scandal involving an ex-assistant coach, died of lung cancer. He was 85.

In 2021, the Senate confirmed Lloyd Austin as secretary of defense, making him the first Black Pentagon chief.

In 2023, Australian Laura Enever caught a wave measuring 43.6 feet tall off the Hawaiian island of Oahu. It earned her the Guinness World Records title for largest wave surfed by a woman.

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