Balloons as bombs, stolen cities, forbidden broadcasts, and a century-spanning love story?
Welcome back to TimeSlice — where we cut through time, one day at a time!
Today is August 22, and we’re stepping through air raids, revolutions, TV history, and some truly bold personalities.
Let’s dive in.
🌍 1788 – Sierra Leone Founded as a Safe Haven for Freed Slaves
In a moment of complicated hope, the British established Sierra Leone as a colony for freed slaves — many of whom had fought for Britain during the American Revolution.
Was it altruistic? Not entirely. But for thousands of Black settlers, it was a chance at land, identity, and possibility.
Can a flawed origin still lead to freedom?
🎈 1849 – The First Air Raid… by Balloon?!
Yes, really! Austria launched unmanned hot air balloons filled with bombs over Venice — the first recorded air raid in history.
The goal? Drop timed explosives using favorable winds. The result? Mostly confusion and missed targets.
But the age of airborne warfare had officially… taken off.
🚘 1902 – Roosevelt Rides in a Car While in Office
On this day, Theodore Roosevelt became the first U.S. President to ride in a car while in office.
No armored convoy. Just Roosevelt, a Columbia Electric Phaeton, and a glimpse of the future.
What do you think he’d say about self-driving cars today?
📺 1932 – The BBC Begins Experimental TV Broadcasts
The BBC made its quiet leap into history — launching the UK’s first experimental television broadcasts.
From grainy shadows to global streaming — this was where it all began.
Would you have tuned in back then… if you even had a TV?
⚔️ August 22 – Battles of Two World Wars
• 1914 — British and German troops clashed for the first time in WWI — a bloody preview of trench warfare to come.
• 1941 — Nazi forces reached the edge of Leningrad, beginning a siege that would last nearly 900 days.
• 1943 — Soviet troops retook Kharkov, pushing back against Hitler’s eastern advances.
• 1944 — As defeat loomed, Hitler ordered Paris destroyed — but the general in charge refused. Paris was saved.
Imagine if Paris had fallen not once, but twice.
🇻🇳 1945 – Vietnam’s Revolution Begins
In Hanoi, following a successful coup, Ho Chi Minh declared the start of Vietnam’s revolution.
Colonial chains had cracked. A long, painful war was coming — one that would reshape Southeast Asia and global politics alike.
🎂 Born on August 22
- 1904 – Deng Xiaoping – Architect of modern China, he opened the nation to global markets and changed billions of lives.
- 1920 — Ray Bradbury — Master of imagination, author of Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and timeless ideas.
- 1978 — James Corden — Comedian, actor, and host who made Carpool Karaoke a global phenomenon.
- 1978 — Jomo Kenyatta — Kenya’s founding father, who led his country from prison cell to presidency.
- 1993 — Kasdi Merbah — Former Algerian Prime Minister, assassinated during a brutal civil conflict.
- 2003 — Leni Riefenstahl — Groundbreaking and controversial filmmaker, best known for her propaganda films during Nazi Germany.
One led revolutions, one wrote them, one just sings along with celebrities.
🕯️ Died on August 22
Do artistic legacies survive when the politics behind them don’t?
💍 Weddings of the Day
• 2003 — Leni Riefenstahl married photographer Horst Kettner — at age 101! A 40-year age gap and a century of stories between them.
• 2009 — Milla Jovovich married director Paul W.S. Anderson, whom she met filming Resident Evil. The on-screen apocalypse brought real-world romance.
From balloon bombs to book burnings, BBC firsts to the Vietnam conflict’s spark, August 22 was anything but quiet.
💬 Which moment surprised you the most today?