1. On August 22, 1776, American troops under General George Washington were defeated by British and Hessian forces in the Battle of Long Island. This was a significant setback for the Continental Army in the early days of the Revolutionary War.

2. On August 22, 1902, Theodore Roosevelt became the first sitting President of the United States to ride in an automobile. He rode in a Columbia electric car in Hartford, Connecticut, just across the border from New Jersey.

3. On August 22, 1950, Althea Gibson became the first African American tennis player to compete in the national championships, which were held at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York. Though she did not win the tournament that year, she would go on to win major tennis titles in the years to come.

4. On August 22, 1966, the Beatles performed at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York. The concert was notable for being the first ever played at a stadium and for drawing a crowd of over 55,000 screaming fans.

5. On August 22, 1987, the controversial rap group 2 Live Crew was arrested in Hollywood, Florida on obscenity charges related to its album "As Nasty As They Wanna Be." The ensuing legal battle over the album's content ultimately led to a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the First Amendment and artistic expression.