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Today in History, February 22nd

On February 22, 1980, the U.S. Olympic hockey team beat the Soviet Union in the Miracle on Ice. Plus Washington's birthday and Florida's cession.

By Today in History Updated November 10, 2026 3 min read Sources checked

Published February 22, 2026 · Last updated November 10, 2026

February 22 is best known for the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980, when a young U.S. Olympic hockey team beat the mighty Soviet Union 4–3 in Lake Placid, New York. It is also George Washington’s birthday (1732), and in 1819 Spain agreed to hand Florida to the United States.

The big story: The Miracle on Ice (1980)

Nobody gave the Americans a chance. The Soviet Union had won four straight Olympic hockey gold medals, going back to 1964, and had not lost a game at the Olympics since 1968. The U.S. squad, coached by Herb Brooks, was a young team with an average age of about 22. On February 22, 1980, at the Winter Games in Lake Placid, New York, the two teams met in the medal round in front of about 10,000 fans. The Americans hung around, kept the score close, and came out ahead, 4–3. Coming in the middle of the Cold War, the upset felt like far more than a hockey game to a lot of Americans. Strictly speaking, it did not clinch anything. The U.S. still had to beat Finland two days later, which it did, 4–2, to win the gold medal.

More events on February 22

Year	What happened
1819	John Quincy Adams and Spain’s minister Luis de Onís signed the Adams-Onís Treaty, under which Spain ceded the rest of Florida to the U.S.
1847	The Battle of Buena Vista began in Mexico when Zachary Taylor refused Santa Anna’s demand to surrender. Taylor’s outnumbered force held, and he rode the fame into the White House.
1946	U.S. diplomat George Kennan sent his 8,000-word “long telegram” from Moscow. Its argument shaped the Cold War policy of containment.
1959	The first Daytona 500 ended in a photo finish between Lee Petty and Johnny Beauchamp. Petty was declared the winner three days later, with help from news photos.
1967	Indonesia’s President Sukarno handed all executive power to Gen. Suharto, who went on to rule until 1998.
1978	The U.S. Air Force launched Navstar 1 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, the first operational satellite of what became GPS.
2006	A gang stole £53 million from a Securitas depot in Kent, the largest robbery of its kind in British history, after kidnapping the manager and his family.
2014	Mexican marines captured cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán in Mazatlán without firing a shot.

Born on February 22

1732: George Washington, commander of the Continental Army and first U.S. president (February 11 in the Old Style calendar used at the time).
1892: Edna St. Vincent Millay, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet.
1962: Steve Irwin, Australian wildlife expert known as the Crocodile Hunter.