2022 was a complicated, crazy year in history. It started with a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and an HCST school shutdown to deal with the Omicron variant. Over the next few months, we would have a record amount of shootings, landmark Supreme Court cases, the development of another disease, and tension between Russia and Ukraine would erupt into full-scale war. In contrast, there were moments of light even in darkness, solidarity even in division, and showed the strength of many across the U.S. and the globe. Let’s take a look at 2022 in review. 

• January

  • The COVID-19 variant named Omicron is more contagious than previous variants and causes an uptick in COVID cases

    • HCST shuts down schools in response during the first few weeks of January 2022. 

  • January 1: Eric Adams, Democrat, is elected Mayor of New York City. 

  • January 7: Three defendants convicted in Ahmaud Arbery murder are sentenced to life in prison. 

• February

  • February 4-20: 2020 Winter Olympics are held in Beijing.

  • February 24: Russia launches an invasion of Ukraine after signing a decree stating that the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic are separate from Ukraine.

    • February 26: President Joe Biden approves $600 million to go to Ukraine to support Ukrainian forces.

• March

  • March 1: President Biden gives the State of the Union address before Congress. He covered issues like the war in Ukraine, the economic situation, and bipartisanship.

  • March 28: Governor Ron DeSantis signs into law the Don’t Say Gay Bill.

  • March 29: President Biden signs into law the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, making lynching a federal crime. 

  • March 30: United States Men’s Team qualifies for the 2022 World Cup in their first appearance since 2014 Brazil. 

• April

  • April 7: Ketanji Brown-Jackson becomes the first Black woman confirmed to the Supreme Court.

• May

  • May 2: Politico report on Dobbs decision is leaked revealing a majority opinion on overturning Roe v. Wade.

  • May 14: Tops Friendly Market shooting in Buffalo, NY leaves 10 dead, motivated by white supremacy.

  • May 16: The U.S. death toll exceeds one million in COVID-19 cases. 

  • May 18: First case of monkeypox in the U.S.

  • May 24: Shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas leaves 19 children and 2 adults dead, one of the most deadly school shootings in history.

• June

  • June 24: The Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. 

  • June 29: Supreme court overrides a 2020 decision, ruling that states can prosecute non-tribal cases on Native land. 

• July

  • July 7: The police officer who murdered George Floyd in 2020, Derek Chauvin, is sentenced to 21 years in federal prison.

  • July 8: Former President of Japan Shinzo Abe is assassinated while giving a speech.

  • July 11: The first photo taken by the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA is published by NASA.

• August

  • August 2: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan amid rising tensions.

  • August 4: Four of the officers involved with the killing of Breona Taylor are charged on the federal level.

  • August 8: Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence is searched by the F.B.I. due to classified documents the former president took from the White House. 

• September

  • September 6: Liz Truss, Conservative, is appointed United Kingdom Prime Minister. 

  • September 8: Queen Elizabeth II dies at age 96. Charles III succeeds the throne and became King Charles III. 

  • September 15: After the death of Mahsa Amini by Iran’s “morality police”, protests erupt in Iran.  

• October

  • October 4: Aaron Judge breaks the Roger Maris American League home run record.

  • October 6: Police in Gulfport, Mississippi shoot 15-year-old Black teenage Jahiem MacMillan

  • October 20: Prime Minister of the U.K. Lizz Truss resigns after just a few weeks in office. Five days later, Rushi Sunak succeeds her. 

• November

  • November 6-18: UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) is held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Eygpt.

  • November 8: Midterm elections are held.

  • November 19: Colorado Springs Shooting, a gunman enters an LGBTQ+ club and leaves 25 injured and five dead. 

• December 

  • December 1: President Biden visits President of France Emmanual Macron. 

  • December 8: Britney Griner is exchanged for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. 

  • December 13: The Respect for Marriage Act is passed into law, establishing federal protection for same-sex and interracial marriages. 

  • December 18: The World Cup Ends with victory for Argentina and Lionel Messi.