February 22

This is 22nd of February. It is day 53 of the year. As of today, there are 312 days left until the end of the year. If you are curious about the most important and notable historical footprint of Sri Lanka, let us delve into more On This Day events to uncover fascinating tidbits from the nation's history that covers for 365 days.

Today’s Highlight

• 1658 – The Dutch captured the city of Mannar in Sri Lanka.
• 1697 – Thomas van Rhee ended his term as governor of Dutch Ceylon, succeeded by Gerrit de Heere.
• 1871 – The new Episcopal Church in Galle was opened.
• 1961 – Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations with Iraq.
• 1972 – SLNS Weeraya (formerly HMCyS Weeraya) (P311) and SLNS Sooraya, Shanghai Class fast gunboats, were commissioned.
• 2002 – Eelam War III, which started on 19 April 1995, ended due to a ceasefire.
• 2002 – The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) was formed to monitor the ceasefire and investigate violations between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE.
• 2008 – The Poonakari massacre resulted in 8 deaths, 3 houses destroyed, and many others damaged.

International observance

• Scouts’ Day or Guides’ Day (World Organization of the Scout Movement)
• World Thinking Day (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts)