1. On February 22, 1870, Hiram Revels was sworn in as the first African American member of the United States Senate. Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, had been appointed to the Senate to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Jefferson Davis. He served in the Senate for almost a year, and his brief but historic tenure helped to usher in a new era of African American political participation during Reconstruction.

2. On February 22, 1865, Union forces under General William T. Sherman destroyed the city of Columbia, South Carolina, in one of the most devastating events of the Civil War. The destruction of Columbia was a revenge attack by Sherman, who blamed the city for the Confederacy's resistance to surrender. The city was burned to the ground, and over a third of its inhabitants were left homeless.

3. On February 22, 1982, the South Carolina State Senate voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution. The amendment, which would have banned discrimination on the basis of sex, had already been ratified by 35 other states, but fell short of the required 38 states when the deadline for ratification expired in 1982.

4. On February 22, 1944, the USS Yorktown (CV-10), an aircraft carrier built in South Carolina, was commissioned into the United States Navy. The Yorktown played a key role in many important naval engagements during World War II, including the Battle of Midway, and was one of the most decorated ships of the war.

5. On February 22, 1733, the Georgia colony was founded by James Oglethorpe. Although Georgia was not part of South Carolina at the time, its founding had a significant impact on the region. Oglethorpe's vision for Georgia was to create a colony that would provide relief for debtors and serve as a buffer between Spanish Florida and the valuable South Carolina colony. Georgia also served as a haven for slaves seeking freedom, and many escaped slaves made their way to the colony via the Underground Railroad.