1. Great Sioux War Begins (1876): On July 22, 1876, the Great Sioux War began with the first armed conflict between the U.S. Army and the Sioux tribes in Montana. This war later spread to other areas of the Great Plains, including South Dakota, where the Battle of the Little Bighorn took place in 1877.

2. South Dakota Statehood (1889): July 22, 1889, marked the day when President Benjamin Harrison signed the proclamation declaring South Dakota as the 40th state in the U.S. The state was formed out of the Dakota Territory, which had existed since 1861.

3. World War II B-17 Crash (1943): On July 22, 1943, a B-17 bomber crashed in the Black Hills of South Dakota during a training exercise. All 10 crew members aboard died in the crash, which is now memorialized with a plaque near the site.

4. Mount Rushmore Completed (1941): Sculptor Gutzon Borglum completed the carving of Mount Rushmore on July 22, 1941, after more than 14 years of work. The monument features the faces of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.

5. Crazy Horse Memorial Begun (1948): On July 22, 1948, sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski began work on the Crazy Horse Memorial, a massive sculpture of the Lakota warrior that is still under construction in the Black Hills of South Dakota. When completed, it will be the largest mountain carving in the world.