On May 22, 1925, Jean Tinguely was born. He was a Swiss sculptor known for his kinetic art, which critiqued automation and consumerism. He grew up in Basel and studied at the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule. See wikipedia for more information.

On May 22, 1938, Jacob Wackernagel died. He was a prominent Swiss linguist and Indo-Europeanist born in Basel. He studied and later taught at the University of Basel, where he succeeded Friedrich Nietzsche as Professor of Greek. See wikipedia for more information.