December 22

December 22 is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are nine days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 69 – Emperor Vitellius is captured and murdered at the Gemonian stairs in Rome.
• 1769 – Sino-Burmese War (1765–1769) ends with an uneasy truce.
• 1790 – The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies.
• 1807 – The Embargo Act, forbidding trade with all foreign countries, is passed by the U.S. Congress, at the urging of President Thomas Jefferson.
• 1808 – Ludwig van Beethoven conducts and performs in concert at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, with the premiere of his Fifth Symphony, Sixth Symphony, Fourth Piano Concerto (performed by Beethoven himself) and Choral Fantasy (with Beethoven at the piano).
• 1851 – The first freight train is operated in Roorkee, India.
• 1864 – Savannah, Georgia falls to General William Tecumseh Sherman, concluding his "March to the Sea".
• 1885 – Ito Hirobumi, a samurai, became the first Prime Minister of Japan.
• 1890 – Cornwallis Valley Railway begins operation between Kingsport and Kentville, Nova Scotia.
• 1891 – Asteroid 323 Brucia becomes the first asteroid discovered using photography.
• 1894 – The Dreyfus affair begins in France, when Alfred Dreyfus is wrongly convicted of treason.
• 1920 – The GOELRO economic development plan is adopted by the 8th Congress of Soviets of the Russian SFSR.
• 1937 – The Lincoln Tunnel opens to traffic in New York City.
• 1939 – Indian Muslims observe a "Day of Deliverance" to celebrate the resignations of members of the Indian National Congress over their not having been consulted over the decision to enter World War II with Britain.
• 1940 – World War II: Himarë is captured by the Greek army.
• 1942 – World War II: Adolf Hitler signs the order to develop the V-2 rocket as a weapon.
• 1944 – World War II: Battle of the Bulge – German troops demand the surrender of United States troops at Bastogne, Belgium, prompting the famous one word reply by General Anthony McAuliffe: "Nuts!"
• 1944 – World War II: The People's Army of Vietnam is formed to resist Japanese occupation of Indo-China, now Vietnam.
• 1947 – The Constituent Assembly of Italy approves the Constitution of Italy.
• 1951 – The Selangor Labour Party is founded in Selangor, Malaya.
• 1956 – Colo, the first gorilla to be bred in captivity, is born at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio.
• 1963 – The cruise ship Lakonia burns 180 miles (290 km) north of Madeira with the loss of 128 lives.
• 1964 – The first test flight of the SR-71 (Blackbird) took place at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, Calif.
• 1965 – In the United Kingdom, a 70 mph speed limit is applied to all rural roads including motorways for the first time. Previously, there had been no speed limit.
• 1974 – Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli vote to become the independent nation of Comoros. Mayotte remains under French administration.
• 1974 – The house of former British Prime Minister Ted Heath is attacked by members of the Provisional IRA.
• 1978 – The pivotal Third Plenum of the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is held in Beijing, with Deng Xiaoping reversing Mao-era policies to pursue a program for Chinese economic reform.
• 1984 – Bernhard Hugo Goetz shoots four African-American would-be muggers on an express train in Manhattan, New York City.
• 1988 – Chico Mendes, a Brazilian rubber tapper, unionist and environmental activist, is assassinated.
• 1989 – After a week of bloody demonstrations, Ion Iliescu takes over as president of Romania, ending Nicolae Ceauşescu's Communist authoritarian regime.
• 1989 – Berlin's Brandenburg Gate re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany.
• 1990 – Final independence of Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia after termination of trusteeship.
• 1990 – The Parliament of Croatia adopts the current Constitution of Croatia.
• 1991 – Armed opposition groups launch a military coup against President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia.
• 1992 – The Archives of Terror are discovered.
• 1997 – Acteal massacre: Attendees at a prayer meeting of Roman Catholic activists for indigenous causes in the small village of Acteal in the Mexican state of Chiapas are massacred by paramilitary forces.
• 1997 – Hussein Aidid relinquishes the disputed title of President of Somalia by signing the Cairo Declaration, in Cairo, Egypt. It is the first major step towards reconciliation in Somalia since 1991.
• 1998 – Hurricane Quinto strikes the Cayman Islands, knocking out power to the entire island for 2 days. Looting is rampant, but contained after 12 hours.
• 1999 – Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509, a Boeing 747-200F crashes shortly after take-off from London Stansted Airport due to pilot error. All 4 crew members are killed.
• 2001 – Burhanuddin Rabbani, political leader of the Afghan Northern Alliance, hands over power in Afghanistan to the interim government headed by President Hamid Karzai.
• 2001 – Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63.
• 2008 – An ash dike ruptured at a solid waste containment area in Roane County, Tennessee, releasing 1.1 billion US gallons (4,200,000 m³) of coal fly ash slurry.
• 2010 – The repeal of the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, the 17-year-old policy banning on homosexuals serving openly in the United States military, is signed into law by President Barack Obama.

Births

• 244 – Diocletian, Roman Emperor (d. 311)
• 1095 – Roger II of Sicily, King of Sicily (d. 1154)
• 1178 – Emperor Antoku of Japan (d. 1185)
• 1546 – Kuroda Yoshitaka, Japanese Daimyo (d. 1604)
• 1550 – Cesare Cremonini, Italian philosopher (d. 1631)
• 1639 – Jean Racine, French dramatist (d. 1699)
• 1666 – Guru Gobind Singh, Sikh guru (d. 1708)
• 1690 – Meidingnu Pamheiba, King of Manipur (d. 1751)
• 1694 – Hermann Samuel Reimarus, German philosopher and writer (d. 1768)
• 1696 – James Oglethorpe, English general and founder of the state of Georgia (d. 1785)
• 1723 – Carl Friedrich Abel, German composer (d. 1787)
• 1765 – Johann Friedrich Pfaff, German mathematician (d. 1825)
• 1805 – John Obadiah Westwood, British entomologist (d. 1893)
• 1807 – Johann Sebastian Welhaven, Norwegian poet (d. 1873)
• 1819 – Franz Wilhelm Abt, German composer (d. 1870)
• 1819 – Pierre Ossian Bonnet, French mathematician (d. 1892)
• 1853 – Teresa Carreño, Venezuelan pianist (d. 1917)
• 1853 – Yevgraf Fyodorov, Russian mathematician (d. 1919)
• 1856 – Frank B. Kellogg, 45th U.S. Secretary of State, Nobel laureate (d. 1937)
• 1858 – Giacomo Puccini, Italian composer (d. 1924)
• 1860 – Austin Norman Palmer, American penmanship innovator (d. 1927)
• 1862 – Connie Mack, American baseball executive (d. 1956)
• 1869 – Edwin Arlington Robinson, American poet (d. 1935)
• 1869 – Dmitri Egorov, Russian mathematician (d. 1931)
• 1872 – Camille Guérin, French veterinarian and bacteriologist (d. 1961)
• 1874 – Franz Schmidt, Austrian composer (d. 1939)
• 1876 – Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Italian poet and editor (d. 1944)
• 1883 – Edgard Varèse French-born composer (d. 1965)
• 1885 – Deems Taylor American conductor and music critic (d. 1966)
• 1885 – Abe Manley, Negro League Baseball owner (d. 1952)
• 1887 – Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician (d. 1920)
• 1888 – J. Arthur Rank, British film producer (d. 1972)
• 1889 – Minor Watson, American actor d.1965
• 1892 – Herman Potočnik Noordung, Slovenian rocket engineer (d. 1929)
• 1898 – Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fock, Russian physicist (d. 1974)
• 1899 – Gustav Gründgens, German actor (d. 1963)
• 1900 – Marc Allégret, French film director and screenwriter (d. 1973)
• 1901 – André Kostelanetz, American popular music orchestra leader and arranger (d. 1980)
• 1903 – Haldan Keffer Hartline, American physiologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1983)
• 1905 – Kenneth Rexroth, American poet (d. 1982)
• 1905 – Pierre Brasseur, French actor (d. 1972)
• 1907 – Dame Peggy Ashcroft, English actress (d. 1991)
• 1909 – Patricia Hayes, English actress (d. 1998)
• 1912 – Lady Bird Johnson, First Lady of the United States (d. 2007)
• 1912 – Elias Degiannis, Greek navy officer and Resistance fighter (d. 1943)
• 1914 – Swami Satchidananda, Yogi and Spiritual teacher (d. 2002)
• 1915 – Barbara Billingsley, American actress (d. 2010)
• 1917 – Gene Rayburn, American game show host (d. 1999)
• 1919 – Lil Green, American Blues Singer (d. 1954)
• 1921 – Dimitri Fampas, Greek classical guitarist (d. 1996)
• 1921 – Hawkshaw Hawkins, American country singer (d. 1963)
• 1922 – Jack Brooks, American politician
• 1922 – Ruth Roman, American actress (d. 1999)
• 1924 – Frank Corsaro, American stage director
• 1925 – Lewis Glucksman, American financier (d. 2006)
• 1934 – David Pearson, American racecar driver
• 1936 – James Burke, British writer
• 1936 – Hector Elizondo, American actor
• 1936 – Wojciech Frykowski, Polish actor (d. 1969)
• 1937 – Eduard Uspensky, Russian writer
• 1938 – Matty Alou, Dominican baseball player
• 1938 – Lucien Bouchard, Canadian politician
• 1939 – James Gurley, American musician (d. 2009)
• 1940 – Luis Francisco Cuéllar, Colombian politician (d. 2009)
• 1942 – Dick Parry, English saxophonist
• 1943 – Stefan Janos, Slovak-Swiss physicist
• 1943 – Paul Wolfowitz, American politician
• 1944 – Steve Carlton, American baseball player
• 1944 – Guido De Angelis, Italian musician
• 1945 – Diane Sawyer, American journalist
• 1946 – Rick Nielsen, American musician (Cheap Trick)
• 1947 – Brian Daley, American science-fiction writer (d. 1996)
• 1948 – Noel Edmonds, English game show host
• 1948 – Steve Garvey, American baseball player
• 1948 – Flip Mark, American actor
• 1948 – Chris Old, English cricketer
• 1948 – Lynne Thigpen, American actress (d. 2003)
• 1949 – Maurice Gibb, English musician (The Bee Gees) (d. 2003)
• 1949 – Robin Gibb, English musician (The Bee Gees)
• 1951 – Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, Duke of Westminster
• 1951 – Dan Martin, American voice actor
• 1953 – Bern Nadette Stanis, actress
• 1953 – Ian Turnbull, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1954 – Hideshi Matsuda, Japanese racing driver
• 1955 – Lonnie Smith, American baseball player
• 1957 – Carole James, Canadian politician
• 1958 – Frank Gambale, Australian musician
• 1958 – David Heavener, American actor and musician
• 1959 – Bernd Schuster, German footballer
• 1960 – Wakin Chau, Chinese singer
• 1960 – Jean-Michel Basquiat, American artist (d. 1988)
• 1960 – Mark Brydon, British musician (Moloko)
• 1960 – Luther Campbell (Luke), American rap artist (2 Live Crew)
• 1960 – Patrick Fitzgerald, American attorney
• 1961 – Andrew Fastow, American businessman
• 1962 – Ralph Fiennes, English actor
• 1963 – Giuseppe Bergomi, Italian footballer
• 1963 – Luna H. Mitani, Japanese American surrealism painter
• 1963 – Brian McMillan, South African cricketer
• 1966 – Dmitry Bilozerchev, Soviet gymnast
• 1966 – Marcel "Schmier" Schirmer, German singer and bassplayer (Destruction)
• 1967 – Dan Petrescu, Romanian footballer
• 1967 – Richey James Edwards, Welsh musician (Manic Street Preachers) (disappeared in 1995)
• 1967 – Stéphane Gendron, Quebec politician
• 1967 – Paul Morris, Australian racing driver
• 1968 – Dina Meyer, American actress
• 1968 – Lauralee Bell, American actress
• 1969 – Myriam Bédard, Canadian athlete
• 1969 – Greg Biffle, American racecar driver
• 1970 – Gary Anderson, Scottish darts player
• 1971 – Pat Mastroianni, Canadian actor
• 1972 – Big Tigger, television host
• 1972 – Vanessa Paradis, French singer
• 1974 – Heather Donahue, American actress
• 1975 – Chris Adler, American actor
• 1975 – Dmitri Khokhlov, Russian footballer
• 1975 – Stanislav Neckář, Czech ice hockey player
• 1975 – Sergei Aschwanden, Swiss judoka
• 1976 – Katleen De Caluwé, Belgian athlete
• 1976 – Jason Lane, American baseball player
• 1977 – Steve Kariya, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1978 – Joanne Kelly, Canadian Actress
• 1978 – Emmanuel Olisadebe, Nigerian/Polish footballer
• 1979 – Jamie Langfield, Scottish football player
• 1980 – Chris Carmack, American actor
• 1982 – Brooke Nevin, Canadian actress
• 1983 – Drew Hankinson, American professional wrestler
• 1983 – Jennifer Hawkins, Australian beauty pageant contestant
• 1984 – Basshunter, Swedish singer
• 1986 – Dennis Armfield, Australian rules footballer
• 1986 – Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Nigerian terrorist suspect
• 1987 – Éderzito António Macedo Lopes, Guinea-Bissauan footballer
• 1988 – Leigh Halfpenny, Welsh rugby player
• 1989 – Logan Huffman, American actor
• 1989 – Jordin Sparks, American singer
• 1989 – Jharal Yow Yeh, professional rugby league player
• 1990 – Jean-Baptiste Maunier, French actor and singer
• 1993 – Ali Lohan, American singer
• 1996 – Makisig Morales, Filipino child actor
• 1998 – G. Hannelius, American child actress

Deaths

• 69 – Vitellius (b. 15)
• 1100 – Duke Bretislaus II of Bohemia
• 1550 – Richard Plantagenet, British bricklayer and claimant to the House of Plantagenet
• 1603 – Mehmed III of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1566)
• 1646 – Petru Movilă, Moldavian religious figure (b. 1596)
• 1660 – André Tacquet, Flemish mathematician (b. 1612)
• 1681 – Richard Alleine, English Puritan clergyman (b. 1611)
• 1708 – Hedwig Sophia, duchess of Holstein-Gottorp, Swedish writer (b. 1681)
• 1738 – Constantia Jones, British prostitute (b. c. 1708)
• 1767 – John Newbery, English publisher (b. 1713)
• 1788 – Percivall Pott, English physician and surgeon (b. 1714)
• 1806 – William Vernon, American merchant (b. 1719)
• 1828 – William Hyde Wollaston, English chemist (b. 1766)
• 1867 – Jean-Victor Poncelet, French mathematician (b. 1788)
• 1870 – Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish poet and writer (b. 1836)
• 1880 – George Eliot, English writer (b. 1819)
• 1899 – Dwight L. Moody, American evangelist (b. 1837)
• 1902 – Richard von Krafft-Ebing, German psychiatrist (b. 1840)
• 1917 – Saint Francesca Xavier Cabrini, American Catholic saint (b. 1850)
• 1918 – Aristeidis Moraitinis, pioneer Greek military aviator (b. 1891)
• 1939 – Ma Rainey, American singer (b. 1886)
• 1940 – Nathanael West, American writer (b. 1903)
• 1942 – Franz Boas, German anthropologist (b. 1858)
• 1943 – Beatrix Potter, English writer (b. 1866)
• 1944 – Harry Langdon, American film actor (b. 1884)
• 1944 – Eleni Papadaki, Greek actress (b. 1903)
• 1959 – Gilda Gray, Polish-born American dancer and actress (b. 1901)
• 1960 – Ninian Comper, Scottish architect (b. 1864)
• 1965 – Richard Dimbleby, English journalist and broadcaster (b. 1913)
• 1968 – Raymond Gram Swing, American journalist and broadcaster (b. 1887)
• 1971 – Godfried Bomans, Dutch author and television personality (b. 1913)
• 1974 – Sterling North, American author (b. 1906)
• 1979 – Darryl F. Zanuck, American producer (b. 1902)
• 1985 – D. Boon, American singer and guitarist (The Minutemen) (b. 1958)
• 1986 – Ida Cook (aka Mary Burchell), British heroine and novelist (b. 1904)
• 1987 – Luca Prodan, Italian-Scottish singer (Sumo) (b. 1953)
• 1988 – Chico Mendes, Brazilian rubber tapper and environmental activist (b. 1944)
• 1989 – Samuel Beckett, Irish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
• 1992 – Frederick Franz, Watchtower president (b. 1893)
• 1992 – Harry Bluestone, Film music Composer (b. 1907)
• 1995 – Butterfly McQueen, American actress (b. 1911)
• 1995 – James Meade, English economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner (b. 1907)
• 1997 – Sebastian Arcos Bergnes, Cuban dissident (b. 1931)
• 2001 – Ovidiu Iacov, Romanian footballer (b. 1981)
• 2002 – Desmond Hoyte, Guyanan politician (b. 1929)
• 2002 – Joe Strummer, English musician (The Clash) (b. 1952)
• 2003 – Dave Dudley, American singer (b. 1928)
• 2004 – Doug Ault, American baseball player (b. 1950)
• 2006 – Elena Mukhina, Russian gymnast (b. 1960)
• 2006 – Galina Ustvolskaya, Russian composer (b. 1919)
• 2006 – Dennis Linde, American songwriter (b. 1943)
• 2007 – Adrian Cristobal, Filipino writer (b. 1932)
• 2009 – Albert Scanlon, English footballer (b. 1935)
• 2009 – Luis Francisco Cuéllar, Colombian politician (b. 1940)
• 2009 – Christos Lambrakis, Greek businessman, owner of the Lambrakis Press Group (b. 1934)
• 2010 – Fred Foy, American radio and television announcer (b. 1921)

Holidays and observances

• Armed Forces Day (Vietnam)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Anastasia of Sirmium (Orthodox church)
  • Frances Xavier Cabrini
  • O Rex
  • December 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Mother's Day (Indonesia)
• Unity Day (Zimbabwe)
• Winter solstice related observance (see December 21):
  • Dongzhi Festival (East Asia)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: December 22

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada