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. In the Northern Hemisphere, meteorological Winter frequently starts on this date. In the Southern Hemisphere, meteorological Summer frequently starts on this date.

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 Alexander 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 – India's first freight train is operated in Roorkee, India.
• 1864 – Savannah, Georgia falls to General William Tecumseh Sherman, concluding his "March to the Sea".
• 1885 – Itō Hirobumi, a samurai, became the first Prime Minister of Japan.
• 1890 – Cornwallis Valley Railway begins operation between Kentville and Kingsport, 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, New York.
• 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 the United Kingdom.
• 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 Vietnam People's Army is formed to resist Japanese occupation of Indochina, 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 and Aquarium in Ohio.
• 1963 – The cruise ship Lakonia burns 180 miles (290 km) north of Madeira, Portugal 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, California.
• 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 Edward 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 Goetz shoots four African American would-be muggers on an express train in Manhattan section of New York, New York.
• 1987 – In Zimbabwe, the political parties ZANU and ZAPU reach an agreement that ends the violence in the Matabeleland region known as the Gukurahundi.
• 1988 – Chico Mendes, a Brazilian rubber tapper, unionist and environmental activist, is assassinated.
• 1989 – Communist President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu is overthrown by Ion Iliescu after days of bloody confrontations. The deposed dictator and his wife flee Bucharest with a helicopter as protesters erupt in cheers.
• 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 Farrah 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 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 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 (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 playwright (d. 1699)
• 1666 – Guru Gobind Singh, Indian guru (d. 1708)
• 1694 – Hermann Samuel Reimarus, German philosopher (d. 1768)
• 1696 – James Oglethorpe, English general, founded the Province of Georgia (d. 1785)
• 1723 – Carl Friedrich Abel, German composer (d. 1787)
• 1765 – Johann Friedrich Pfaff, German mathematician (d. 1825)
• 1805 – John Obadiah Westwood, English entomologist and archaeologist (d. 1893)
• 1807 – Johan Sebastian Welhaven, Norwegian poet (d. 1873)
• 1819 – Franz Abt, German composer (d. 1870)
• 1819 – Pierre Ossian Bonnet, French mathematician (d. 1892)
• 1853 – Teresa Carreño, Venezuelan singer, composer, and pianist (d. 1917)
• 1853 – Yevgraf Fyodorov, Russian mathematician (d. 1919)
• 1853 – Sarada Devi, Indian philosopher (d. 1920)
• 1856 – Frank B. Kellogg, American politician, 45th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1937)
• 1858 – Giacomo Puccini, Italian composer (d. 1924)
• 1860 – Austin Norman Palmer, American developer of the Palmer Method (d. 1927)
• 1862 – Connie Mack, American baseball player and manager (d. 1956)
• 1865 – Charles Sands, American golfer and tennis player (d. 1945)
• 1869 – Dmitri Egorov, Russian mathematician (d. 1931)
• 1869 – Edwin Arlington Robinson, American poet (d. 1935)
• 1872 – Camille Guérin, French veterinarian and bacteriologist (d. 1961)
• 1874 – Franz Schmidt, Austrian composer (d. 1939)
• 1876 – Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Italian poet (d. 1944)
• 1878 – Myer Prinstein, Polish-American jumper (d. 1925)
• 1883 – Marcus Hurley, American cyclist (d. 1941)
• 1883 – Edgard Varèse French-American composer (d. 1965)
• 1885 – Deems Taylor American conductor and critic (d. 1966)
• 1885 – Abe Manley, American businessman (d. 1952)
• 1887 – Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician (d. 1920)
• 1888 – J. Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank, English businessman, founded Rank Organisation (d. 1972)
• 1889 – Minor Watson, American actor (d. 1965)
• 1892 – Herman Potočnik, Croatian engineer (d. 1929)
• 1898 – Vladimir Fock, Russian physicist (d. 1974)
• 1899 – Gustaf Gründgens, German actor (d. 1963)
• 1900 – Marc Allégret, French director and screenwriter (d. 1973)
• 1901 – Andre Kostelanetz, American orchestra leader (d. 1980)
• 1903 – Haldan Keffer Hartline, American physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1983)
• 1905 – Kenneth Rexroth, American poet (d. 1982)
• 1905 – Pierre Brasseur, French actor (d. 1972)
• 1907 – Peggy Ashcroft, English actress (d. 1991)
• 1909 – Patricia Hayes, English actress (d. 1998)
• 1912 – Elias Degiannis, Greek navy officer (d. 1943)
• 1912 – Lady Bird Johnson, American wife of Lyndon B. Johnson, 38th First Lady of the United States (d. 2007)
• 1914 – Satchidananda Saraswati, Indian-American guru (d. 2002)
• 1915 – Barbara Billingsley, American actress (d. 2010)
• 1917 – Gene Rayburn, American game show host (d. 1999)
• 1919 – Lil Green, American singer-songwriter (d. 1954)
• 1921 – Dimitri Fampas, Greek guitarist (d. 1996)
• 1921 – Hawkshaw Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1963)
• 1921 – Reinhold Stecher, Austrian bishop (d. 2013)
• 1922 – Mike Banks, English mountaineer (d. 2013)
• 1922 – Jack Brooks, American politician (d. 2012)
• 1922 – Ruth Roman, American actress (d. 1999)
• 1924 – Frank Corsaro, American director
• 1925 – Lewis Glucksman, American financier (d. 2006)
• 1931 – Carlos Graça, São Toméan politician, Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe (d. 2013)
• 1934 – David Pearson, American race car driver
• 1935 – Paulo Rocha, Portuguese director and screenwriter (d. 2012)
• 1936 – James Burke, Irish author and broadcaster
• 1936 – Héctor Elizondo, American actor
• 1936 – Wojciech Frykowski, Polish actor (d. 1969)
• 1937 – Charlotte Lamb, English author (d. 2000)
• 1937 – Eduard Uspensky, Russian author
• 1938 – Matty Alou, Dominican baseball player
• 1938 – Lucien Bouchard, Canadian politician, 27th Premier of Quebec
• 1939 – James Gurley, American guitarist (Big Brother and the Holding Company) (d. 2009)
• 1940 – Luis Francisco Cuéllar, Colombian politician (d. 2009)
• 1942 – Jerry Koosman, American baseball player
• 1942 – Dick Parry, English saxophonist (Jokers Wild)
• 1943 – Stefan Janos, Slovak-Swiss physicist
• 1943 – Paul Wolfowitz, American politician, 25th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
• 1944 – Steve Carlton, American baseball player
• 1944 – Guido de Angelis, Italian singer (Guido & Maurizio De Angelis)
• 1944 – Barry Jenkins, English drummer (The Animals)
• 1945 – Diane Sawyer, American journalist
• 1946 – Rick Nielsen, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Cheap Trick)
• 1947 – Brian Daley, American author (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 singer-songwriter bass player and producer (Bee Gees and The Bloomfields) (d. 2003)
• 1949 – Robin Gibb, English singer-songwriter and producer (Bee Gees) (d. 2012)
• 1951 – Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, Irish businessman
• 1951 – Dan Martin, American voice actor
• 1953 – Bern Nadette Stanis, American actress
• 1953 – Ian Turnbull, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1953 – Tom Underwood, American baseball player (d. 2010)
• 1954 – Hideshi Matsuda, Japanese race car driver
• 1955 – Lonnie Smith, American baseball player
• 1957 – Carole James, Canadian politician
• 1957 – Susan Powter, Australian author and motivational speaker
• 1958 – Frank Gambale, Australian guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Chick Corea Elektric Band, Return to Forever, and Vital Information)
• 1958 – David Heavener, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director
• 1959 – Bernd Schuster, German footballer
• 1960 – Jean-Michel Basquiat, American painter and poet (d. 1988)
• 1960 – Mark Brydon, English guitarist, composer, and producer (Moloko, Chakk, and Krush)
• 1960 – Luther Campbell, American rapper (2 Live Crew)
• 1960 – Wakin Chau, Hong Kong-Taiwanese singer and actor (Superband)
• 1960 – Patrick Fitzgerald, American lawyer
• 1961 – Andrew Fastow, American businessman
• 1961 – Yuri Malenchenko, Russian astronaut
• 1962 – Ralph Fiennes, English actor
• 1963 – Giuseppe Bergomi, Italian footballer
• 1963 – Luna H. Mitani, Japanese American painter
• 1963 – Brian McMillan, South African cricketer
• 1966 – Dmitry Bilozerchev, Soviet gymnast
• 1966 – Marcel Schirmer, German singer and bass player (Destruction)
• 1967 – Richey Edwards, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist (Manic Street Preachers) (d. 1995)
• 1967 – Stéphane Gendron, Canadian politician
• 1967 – Paul Morris, Australian race car driver
• 1967 – Dan Petrescu, Romanian footballer and manager
• 1968 – Lauralee Bell, American actress
• 1968 – Luis Hernández, Mexican footballer
• 1968 – Dina Meyer, American actress
• 1969 – Myriam Bédard, Canadian biathlete
• 1969 – Greg Biffle, American race car driver
• 1970 – Gary Anderson, Scottish darts player
• 1971 – Pat Mastroianni, Canadian actor
• 1972 – Big Tigger, American radio and television host
• 1972 – Kirk Maltby, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1972 – Vanessa Paradis, French singer and actress
• 1974 – Michael Barron, English footballer and coach
• 1974 – Heather Donahue, American actress
• 1975 – Chris Adler, American actor
• 1975 – Sergei Aschwanden, Swiss martial artist
• 1975 – Dmitri Khokhlov, Russian footballer
• 1975 – Stanislav Neckář, Czech ice hockey player
• 1976 – Katleen De Caluwé, Belgian sprinter
• 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 footballer
• 1980 – Chris Carmack, American actor
• 1982 – Brooke Nevin, Canadian actress
• 1983 – Jennifer Hawkins, Australian model, Miss Universe 2004
• 1983 – Drew Hankinson, American wrestler
• 1984 – Basshunter, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
• 1986 – Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, Nigerian terrorist
• 1986 – Dennis Armfield, Australian footballer
• 1987 – Éderzito António Macedo Lopes, Guinea-Bissauan footballer
• 1988 – Leigh Halfpenny, Welsh rugby player
• 1989 – Logan Huffman, American actor
• 1989 – Jordin Sparks, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1989 – Jharal Yow Yeh, Australian rugby player
• 1990 – Jean-Baptiste Maunier, French actor and singer
• 1990 – Josef Newgarden American race car driver
• 1992 – Michaela Hončová, Slovak tennis player
• 1993 – Ali Lohan, American singer and actress
• 1996 – Makisig Morales, Filipino singer and actor (Mak and the Dudes)
• 1998 – G. Hannelius, American actress and singer

Deaths

• 69 – Vitellius, Roman emperor (b. 15)
• 1100 – Bretislaus II, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1060)
• 1550 – Richard Plantagenet, English bricklayer (b. 1469)
• 1603 – Mehmed III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1566)
• 1646 – Peter Mogila, Moldavian bishop (b. 1596)
• 1660 – André Tacquet, Flemish mathematician (b. 1612)
• 1681 – Richard Alleine, English clergyman (b. 1611)
• 1708 – Hedvig Sophia of Sweden (b. 1681)
• 1738 – Constantia Jones, English prostitute (b. 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 (b. 1836)
• 1880 – George Eliot, English author and journalist (b. 1819)
• 1899 – Dwight L. Moody, American evangelist and publisher, founded Moody Publishers (b. 1837)
• 1902 – Richard von Krafft-Ebing, German psychiatrist (b. 1840)
• 1917 – Frances Xavier Cabrini, Austrian-American saint (b. 1850)
• 1918 – Aristeidis Moraitinis, Greek aviator (b. 1891)
• 1919 – Hermann Weingärtner, German gymnast (b. 1864)
• 1939 – Ma Rainey, American singer (b. 1886)
• 1940 – Nathanael West, American author and screenwriter (b. 1903)
• 1942 – Franz Boas, German anthropologist (b. 1858)
• 1943 – Beatrix Potter, English author and illustrator (b. 1866)
• 1944 – Harry Langdon, American actor (b. 1884)
• 1944 – Eleni Papadaki, Greek actress (b. 1903)
• 1950 – Frederick Freake, English polo player (b. 1876)
• 1955 – Jules De Bisschop, Belgian rower (b. 1879)
• 1955 – Otto Eppers, American illustrator (b. 1893)
• 1959 – Gilda Gray, Polish-American dancer and actress (b. 1901)
• 1960 – Ninian Comper, Scottish architect (b. 1864)
• 1963 – Giovanni Giorgio Trissino, Italian horse rider (b. 1877)
• 1965 – Richard Dimbleby, English journalist and broadcaster (b. 1913)
• 1968 – Raymond Gram Swing, American journalist and broadcaster (b. 1887)
• 1971 – Godfried Bomans, Dutch author (b. 1913)
• 1974 – Sterling North, American author (b. 1906)
• 1979 – Darryl F. Zanuck, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1902)
• 1985 – D. Boon, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The Minutemen and The Reactionaries) (b. 1958)
• 1986 – Mary Burchell, English author and activist (b. 1904)
• 1987 – Luca Prodan, Italian-Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Sumo) (b. 1953)
• 1988 – Chico Mendes, Brazilian activist (b. 1944)
• 1989 – Samuel Beckett, Irish author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
• 1992 – Harry Bluestone, English violinist and composer (b. 1907)
• 1992 – Frederick William Franz, American religious leader (b. 1893)
• 1995 – Butterfly McQueen, American actress and dancer (b. 1911)
• 1995 – James Meade, English economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
• 1996 – Jack Hamm, American cartoonist (b. 1916)
• 1997 – Sebastian Arcos Bergnes, Cuban activist (b. 1931)
• 2001 – Ovidiu Iacov, Romanian footballer (b. 1981)
• 2002 – Desmond Hoyte, Guyanan politician, 3rd President of Guyana (b. 1929)
• 2002 – Joe Strummer, English singer-songwriter and actor (The Clash, The Mescaleros, and The Pogues) (b. 1952)
• 2003 – Dave Dudley, American singer (b. 1928)
• 2004 – Doug Ault, American baseball player (b. 1950)
• 2006 – Dennis Linde, American singer-songwriter (b. 1943)
• 2006 – Elena Mukhina, Russian gymnast (b. 1960)
• 2006 – Galina Ustvolskaya, Russian composer (b. 1919)
• 2007 – Adrian Cristobal, Filipino journalist and playwright (b. 1932)
• 2009 – Luis Francisco Cuéllar, Colombian politician (b. 1940)
• 2009 – Albert Scanlon, English footballer (b. 1935)
• 2010 – Fred Foy, American radio and television announcer (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Mariam Amash, Ottoman-Israeli super-centenarian (b. 1888)
• 2012 – Bashir Ahmad Bilour, Pakistani politician (b. 1943)
• 2012 – Chuck Cherundolo, American football player and coach (b. 1916)
• 2012 – Ryan Freel, American baseball player (b. 1976)
• 2012 – Emidio Greco, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1938)
• 2012 – Rip Hawk, American wrestler (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Květa Legátová, Czech author (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Bill Leger, American journalist (b. 1964)
• 2012 – Bill McBride, American lawyer and politician (b. 1945)
• 2012 – Cliff Osmond, American actor (b. 1937)
• 2012 – Robert Pew, American businessman (b. 1923)
• 2012 – Bolesław Proch, Polish motorcycle racer (b. 1952)
• 2012 – Arthur Quinlan, Irish journalist (b. 1923)
• 2012 – Mike Scaccia, American guitarist (Ministry, Rigor Mortis, Lard, and League of Blind Women) (b. 1965)
• 2012 – Arkady Vorobyov, Russian weightlifter (b. 1924)
• 2012 – Marva Whitney, American singer (b. 1944)
• 2012 – Lim Keng Yaik, Malaysian politician (b. 1939)

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)
• National Mathematics Day (India)
• Unity Day (Zimbabwe)
• Winter solstice related observance (see December 21):
  • Dongzhi Festival (East Asia)

External links

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

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