December 22 in History

Historical Events on December 22

AD 69

Emperor Vitellius is captured and murdered at the Gemonian stairs in Rome.
401

Pope Innocent I is elected.
609

Muhammad claims to receive his first revelation.
856

Damghan earthquake: An earthquake near the Persian city of Damghan kills an estimated 200,000 people, the sixth deadliest earthquake in recorded history.
880

Luoyang, eastern capital of the Tang dynasty, is captured by rebel leader Huang Chao during the reign of Emperor Xizong.
1135

Stephen of Blois becomes King of England
1216

Pope Honorius III approves the Dominican Order through the papal bull of confirmation Religiosam vitam.
1622

Bucaramanga, Colombia is founded.
1769

Sino-Burmese War: The war ends with an uneasy truce.
1788

Nguyễn Huệ proclaims himself Emperor Quang Trung, in effect abolishing on his own the Lê dynasty.
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 the forces of General Sherman.
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.
1921

Opening of Visva-Bharati College, also known as Santiniketan College, now Visva Bharati University, India.
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 the United Kingdom.
1940

World War II: Himara 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.
1948

Sjafruddin Prawiranegara established the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia (Pemerintah Darurat Republik Indonesia, PDRI) in West Sumatra.
1951

The Selangor Labour Party is founded in Selangor, Malaya.
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.
1968

Cultural Revolution: People's Daily posted the instructions of Mao Zedong that "The intellectual youth must go to the country, and will be educated from living in rural poverty."
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 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.
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 in 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

Lech Wałęsa is elected President of Poland.
1990

Final independence of Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia after termination of trusteeship.
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.
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.
2016

Syrian government forces retake control of the besieged areas of Aleppo.

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