22 December

December 22 is the 356th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; nine days remain until the end of the year.

We have some interesting facts & historic events all about December 22^nd, including areas in religion, crime, health and more.

Keep reading for more interesting facts about December 22^nd in history!

Table of Contents

1. Global Celebrations
2. Historic Events
3. Famous Birthdays
4. Heartbreaking Deaths

Global Celebrations

• Forefathers Day
• National Date Nut Bread Day

Historic Events

What Happened On This Day – December 22

2010: Don’t ask don’t tell was repealed

President Obama signed the repeal of the don’t ask, don’t tell policy that governed the recruitment and service of LGBTQ members in the United States military. The policy was put in place by the Clinton Administration in 1994.

1989: Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu overthrown

The Communist President was ousted after widespread demonstrations in the country. Ceaușescu and his wife Elena tried to flee the country, but were captured, tried and executed by a firing squad. The Romanian Revolution was the only violent overthrow of a communist government in the 1980s.

1937: Lincoln Tunnel opens

The 1.5-mile-long (2.4 km) long tunnel passes under the Hudson River and connects New Jersey to New York City.

1891: First asteroid discovered through astrophotography

323 Brucia was discovered by Max Wolf and was named after Catherine Wolfe Bruce, an American patron of astronomy.

1882: First Christmas tree to be illuminated by electric lights displayed

Edward H. Johnson, an associate of inventor Thomas Edison and the Vice President of the Edison Electric Light Company, became the first person to decorate a Christmas tree with electric lights at his home in New York City.

Famous Birthdays

Births On This Day, December 22

1989: Jordin Sparks, American singer-songwriter, actress

1943: Paul Wolfowitz, American politician, 25th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense

1912: Lady Bird Johnson, American wife of Lyndon B. Johnson, 38th First Lady of the United States

1887: Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician

1666: Guru Gobind Singh, Indian guru

Heartbreaking Deaths

Deaths On This Day, December 22

2014: Joe Cocker, English singer-songwriter

2002: Joe Strummer, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor

1989: Samuel Beckett, Irish/French author, playwright, director, Nobel Prize laureate

1942: Franz Boas, German anthropologist

1880: George Eliot, English author