On this day: December 22

Events on December 22

• 69 Vespasian is proclaimed Emperor of Rome; his predecessor, Vitellius, attempts to abdicate but is captured and killed at the Gemonian stairs. Wikipedia
• 401 Pope Innocent I began his papacy, succeeding Anastasius I. Wikipedia
• 856 An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.9 struck the eastern Alborz mountains in Persia, causing an estimated 200,000 deaths. Wikipedia
• 1807 In an effort to avoid engaging in the Napoleonic Wars, the United States Congress passed the Embargo Act, forbidding American ships from engaging in trade with foreign nations. Wikipedia
• 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 and Choral Fantasy. Wikipedia
• 1825 The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., burns. Wikipedia
• 1885 Itō Hirobumi, a samurai, becomes the first Prime Minister of Japan. Wikipedia
• 1894 The Dreyfus affair begins in France, when Alfred Dreyfus is wrongly convicted of treason. Wikipedia
• 1920 The Congress of Soviets approved the GOELRO plan, the first Soviet plan for national economic recovery and development. Wikipedia
• 1937 The Lincoln Tunnel, connecting New York City to Weehawken, New Jersey, opened. Wikipedia
• 1939 Members of the All-India Muslim League observed a "Day of Deliverance" to celebrate the resignations of members of the Indian National Congress over the decision to enter the Second World War at the request of the United Kingdom. Wikipedia
• 1942 World War II: Adolf Hitler signs the order to develop the V-2 rocket as a weapon. Wikipedia
• 1948 Chaired by Sjafruddin Prawiranegara, the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia was established to counter Dutch attempts to re-assert colonial control. Wikipedia
• 1971 The international aid organization Doctors Without Borders is founded by Bernard Kouchner and a group of journalists in Paris, France. Wikipedia
• 1978 The pivotal Third Plenum of the 11th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is held in Beijing, with Deng Xiaoping reversing Mao-era policies to pursue a program for the reform and opening up. Wikipedia
• 1984 While riding a New York City Subway train, Bernhard Goetz shot four African-American youths who had attempted to rob him, sparking a nationwide debate on vigilantism, racism, and the legal limits of self-defense. Wikipedia
• 1988 Brazilian unionist and environmental activist Chico Mendes was murdered at his home in Xapuri. Wikipedia
• 1989 German reunification: Berlin's Brandenburg Gate re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany. Wikipedia
• 1989 Romanian Revolution: Communist President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu is overthrown by Ion Iliescu after days of bloody confrontations. The deposed dictator and his wife Elena flee Bucharest in a helicopter as protesters erupt in cheers. Wikipedia
• 1997 Hussein Farrah Aidid relinquished the disputed title of President of Somalia. Wikipedia
• 2001 Burhanuddin Rabbani of the Northern Alliance handed over power in Afghanistan to the interim government headed by Hamid Karzai. Wikipedia
• 2001 Richard Reid unsuccessfully attempted to detonate a bomb in his shoe on a transatlantic flight from Paris to Miami. Wikipedia
• 2008 A dike ruptured at a waste containment area for a coal-fired power plant in Kingston, Tennessee, releasing 1.1 billion gallons (4.2 million m3) of coal fly ash slurry in the largest industrial spill in US history. Wikipedia
• 2010 The United States repealed its "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gay, lesbian and bisexual people in the military. Wikipedia
• 2014 The United States Copyright Office stated that works lacking human authorship, such as a photograph taken by a monkey, could not be registered for copyright in the United States. Wikipedia
• 2018 A tsunami, triggered by the partial collapse of Anak Krakatoa, killed 426 people and injured over 14,000 in coastal areas of Indonesia. Wikipedia

Born on December 22

• 244 Diocletian, Roman emperor (died 311) Wikipedia
• 1095 Roger II of Sicily (died 1154) Wikipedia
• 1183 Chagatai Khan, Mongol ruler (died 1242) Wikipedia
• 1639 Jean Racine, French poet and playwright (died 1699) Wikipedia
• 1666 Guru Gobind Singh, Indian guru and poet (died 1708) Wikipedia
• 1856 Frank B. Kellogg, American lawyer and politician, 45th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1937) Wikipedia
• 1858 Giacomo Puccini, Italian composer and educator (died 1924) Wikipedia
• 1876 Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Egyptian-Italian poet and composer (died 1944) Wikipedia
• 1887 Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician and theorist (died 1920) Wikipedia
• 1907 Peggy Ashcroft, English actress (died 1991) Wikipedia
• 1912 Lady Bird Johnson, American beautification activist; 38th First Lady of the United States (died 2007) Wikipedia
• 1955 Thomas C. Südhof, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia
• 1960 Jean-Michel Basquiat, American painter and poet (died 1988) Wikipedia
• 1962 Ralph Fiennes, English actor Wikipedia
• 1963 Giuseppe Bergomi, Italian footballer and coach Wikipedia
• 1970 Ted Cruz, Canadian-American lawyer and politician Wikipedia
• 1972 Vanessa Paradis, French singer-songwriter and actress Wikipedia
• 1984 Basshunter, Swedish singer, record producer and DJ Wikipedia
• 1989 Jordin Sparks, American singer-songwriter and actress Wikipedia
• 1993 Meghan Trainor, American singer-songwriter and producer Wikipedia
• 1993 Raphaël Guerreiro, Portuguese footballer Wikipedia
• 2000 Joshua Bassett, American actor and singer Wikipedia

Died on December 22

• 69 Vitellius, Roman emperor (born 15) Wikipedia
• 1419 Antipope John XXIII Wikipedia
• 1603 Mehmed III, Ottoman sultan (born 1566) Wikipedia
• 1828 William Hyde Wollaston, English chemist and physicist (born 1766) Wikipedia
• 1867 Jean-Victor Poncelet, French mathematician and engineer (born 1788) Wikipedia
• 1870 Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish journalist, poet, and playwright (born 1836) Wikipedia
• 1880 George Eliot, English novelist and poet (born 1819) Wikipedia
• 1942 Franz Boas, German-American anthropologist and linguist (born 1858) Wikipedia
• 1943 Beatrix Potter, English children's book writer and illustrator (born 1866) Wikipedia
• 1979 Darryl F. Zanuck, American director and producer (born 1902) Wikipedia
• 1989 Samuel Beckett, Irish author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1906) Wikipedia
• 1995 James Meade, English economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1907) Wikipedia
• 2014 Joe Cocker, English singer-songwriter (born 1944) Wikipedia
• 2025 Chris Rea, English singer-songwriter (born 1951) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Dongzhi Festival Wikipedia
• Armed Forces Day (Vietnam) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Anastasia of Sirmium (Orthodox Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Eimhin Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Ernan, Son of Eogan Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Frances Xavier Cabrini (outside US) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Hunger Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: O Rex Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Henry Budd (Episcopal Church (USA)) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Lottie Moon (Episcopal Church (USA)) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: December 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Mother's Day (Indonesia) Wikipedia
• National Mathematics Day (India) Wikipedia
• Teachers' Day (Cuba) Wikipedia
• Unity Day (Zimbabwe) Wikipedia

Sources

• Wikipedia — “December 22” — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
• Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/December 22” — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
• Wikidata — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
• vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “December 22” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for December 22 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.