Events
of the day
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 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 Hugo Goetz
shoots four African-American
would-be muggers on an express
train in Manhattan, New York
City.
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 – 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.
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)
For details, contact Datacentre
