On this day: December 22nd
Credit/Source: Wikipedia
AD 69 Vespasian is proclaimed Roman emperor; his predecessor, Vitellius, attempts to abdicate but is captured and killed at the Gemonian stairs.
401 Pope Innocent I is elected, the only pope to succeed his father in the office.
856 856 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 of Tang.
1135 Three weeks after the death of King Henry I of England, Stephen, King of England claims the throne and is privately crowned Monarchy of the United Kingdom, beginning the The Anarchy.
1216 Pope Honorius III approves the Dominican Order through the papal bull of confirmation Religiosam vitam.
1489 The forces of the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, take control of Almería from the Nasrid dynasty ruler of Emirate of Granada, Muhammad XIII, Sultan of Granada.
1769 Sino-Burmese War (1765–69): The war ends with the Qing dynasty withdrawing from Burma forever.
1788 Nguyễn Huệ proclaims himself Emperor Quang Trung, in effect abolishing on his own the Lê dynasty.
1790 The Turkish fortress of Izmail is Siege of Izmail by Alexander Suvorov and his Russian armies.
1807 The Embargo Act of 1807, forbidding trade with all foreign countries, is passed by the United States Congress at the urging of President of the United States Thomas Jefferson.
1808 Ludwig van Beethoven conducts and performs in Beethoven concert of 22 December 1808, Vienna, with the premiere of his Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven), Symphony No. 6 (Beethoven), Piano Concerto No. 4 (Beethoven) and ''Choral Fantasy (Beethoven)''.
1851 India's first freight train is operated in Roorkee, to transport material for the construction of the Ganges Canal.
1851 The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., burns.
1864 American Civil War: Savannah, Georgia, falls to the Union (American Civil War) Army of the Tennessee, and General William Tecumseh Sherman tells President Abraham Lincoln: "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah".
1885 Itō Hirobumi, a samurai, becomes the first Prime Minister of Japan.
1888 The Christmas Meeting of 1888, considered to be the official start of the Faroese independence movement.
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.
1906 An 1906 Manasi earthquake, China, killing at least 280.
1920 The GOELRO is adopted by the 8th All-Russian Congress of Soviets.
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 Islam in India observe a "Day of Deliverance (India)" 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: Nazi Germany 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 French Indochina, now Vietnam.
1945 U.S. President Harry S. Truman issues an executive order giving World War II evacuation and expulsion precedence in visa applications under U.S. immigration quotas.
1948 Sjafruddin Prawiranegara established the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia (''Pemerintah Darurat Republik Indonesia'', PDRI) in West Sumatra.
1963 The cruise ship ''TSMS Lakonia'' burns north of Madeira, Portugal with the loss of 128 lives.
1964 The first test flight of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (Blackbird) takes place at United States Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, United States.
1965 In the United Kingdom, a speed limit is applied to all rural roads including Controlled-access highways for the first time.
1968 Cultural Revolution: ''People's Daily'' posted the instructions of Mao Zedong that "Sent-down youth must go to the country, and will be educated from living in rural poverty."
1971 The international aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières is founded by Bernard Kouchner and a group of journalists in Paris, France.
1973 A Royal Air Maroc Sud Aviation Caravelle 1973 Royal Air Maroc Sud Aviation Caravelle crash near Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport in Tangier, Morocco, killing 106.
1974 Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli 1974 Comorian independence referendum 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 Irish Republican Army.
1975 U.S. President Gerald Ford creates the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (United States) in response to the 1970s energy crisis.
1978 The pivotal Third Plenum of the 11th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is held in Beijing, with Deng Xiaoping reversing Mao Zedong-era policies to pursue a program for Chinese economic reform.
1984 "Subway vigilante" Bernhard Goetz shoots four would-be muggers on a 2 (New York City Subway service) express train in Manhattan section of New York, United States.
1987 In Zimbabwe, the political parties Zimbabwe African National Union and Zimbabwe African People's Union reach an agreement that ends the violence in the Matabeleland region known as the Gukurahundi.
1989 Romanian Revolution: Communism 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.
1989 German reunification: Berlin's Brandenburg Gate re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East Germany and West Germany.
1990 Lech Wałęsa is 1990 Polish presidential election President of Poland.
1990 Final independence of Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia after termination of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.
1992 During approach to Tripoli International Airport, a Boeing 727 operating as Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 1103 collides in mid-air with a Libyan Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23, killing 157 people.
1996 Airborne Express Flight 827 crashes in Narrows, Virginia, killing all six people on board.
1997 Acteal massacre: Attendees at a prayer meeting of Catholic Church activists for Indigenous peoples of the Americas causes in the small village of Acteal in the Mexican state of Chiapas are wikt:massacre by paramilitary forces.
1997 Somali Civil War: Hussein Farrah Aidid relinquishes the disputed title of President of Somalia by signing the Attempts at reconciliation in Somalia (1991–2004) # 1997 Cairo Peace Conference / Cairo Declaration, in Cairo, Egypt. It is the first major step towards Attempts at reconciliation in Somalia (1991–2004) since 1991.
1999 Just after taking off from London Stansted Airport, Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509 crashes into Hatfield Forest near Great Hallingbury, killing all four people on board.
2001 Burhanuddin Rabbani, political leader of the Northern Alliance, hands over power in Islamic State of Afghanistan to the interim government headed by President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai.
2001 Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard 2001 failed shoe bomb attempt.
2008 An ash dike Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill at a solid waste containment area for a Tennessee Valley Authority Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane County, Tennessee, releasing of coal fly ash slurry in the largest industrial spill in U.S. history.
2010 The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 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.
2012 Bashir Ahmad Bilour of Awami National Party and eight others are killed in a Pakistan Taliban bomber suicide attack in Dhaki Nalbandi area near Qissa Khwani Bazaar.
2016 A study finds the VSV-EBOV vaccine against the Ebola virus between 70 and 100% effective, thus making it the first proven vaccine against the disease.
2017 United Nations Security Council Resolution 2397 against North Korea is unanimously approved.
2017 President Donald Trump signs the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
2018 A 2018 Sunda Strait tsunami caused by an eruption of Anak Krakatau in Indonesia kills at least 430 people and injures almost a thousand more.
2018 The 2018–2019 United States federal government shutdown, the longest Government shutdowns in the United States of the Federal government of the United States in history, begins.
244 Diocletian, Roman emperor (d. 311)
948 Kang Kam-ch'an, Korean official and general (d. 1031)
1095 Roger II of Sicily (d. 1154)
1178 Emperor Antoku of Japan (d. 1185)
1183 Chagatai Khan, Mongol ruler (d. 1242)
1300 Khutughtu Khan Kusala, Mongolian emperor (d. 1329)
1459 Sultan Cem, Ottoman politician (d. 1495)
1546 Kuroda Yoshitaka, Japanese daimyō (d. 1604)
1550 Cesare Cremonini (philosopher), Italian philosopher and author (d. 1631)
1569 Étienne Martellange, French architect (d. 1641)
1591 Tommaso Dingli, Maltese architect and sculptor (d. 1666)
1639 Jean Racine, French poet and playwright (d. 1699)
1666 Guru Gobind Singh, Indian guru and poet (d. 1708)
1694 Hermann Samuel Reimarus, German philosopher and academic (d. 1768)
1696 James Oglethorpe, English general and politician, 1st List of colonial governors of Georgia (d. 1785)
1723 Carl Friedrich Abel, German viol player and composer (d. 1787)
1765 Johann Friedrich Pfaff, German mathematician and academic (d. 1825)
1799 Nicholas Callan, Irish priest and physicist (d. 1864)
1805 John Obadiah Westwood, English entomologist and archaeologist (d. 1893)
1807 Johan Sebastian Welhaven, Norwegian author, poet, and critic (d. 1873)
1819 Franz Abt, German composer and conductor (d. 1870)
1819 Pierre Ossian Bonnet, French mathematician and academic (d. 1892)
1839 John Nevil Maskelyne, English magician (d. 1917)
1850 Victoriano Huerta, Mexican general and politician, 35th President of Mexico (d. 1916)
1853 Teresa Carreño, Venezuelan-American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1917)
1853 Evgraf Fedorov, Russian mathematician, crystallographer, and mineralogist (d. 1919)
1853 Sarada Devi, Indian mystic and philosopher (d. 1920)
1856 Frank B. Kellogg, American lawyer and politician, 45th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (d. 1937)
1858 Giacomo Puccini, Italian composer and educator (d. 1924)
1862 Connie Mack, American baseball player and manager (d. 1956)
1865 Charles Sands, American golfer and tennis player (d. 1945)
1868 Jaan Tõnisson, Estonian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1941?)
1869 Dmitri Egorov, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1931)
1869 Edwin Arlington Robinson, American poet and playwright (d. 1935)
1872 Camille Guérin, French veterinarian and bacteriologist (d. 1961)
1874 Franz Schmidt (composer), Austrian cellist, pianist, and composer (d. 1939)
1876 Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Egyptian-Italian poet and composer (d. 1944)
1878 Myer Prinstein, Polish-American jumper (d. 1925)
1880 Fred Woolley, Australian rugby league player (d. 1955)
1883 Marcus Hurley, American cyclist (d. 1941)
1883 Edgard Varèse, French-American composer (d. 1965)
1884 St. Elmo Brady, African American chemist and educator (d. 1966)
1885 Deems Taylor, American conductor and critic (d. 1966)
1887 Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician and theorist (d. 1920)
1888 J. Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank, English businessman, founded Rank Organisation (d. 1972)
1889 George Hutson, English runner and soldier (d. 1914)
1892 Herman Potočnik, Slovenian-Austrian engineer (d. 1929)
1894 Edwin Linkomies, Finnish academic, professor and the Prime Minister of Finland (d. 1963)
1898 Vladimir Fock, Russian physicist and mathematician (d. 1974)
1899 Gustaf Gründgens, German actor and director (d. 1963)
1900 Marc Allégret, French director and screenwriter (d. 1973)
1901 Andre Kostelanetz, Russian-American conductor and composer (d. 1980)
1903 Haldan Keffer Hartline, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate (d. 1983)
1905 Pierre Brasseur, French-Italian actor and screenwriter (d. 1972)
1905 Pierre Levegh, French ice hockey player and racing driver (d. 1955)
1905 Kenneth Rexroth, American poet, translator, and academic (d. 1982)
1907 Peggy Ashcroft, English actress (d. 1991)
1908 Giacomo Manzù, Italian sculptor and academic (d. 1991)
1909 Patricia Hayes, English actress (d. 1998)
1911 Danny O'Dea, English actor (d. 2003)
1912 Elias Degiannis, Greek commander (d. 1943)
1912 Lady Bird Johnson, American beautification activist; 38th List of First Ladies of the United States (d. 2007)
1913 Giorgio Oberweger, Italian discus thrower and hurdler (d. 1998)
1915 Barbara Billingsley, American actress (d. 2010)
1915 Phillip Glasier, English author and academic (d. 2000)
1917 Gene Rayburn, American game show host and actor (d. 1999)
1921 Dimitri Fampas, Greek guitarist and composer (d. 1996)
1921 Hawkshaw Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1963)
1922 Ruth Roman, American actress (d. 1999)
1922 Jim Wright, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 2015)
1923 Peregrine Worsthorne, English journalist and author (d. 2020)
1924 Frank Corsaro, American actor and director (d. 2017)
1925 Lewis Glucksman, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2006)
1925 Lefter Küçükandonyadis, Turkish footballer and manager (d. 2012)
1926 Alcides Ghiggia, Italian-Uruguayan footballer and manager (d. 2015)
1926 Roberta Leigh, English writer, artist and TV producer (d. 2014)
1928 Fredrik Barth, German-Norwegian anthropologist and academic (d. 2016)
1929 Wazir Mohammad, Indian-Pakistani cricketer
1930 Ardalion Ignatyev, Russian sprinter and educator (d. 1998)
1931 Gisela Birkemeyer, German hurdler and coach (d. 2024)
1931 Carlos Graça, São Toméan lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe (d. 2013)
1932 Phil Woosnam, Welsh soccer player and manager (d. 2013)
1933 John Hartle, English motorcycle racer (d. 1968)
1934 David Pearson (racing driver), American race car driver (d. 2018)
1935 Paulo Rocha (film director), Portuguese director and screenwriter (d. 2012)
1936 James Burke (science historian), Irish historian and author
1936 Héctor Elizondo, American actor and director
1937 Charlotte Lamb, English author (d. 2000)
1937 Eduard Uspensky, Russian author, poet, and playwright (d. 2018)
1937 Ken Whitmore, English author and playwright
1938 Matty Alou, Dominican-American baseball player and scout (d. 2011)
1938 Lucien Bouchard, Canadian lawyer and politician, 27th Premier of Quebec
1938 Red Steagall, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and poet
1940 Luis Francisco Cuéllar, Colombian rancher and politician (d. 2009)
1940 Mike Molloy, English journalist, author, and illustrator
1942 Jerry Koosman, American baseball player
1942 Dick Parry, English saxophonist
1943 Stefan Janos (physicist), Slovak-Swiss physicist and academic
1943 Paul Wolfowitz, American banker and politician, 25th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
1944 Mary Archer, English chemist and academic
1944 Steve Carlton, American baseball player
1944 Barry Jenkins (musician), English drummer
1945 Frances Lannon, English historian and academic
1945 Sam Newman, Australian footballer and sportscaster
1945 Diane Sawyer, American journalist
1946 Roger Carr (businessman), English businessman
1946 C. Eugene Steuerle, American economist and author
1947 Brian Daley, American author and screenwriter (d. 1996)
1947 Dilip Doshi, Indian cricketer
1948 Steve Garvey, American baseball player and sportscaster
1948 Don Kardong, American runner, journalist, and author
1948 Rick Nielsen, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1948 Chris Old, English cricketer and coach
1948 Lynne Thigpen, American actress and singer (d. 2003)
1949 Maurice Gibb, Manx-English singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2003)
1949 Robin Gibb, Manx-English singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2012)
1949 Ray Guy, American football player (d. 2022)
1950 Manfred Moore, American football player and rugby league player (d. 2020)
1951 Lasse Bengtsson, Swedish journalist
1951 Charles de Lint, Dutch-Canadian author and critic
1951 Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, British landowner, businessman and philanthropist (d. 2016)
1951 Tony Isabella, American comic book writer, editor, actor, artist and critic
1951 Jan Stephenson, Australian golfer
1952 Sandra Kalniete, Latvian politician and diplomat, former List of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Latvia
1953 Ian Turnbull (ice hockey), Canadian ice hockey player
1953 Tom Underwood, American baseball player (d. 2010)
1954 Hideshi Matsuda, Japanese racing driver
1954 Derick Parry, Nevisian cricketer
1955 Galina Murašova, Lithuanian discus thrower
1955 Lonnie Smith (baseball), American baseball player
1955 Thomas C. Südhof, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate
1956 Jane Lighting, English businesswoman
1957 Stephen Conway, English bishop
1957 Carole James, English-Canadian educator and politician
1957 Peter Mortimer (rugby league), Australian rugby league player
1958 Frank Gambale, Australian guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1958 David Heavener, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director
1959 Bernd Schuster, German footballer and manager
1960 Jean-Michel Basquiat, American painter and poet (d. 1988)
1960 Luther Campbell, American rapper and actor
1960 Paul Kuniholm, Artist
1961 Yuri Malenchenko, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut
1962 Ralph Fiennes, English actor
1963 Giuseppe Bergomi, Italian footballer and coach
1963 Brian McMillan, South African cricketer and educator
1963 Luna H. Mitani, Japanese-American painter and illustrator
1964 Mike Jackson (right-handed pitcher), American baseball player
1964 Simon Kirby, English businessman and politician
1965 David S. Goyer, American screenwriter
1965 Urszula Włodarczyk, Polish heptathlete and triple jumper
1966 Dmitry Bilozerchev, Russian gymnast and coach
1966 Marcel Schirmer, German singer-songwriter and bass player
1966 David Wright (politician), English lawyer and politician
1967 Richey Edwards, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)
1967 Stéphane Gendron, Canadian lawyer and politician
1967 Rebecca Harris, English businesswoman and politician
1967 Dan Petrescu, Romanian footballer and manager
1968 Emre Aracı, Turkish composer, conductor, and historian
1968 Luis Hernández (footballer, born 1968), Mexican footballer
1968 Lori McKenna, American singer-songwriter
1968 Dina Meyer, American actress
1969 Myriam Bédard, Canadian biathlete
1969 Mark Robins, English footballer and manager
1970 Gary Anderson (darts player), Scottish darts player
1970 Ted Cruz, Canadian-American lawyer and politician
1971 Ajeenkya Patil, Indian economist and academic
1972 Mark Hill (musician), English musician, producer and songwriter
1972 Kirk Maltby, Canadian ice hockey player and scout
1972 Vanessa Paradis, French singer-songwriter and actress
1974 Rei Hance, American actress
1975 Sergei Aschwanden, Swiss martial artist
1975 Dmitri Khokhlov, Russian footballer and manager
1975 Marcin Mięciel, Polish footballer
1975 Stanislav Neckář, Czech ice hockey player
1975 Takuya Onishi, Japanese astronaut
1976 Katleen De Caluwé, Belgian sprinter
1976 Jason Lane, American baseball player and coach
1976 Aya Takano, Japanese author and illustrator
1977 Steve Kariya, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1978 Danny Ahn, South Korean singer
1978 Joy Ali, Fijian boxer (d. 2015)
1978 Emmanuel Olisadebe, Nigerian-Polish footballer
1979 Jamie Langfield, Scottish footballer and coach
1980 Chris Carmack, American actor, singer, and model
1980 Marcus Haislip, American basketball player
1981 Marina Kuptsova, Russian high jumper
1982 Britta Heidemann, German fencer
1982 Alinne Moraes, Brazilian actress and model
1983 José Fonte, Portuguese footballer
1983 Doc Gallows, American wrestler
1983 Viola Kibiwot, Kenyan runner
1984 Basshunter, Swedish singer, record producer and DJ
1984 Greg Finley, American actor
1986 Dennis Armfield, Australian footballer
1986 Fatih Öztürk (footballer, born 1986), Turkish footballer
1987 Zack Britton, American baseball player
1987 Éder (Portuguese footballer), Bissau-Portuguese footballer
1988 Scott Darling, American ice hockey player
1988 Mohamed El Shenawy, Egyptian footballer
1988 Leigh Halfpenny, Welsh rugby player
1989 Jordin Sparks, American singer-songwriter and actress
1989 Jacob Stallings, American baseball player
1990 Jean-Baptiste Maunier, French actor and singer
1991 DaBaby, American rapper
1992 Michaela Hončová, Slovak tennis player
1992 Nick Johnson (basketball), American basketball player
1992 Moonbyul, South Korean rapper, vocalist and songwriter
1993 Raphaël Guerreiro, Portuguese footballer
1993 Meghan Trainor, American singer-songwriter and producer
1994 Rúben Lameiras, Portuguese footballer
1998 G Hannelius, American actress and singer
1998 Casper Ruud, Norwegian tennis player
2000 Joshua Bassett (actor), American actor and singer
2001 Camila Osorio, Colombian tennis player
2006 Callan McKenna, Scottish footballer; goalkeeper at AFC Bournemouth
AD 69 Vitellius, Roman emperor (b. 15)
731 Yuan Qianyao, official of the History of China Tang dynasty
1012 Baha' al-Dawla, Buyid amir of Iraq
1060 Cynesige, Archbishop of York
1100 Bretislav II (b. 1060)
1115 Olaf Magnusson of Norway, King of Norway (b. 1099)
1419 Antipope John XXIII
1530 Willibald Pirckheimer, German lawyer and author (b. 1470)
1554 Alessandro Bonvicino, Italian painter (b. 1498)
1572 François Clouet, French miniaturist (b. c. 1510)
1603 Mehmed III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1566)
1641 Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully, 2nd Prime Minister of France (b. 1560)
1646 Petro Mohyla, Ruthenian metropolitan and saint (b. 1596)
1660 André Tacquet, Flemish priest and mathematician (b. 1612)
1666 Guercino, Italian painter (b. 1591)
1681 Richard Alleine, English minister and author (b. 1611)
1767 John Newbery, English publisher (b. 1713)
1788 Percivall Pott, English physician and surgeon (b. 1714)
1806 William Vernon, English-American merchant (b. 1719)
1828 William Hyde Wollaston, English chemist and physicist (b. 1766)
1853 Manuel María Lombardini, Mexican general and politician. President (1853) (b. 1802)
1867 Jean-Victor Poncelet, French mathematician and engineer (b. 1788)
1870 Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish journalist, poet, and playwright (b. 1836)
1880 George Eliot, English novelist and poet (b. 1819)
1884 John Chisum, American cattle baron (b. 1824)
1891 Paul de Lagarde, German biblical scholar and orientalist (b. 1827)
1899 Dwight L. Moody, American evangelist and publisher, founded Moody Publishers (b. 1837)
1902 Richard von Krafft-Ebing, German-Austrian psychiatrist and author (b. 1840)
1915 Rose Talbot Bullard, American medical doctor and professor (b. 1864)
1917 Frances Xavier Cabrini, Italian-American nun and saint (b. 1850)
1918 Aristeidis Moraitinis (aviator), Greek lieutenant and pilot (b. 1891)
1919 Hermann Weingärtner, German gymnast (b. 1864)
1924 Karl Denke, German serial killer and cannibal (b. 1860)
1925 Amelie Beese, German pilot and engineer (b. 1886)
1939 Ma Rainey, American singer (b. 1886)
1940 Nathanael West, American author and screenwriter (b. 1903)
1941 Karel Hašler, Czech actor, director, composer, and screenwriter (b. 1879)
1942 Franz Boas, German-American anthropologist and linguist (b. 1858)
1943 Beatrix Potter, English children's book writer and illustrator (b. 1866)
1944 Harry Langdon, American actor, comedian, and vaudevillian (b. 1884)
1950 Frederick Freake, English polo player (b. 1876)
1957 Frank George Woollard, English engineer (b. 1883)
1959 Gilda Gray, Polish-American actress and dancer (b. 1901)
1960 Ninian Comper, Scottish-English architect (b. 1864)
1962 Ross McLarty, Australian politician, 17th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1891)
1965 Richard Dimbleby, English journalist (b. 1913)
1968 Raymond Gram Swing, American journalist (b. 1887)
1969 Enrique Peñaranda, 45th President of Bolivia (b. 1892)
1971 Godfried Bomans, Dutch journalist and author (b. 1913)
1974 Sterling North, American author and critic (b. 1906)
1979 Darryl F. Zanuck, American director and producer (b. 1902)
1985 D. Boon, American singer and musician (b. 1958)
1986 Mary Burchell, English author and activist (b. 1904)
1986 David Penhaligon, Cornish Liberal Politician (b. 1944), Member of Parliament (United Kingdom) (MP) for Truro (UK Parliament constituency) (1974–1986)
1987 Luca Prodan, Italian-Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1953)
1988 Chico Mendes, Brazilian trade union leader and activist (b. 1944)
1989 Samuel Beckett, Irish author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize in Literature laureate (b. 1906)
1992 Harry Bluestone, English violinist and composer (b. 1907)
1992 Frederick William Franz, American religious leader (b. 1893)
1993 Don DeFore, American actor (b. 1913)
1995 Butterfly McQueen, American actress and dancer (b. 1911)
1995 James Meade, English economist and academic, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences laureate (b. 1907)
1996 Jack Hamm, American cartoonist and television host (b. 1916)
1997 Sebastian Arcos Bergnes, Cuban-American dentist and activist (b. 1931)
2001 Ovidiu Iacov, Romanian footballer (b. 1981)
2001 Walter Newton Read, American lawyer and second chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission (b. 1918)
2002 Desmond Hoyte, Guyanese lawyer, politician and President of Guyana (b. 1929)
2002 Joe Strummer, English singer-songwriter (b. 1952)
2004 Doug Ault, American baseball player and manager (b. 1950)
2006 Elena Mukhina, Russian gymnast (b. 1960)
2006 Galina Ustvolskaya, Russian composer (b. 1919)
2007 Charles Court, Australian politician, 21st Premier of Western Australia (b. 1911)
2007 Adrian Cristobal, Filipino journalist and playwright (b. 1932)
2009 Luis Francisco Cuéllar, Colombian rancher and politician (b. 1940)
2009 Albert Scanlon, English footballer (b. 1935)
2010 Fred Foy, American soldier and announcer (b. 1921)
2012 Chuck Cherundolo, American football player and coach (b. 1916)
2012 Ryan Freel, American baseball player (b. 1976)
2012 Cliff Osmond, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1937)
2012 Lim Keng Yaik, Malaysian physician and politician (b. 1939)
2013 Diomedes Díaz, Colombian singer-songwriter (b. 1956)
2013 Hans Hækkerup, Danish lawyer and politician (b. 1945)
2013 Oscar Peer, Swiss author, playwright, and philologist (b. 1928)
2014 John Robert Beyster, American physicist and academic (b. 1924)
2014 Christine Cavanaugh, American actress (b. 1963)
2014 Joe Cocker, English singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
2014 Bernard Stone, American lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
2015 Peter Lundblad, Swedish singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
2015 Freda Meissner-Blau, Australian activist and politician (b. 1927)
2016 Chad Robinson, Australian rugby league player (b. 1980)
2017 Gonzalo Morales Sáurez, Costa Rican painter (b. 1945)
2018 Paddy Ashdown, British politician (b. 1941)
2018 Simcha Rotem, last survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (b. 1924)
2018 Herman Sikumbang, Indonesian guitarist (b. 1982); casualty during 2018 Sunda Strait tsunami
2019 Ram Dass, American spiritual teacher and author (b. 1931)
Dongzhi Festival
Armed Forces Day (Vietnam)
Christian Calendar of saints:
- Anastasia of Sirmium (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Eimhin
- Ernan
- Frances Xavier Cabrini # Veneration (outside US)
- Saint Hunger
- O Rex
- Henry Budd (Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church))
- Lottie Moon (Episcopal Church (USA))
- December 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Mother's Day (Indonesia)
National Mathematics Day (India)
Teachers' Day (Cuba)
Unity Day (Zimbabwe)
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/22 BBC: On This Day]
[https://www.onthisday.com/events/december/22 Historical Events on December 22]