December 22

This is the most common day for to begin in the  and  to begin in the

Events

 * -  of the  dies and is succeeded by his son.
 * - The Turkish fortress of is stormed and captured by  and his Russian armies.
 * - The, forbidding trade with all foreign countries, is passed by the , at the urging of.
 * - In a mammoth concert at the in,  premieres his  as well as his ,  and.
 * - The, lifting the except for the  and , passes the.
 * - The execution of is called off at the last second.
 * - The first is operated in,.
 * - falls to General, concluding his "".
 * -, a , became the first.
 * - The begins, in, when  is wrongly convicted of , on  grounds.
 * - The is adopted by the 8th.
 * - The opens to traffic in.
 * - : is captured by the  army.
 * - World War II: signs the order to develop the  as a weapon.
 * - World War II: -- troops demand the surrender of troops at, ; prompting the famous one word reply by General : "NUTS!"
 * 1944  - :  is formed to resist ese occupation of, now.
 * - The of  approves its.
 * - is born, the first  to be bred in.
 * -  burns 180 miles north of  with the loss of 128 lives.
 * -  is convicted of.
 * 1964  - First  (Blackbird) flight.
 * - In the, a 70mph is applied to all rural roads including s for the first time. Previously, there had been no speed limit.
 * -, and  vote to become the independent nation of .  remains under  administration.
 * 1974  - 's house is attacked by members of the.
 * - The pivotal Third Plenum of the 11th National Congress of the is held in, with Deng Xiaoping reversing Mao-era policies to pursue a program for.
 * - Subway vigilante shoots four  men on an express train in  borough of.
 * -, a ian , and , is ated.
 * - After a week of bloody demonstrations, takes over as president of, ending 's  dictatorship.
 * 1989  - 's  re-opens after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of  and.
 * 1989  - : Two tourist coaches collide on the  north of
 * - of the  becomes the 's first defenseman to score 1,000 points. He would finish his career with 1,531 points.
 * - : Attendees at a prayer meeting of activists for  causes in the small village of  in the  state of  are d by  forces.
 * - The  finds near   another van loaded by  with 750 kg of  (see related event on  ).
 * -, political leader of the , hands over power in to the interim government headed by President.
 * 2001  -  attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard.
 * - A magnitude 6.6 hits near ; see.

Births

 * -, King of Sicily (d. )
 * - of Japan (d. )
 * -, Japanese Daimyo (d. )
 * -, Italian philosopher (d. )
 * -, French dramatist (d. )
 * -, guru (d. )
 * -, of  (d. )
 * -, German philosopher and writer (d. )
 * -, English general and founder of the state of Georgia (d. )
 * -, German composer (d. )
 * -, German mathematician (d. )
 * -, British entomologist (d. )
 * -, Norwegian poet (d. )
 * -, German composer (d. )
 * 1819  -, French mathematician (d. )
 * -, Venezuelan pianist (d. )
 * 1853  -, Russian mathematician (d. )
 * -, , (d. )
 * -, Italian composer (d. )
 * -, American penmanship innovator (d. )
 * -, American baseball executive (d. )
 * -, American poet (d. )
 * 1869  -, Russian mathematician (d. )
 * -, French veterinarian and bacteriologist (d. )
 * -, Austrian composer (d. )
 * -, Italian poet and editor (d. )
 * - French-born composer (d. )
 * -, Indian mathematician (d. )
 * -, British film producer (d. )
 * -, Russian physicist (d. )
 * -, German actor (d. )
 * -, American popular music orchestra leader and arranger (d. )
 * -, American physiologist, (d. )
 * -, American poet (d. )
 * 1905  -, French actor (d. )
 * - Dame, English actress (d. )
 * -, American actress (d. )
 * -, (d. )
 * -, American actress
 * -, American game show host (d. )
 * -, American country singer (d. )
 * -, American politician
 * 1922  -, American actress (d. )
 * -, American stage director
 * -, American financier (d. )
 * -, American racecar driver
 * -, British writer
 * 1936  -, American actor
 * 1936  -, Polish actor (d. )
 * -, Russian writer
 * -, Dominican baseball player
 * 1938  -, Quebec politician
 * -, American musician
 * -, English musician
 * -, American politician
 * -, American baseball player
 * -, American journalist
 * -, American musician
 * -, English game show host
 * 1948  -, American baseball player
 * 1948  -, American actress (d. )
 * -, English musician (d. )
 * 1949  -, English musician
 * -, Duke of Westminster
 * -, actress
 * 1953  -, Canadian ice hockey player
 * -, Japanese racing driver
 * -, American baseball player
 * -, Canadian politician
 * -, Australian musician
 * 1958  -, Swedish physician and author
 * -, German footballer
 * -, American artist (d. )
 * 1960  -, American attorney
 * -, American businessman
 * -, English actor
 * -, Italian footballer
 * -, Soviet gymnast
 * -, Romanian footballer
 * 1967  -, Welsh musician  (disappeared in )
 * 1967  -, Quebec politician
 * 1967  -, Australian racing driver
 * -, American actress
 * 1968  -, American actress
 * -, Canadian athlete
 * -, television host
 * 1972  -, French singer
 * -, American actress
 * -, American erotic actress
 * 1975  -, Russian footballer
 * 1975  -, Czech ice hockey player
 * -, American screenwriter and director
 * -, Canadian ice hockey player
 * -, South Korean actress (d. )
 * 1980  -, American actor
 * -, Australian Miss Universe
 * -, Swedish musician
 * -, American singer and  winner
 * -, French actor

Deaths

 * - Duke
 * - possibly a son of Richard III
 * -, (b. )
 * -, Orthodox Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia (b. )
 * -, Flemish mathematician (b. )
 * -, English Puritan clergyman (b. )
 * -, Swedish writer (b. )
 * -, British prostitute (executed)
 * -, English publisher (b. )
 * -, English physician and surgeon (b. )
 * -, American merchant (b. )
 * -, French mathematician (b. )
 * -, Spanish poet and writer (b. )
 * -, English chemist (b. )
 * -, English writer (b. )
 * -, American evangelist (b. )
 * -, German psychiatrist (b. )
 * -, first American citizen canonized by the Catholic Church (b. )
 * -, American singer (b. )
 * -, American writer (b. )
 * -, German anthropologist (b. )
 * -, English writer (b. )
 * -, American silent film actor (b. )
 * -, German Nazi official and concentration camp commandant (b. )
 * 1947  -, Nazi concentration camp guard (b. )
 * -, Polish-born American dancer and actress (b. )
 * -, English journalist and broadcaster (b. )
 * -, Dutch author and television personality (b. )
 * -, American producer (b. )
 * -, American singer and guitarist (b. )
 * -, Brazilian rubber tapper, unionist, and environmental activist (assassinated) (b. )
 * -, Irish writer, laureate (b. )
 * -, Watchtower president (b. )
 * -, American actor (b. )
 * -, American actress (b. )
 * 1995  -, English economist,  winner (b. )
 * -, American actress (b. )
 * -, (b. )
 * 2002  -, English musician  (b. )
 * -, American singer (b. )
 * -, American baseball player (b. )
 * -, Russian composer (b. )
 * 2006  -, American songwriter (b. )

Holidays and observances

 * - commemoration of, ,
 * - Tōji
 * In the, the , sometimes known as , occurs on or very close to this date. In the Northern Hemisphere, it marks the first official day of Winter. In the , the summer occurs around this time.
 * : First day of sun sign
 * - Winter Solstice where is commonly met with the eating of glutinous flour balls(Tang Yuen). Marks the beginning of winter. Tang Yuen was introduced in China as an item of propaganda back in the Dynasties.
 * Mother Day, as an achievement for Dewi Sartika.