December 22
1772
Construction of the first schoolhouse west of the Allegheny Mountains was started in Schoenbrunn, Ohio, by Moravian missionaries.
1807
The U.S. Congress passed the Embargo Act.
1864
During the Civil War, Union general William T. Sherman sent a message to President Lincoln saying, “I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah.”
1894
French army officer Capt. Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason in a court-martial.
1989
Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was overthrown.
2001
Hamid Karzai sworn in as president of Afghanistan.
2010
President Obama officially repealed the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military policy.
Birthdays
Lady Bird Johnson
1912–2007, Businessperson, Wife of Lyndon Johnson.
James Oglethorpe
founder of the American colony of Georgia (1696)
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
abolitionist (1823)
Giacomo Puccini
composer of operas (1858)
Connie Mack
baseball player and manager (1862)
Edwin Arlington Robinson
poet (1869)
Dame Peggy Ashcroft
actress (1907)
Diane Sawyer
television journalist (1945)
Ralph Fiennes
actor (1962)
Jordin Sparks
singer (1989)