December 22 holidays in 2017

Historical Events on December 22

• 1864: During the American Civil Warm, General Sherman and his forces capture the city of Savannah, Georgia.
• 1937: The Lincoln Tunnel in New York officially opens up for traffic.
• 1940: During WWII, Greek forces capture Himara.
• 1942: The order to develop the V-2 rocket as a weapon is signed into effect by Adolf Hitler.
• 1944: At the Battle of the Bulge during WWII, German forces demand the surrender of U.S forces at Bastogne in Belgium. General Anthony McAuliffe gives them a one word reply: “Nuts!”
• 1944: During WWII, the Vietnam People’s Army is organized as a way for the people of Vietnam to resist the Japanese occupation of Vietnam.
• 1965: A 112 kph speed limit (70 mph) is applied to all rural roads in the U.K.
• 1974: Members of the Provisional IRA attack the home of British Prime Minister Edward Heath on this day.
• 1989: The division between East and West Germany is ended when Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate is re-opened for the first time in 3 decades.
• 2001: Aboard American Airlines Flight 63, Richard Reid attempted to ignite explosives that were hidden in his shoes to destroy the plane.
• 2008: Over a billion US gallons of coal ash slurry were released from a waste containment area in Roane Country, Tennessee when an ash dike failed.
• 2010: The ban on homosexuals openly serving in the U.S military is overturned when U.S President Barack Obama signs the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
• 2016: The Syrian government retakes control of portions of Aleppo.

Famous Birthdays on December 22

• American lawyer, politician and Nobel Prize laureate, Frank B. Kellogg is born in 1856.
• American physiologist and Nobel Prize laureate, Haldan Keffer Hartline is born in 1903.
• English actress Patricia Hayes is born in 1909.
• English actor Danny O’Dea is born in 1911.
• 38^th First Lady of the United States, Lady Bird Johnson was born in 1912.
• American actress Barbara Billingsley is born in 1915.