Date·Lore

On This Day · The 356th day of the year

December 22

1625 years on from Pope Innocent I, December 22 is a date with an anniversary worth pausing on. Most of the weight falls in the 21st century, where politics and nation-building recur.

♑ZodiacCapricorn ◈BirthstoneTurquoise ❀Birth flowerHolly

Capricorn is the sign for December 22 — read more on the Capricorn page, or see December's birthstone & birth flower.

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on December 22?

December 22 is the 356th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 401 and 2010. Famous people born on December 22 include Jean Racine, Giacomo Puccini and Khutughtu Khan Kusala.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 401

    Pope Innocent I

  2. 856

    856 Damghan earthquake

  3. 1808

    Ludwig van Beethoven

  4. 1937

    Lincoln Tunnel

  5. 1942

    Adolf Hitler

  6. 1948

    Sjafruddin Prawiranegara

  7. 2001

    Burhanuddin Rabbani

  8. 2001

    Richard Reid

  9. 2008

    Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill

  10. 2010

    Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010

Famous birthday twins

Born on December 22

Jean Racine

b. 1639

Giacomo Puccini

b. 1858

Khutughtu Khan Kusala

b. 1300

Eduard Uspensky

b. 1937

Ralph Fiennes

b. 1962

Diocletian

b. 244

Bernd Schuster

b. 1959

Vanessa Paradis

b. 1972

Deaths

  • 1989Samuel Beckett
  • 1950Frederick Freake
  • 1919Hermann Weingärtner
  • 1891Paul de Lagarde
  • 1530Willibald Pirckheimer

Holidays & observances

  • —Dongzhi Festival
  • —Armed Forces Day (Vietnam)
  • —Christian feast day: Anastasia of Sirmium (Orthodox Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Eimhin
  • —Christian feast day: Ernan, Son of Eogan
  • —Christian feast day: Frances Xavier Cabrini (outside US)
  • —Christian feast day: Hunger
  • —Christian feast day: O Rex

The factual record above — event titles, dates, names, and observances — is drawn from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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