Important Events From This day in History – 22nd December

Today in History

• 2010 Don’t ask don’t tell was repealed

  President Barack Obama signed legislation to repeal the don’t ask, don’t tell policy, which governed the recruitment and service of LGBTQ members in the United States military. The Clinton Administration implemented the policy in 1994.

• 1989 Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu overthrown

  The Communist President was deposed following widespread protests across the country. Ceaușescu and his wife Elena attempted to flee the country but were apprehended, tried, and executed by the firing squad. In the 1980s, the Romanian Revolution was the only violent overthrow of a communist government.

• 1937 Lincoln Tunnel opens

  The 1.5-mile-long (2.4 km) long tunnel passes under the Hudson River and connects New Jersey to New York City.

• 1891 First asteroid discovered through astrophotography

  323 Brucia was discovered by Max Wolf and was named after Catherine Wolfe Bruce, an American patron of astronomy.

• 1882 First Christmas tree to be illuminated by electric lights displayed

  Edward H. Johnson, an associate of inventor Thomas Edison and Vice President of the Edison Electric Light Company, became the first person to decorate a Christmas tree with electric lights at his home in New York City.