12 / 22 History Vault
Discover public domain milestones, art masterworks, and wisdom quotes. (13)
Famous Pioneer Born on 12/22
Born under Capricorn (♑ Capricorn), possessing unique vision and inspiration.
"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once."
—— Capricorn Pioneer
The Starry Night
The Starry Night is a world-class museum collection item preserved at Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).
Vincent van Gogh (Oil on canvas)
Historical Milestone of 12/22
On this day in history (12/22), significant global milestones and breakthroughs were recorded across science, culture, and human society.
Hussein Farrah Aidid relinquished the disputed title of President of Somalia.
Hussein Mohamed Farrah Aidid is a Somali politician.
Burhanuddin Rabbani of the Northern Alliance handed over power in Afghanistan to the interim government headed by Hamid Karzai.
Burhanuddin Rabbani was an Afghan politician and teacher who served as the sixth president of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996, and again from November to December 2001.
Richard Reid unsuccessfully attempted to detonate a bomb in his shoe on a transatlantic flight from Paris to Miami.
Richard Colvin Reid, also known as the "Shoe Bomber", is a British terrorist who perpetrated the failed shoe bombing attempt against a transatlantic flight in 2001. Born to a career criminal father, Reid ended up in prison after years of committing petty crimes. While in prison, he was influenced by Muslim inmates he met there and converted to Islam. Later he became radicalised and went to Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he trained and became a member of al-Qaeda.
Camila_Osorio Born
María Camila Osorio Serrano is a Colombian professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of No. 33 by the WTA, achieved on 4 April 2022, and a best doubles ranking of No. 162, achieved on 8 September 2025. She is currently the No. 1 singles player from Colombia.
「María Camila Osorio Serrano is a Colombian professional tennis player. She has a care...」
—— Camila_Osorio
David_Datro_Fofana Born
David Datro Fofana is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Chelsea.
「David Datro Fofana is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a forward for P...」
—— David_Datro_Fofana
Joe_Anders Born
Joe Alfie Winslet Mendes, known professionally as Joe Anders, is an American-British actor, screenwriter and composer. He is the son of actress Kate Winslet and film director Sam Mendes, and the younger half-brother of actress Mia Threapleton. He began his career with a small part in the war drama 1917 (2019), the Channel 4 film I Am Ruth (2022) and the biographical war drama Lee (2023) before starring in the musical coming-of-age romantic comedy Bonus Track (2023). He also wrote the screenplay for the film Goodbye June (2025), his mother's directorial debut.
「Joe Alfie Winslet Mendes, known professionally as Joe Anders, is an American-British ...」
—— Joe_Anders
Callan_McKenna Born
Callan Thomas McKenna is a Scottish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club Bournemouth. He is a Scotland youth international.
「Callan Thomas McKenna is a Scottish footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier ...」
—— Callan_McKenna
A dike ruptured at a waste containment area for a coal-fired power plant in Kingston, Tennessee, releasing 1.1 billion gallons (4.2 million m3) of coal fly ash slurry (aftermath pictured) in the largest industrial spill in US history.
The Kingston Fossil Plant Spill was an environmental and industrial disaster that occurred on December 22, 2008, when a dike ruptured at a coal ash pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane County, Tennessee, releasing 1.1 billion US gallons of coal fly ash slurry. The coal-fired power plant, located across the Clinch River from the city of Kingston, used a series of ponds to store and dewater the fly ash, a byproduct of coal combustion. The spill released a slurry of fly ash and water which traveled across the Emory River and its Swan Pond embayment onto the opposite shore, covering up to 300 acres (1.2 km2) of the surrounding land. The spill damaged multiple homes and flowed into nearby waterways including the Emory River and Clinch River, both tributaries of the Tennessee River. It was the largest industrial spill in United States history.
The United States repealed its "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gay, lesbian and bisexual people in the military (signing pictured).
The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 is a landmark United States federal statute enacted in December 2010 that established a process for ending the "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy, thus allowing gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to serve openly in the United States Armed Forces. It ended the policy in place since 1993 that allowed them to serve only if they kept their sexual orientation secret and the military did not learn of their sexual orientation, which was controversial.
A tsunami caused by an eruption of Anak Krakatau in Indonesia kills at least 430 people and injures almost a thousand more.
The 2018 Sunda Strait tsunami occurred on 22 December 2018 at around 21:38 local time after large parts of the southwestern side of Anak Krakatoa collapsed onto its caldera. The landslide spawned a tsunami wave that struck multiple coastal regions in Banten and Lampung, including the tourist destination of Anyer.
2018_Sunda_Strait_tsunami
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