On this day...

1775 Continental navy organized with seven ships
1807 Congress passes Embargo Act, to force peace between Britain & France
1877 "American Bicycling Journal" begins publishing (Boston)
1886 First national accountants' society in US formed (New York City)
1894 United States Golf Association formed (New York City)
1910 US postal savings stamps first issued
1915 Federal Baseball League dissolved
1936 First common carrier license issued by ICC, Scranton, PA
1937 Lincoln Tunnel opens to traffic
1941 Winston Churchill arrives in Washington for a wartime conference
1944 Germans demand surrender of American troops at Bastogne, Belgium
1950 Two trains of Long Island RR collide, killing 77
1959 NY Ranger goalie Marcel Paille wears a customized mask
1963 Oakland Raider Tom Flores passes for 6 touchdowns vs. Houston (52-49)
1963 Official 30-day mourning period for President John F. Kennedy ends
1969 Pete Marovich sets NCAA record of hitting 30 of 31 foul shots
1970 SS Commander Franz Stangl of Treblinka sentenced to life in prison
1976 35 Unification church couples wed in New York City
1977 36 die as grain elevator at Continental Grain Company plant explodes
1984 Bernhard Goetz shoots 4 black youths on a NYC subway train
1984 Madonna's "Like a Virgin," single goes #1 for 6 weeks
1988 Two robbers wearing police uniforms rob armored truck of $3 M in NJ
1988 South Africa signs accord granting independence to South-West Africa
1989 After 23 years of dictatorial rule, Romania ousts Nicolea Ceausescu
1990 Lech Walesa sworn in as Poland's first popularly elected president
1994 Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi resigns

Birthdays which occurred on December 22nd:

1400 Luca della Robbia, Italy, sculptor (Madonna of Rose Garden)
1696 James Oglethorpe, England, general/author/colonizer of Georgia
1727 William Ellery, signer of the Declaration of Independence
1862 Connie Mack, Philadelphia A's manager (1900-1950)
1869 Edwin Arlington Robinson, US, poet (Richard Corey)
1903 Dr. Barbara Moore, walked across US in 86 days in 1960
1903 H. Keffer Hartline, US, biophysicist (Nobel 1967)
1905 Kenneth Rexroth, US, poet/critic/translator (Birds in the Bush)
1907 Peggy Ashcroft, stage actress (Dear Brutus, Happy Days)
1911 Alan Carney, NY, actor (Herbie-Take it from Me)
1912 Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson, former First Lady
1912 Henry Armstrong, held feather/light/welterweight boxing titles (1938)
1917 Gene Rayburn, Illinois, TV game show host (Match Game)
1921 Hawkshaw Hawkins, Huntington WV, country singer (Ozark Jubilee)
1922 Barbara Billingsley, Los Angeles, actress (June-Leave it to Beaver)
1922 James C. Wright, Jr., Speaker of the House (1987-89)
1926 Peggy Castle, Appalachia VA, actress (Lily Merrill-Lawman)
1936 Hector Elizondo, NY, actor (American Gigolo, Young Doctors in Love)
1944 Steve Carlton, baseball pitcher (Cy Young '72, '77, '80, '82)
1945 Diane Sawyer, Glasgow KY, newscaster (60 Minutes, ABC Prime Time)
1948 Noel Edmonds, British TV personality (Foul-ups, Bleeps & Blunders)
1948 Steve Garvey, first baseman (LA Dodgers, San Diego Padres)
1949 Maurice Gibb, singer (BeeGees)
1949 Robin Gibb, singer (BeeGees)
1950 Rick Nielsen, guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist (Cheap Trick)
1951 Jan Stephenson, Sydney Australia, golfer (LPGA Rookie of Year-1974)
1953 Bernnadette Stanis, NY, actress (Thelma-Good Times)
1961 Catherine Oxenberg, NY, actress (Amanda-Dynasty)
1968 Lauralee Bell, actress (Cricket-Young & Restless)

Deaths which occurred on December 22nd:

1440 Bluebeard, pirate, executed
1668 Stephen Day, first British colonial printer
1721 Nathaniel Hawes, tortured & executed in England for robbery
1767 John Newberry, English publisher
1913 Menelik II, King of Ethiopia (1896-1913), dies at 69
1969 Donald Foster, actor (Herbert Johnson-Hazel), dies at 80
1973 Irna Phillips, creator of 5 TV soap operas dies at 72
1974 Richard Long, actor dies at 47
1979 Darryl F. Zanuck, film producer
1980 Dick Kallman, actor (Hank Dearborn)