Shoe Bomber

December 22, 2001

Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63. He was subdued by the crew and passengers while attempting to light the bomb. He was unable to light the bomb because sweat from his feet had dampened the explosives. Reid, an Islamic fundamentalist from the United Kingdom and self-proclaimed Al-Qaeda operative, was sentenced to 3 life terms plus 110 years without parole.

First Cloned Pet

December 22, 2001

The first cloned pet, CC the cat is born. CC stands for "CopyCat" or "Carbon Copy." She was cloned by scientists at Texas A&M University. In 2006, CC gave birth to kittens. This was the first time a cloned pet gave birth. CC appears to be free of the cloning-related health problems that have arisen in some other animal clones.

Subway Vigilante

December 22, 1984

Bernhard Goetz shoots four black youths in a N.Y. subway car, claiming he was frightened when they asked for $5. He was seen as a hero to many New Yorkers, who were tired of the crime in the city. In 1981, he was the victim of a mugging and was upset because the attacker spent less time in the police station than Goetz himself. He was further angered when his attacker was charged only with criminal mischief, for ripping Goetz's jacket. Goetz applied for a concealed handgun permit, but was denied. He then bought a 5-shot .38-caliber revolver which he carried illegally. In 1984, four youths who were on their way to steal from a video arcade, confronted Goetz on the subway asking for $5. Two of the youths had moved next to Goetz, blocking him from the other passengers. Believing that he was being set up for a mugging, Goetz pulled his gun and began shooting the youths, hitting one in the chest, one in the back, the third in the arm and left side, and the fourth in the spinal column paralyzing him.
Although at the time, the youths claimed they were only panhandling, one later admitted that they did indeed intend to rob Goetz.
He was acquitted of attempted murder and first-degree assault charges, but convicted of criminal possession of a weapon and served eight months in prison.
In a 1996 civil trial, the paralyzed youth was awarded $43 million dollars.

Thunderball

December 22, 1965

The James Bond movie Thunderball premieres in the U.S., 4th in the James Bond series, it starred Sean Connery as 007. Bond's mission to find two NATO atomic bombs stolen by SPECTRE, which holds the world for ransom of £100 million in diamonds under its threat to destroy an unspecified metropolis.
This was originally intended to be first in Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman Bond series, but it got tied up in a legal dispute and Dr. No became their first Bond film.
With worldwide box office receipts of $141.2 million, it is the most successful Bond film in the series.

United States Golf Association

December 22, 1894

United States Golf Association (USGA) is formed.

Robin (d. 2012) and Maurice (d. 2003) Gibb

Born December 22, 1949

British-Australian singers, songwriters, twins, with the Bee Gees. Music: Stayin' Alive (1977) and Night Fever (1977, #1).

Diane Sawyer

Born December 22, 1945

American news correspondent. TV: 60 Minutes and PrimeTime Live.

Ruth Roman (Norma Roman)

Born December 22, 1922 d. 1999

American actress. She played the title role in the 1945 thirteen-episode serial Jungle Queen. TV: Knots Landing (Sylvia Lean).

Gene Rayburn

Born December 22, 1917 d. 1999

American TV personality. TV: The Match Game (emcee).

Lady Bird Johnson (Claudia Alta Taylor)

Born December 22, 1912 d. 2007

American First Lady (1963-69), wife of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. As an infant, her nursemaid said that she was as "purty as a ladybird" and she used the name the rest of her life.
Johnson advocated for beautifying the nation's cities and highways, using the slogan "Where flowers bloom, so does hope".

Edwin Arlington Robinson

Born December 22, 1869 d. 1935

American poet, 3-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, known for his short character sketches such as Richard Cory and Miniver Cheevy.

Giacomo Puccini

Born December 22, 1858 d. 1924

Italian operatic composer. Operas: La Bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), and Madama Butterfly (1904).

William Ellery

Born December 22, 1727 d. 1820

American patriot, signer of the Declaration of Independence.

James Edward Oglethorpe

Born December 22, 1696 d. 1785

English general, colonized Georgia and founded the city of Savannah (1733).

Darryl F. Zanuck (Darryl Francis Zanuck)

Died December 22, 1979 b. 1902

American Oscar-winning movie producer and executive, co-founder of 20th Century Pictures (1933). In 1946 he predicted the quick demise of television stating, "People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night."

First To Fall In Vietnam

James Thomas Davis

Died December 22, 1961 b. 1936

American soldier. Davis was declared "The first American to fall in defense of our freedom in Vietnam" by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. On December 22, 1961, Davis was traveling as a military advisor with ten South Vietnamese soldiers when an enemy mine blasted the truck they were riding in. The explosion caused the vehicle to roll off the road and Viet Cong rebels began spraying the truck with machine gun fire. Davis survived the crash and managed to return fire before he was killed. All ten South Vietnamese soldiers were also killed.
Note: Even though he was declared the first "official death", other American soldiers had previously died in Vietnam.

Gilda Gray

Died December 22, 1959 b. 1901

Polish-born American dancer, singer. She popularized the Shimmy dance of the Roaring Twenties.

Creator of Peter Rabbit

Beatrix Potter

Died December 22, 1943 b. 1866

English author, illustrator. Writings: The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1901). The story is about Peter Rabbit, his triplet siblings, Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and their widowed mother who warned them to stay clear of McGregor's garden, who's wife had put their father in a pie after he was caught in the garden.
The original story was written in 1893 for the five-year-old son of Potter's former governess. Potter revised the story in 1901 and after several publishers' rejections had 250 copies privately printed. The book has since sold over 45 million copies and is one of the best-selling books in history.

First Million-Seller Song

Charles Kassel Harris

Died December 22, 1930 b. 1867

American songwriter. "King of the Tear Jerker." He wrote After the Ball (1892), the first million-seller song. Sold as sheet music, it was the best-selling sheet music of its era and eventually sold 5 million copies. Although slow selling at first, it was performed regularly by John Philip Sousa and his band at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and soon became an international hit. It was also used in the 1927 musical Show Boat (and later film productions) to exemplify 1890's music.
His next hit was the 1897 song Break the News to Mother, about a dying soldier, which coincided with the Spanish-American War. It became a hit again in 1917 during World War I.

First British North American Printer

Stephen Daye

Died December 22, 1668 b. circa 1594

American printer. He was the first printer in British America with a broadside of Freeman's Oath (1639). He also printed the Bay Psalm Book (1640), the first book printed in America in English.

Joe Cocker (John Robert Cocker)

Died December 22, 2014 b. 1944

British singer. Music: With a Little Help From My Friends (1968, #1 UK), You Are So Beautiful (1974), and Up Where We Belong (1982, #1).

Butterfly McQueen (Thelma McQueen)

Died December 22, 1995 b. 1911

American Emmy-winning actress. Film: Gone with the Wind (1939, Scarlett O'Hara's maid Prissy. "I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' babies!"). TV: Beulah (Oriole, 1950-52).

Don DeFore

Died December 22, 1993 b. 1913

American actor. TV: The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-57, next-door neighbor "Thorny" Thornberry) and Hazel (1961-65, Mr. Baxter).

First American Saint

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (Francesca Saverio Cabrini)

Died December 22, 1917 b. 1850

American religious sister, patron Saint of Emigrants. She was the first American declared a Saint by the Roman Catholic Church (1946). She founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Baron Richard von Krafft-Ebing

Died December 22, 1902 b. 1840

German physician, neurologist, pioneer in clinical psychology. His Psychopathia Sexualis (1886) became a standard text and has been translated into seven languages.

Aulus Vitellius

Died December 22, A.D. 69 b. A.D. 15

Roman Emperor (A.D. Apr-Dec 69). Shortly after he took the throne, the armies of the eastern provinces proclaimed Vespian emperor. When Vitellius heard this news many of his supporters deserted him and he agreed to resign. However, when Vespian's army arrived they were attacked by the public and 50,000 people were killed in the ensuing battle. Vitellius was eventually dragged from his hiding place and killed uttering his final words, "Yet I was once your emperor."