Tidbits of History, December 22

December 22 is:

National Date Nut Bread Day

Publication of Federalist Paper #26: The Idea of Restraining the Legislative Authority in Regard to the Common Defense Considered written by Alexander Hamilton in 1787. Hamilton continues his discussion on the need for a standing military, controlled by the federal government. One of the duties of the federal government is to “provide for the common defense”. According to the new Constitution, the military will be approved for a two-year period by the legislature. Any attempt to increase the size or scope of the military will be noticed and stopped. Hamilton believed strongly that it was good for the citizenry to be suspicious of military power.

The Embargo Act, forbidding trade with all foreign countries, was passed by the U.S. Congress, at the urging of President Thomas Jefferson in 1807.

Ludwig van Beethoven conducted and performed at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, in 1808 with the premiere of his Fifth Symphony, Sixth Symphony, Fourth Piano Concerto (performed by Beethoven himself) and Choral Fantasy (with Beethoven at the piano).

Death of Rachel Jackson, wife of Andrew Jackson, of heart failure. She died between his election and his inauguration. She was buried on the grounds at The Hermitage wearing the white dress and shoes she had bought for the Inaugural Ball.

Savannah, Georgia fell to General William Tecumseh Sherman, concluding his “March to the Sea”. On Dec. 22, 1864, during the Civil War, Union Gen. William T. Sherman sent a message to President Lincoln from Georgia, saying, “I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah.”

1st string of Christmas tree lights created by Thomas Edison in 1882.

1894 – French officer Alfred Dreyfus court-martialed for treason, triggered worldwide charges of anti-Semitism (Dreyfus later vindicated).

Birthday of former First Lady, Claudia Alta Taylor(Lady Bird) Johnson (December 22, 1912), wife of Lyndon Johnson, first lady 1963-1969. She became the first president’s wife to advocate actively for legislation when she was instrumental in promoting the Highway Beautification Act, which was nicknamed “Lady Bird’s Bill” and sought to beautify the nation’s highway system by limiting billboards and by planting roadside areas.

The Lincoln Tunnel opened to traffic in New York on December 22, 1937.

1944 – World War II: Battle of the Bulge –German troops demand the surrender of United States troops at Bastogne, Belgium, prompting the famous one word reply by General Anthony McAuliffe: “Nuts!”

On December 22 in 1989, Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate re-opened after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany.

Richard Reid attempted to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63 in 2001.

The repeal of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, the 17-year-old policy banning on homosexuals serving openly in the United States military, was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010.