22 December in history

4 events that happened on 22 December, from 1135 to 1964.

  1. ✦ Anniversary of the day

    1135 CE 891 years ago

    Stephen of Blois is crowned king of England

    Weeks after Henry I's death, his nephew Stephen was crowned at Westminster despite having sworn to support Henry's daughter, the Empress Matilda. The civil war that followed became known as the Anarchy.

    England

  2. 1715 CE 311 years ago

    The Old Pretender lands in Scotland, too late

    James Francis Edward Stuart landed at Peterhead to lead the Jacobite rising. After the defeat at Preston and the stalemate at Sheriffmuir in November, the cause was failing, and he sailed back to France in February.

    Scotland

  3. 1894 CE 132 years ago

    A court martial convicts Captain Alfred Dreyfus

    A French military court convicted the Jewish officer Alfred Dreyfus of passing secrets to Germany and sentenced him to deportation for life. His innocence, and the cover-up, split France in the Dreyfus Affair.

  4. 1964 CE 62 years ago

    The SR-71 Blackbird makes its first flight

    Lockheed's SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft first flew at Palmdale, California. Able to cruise above Mach 3 at about 25,000 metres, it remains the fastest crewed jet-powered aircraft.

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