December 22

What happened on December 22 in history

6 events fall on December 22, from 1808 to 1989. Read them below, then try to place a historical scene yourself — guess where in the world it happened and in what year.

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Events on December 22

  1. 1808

    Beethoven's marathon concert

    The Fifth and Sixth symphonies premiere in a freezing Vienna theatre.

    Play the 19th century round

  2. 1849

    Dostoevsky's mock execution

    He is reprieved on the scaffold and sent to Siberia.

    Play the 19th century round

  3. 1894

    The Dreyfus verdict

    A French officer is wrongly convicted of treason and sent to Devil's Island.

    Play the 19th century round

  4. 1938

    A coelacanth is caught

    A fish thought extinct for millions of years is landed in South Africa.

    Play the 20th century round

  5. 1989

    The Brandenburg Gate reopens

    The crossing is opened for the first time in twenty-eight years.

    Play the 20th century round

  6. 1989

    Ceausescu flees

    The Romanian leader escapes by helicopter as Bucharest rises.

    Play the 20th century round