Today in History: Brazilian union leader and environmentalist Chico Mendes was murdered by ranchers in 1988

The following are some of the major notable events that occurred on December 22 throughout history:

69 AD – Year of the Four Emperors: Roman Emperor Vitellius was captured and killed during street fighting in Rome on 22 December AD 69. This ended the chaotic Year of the Four Emperors. Vitellius’s rival, General Vespasian, was then proclaimed emperor, inaugurating the Flavian dynasty and a decade of stability.

1808 – Beethoven premieres his Fifth Symphony: In a marathon concert in Vienna, Ludwig van Beethoven conducted the world premieres of several major works on 22 December 1808, including the famous Symphony No. 5 in C Minor. This concert at the Theater an der Wien (held amid freezing cold and fatigue) also featured his Symphony No. 6 (“Pastoral”) and Fourth Piano Concerto. The Fifth Symphony’s opening motif soon became one of classical music’s best-known themes.

1864 – Sherman’s capture of Savannah (US Civil War): Late in the American Civil War, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman completed his “March to the Sea” by capturing Savannah, Georgia on 22 December 1864. Sherman famously wired President Abraham Lincoln: “I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah”. Savannah was one of the Confederacy’s last major Atlantic ports, and its capture helped hasten the end of the war.

1885 – Modern Japan’s first prime minister: On 22 December 1885 the samurai-statesman Itō Hirobumi became the first Prime Minister of Japan. Itō had been a leader of the Meiji Restoration, and as premier he helped draft the Meiji Constitution. His appointment marked the formal establishment of Japan’s modern parliamentary government and Cabinet system.

1894 – Dreyfus Affair begins in France: On this date Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French Army, was convicted of treason by a military court. The trial was later revealed to be based on falsified evidence and antisemitic prejudice. Dreyfus’s wrongful conviction sparked a huge political and social scandal (the Dreyfus Affair) that deeply divided France and led to reforms separating church and state.

1920 – Soviet GOELRO electrification plan: The Bolshevik government formally adopted the GOELRO Plan (State Electrification Plan) on 22 December 1920. Championed by Vladimir Lenin, the GOELRO plan was the first Soviet economic development plan, aiming to build power stations and bring electricity to industry and farms. It laid the foundation for the later Five-Year Plans and the rapid industrialization of the USSR.

1944 – Founding of Vietnam’s People’s Army: Vietnamese leaders established the People’s Army of Vietnam on 22 December 1944, in the early days of the Viet Minh resistance against occupying Japanese and later French forces. On this date Ho Chi Minh’s Viet Minh formed the first organized armed unit (“Armed Propaganda Unit”) under his directive, a key step toward Vietnam’s struggle for independence. The event is still celebrated in Vietnam as the founding of its regular army.

1971 – Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) founded: On 22 December 1971 a group of French doctors and journalists officially created Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Paris. The new NGO pledged to deliver medical aid “impartial and neutral” to people in crisis around the world. Over the ensuing decades MSF grew into one of the leading international humanitarian organisations.

1988 – Assassination of Chico Mendes: Brazilian rubber tapper and environmental activist Chico Mendes was shot and killed on 22 December 1988. Mendes had organised Amazonian rubber workers (“seringueiros”) in nonviolent protests (empates) against illegal logging and land clearing. His murder by ranchers drew worldwide attention to deforestation and indigenous rights, making Mendes a global symbol of the environmental movement.

1989 – Reopening of the Brandenburg Gate: In Berlin on 22 December 1989, East and West German authorities formally reopened the Brandenburg Gate after 28 years of Cold War closure. Workers had cut through the Wall’s border fencing at the Gate just after midnight, and West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl walked through to meet East German leaders. The event – celebrated by cheering crowds – symbolized the end of Germany’s division and the coming reunification.