December 22: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

Lionel Messi broke Pelé’s record for the most goals with one soccer club.

Messi proved himself again when he scored the 644th goal for FC Barcelona, beating the record Pelé had held since retiring from the Brazilian team Santos back in 1974.

A powerful tsunami hit Indonesia.

This tsunami took place at the Sunda Strait as a result of a portion of the Anak Krakatau volcano, which fell into the sea. The tsunami killed over 400 people.

The “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy was repealed.

This policy had been in place for seventeen years before it was repealed. It banned homosexuals from serving openly in the US military. President Barack Obama signed the repeal.

Richard Reid, infamously known as the “shoe bomber,” attempted to blow up an airplane with explosives in his shoes.

Reid hid plastic explosives in his shoes which he unsuccessfully attempted to detonate on board an American Airlines flight. Reid was subdued by passengers and arrested upon landing.

Two robbers who wore police uniforms robbed an armored truck of $3 million in New Jersey.

Doctors Without Borders was founded in Paris by French doctors and journalists.

Also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the humanitarian non-governmental organization has since been one of the most active medical organizations across the world's conflict zones.

The Graduate American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols was released.

Mike Nichols went on to win Best Director.

The first gorilla born in captivity, called Colo, was born at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

Colo was a western gorilla and was the oldest known gorilla in the world. She died during her sleep at the age of 60, on January 17, 2017.

Adolf Hitler signed the order to develop the V-2 rocket as a weapon during World War II.

The Mummy film, directed by Karl Freund, was released in the US.

The 1932 release of "The Mummy" was one of three of Freund's horror movies, including Dracula and Frankenstein, that made Universal Pictures famous in the 1930s.

Asteroid 323 Brucia became the first asteroid discovered using photography.

A samurai called Itō Hirobumi became Japan’s first Prime Minister.

The British ship HMS Minotaur sunk, killing 480 people.

Pope Innocent I was elected.

It's pretty likely that Pope Innocent I was the son of his papal predecessor, Pope Anastasius I. While records from the time vary, if this is true, it would be the only case in history when this has happened.