December 22: Yule begins; Dongzhi Festival in China (2023)Aerial view of the Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill856 An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.9 struck the eastern Alborz mountains in Persia, causing an estimated 200,000 deaths.1948 Chaired by Sjafruddin Prawiranegara, the Emergency Government of the Republic of Indonesia was established to counter Dutch attempts to re-assert colonial control.1988 Brazilian unionist and environmental activist Chico Mendes was murdered at his home in Xapuri.2008 A dike ruptured at a waste containment area for a coal-fired power plant in Kingston, Tennessee, releasing 1.1billion gallons (4.2millionm3) of coal fly ash slurry (aftermath pictured) in the largest industrial spill in US history.Carl Friedrich Abel (b.1723)William Hyde Wollaston (d.1828)Meghan Trainor (b.1993)Dina Belenkaya (b.1993)More anniversaries: December 21December 22December 23ArchiveBy emailList of days of the yearAbout