This Day in History for December 22 – ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Repealed and More

Here’s a look at some interesting events that took place on this day in history:

1807 – At the urging of President Thomas Jefferson, Congress passes the Embargo Act, forbidding trade with all foreign countries (More info)

1941 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives in Washington, DC for a series of meetings with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on a unified Anglo-American war strategy (More info)

1984 – Bernhard Hugo Goetz shoots four would-be muggers on a New York City express train, sparking a nationwide debate on vigilante justice (More info)

2001 – Richard Reid tries to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes (More info)

2010 – The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the 17-year-old policy banning gays from serving openly in the United States military, is signed into law by President Barack Obama (More info)