On this day in history - Today, December 22

Today in History

• 2010 Don't ask don't tell was repealed

  President Obama signed the repeal of the don't ask, don't tell policy that governed the recruitment and service of LGBTQ members in the United States military. The policy was put in place by the Clinton Administration in 1994.

• 1989 Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu overthrown

  The Communist President was ousted after widespread demonstrations in the country. Ceaușescu and his wife Elena tried to flee the country, but were captured, tried and executed by a firing squad. The Romanian Revolution was the only violent overthrow of a communist government in the 1980s.

• 1937 Lincoln Tunnel opens

  The 1.5-mile-long (2.4 km) long tunnel passes under the Hudson River and connects New Jersey to New York City.

• 1891 First asteroid discovered through astrophotography

  323 Brucia was discovered by Max Wolf and was named after Catherine Wolfe Bruce, an American patron of astronomy.

• 1882 First Christmas tree to be illuminated by electric lights displayed

  Edward H. Johnson, an associate of inventor Thomas Edison and the Vice President of the Edison Electric Light Company, became the first person to decorate a Christmas tree with electric lights at his home in New York City.