Today in History - December 22nd
1785: The American Continental Navy fleet was organized, consisting of two frigates, two brigs and three schooners. Sailors were paid eight dollars a month.
1807: Congress passed the Embargo Act, designed to force peace between Britain and France by cutting off all trade with Europe.
1862: Philadelphia A's manager Connie Mack, "Dean of Baseball" born
1864: Union General William T. Sherman sent President Abraham Lincoln this message "I beg to present you as a Christmas present the city of Savannah."
1922: Actress Barbara Billingsley (Leave it to Beaver) born
1922: Former House Speaker Jim Wright born
1931: The U.S. Senate ratifies foreign debt moratorium
1941: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrived in Washington for a wartime conference with President Roosevelt.
1943: Sporting goods manufacturers received permission to use synthetic rubber for the core of baseballs.
1944: Baseball hall-of-famer Steve Carlton born
1944: Ordered to surrender by Nazi troops who had his unit trapped, Gen. Anthony McAuliffe of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division replied with one word "Nuts!"
1989: Romania's hard-line Communist ruler, Nicolae Ceausescu, was toppled in a popular uprising \\
1990: Lech Walesa took the oath of office as Poland's first popularly elected president