Today is Monday, December 22, the 357th day of 2008. There are nine days left in the year.
1783 _ Washington resigns his military commission as U.S. Army's commander-in-chief
1882 _ First string of Christmas tree lights created by Thomas Edison
1917 _ Flanders declares its independence, under Pieter Tack
1941 _ Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives in Washington D.C. for a wartime conference
1941 _ Japan's invasion leader lands on Luzon, Philippines
1963 _ Official 30-day mourning period for President John F. Kennedy ends
1965 _ Director David Lean's ``Dr. Zhivago" premieres
1976 _ 35 Unification church couples wed in New York City
1984 _ Madonna's ``Like a Virgin" single goes No. 1 for 6 weeks
1990 _ Lech Walesa sworn in as Poland's first popularly elected president