1. On December 22, 1783, George Washington resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army to the Congress of the Confederation at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland, which had served as the temporary U.S. capital. This event signaled the end of the revolutionary war and the beginning of a new era of American history.

2. On December 22, 1842, a fire destroyed the New Haven Armory, which was located on the corner of Chapel and State streets in downtown New Haven. The building had been completed just the year before and housed a variety of military and civic functions, including a drill hall, armory, courthouse, and post office. The cause of the fire remains unknown to this day.

3. On December 22, 1862, the Emancipation Proclamation was read aloud for the first time in Hartford, Connecticut. The proclamation had been issued by President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, but it did not take effect until January 1, 1863. The reading of the proclamation in Hartford was met with mixed reactions, with some applauding it as a step towards freedom for enslaved people, while others saw it as an overreach of federal power.

4. On December 22, 1894, the first motor-driven trolley car in the United States went into service in East Windsor, Connecticut. The car, which was built by the Connecticut Electric Railway Company, ran on a 3-mile stretch of track between Broad Brook and Warehouse Point. The trolley car was seen as a major innovation in transportation, allowing people to travel faster and further than ever before.

5. On December 22, 2018, a tornado touched down in Connecticut, causing widespread damage in the town of Brookfield. The tornado was part of a severe thunderstorm that swept across the region, bringing heavy rain, strong winds, and lightning. The tornado was classified as an EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with wind speeds of up to 110 mph. Despite the damage, there were no fatalities reported.