Giacomo Puccini, Italian composer and educator (died 1924)

Giacomo Puccini was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, stemming from the late Baroque era. Though his early work was firmly rooted in traditional late-nineteenth-century Romantic Italian opera, it later developed in the realistic verismo style, of which he became one of the leading exponents.

December 22 is the 356th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; nine days remain until the end of the year.