December 22

John Obadiah Westwood (22 December 1805 – 2 January 1893) was an English entomologist and archaeologist also noted for his artistic talents.

Born in Sheffield, he studied to be a lawyer but abandoned that for his scientific interests.

He became a curator and later professor at Oxford University, having been nominated by this friend and patron the Reverend Frederick William Hope, whose donation was the basis of the Hope Collection at Oxford. He was also a Fellow ofMagdalen College, Oxford.

Westwood was a Fellow of the Linnean Society and president of the Entomological Society of London (1852–1853).

Among the prominent writers and naturalists he associated with was James Rennie, whom he assisted in the editing of Gilbert White's The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne in 1833.

Dame Peggy Ashcroft, DBE (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991)  was an English actress whose career spanned 48 years. In May 1986 Ashcroft was awarded an honorary degree from the Open University as Doctor of the University.  Ashcroft was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1951, and raised to Dame Commander (DBE) in 1956.

Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton Wykeham Fiennes (born 22 December 1962), better known as Ralph Fiennes (pron.: /ˈreɪf ˈfaɪnz/), is an English theatre and film actor. A noted Shakespeare interpreter, he first achieved success onstage in the Royal National Theatre.

Fiennes' portrayal of Nazi war criminal Amon Goeth in Schindler's List (1993), earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. His performance as Count Almásy in The English Patient (1996), garnered him a second Academy Award nomination, for Best Actor, as well as BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations.

Since then, Fiennes has starred or appeared in The Prince of Egypt (1998), The End of the Affair (1999), Red Dragon (2002), The Constant Gardener (2005), the Harry Potter film series (2005–2011), in which he played Lord Voldemort, The Reader (2008), and Clash of the Titans (2010). In 2012, Fiennes played Gareth Mallory in the James Bond film Skyfall and Magwitch in Great Expectations.

In 2011, Fiennes made his directorial debut with his film adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy Coriolanus, in which he also played the titular character. Fiennes won a Tony Award for playing Prince Hamlet on Broadway.