December 21
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Events
- 69 - Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian becomes the fourth Emperor of Rome within a year.
- 1620 - Plymouth Colony: William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
- 1861 - Medal of Honor: Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy Medal of Valor, is signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln.
- 1872 - Challenger expedition: HMS Challenger, commanded by Captain George Nares, sails from Portsmouth.
- 1913 - Arthur Wynne's "word-cross", the first crossword puzzle, is published in the New York World.
- 1917 - Meiji Dairies, a Japanese dairy industry company, is founded.
- 1937 - The film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is premiered at the Carthay Circle Theater in Los Angeles.
- 1958 - French presidential election, 1958: Charles de Gaulle is elected President of France as his Union des Démocrates pour la République party gain 78.5% of the vote.
- 1962 - Rondane National Park is established as Norway's first national park.
- 1968 - Project Apollo: Apollo 8, crewed by Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
- 1979 - Lancaster House Agreement: An independence agreement for Rhodesia is signed in London by Lord Carrington, Sir Ian Gilmour, Robert Mugabe, Joshua Nkomo, Bishop Abel Muzorewa and Dr S C Mundawarara.
- 1987 - The passenger ferry Doña Paz sinks after colliding with the oil tanker Vector 1 in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines, killing 1,565.
- 1988 - A bomb explodes on board Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, killing 270.
- 1999 - The Spanish Civil Guard intercepts a van loaded with 950 kg of explosives which ETA intend to use to blow up Torre Picasso in Madrid.
- 2012 - The Long Count of the Maya calendar recycles according to the most popular correlation. A minority argues it does so on December 23, 2012.
Births
- 1118 - Thomas Becket, Lord Chancellor of England and Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1170)
- 1401 - Tommaso Masaccio, Italian painter (d. 1428)
- 1596 - Petro Mohyla, Moldovan Orthodox Metropolitan Bishop of Kiev and Galicia (d. 1646)
- 1603 - Roger Williams, English theologian and colonist (d. 1684)
- 1714 - John Bradstreet, Canadian-born soldier (d. 1774)
- 1804 - Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1881)
- 1805 - Thomas Graham, British chemist (d. 1869)
- 1811 - Archibald Campbell Tait, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1882)
- 1815 - Thomas Couture French painter and teacher (d. 1879)
- 1843 - Thomas Bracken, Irish-born New Zealander poet (d. 1898)
- 1850 - Zdeněk Fibich, Bohemian composer (d. 1900)
- 1859 - Gustave Kahn, French poet (d. 1936)
- 1872 - Don Lorenzo Perosi, Italian composer (d. 1956)
- 1872 - Albert Payson Terhune, American author (d. 1942)
- 1876 - Jack Lang (John Thomas Lang), Premier of New South Wales (d. 1975)
- 1878 - Jan Łukasiewicz, Polish philosopher and mathematician (d. 1956)
- 1879 - Joseph Stalin, Leader of the Russian Communist Party from 1928 to 1953 (d. 1953)
- 1889 - Sewall Wright, American biologist (d. 1988)
- 1890 - Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)
- 1892 - Walter Hagen, American golfer (d. 1969)
- 1892 - Rebecca West, American writer (d. 1983)
- 1896 - Leroy Robertson, American composer (d. 1971)
- 1914 - Ivan Generalić, Austro-Hungarian-born Croatian painter (d. 1992)
- 1917 - Heinrich Böll, German writer and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
- 1918 - Donald Regan, White House Chief of Staff and United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 2003)
- 1918 - Kurt Waldheim, Austrian United Nations Secretary-General and Federal President of Austria
- 1921 - Vampira (Maila Nurmi), Finnish-born actress
- 1921 - Alicia Alonso (Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martinez Hoya), Cuban ballerina
- 1922 - Paul Winchell, American ventriloquist (d. 2005)
- 1926 - Joe Paterno, American Football coach
- 1935 - John G. Avildsen, American film director and editor
- 1935 - Yusuf Bey (Joseph Stephens), American activist and businessman (d. 2003)
- 1935 - Phil Donahue, American talk show host
- 1937 - Jane Fonda, American actress and activist
- 1940 - Frank Zappa, American singer, guitarist and composer (d. 1993)
- 1942 - Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China
- 1942 - Reinhard Mey, German singer
- 1942 - Carla Thomas, American singer
- 1944 - Michael Tilson Thomas, American conductor
- 1944 - Bill Atkinson, English footballer
- 1946 - Carl Wilson, American singer and guitarist (The Beach Boys) (d. 1998)
- 1947 - Paco de Lucía, Spanish guitarist
- 1947 - Bryan Hamilton, Northern Irish footballer and football manager
- 1948 - Samuel L. Jackson, American actor
- 1948 - Willi Resetarits, Austrian musician and cabaret artist
- 1950 - Jeffrey Katzenberg, American producer
- 1954 - Chris Evert, American tennis player
- 1955 - Jane Kaczmarek, American actress
- 1955 - Kazuyuki Sekiguchi, Japanese musician
- 1957 - Tom Henke, American baseball player
- 1957 - Ray Romano, American comedian and actor
- 1959 - Florence Griffith Joyner, American sprinter, Olympic gold medalist and 100 m & 200 m world record holder (d. 1998)
- 1960 - Louis Demetrius Alvanis, London-based pianist
- 1961 - Francis Ng, Hong Kong actor
- 1964 - Rob Kelly, English football manager
- 1965 - Andy Dick, American actor and comedian
- 1965 - Anke Engelke, German comedienne
- 1966 - Kiefer Sutherland, British-born Canadian actor
- 1967 - Mikhail Saakashvili, Soviet-born President of Georgia
- 1969 - Julie Delpy, French actress
- 1969 - Mihails Zemļinskis, Latvian footballer
- 1971 - Brett Scallions, American singer (Fuel)
- 1972 - Latroy Hawkins, professional baseball player
- 1973 - Karmen Stavec, German-born Slovenian singer
- 1973 - Mike Alstott, American football player
- 1974 - Karrie Webb, Australian golfer
- 1975 - Paloma Herrera, Argentine ballet dancer (American Ballet Theatre)
- 1977 - Jim Carson, American music producer and disc jockey
- 1978 - Mike Vitar, American actor
- 1980 - Lee Eun Ju, Korean actress (d. 2005)
- 1981 - Dima Bilan, Russian singer
- 1981 - Cristian Zaccardo, Italian footballer
- 1982 - Mike Gansey, American basketball player
- 1984 - Darren Potter, Irish footballer
- 1985 - James Stewart Jr., professional motocross racer
- 1987 - Edward Speleers, Brtish Actor
Deaths
- 1295 - Marguerite Berenger of Provence, wife of Louis IX of France
- 1308 - Henry I of Hesse (b. 1244)
- 1375 - Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian writer (b. 1313)
- 1504 - Bertold von Henneberg-Römhild, German archbishop and elector (b. 1442)
- 1549 - Marguerite of Navarre, wife of Henry II of Navarre (b. 1492)
- 1579 - Vicente Masip, Spanish painter
- 1597 - Petrus Canisius, Dutch Jesuit (b. 1521)
- 1807 - John Newton, English cleric and hymnist (b. 1725)
- 1824 - James Parkinson, English physician, geologist, paleontologist, and political activist (b. 1755)
- 1873 - Francis Garnier, French explorer (b. 1839)
- 1889 - Friedrich August von Quenstedt, German geologist (b. 1809)
- 1935 - Kurt Tucholsky, German journalist and satirist (b. 1890)
- 1937 - Frank B. Kellogg, United States Secretary of State, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1856)
- 1940 - F. Scott Fitzgerald, American writer (b. 1896)
- 1945 - George S. Patton, U.S. general (b. 1885)
- 1957 - Eric Coates, English composer (b. 1886)
- 1958 - Lion Feuchtwanger, German writer (b. 1884)
- 1959 - Rosanjin, Japanese calligrapher, restauranteur and ceramicist (b. 1883)
- 1983 - Paul de Man, Belgian-born literary critic (b. 1919)
- 1974 - James Henry Govier, British artist (b. 1910)
- 1988 - Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch ornithologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1907)
- 1992 - Albert King, American musician (b. 1924)
- 1992 - Nathan Milstein, Ukrainian violinist (b. 1903)
- 2001 - Dick Schaap, American sports journalist (b. 1931)
- 2004 - Autar Singh Paintal, Indian medical scientist (b. 1925)
Holidays and observances
- Roman festivals - Divalia in honour of Angerona
- R.C. Saints - Saint Petrus Canisius ; formerly feast day of Thomas the apostle
- Also see December 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- The summer solstice (Southern Hemisphere) or winter solstice (Northern Hemisphere), sometimes known as Yule, occurs on or very close to this date. It is an important festival in the Chinese calendar.
External links
December 20 - December 22 - November 21 - January 21 -- listing of all days
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