December 21

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December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 10 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 69 - The end of the 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.
• 1844 - The Rochdale Pioneers commence business at their cooperative in Rochdale, England, starting the Cooperative movement.
• 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.
• 1883 - The first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army are formed: The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment.
• 1913 - Arthur Wynne's "word-cross", the first crossword puzzle, is published in the New York World.
• 1958 - French presidential election: 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.
• 1967 - Louis Washkansky, the first man to undergo a heart transplant, dies in Cape Town, South Africa, after living for 18 days.
• 1968 - Apollo program: Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At 2h:50m:37s Mission elapsed time (MES), the crew performs the first ever manned Trans Lunar Injection and become the first humans to leave Earth's gravity.
• 1971 - The United Nations Security Council chooses Kurt Waldheim to succeed U Thant as Secretary-General.
• 1973 - The Geneva Conference on the Arab-Israeli conflict opens.
• 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 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, Scotland, killing 270.
• 1989 - The Romanian Revolution of 1989 moves from Timişoara to Bucharest.
• 1991 - Charilaos Florakis is elected honorary president of the Communist Party of Greece.
• 1992 - A Dutch DC-10, flight Martinair MP 495, crashes at Faro Airport (Portugal), killing 56 people.
• 1995 - The city of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control.
• 1999 - The Spanish Civil Guard intercepts a van loaded with 950 kg of explosives that ETA intended to use to blow up Torre Picasso in Madrid.
• 2007 - The Schengen Agreement area increases to include 9 European Union member states; Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia on land and sea borders.

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)
• 1778 - Anders Sandøe Ørsted, Danish politician (d. 1860)
• 1795 - Leopold von Ranke, German historian (d. 1886)
• 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)
• 1818 - Amalia of Oldenburg, Queen of Greece (d. 1875)
• 1832 - John H. Ketcham, American politician (d. 1906)
• 1843 - Thomas Bracken, Irish-born New Zealander poet (d. 1898)
• 1850 - Zdeněk Fibich, Bohemian composer (d. 1900)
• 1851 - Thomas Chipman McRae, American politician, 34th Governor of Arkansas (d. 1929)
• 1859 - Gustave Kahn, French poet (d. 1936)
• 1872 - Sidney Ainsworth, British actor (d. 1922)
• 1872 - Don Lorenzo Perosi, Italian composer (d. 1956)
• 1872 - Albert Payson Terhune, American author (d. 1942)
• 1873 - Blagoje Bersa, Croatian composer (d. 1934)
• 1876 - Jack Lang (John Thomas Lang), Premier of New South Wales (d. 1975)
• 1878 - Jan Łukasiewicz, Polish philosopher and mathematician (d. 1956)
• 1879 - Josef Stalin, U.S.S.R Leader
• 1885 - Frank Patrick, hockey player (d. 1960)
• 1889 - Sewall Wright, American biologist (d. 1988)
• 1890 - Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist and Nobel laureate (d. 1967)
• 1891 - John William McCormack, American politician (d. 1980)
• 1892 - Walter Hagen, American golfer (d. 1969)
• 1892 - Rebecca West, American writer (d. 1983)
• 1892 - Amy Key Clarke, English mystical poet
• 1896 - Leroy Robertson, American composer (d. 1971)
• 1905 - Anthony Powell, British author (d. 2000)
• 1909 - Seicho Matsumoto, Japanese mystery writer and journalist (d. 1992)
• 1911 - Josh Gibson, American baseball player (d. 1947)
• 1914 - Ivan Generalić, Austro-Hungarian-born Croatian painter (d. 1992)
• 1915 - Werner von Trapp, member of the Trapp Family Singers (d. 2007)
• 1917 - Heinrich Böll, German writer and Nobel laureate (d. 1985)
• 1917 - Sophie Masloff, American politician
• 1918 - Donald Regan, American White House Chief of Staff (d. 2003)
• 1918 - Kurt Waldheim, Austrian United Nations Secretary-General and Federal President of Austria (d. 2007)
• 1920 - Alicia Alonso, Cuban ballerina
• 1920 - Bob Bindig, cartoonist (d. 2006)
• 1920 - Jean Gascon, Canadian actor (d. 1988)
• 1921 - Maila Nurmi, aka Vampira, Finnish-born American actress (d. 2008)
• 1921 - John Severin, American comics artist
• 1922 - Paul Winchell, American ventriloquist (d. 2005)
• 1923 - Intizar Hussain, Urdu writer and colomnist of Pakistan
• 1926 - Joe Paterno, American football coach
• 1932 - Edward Hoagland, American essayist
• 1935 - John G. Avildsen, American film director
• 1935 - Lorenzo Bandini, Italian racecar driver (d. 1967)
• 1935 - Yusuf Bey (Joseph Stephens), American activist (d. 2003)
• 1935 - Phil Donahue, American talk show host
• 1935 - Edward Schreyer, Canadian politician, Premier of Manitoba
• 1937 - Jane Fonda, American actress
• 1937 - Donald F. Munson, American politician
• 1939 - Lloyd Axworthy, Canadian politician
• 1940 - Frank Zappa, American musician (d. 1993)
• 1940 - Ray Hildebrand, American singer (Paul & Paula)
• 1942 - Hu Jintao, Chinese president
• 1942 - Reinhard Mey, German singer
• 1942 - Carla Thomas, American singer
• 1943 - André Arthur. Quebec radio host
• 1944 - Zheng Xiaoyu, Chinese bureaucrat (d. 2007)
• 1944 - Michael Tilson Thomas, American conductor
• 1944 - Bill Atkinson, English footballer
• 1946 - Carl Wilson, American musician (The Beach Boys) (d. 1998)
• 1946 - Christopher Keene, American conductor (d. 1995)
• 1947 - Paco de Lucía, Spanish musician
• 1947 - Bryan Hamilton, Northern Irish footballer
• 1948 - Samuel L. Jackson, American actor
• 1948 - Willi Resetarits, Austrian musician
• 1948 - Dave Kingman, baseball player
• 1949 - Nikolaos Sifounakis, Greek politician
• 1950 - Jeffrey Katzenberg, American producer
• 1950 - Lillebjørn Nilsen, Norwegian singer-songwriter
• 1951 - Nick Gilder, English musician (Sweeney Todd)
• 1952 - Joaquín Andújar, baseball player
• 1953 - Betty Wright, American singer
• 1954 - Chris Evert, American tennis player
• 1955 - Jane Kaczmarek, American actress
• 1955 - Kazuyuki Sekiguchi, Japanese musician
• 1956 - Lee Roy Parnell, American country singer
• 1957 - Tom Henke, American baseball player
• 1957 - Ray Romano, Italian-American comedian
• 1959 - Florence Griffith Joyner, American sprinter (d. 1998)
• 1960 - Louis Demetrius Alvanis, London-based pianist
• 1960 - Roger McDowell, Former Major League Baseball Pitcher
• 1960 - Andy Van Slyke, baseball player
• 1961 - Francis Ng, Hong Kong actor
• 1961 - Ryuji Sasai, Japanese composer
• 1964 - Rob Kelly, English football manager
• 1964 - Fabiana Udenio, Argentine actress
• 1965 - Andy Dick, American actor and comedian
• 1965 - Anke Engelke, German comedian
• 1966 - Kiefer Sutherland, British-born Canadian actor
• 1966 - Karri Turner, American actress
• 1967 - Mikhail Saakashvili, Soviet-born President of Georgia
• 1969 - Julie Delpy, French actress
• 1969 - Mihails Zemļinskis, Latvian footballer
• 1970 - Jamie Theakston, English television presenter
• 1971 - Mathieu Chedid, French musician
• 1971 - Fenton Keogh, Australian celebrity chef
• 1971 - Brett Scallions, American singer (Fuel, The X's)
• 1972 - Latroy Hawkins, baseball player
• 1972 - Erwin Schrott, Uruguayan opera singer
• 1972 - Dustin Hermanson, 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
• 1976 - Mirela Manjani, Greek javelin thrower
• 1978 - Mike Vitar, American actor
• 1979 - Tuva Novotny, Swedish actress and singer
• 1981 - Cristian Zaccardo, Italian football player
• 1981 - Lynda Thomas, Mexican singer
• 1981 - Sajid Mahmood, English cricketer
• 1982 - Mike Gansey, American basketball player
• 1982 - Erica Hayden, American journalist and radio personality
• 1982 - Philip Humber, American baseball player
• 1984 - Darren Potter, Irish footballer
• 1985 - James Stewart Jr., American motorcycle racer
• 1993 - Andrew Dixon, American snowboarder

Deaths

• 72 - Thomas the Apostle
• 1295 - Marguerite Berenger of Provence, wife of Louis IX of France (bc. 1221)
• 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)
• 1900 - Roger Wolcott, American political figure, 39th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1847)
• 1933 - Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen, Greenlandic polar explorer and anthropologist (b. 1879)
• 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, restaurateur and ceramicist (b. 1883)
• 1964 - Carl Van Vechten, American writer and photographer (b. 1880)
• 1965 - Claude Champagne, Quebec composer (b. 1891)
• 1967 - Stuart Erwin, American actor (b. 1903)
• 1974 - James Henry Govier, British artist (b. 1910)
• 1974 - Richard Long, American actor (b. 1927)
• 1981 - Allan Dwan, Canadian-born American director and screenwriter (b. 1885)
• 1983 - Paul de Man, Belgian-born literary critic (b. 1919)
• 1987 - John Spence, founding No Doubt member (b. 1969)
• 1988 - Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch ornithologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1907)
• 1990 - Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, American aeronautical engineer (Lockheed Skunk Works; b. 1910)
• 1992 - Albert King, American blues musician (b. 1924)
• 1992 - Nathan Milstein, Ukrainian violinist (b. 1903)
• 1997 - Amie Comeaux, American country music singer (b. 1976)
• 1998 - Roger Avon, Durham actor (b. 1914)
• 1998 - Karl Denver, Scottish singer (b 1931)
• 1998 - Ernst Gunther Schenck, German doctor who joined the Sturmabteilung in 1933 {b. 1904)
• 2001 - Dick Schaap, American sports journalist (b. 1934)
• 2003 - Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Spanish playboy and businessman (b. 1924)
• 2004 - Autar Singh Paintal, Indian medical scientist (b. 1925)
• 2005 - Elrod Hendricks, American baseball player and coach (b. 1940)
• 2006 - Scobie Breasley, Australian jockey (b. 1914)
• 2006 - Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan (b. 1940)
• 2007 - Ken Hendricks, American businessman (b. 1941)

Holidays and observances

• Roman festivals - Divalia in honour of Angerona
• R.C. Saints - O Oriens, Saint Petrus Canisius; formerly feast day of Thomas the apostle
• In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice, sometimes known as Yule, occurs on or very close to this date. In the Southern Hemisphere, the summer solstice occurs around this time.
• Yalda, originally a religious holiday for Zoroastrians, is now a social holiday in Iran.
• Chester Greenwood Day in Maine, he was the inventor of earmuffs.

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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