December 21

December 21 in recent years

2023 (Thursday)

2022 (Wednesday)

2021 (Tuesday)

2020 (Monday)

2019 (Saturday)

2018 (Friday)

2017 (Thursday)

2016 (Wednesday)

2015 (Monday)

2014 (Sunday)

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. This is a frequent day for the winter solstice to occur in the northern hemisphere and summer solstice to occur in the southern hemisphere; it is also the beginning of astronomical winter in the northern hemisphere.

Events

• 69 – The Roman Senate declares Vespasian as Roman emperor, the last in the Year of Four Emperors.
• 1140 – Conrad III of Germany besieged Weinsberg.
• 1598 – Battle of Curalaba: The revolting Mapuche, led by cacique Pelentaru, inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile.
• 1620 – Plymouth Colony: William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
• 1826 – American settlers in Nacogdoches, Mexican Texas, declare their independence, starting the Fredonian Rebellion.
• 1832 – Egyptian–Ottoman War: Egyptian forces decisively defeat Ottoman troops at the Battle of Konya.
• 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.
• 1879 – World première of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen.
• 1883 – The first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army are formed: The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment.
• 1907 – The Chilean Army commits a massacre of at least 2,000 striking saltpeter miners in in Iquique, Chile.
• 1910 – An underground explosion at the Hulton Bank Colliery No. 3 Pit in Over Hulton, Westhoughton, England, kills 344 miners.
• 1913 – Arthur Wynne's "word-cross", the first crossword puzzle, is published in the New York World.
• 1919 – American anarchist Emma Goldman is deported to Russia.
• 1937 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the world's first full-length animated feature, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theater.
• 1941 – World War II: A formal treaty of alliance between Thailand and Japan is signed in the presence of the Emerald Buddha in Wat Phra Kaew.
• 1946 – An 8.1 M_w earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Nankaidō, Japan, kill over 1,300 people and destroy over 38,000 homes.
• 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 after the transplant.
• 1968 – Apollo program: Apollo 8 launched from the Kennedy Space Center, placing its crew on a lunar trajectory for the first visit to another celestial body by humans.
• 1969 – The United Nations adopts the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
• 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.
• 1988 – A bomb explodes on board Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, killing 270.
• 1992 – A Dutch DC-10, flight Martinair MP 495, crashes at Faro Airport, killing 56 people.
• 1994 – Mexican volcano Popocatepetl, dormant for 47 years, erupts gases and ash.
• 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.
• 2004 – Iraq War: A suicide bomber killed 22 at the forward operating base next to the main U.S. military airfield at Mosul, the single deadliest suicide attack on American soldiers.

Births

• 1118 – Thomas Becket, Lord Chancellor of England and Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1170)
• 1401 – Tommaso Masaccio, Italian painter (d. 1428)
• 1596 – Petru Movilă, Moldovan religious figure (d. 1646)
• 1603 – Roger Williams, English theologian and founder of the American colony Providence Plantations (d. 1684)
• 1672 – Benjamin Schmolck, German Lutheran composer of hymns (d. 1737)
• 1682 – Calico Jack Rackham, English pirate (d. 1720)
• 1714 – John Bradstreet, Canadian-born soldier (d. 1774)
• 1728 – Hermann Raupach, German composer (d. 1778)
• 1778 – Anders Sandøe Ørsted, Danish politician (d. 1860)
• 1795 – Leopold von Ranke, German historian (d. 1886)
• 1795 – John Russell, English parson and dog breeder (d. 1883)
• 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)
• 1840 – Namık Kemal, Turkish nationalist poet (d. 1888)
• 1843 – Thomas Bracken, Irish-born New Zealand poet (d. 1898)
• 1850 – Zdeněk Fibich, Bohemian composer (d. 1900)
• 1850 – William Wallace Lincoln, son of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1862)
• 1851 – Thomas Chipman McRae, American politician (d. 1929)
• 1859 – Gustave Kahn, French poet (d. 1936)
• 1866 – Maud Gonne, Irish activist (d. 1953)
• 1868 – George W. Fuller: American sanitary engineer (d. 1934)
• 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, Australian politician (d. 1975)
• 1878 – Jan Łukasiewicz, Polish philosopher and mathematician (d. 1956)
• 1885 – Frank Patrick, Canadian 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 – Amy Key Clarke, English mystical poet (d. 1980)
• 1892 – Walter Hagen, American golfer (d. 1969)
• 1892 – Rebecca West, British writer (d. 1983)
• 1896 – Leroy Robertson, American composer (d. 1971)
• 1905 – Anthony Powell, British author (d. 2000)
• 1908 – Herbert Hutner, American banker and attorney (d. 2008)
• 1909 – Seicho Matsumoto, Japanese mystery writer and journalist (d. 1992)
• 1911 – Josh Gibson, American baseball player (d. 1947)
• 1913 – Arnold Friberg, American illustrator (d. 2010)
• 1914 – Frank Fenner, Australian microbiologist (d. 2010)
• 1914 – Ivan Generalić, Austro-Hungarian-born Croatian painter (d. 1992)
• 1915 – Joe Mantell, American actor (d. 2010)
• 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 civil servant (d. 2003)
• 1918 – Kurt Waldheim, Austrian politician and diplomat (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Alicia Alonso, Cuban ballerina
• 1920 – Bob Bindig, American cartoonist (d. 2006)
• 1920 – Jean Gascon, Canadian actor (d. 1988)
• 1921 – Robert Lipshutz, American attorney and counsel to the Carter Adminisrtation (d. 2010)
• 1921 – John Severin, American comics artist
• 1922 – Itubwa Amram, Nauruan pastor and politician (d. 1989)
• 1922 – Paul Winchell, American ventriloquist (d. 2005)
• 1923 – Intizar Hussain, Urdu writer and columnist
• 1924 – Rita Reys, Dutch jazzsinger
• 1926 – Arnošt Lustig, Czech author
• 1926 – Joe Paterno, American football coach (d. 2012)
• 1928 – Ed Nelson, American actor
• 1931 – David Baker, American symphonic jazz composer
• 1932 – Edward Hoagland, American essayist
• 1935 – John G. Avildsen, American film director
• 1935 – Lorenzo Bandini, Italian racecar driver (d. 1967)
• 1935 – Yusuf Bey, 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
• 1938 – Larry Bryggman, American actor
• 1938 – Frank Moorhouse, Australian author
• 1939 – Lloyd Axworthy, Canadian politician
• 1940 – Arvi Lind, Finnish news broadcaster
• 1940 – Ray Hildebrand, American singer (Paul & Paula)
• 1940 – Frank Zappa, American musician (d. 1993)
• 1942 – Hu Jintao, CPC General Secretary, Chinese president
• 1942 – Reinhard Mey, German singer
• 1942 – Carla Thomas, American singer
• 1943 – André Arthur. Canadian radio host
• 1943 – Albert Lee, English guitarist
• 1943 – Jack Nance, American actor (d. 1996)
• 1944 – Bill Atkinson, English footballer
• 1944 – Hwang Jang Lee, Japanese-born Korean martial artist and film actor
• 1944 – Michael Tilson Thomas, American conductor
• 1944 – Zheng Xiaoyu, Chinese bureaucrat (d. 2007)
• 1946 – Christopher Keene, American conductor (d. 1995)
• 1946 – Carl Wilson, American musician (The Beach Boys) (d. 1998)
• 1947 – Bryan Hamilton, Northern Irish footballer
• 1947 – Paco de Lucía, Spanish musician
• 1948 – Samuel L. Jackson, American actor
• 1948 – Dave Kingman, American baseball player
• 1948 – Willi Resetarits, Austrian musician
• 1949 – Thomas Sankara, Burkinabé military figure (d. 1987)
• 1949 – Nikolaos Sifounakis, Greek politician
• 1950 – Jeffrey Katzenberg, American film producer
• 1950 – Lillebjørn Nilsen, Norwegian singer-songwriter
• 1951 – Nick Gilder, English musician (Sweeney Todd)
• 1952 – Joaquín Andújar, Dominican baseball player
• 1953 – Betty Wright, American singer
• 1954 – Chris Evert, American tennis player
• 1955 – Jane Kaczmarek, American actress
• 1955 – Kazuyuki Sekiguchi, Japanese musician
• 1957 – Tom Henke, American baseball player
• 1957 – Rolf Kanies, German actor
• 1957 – Ray Romano, Italian-American comedian
• 1959 – Florence Griffith Joyner, American sprinter (d. 1998)
• 1960 – Louis Demetrius Alvanis, British pianist
• 1960 – Roger McDowell, American baseball player
• 1960 – Andy Van Slyke, American baseball player
• 1961 – Francis Ng, Hong Kong actor
• 1961 – Ryuji Sasai, Japanese video game composer
• 1961 – Del Wilkes, American pro wrestler
• 1963 – Govinda Ahuja, Indian actor and politician
• 1964 – Rob Kelly, English football manager
• 1964 – Fabiana Udenio, Argentine actress
• 1964 – Joe Kocur, Canadian hockey player
• 1965 – Andy Dick, American actor and comedian
• 1965 – Anke Engelke, German comedian
• 1965 – Stuart Mitchell, Scottish Composer
• 1966 – Adam Schefter, American sports journalist
• 1966 – Kiefer Sutherland, British-born Canadian actor
• 1966 – Karri Turner, American actress
• 1967 – Ervin Johnson, American basketball player
• 1967 – Fritz Karl, Austrian actor
• 1967 – Terry Mills, American basketball player
• 1967 – Mikheil Saakashvili, Soviet-born President of Georgia
• 1969 – Julie Delpy, French actress
• 1969 – Jack Noseworthy, American actor
• 1969 – Mihails Zemļinskis, Latvian footballer
• 1971 – Matthieu Chedid, French musician
• 1971 – Fenton Keogh, Australian celebrity chef
• 1971 – Brett Scallions, American singer (Fuel)
• 1972 – Gloria De Piero, English journalist
• 1972 – Latroy Hawkins, American baseball player
• 1972 – Dustin Hermanson, American baseball player
• 1972 – Claudia Poll, Costa Rican swimmer
• 1972 – Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Indian politician
• 1972 – Erwin Schrott, Uruguayan opera singer
• 1973 – Irakli Alasania, Georgian politician and diplomat
• 1973 – Mike Alstott, American football player
• 1973 – Karmen Stavec, German-Slovenian singer
• 1974 – Karrie Webb, Australian golfer
• 1975 – Paloma Herrera, Argentine ballet dancer
• 1976 – Mirela Manjani, Greek javelin thrower
• 1976 – Lukas Rossi, Canadian singer (Rock Star Supernova)
• 1977 – A. J. Bowen, American actor
• 1977 – Toby Rand, Australian singer (Juke Kartel)
• 1978 – Emiliano Brembilla, Italian swimmer
• 1978 – Mike Vitar, American actor
• 1979 – Tuva Novotny, Swedish actress and singer
• 1980 – Royce Ring, American baseball player
• 1980 – Michele Di Piedi, Italian footballer
• 1981 – Frankie Abernathy, American actress (d. 2007)
• 1981 – Mohammed Jabarah, Kuwaiti convicted terrorist
• 1981 – Sanita Puspure, Latvian and Irish rower
• 1981 – Lynda Thomas, Mexican singer
• 1981 – Cristian Zaccardo, Italian football player
• 1982 – Eddie Colón, Puerto Rican wrestler
• 1982 – Mike Gansey, American basketball player
• 1982 – Erica Hayden, American journalist and radio personality
• 1982 – Philip Humber, American baseball player
• 1982 – Iljo Keisse, Belgian cyclist
• 1982 – Tom Payne, British actor
• 1984 – Darren Potter, Irish football player
• 1985 – James Stewart Jr., American motorcycle racer
• 1985 – Tom Sturridge, British actor
• 1987 – Valerie Concepcion, Filipino actress
• 1987 – Brad Howard, Australian rules footballer
• 1988 – Alexa Goddard, British R&B singer
• 1988 – Yasmin, British DJ and Singer
• 1989 – Mark Ingram, Jr., American football player
• 1989 – Tamannaah, Indian actress

Deaths

• 72 – Thomas the Apostle
• 882 – Hincmar, French bishop (b. 806)
• 1295 – Marguerite Berenger of Provence, wife of Louis IX of France (b. c.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)
• 1799 – Philip Affleck, British Admiral and First Lord of the Admiralty (b. 1726)
• 1807 – John Newton, English cleric and hymnist (b. 1725)
• 1824 – James Parkinson, English physician and paleontologist (b. 1755)
• 1869 – Friedrich Ernst Scheller, German jurist and politician (b. 1791)
• 1873 – Francis Garnier, French explorer (b. 1839)
• 1889 – Friedrich August von Quenstedt, German geologist (b. 1809)
• 1900 – Roger Wolcott, American politician (b. 1847)
• 1920 – Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, Somalian nationalist leader (b. 1856)
• 1933 – Knud Rasmussen, Greenlandic polar explorer and anthropologist (b. 1879)
• 1935 – Kurt Tucholsky, German journalist and satirist (b. 1890)
• 1937 – Frank B. Kellogg, American diplomat, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1856)
• 1940 – F. Scott Fitzgerald, American writer (b. 1896)
• 1945 – George Smith Patton Jr., American military commander (b. 1885)
• 1952 – Kenneth Edwards, American golfer (b. 1886)
• 1957 – Eric Coates, English-born American 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)
• 1963 – Jack Hobbs, English cricketer (b. 1882)
• 1965 – Claude Champagne, Canadian composer (b. 1891)
• 1967 – Stuart Erwin, American actor (b. 1903)
• 1968 – Vittorio Pozzo, Italian football coach (b. 1886)
• 1974 – James Henry Govier, British artist (b. 1910)
• 1974 – Richard Long, American actor (b. 1927)
• 1982 – Hafeez Jullundhri, Pakistani writer, poet composer of the National Anthem of Pakistan (b. 1900)
• 1983 – Paul de Man, Belgian-born literary critic (b. 1919)
• 1986 – Bill Simpson, Scottish actor (b. 1931)
• 1987 – John Spence, American musician (No Doubt) (b. 1969)
• 1988 – Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch ornithologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1907)
• 1989 – Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Nigerian-born British photographer (b.1955)
• 1990 – Clarence Johnson, American aeronautical engineer (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-Günther Schenck, German physician (b. 1904)
• 2001 – Dick Schaap, American sports journalist (b. 1934)
• 2003 – Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Spanish 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)
• 2009 – Edwin G. Krebs, American biochemist (b. 1918)
• 2010 – Enzo Bearzot, Italian football player and manager (b. 1927)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • O Oriens
  • Petrus Canisius
  • Thomas the apostle (pre-1970 Roman Calendar)

• Divalia, in honour of Angerona, (Roman Empire)
• Earliest date for the winter solstice:
  • Earliest date for Yule in the northern hemisphere, and Midsummer in the southern hemisphere. (Neopagan Wheel of the Year)
  • Sanghamitta Day
  • Ziemassvētki (ancient Latvia)
• Forefathers' Day (Plymouth, Massachusetts)
• The first day of Pancha Ganapati, celebrated until December 25 (India)

External links

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

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