December 21

For the doomsday prediction, see 2012 phenomenon.

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.

In the Northern Hemisphere, December 21st is usually the shortest day of the year and is sometimes regarded as the first day of winter. In the Southern Hemisphere, December 21st is usually the longest day of the year and occurs during the southern summer.

Events

• 69 – The Roman Senate declares Vespasian emperor of Rome, the last in the Year of the Four Emperors.
• 1124 – Pope Honorius II is elected.
• 1140 – Conrad III of Germany besieged Weinsberg.
• 1237 – The city of Ryazan is sacked by the Mongol army of Batu Khan.
• 1361 – The Battle of Linuesa is fought in the context of the Spanish Reconquista between the forces of the Emirate of Granada and the combined army of the Kingdom of Castile and of Jaén resulting in a Castilian victory.
• 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 Society of Equitable Pioneers commences business at its 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, England.
• 1879 – World premiere of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark.
• 1883 – The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment, the first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army, are formed.
• 1907 – The Chilean Army commits a massacre of at least 2,000 striking saltpeter miners 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.
• 1923 – United Kingdom and Nepal formally signed an agreement of friendship, called the Nepal–Britain Treaty of 1923, which superseded the Treaty of Sugauli signed in 1816.
• 1936 – First flight of the Junkers Ju 88 multi-role combat aircraft.
• 1937 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the world's first full-length animated feature, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theatre.
• 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, Thailand.
• 1946 – An 8.1 M_w earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Nankaidō, Japan, kills over 1,300 people and destroys over 38,000 homes.
• 1962 – Rondane National Park is established as Norway's first national park.
• 1963 – The episode of intercommunal violence called "Bloody Christmas" begins in Cyprus, ultimately resulting in the displacement of 25,000-30,000 Turkish Cypriots and destruction of more than 100 villages.
• 1967 – Louis Washkansky, the first man to undergo a heart transplant, dies in Cape Town, South Africa, having lived for 18 days after the transplant.
• 1968 – Apollo program: Apollo 8 is launched from the Kennedy Space Center, placing its crew on a lunar trajectory for the first visit to another celestial body by humans.
• 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 Peter 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.
• 1994 – Mexican volcano Popocatépetl, 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, Spain.
• 2004 – Iraq War: A suicide bomber killed 22 at the forward operating base next to the main U.S. military airfield at Mosul, Iraq, the single deadliest suicide attack on American soldiers.

Births

• 968 –Minamoto no Yorinobu, Japanese samurai (d. 1048)
• 1118 – Thomas Becket, English archbishop and saint (d. 1170)
• 1401 – Masaccio, Italian painter (d. 1428)
• 1596 – Peter Mogila, Romanian-Ukrainian metropolitan and saint (d. 1646)
• 1603 – Roger Williams, English minister, theologian, and politician, 9th President of the Colony of Rhode Island (d. 1684)
• 1672 – Benjamin Schmolck, German pastor and composer (d. 1737)
• 1714 – John Bradstreet, Canadian-English general (d. 1774)
• 1728 – Hermann Raupach, German harpsichord player and composer (d. 1778)
• 1778 – Anders Sandøe Ørsted, Danish jurist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Denmark (d. 1860)
• 1795 – Jack Russell, English priest, hunter, and dog breeder (d. 1883)
• 1795 – Leopold von Ranke, German historian, author, and academic (d. 1886)
• 1803 – Achille Vianelli, Italian painter and academic (d. 1894)
• 1804 – Benjamin Disraeli, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1881)
• 1805 – Thomas Graham, Scottish chemist and academic (d. 1869)
• 1811 – Archibald Tait, Scottish-English archbishop (d. 1882)
• 1815 – Thomas Couture, French painter and educator (d. 1879)
• 1820 – William H. Osborn, American businessman (d. 1894)
• 1830 – Bartolomé Masó, Cuban soldier and politician (d. 1907)
• 1832 – John H. Ketcham, American general and politician (d. 1906)
• 1840 – Namık Kemal, Turkish journalist, playwright, and activist (d. 1888)
• 1843 – Thomas Bracken, Irish-New Zealand journalist, poet, and politician (d. 1898)
• 1850 – Zdeněk Fibich, Czech composer and poet (d. 1900)
• 1851 – Thomas Chipman McRae, American lawyer and politician, 26th Governor of Arkansas (d. 1929)
• 1859 – Gustave Kahn, French poet and critic (d. 1936)
• 1866 – Maud Gonne, Irish nationalist activist (d. 1953)
• 1868 – George W. Fuller, American chemist and engineer (d. 1934)
• 1872 – Trevor Kincaid, Canadian-American zoologist and academic (d. 1970)
• 1872 – Lorenzo Perosi, Italian priest and composer (d. 1956)
• 1872 – Albert Payson Terhune, American journalist and author (d. 1942)
• 1873 – Blagoje Bersa, Croatian composer and educator (d. 1934)
• 1876 – Jack Lang, Australian lawyer and politician, 23rd Premier of New South Wales (d. 1975)
• 1877 – Jaan Sarv, Estonian mathematician and scholar (d. 1954)
• 1878 – Jan Łukasiewicz, Polish-Irish mathematician and philosopher (d. 1956)
• 1885 – Frank Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1960)
• 1888 – Jean Bouin, French runner and rugby player (d. 1914)
• 1889 – Sewall Wright, American geneticist and biologist (d. 1988)
• 1890 – Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)
• 1891 – John William McCormack, American lawyer and politician, 53rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1980)
• 1892 – Walter Hagen, American golfer (d. 1969)
• 1892 – Rebecca West, English journalist and author (d. 1983)
• 1896 – Leroy Robertson, American composer and educator (d. 1971)
• 1905 – Anthony Powell, English author (d. 2000)
• 1908 – Herbert Hutner, American banker and lawyer (d. 2008)
• 1909 – Seichō Matsumoto, Japanese journalist and author (d. 1992)
• 1911 – Josh Gibson, American baseball player (d. 1947)
• 1913 – Arnold Friberg, American illustrator and painter (d. 2010)
• 1914 – Frank Fenner, Australian microbiologist and virologist (d. 2010)
• 1914 – Ivan Generalić, Hungarian-Croatian painter (d. 1992)
• 1915 – Werner von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (d. 2007)
• 1917 – Diana Athill, English author
• 1917 – Heinrich Böll, German soldier and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
• 1918 – Donald Regan, American colonel and politician, 11th White House Chief of Staff (d. 2003)
• 1918 – Kurt Waldheim, Austrian colonel, war criminal, and politician, 9th President of Austria (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Adele Goldstine, American computer programmer (d. 1964)
• 1921 – Alicia Alonso, Cuban ballerina and choreographer, founded the Cuban National Ballet
• 1921 – Robert Lipshutz, American lawyer and politician, 17th White House Counsel (d. 2010)
• 1922 – Itubwa Amram, Nauruan pastor and politician (d. 1989)
• 1922 – Paul Winchell, American actor, voice artist, and ventriloquist (d. 2005)
• 1924 – Rita Reys, Dutch singer and actress (d. 2013)
• 1926 – Arnošt Lustig, Czech author and playwright (d. 2011)
• 1926 – Joe Paterno, American football player and coach (d. 2012)
• 1928 – Michalis Kounelis, Greek violinist (d. 1999)
• 1932 – U. R. Ananthamurthy, Indian author, poet, and critic (d. 2014)
• 1932 – Edward Hoagland, American author and critic
• 1933 – Denis E. Dillon, American jurist and politician (d. 2010)
• 1933 – Robert Worcester, American businessman and academic, founded MORI
• 1934 – Giuseppina Leone, Italian sprinter
• 1935 – John G. Avildsen, American director, producer, and cinematographer
• 1935 – Lorenzo Bandini, Italian race car driver (d. 1967)
• 1935 – Phil Donahue, American talk show host and producer
• 1935 – Edward Schreyer, Canadian academic and politician, 22nd Governor General of Canada
• 1937 – Jane Fonda, American actress, producer, and activist
• 1937 – Donald F. Munson, American soldier and politician
• 1938 – Larry Bryggman, American actor
• 1938 – Frank Moorhouse, Australian journalist, author, and screenwriter
• 1938 – John Quayle, English actor
• 1939 – Lloyd Axworthy, Canadian academic and politician, 2nd Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
• 1939 – Wafic Saïd, Syrian-Saudi Arabian financier, businessman and philanthropist
• 1940 – Arvi Lind, Finnish journalist
• 1940 – Frank Zappa, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1993)
• 1942 – Hu Jintao, Chinese engineer and politician, 6th President of China
• 1942 – Reinhard Mey, German singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1942 – Anthony Summers, Irish journalist and author
• 1943 – André Arthur, Canadian journalist and politician
• 1943 – Albert Lee, English guitarist and songwriter
• 1943 – Walter Spanghero, French rugby player
• 1944 – Bill Atkinson, English footballer and referee (d. 2013)
• 1944 – Michael Tilson Thomas, American pianist, composer, and conductor
• 1944 – Zheng Xiaoyu, Chinese diplomat (d. 2007)
• 1946 – Roy Karch, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1946 – Christopher Keene, American conductor (d. 1995)
• 1946 – Kevin Peek, Australian guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
• 1946 – Carl Wilson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1998)
• 1947 – Paco de Lucía, Spanish guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 2014)
• 1948 – Samuel L. Jackson, American actor and producer
• 1948 – Dave Kingman, American baseball player
• 1948 – Willi Resetarits, Austrian singer-songwriter, actor, and activist
• 1949 – Thomas Sankara, Burkinabé captain and politician, 5th President of Burkina Faso (d. 1987)
• 1949 – Nikolaos Sifounakis, Greek lawyer and politician
• 1950 – Jeffrey Katzenberg, American screenwriter and producer, co-founded DreamWorks Animation
• 1950 – Lillebjørn Nilsen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1951 – Steve Perryman, English footballer and manager
• 1952 – Joaquín Andújar, Dominican baseball player (d. 2015)
• 1953 – András Schiff, Hungarian-English pianist and conductor
• 1953 – Betty Wright, American singer-songwriter
• 1954 – Chris Evert, American tennis player and coach
• 1955 – Jane Kaczmarek, American actress
• 1955 – Kazuyuki Sekiguchi, Japanese singer-songwriter and bass player
• 1956 – Dave Laut, American shot putter (d. 2009)
• 1957 – Ray Romano, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1958 – Tamara Bykova, Russian high jumper
• 1959 – Florence Griffith Joyner, American sprinter and actress (d. 1998)
• 1960 – Roger McDowell, American baseball player and coach
• 1960 – Sherry Rehman, Pakistani journalist, politician, and diplomat, 25th Pakistan Ambassador to the United States
• 1961 – Henry Ford Kamel, Ghanaian banker and politician (d. 2012)
• 1961 – Ryuji Sasai, Japanese bass player and composer
• 1963 – Govinda, Indian actor, singer, and politician
• 1964 – Joe Kocur, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1964 – Kunihiko Ikuhara, Japanese director and illustrator
• 1964 – Daniel Suarez, American author
• 1965 – Andy Dick, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1965 – Anke Engelke, Canadian-German actress, director, and screenwriter
• 1966 – William Ruto, Kenyan politician, Deputy President of Kenya
• 1966 – Adam Schefter, American journalist and sportscaster
• 1966 – Kiefer Sutherland, Canadian actor, director, and producer
• 1967 – Ervin Johnson, American basketball player
• 1967 – Terry Mills, American basketball player and coach
• 1967 – Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Georgia
• 1969 – Julie Delpy, French model, actress, director, and screenwriter
• 1969 – Mihails Zemļinskis, Latvian footballer, coach, and manager
• 1971 – Matthieu Chedid, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1972 – Gloria De Piero, English journalist and politician, Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
• 1972 – Claudia Poll, Nicaraguan-Costa Rican swimmer and sportscaster
• 1972 – Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, Indian journalist and politician
• 1973 – Irakli Alasania, Georgian colonel and politician, Georgian Minister of Defense
• 1974 – Karrie Webb, Australian golfer
• 1975 – Paloma Herrera, Argentinian ballerina
• 1978 – Emiliano Brembilla, Italian swimmer
• 1979 – Steve Montador, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2015)
• 1980 – Michele Di Piedi, Italian footballer
• 1980 – Royce Ring, American baseball player
• 1981 – Sajid Mahmood, English cricketer
• 1981 – Cristian Zaccardo, Italian footballer
• 1982 – Primo, Puerto Rican-Canadian wrestler
• 1982 – Philip Humber, American baseball player
• 1982 – Iljo Keisse, Belgian cyclist
• 1984 – Darren Potter, English footballer
• 1985 – Tom Sturridge, English actor
• 1987 – Denis Alekseyev, Russian sprinter
• 1988 – Perri Shakes-Drayton, English sprinter and hurdler
• 1995 – Bobby (rapper), iKON & MOBB member (rapper)

Deaths

• 72 – Thomas the Apostle, Roman martyr and saint (b. 1 AD)
• 882 – Hincmar, French archbishop and historian (b. 806)
• 1308 – Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse (b. 1244)
• 1375 – Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian author and poet (b. 1313)
• 1504 – Berthold von Henneberg, German archbishop (b. 1442)
• 1597 – Peter Canisius, Dutch priest and saint (b. 1521)
• 1807 – John Newton, English soldier and minister (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 admiral and explorer (b. 1839)
• 1889 – Friedrich August von Quenstedt, German geologist and palaeontologist (b. 1809)
• 1920 – Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, Somalian general, founded the Dervish state (b. 1856)
• 1929 – I. L. Patterson, American politician, 18th Governor of Oregon (b. 1859)
• 1933 – Knud Rasmussen, Greenlandic anthropologist and explorer (b. 1879)
• 1935 – Ted Birnie, English footballer and manager (b. 1878)
• 1935 – Kurt Tucholsky, German-Swedish journalist and author (b. 1890)
• 1937 – Ted Healy, American comedian and actor (b. 1896)
• 1937 – Frank B. Kellogg, American lawyer and politician, 45th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1856)
• 1940 – F. Scott Fitzgerald, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1896)
• 1945 – George S. Patton, American general (b. 1885)
• 1952 – Kenneth Edwards, American golfer (b. 1886)
• 1953 – Kaarlo Koskelo, Finnish-American wrestler and businessman (b. 1888)
• 1957 – Eric Coates, English-American viola player and composer (b. 1886)
• 1958 – Lion Feuchtwanger, German-American author and playwright (b. 1884)
• 1959 – Rosanjin, Japanese calligrapher, engraver, and painter (b. 1883)
• 1963 – Jack Hobbs, English cricketer and journalist (b. 1882)
• 1964 – Carl Van Vechten, American author and photographer (b. 1880)
• 1965 – Claude Champagne, Canadian violinist, pianist, and composer (b. 1891)
• 1968 – Vittorio Pozzo, Italian footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1886)
• 1974 – Richard Long, American actor and director (b. 1927)
• 1982 – Abu Al-Asar Hafeez Jullundhri, Pakistani poet and composer (b. 1900)
• 1983 – Paul de Man, Belgian-American philosopher, critic, and academic (b. 1919)
• 1987 – John Spence, American singer (b. 1969)
• 1988 – Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch-English ethologist and ornithologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
• 1990 – Clarence Johnson, American engineer, designed the Lockheed U-2 and Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (b. 1910)
• 1992 – Stella Adler, American actress and educator (b. 1901)
• 1992 – Albert King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1924)
• 1992 – Nathan Milstein, Russian-American violinist and composer (b. 1903)
• 1998 – Ernst-Günther Schenck, German colonel and physician (b. 1904)
• 2004 – Autar Singh Paintal, Indian physiologist and neurologist (b. 1925)
• 2006 – Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmen engineer and politician, 1st President of Turkmenistan (b. 1940)
• 2009 – Edwin G. Krebs, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
• 2009 – Christos Lambrakis, Greek journalist and businessman (b. 1934)
• 2010 – Enzo Bearzot, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1927)
• 2013 – Edgar Bronfman, Sr., Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1929)
• 2013 – John Eisenhower, American historian, general, and diplomat, 45th United States Ambassador to Belgium (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Richard Hart, Jamaican-English historian, lawyer, and politician (b. 1917)
• 2014 – Udo Jürgens, Austrian-Swiss singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1934)
• 2014 – Sitor Situmorang, Indonesian poet and author (b. 1923)
• 2014 – Billie Whitelaw, English actress (b. 1932)

Holidays and observances

• Armed Forces Day (Philippines)
• Christian feast day:
  • O Oriens
  • Petrus Canisius
  • Thomas the Apostle (Anglicanism)
  • December 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Earliest date for the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, and its related observances:
  • Blue Christmas (Western Christianity)
  • Dongzhi Festival (Asia)
  • Sanghamitta Day (Theravada Buddhism)
  • Yule in the Northern Hemisphere (Neopagan Wheel of the Year)
  • Ziemassvētki (ancient Latvia)
• Forefathers' Day (Plymouth, Massachusetts)
• São Tomé Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)
• The first day of Pancha Ganapati, celebrated until December 25 (Saiva Siddhanta Church)

External links

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