December 21st in History

Michael Dobson | December 21

Landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth Rock, P. F. Rothermel (painter), Joseph Andrews (engraver).

Today in History

  • The Mayflower pilgrims land on Plymouth Rock (1620)
  • The Fredonian Rebellion, the first attempt by Anglo settlers in Texas to secede from Mexico, begins (1826)
  • Ibsen’s A Doll’s House premiers (1879)
  • The first crossword puzzle is published (1913)
  • Anarchist Emma Goldman is deported to Russia (1919)
  • The Junkers Ju 88 flies for the first time (1936)
  • Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves premiers (1937)
  • Apollo 8 is launched (1968)
  • A bomb explodes on board Pan Am 103, flying over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 (1988)
  • The world fails to come to an end as “predicted” by the Mayan calendar (2012)
  • Walt Disney completes its acquisition of Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise (2012)

Birthdays

  • Thomas Becket, archbishop and saint (1118)
  • Roger Williams, leader of Rhode Island Colony (1603)
  • Benjamin Disraeli, UK prime minister (1804)
  • Maud Gonne, actress, activist, and muse of William Butler Yeats (1866)
  • Albert Payson Terhune, Collie author (1872)
  • Rebecca West, author (1892)
  • Anthony Powell, author (1905)
  • Werner von Trapp, singer (1915)
  • Heinrich Böll, author, Nobel laureate (1917)
  • Kurt Waldheim, UN Secretary-General, President of Austria, Wehrmacht officer (1918)
  • Paul Winchell, ventriloquist (1922)
  • Joe Paterno, football coach and child sex abuse facilitator (1926)
  • Phil Donahue, talk show host (1937)
  • Jane Fonda, actress, activist, and exercise guru (1937)
  • Frank Zappa, singer-songwriter (1940)
  • Carl Wilson, beach boy (1946)
  • Samuel L. Jackson, actor (1948)
  • Jeffrey Katzenberg, animation producer (1950)
  • Chris Evert, tennis player (1954)
  • Ray Romano, actor (1957)
  • Florence Griffith Joyner, sprinter (1959)
  • Andy Dick, comedian (1965)
  • Kiefer Sutherland, actor (1968)
  • Julie Delpy, actress (1969)

Deaths

  • Thomas the Apostle, martyr and saint (72)
  • Giovanni Boccaccio, author and poet (1375)
  • Klara Hitler, dictator’s mother (1907)
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald, author (1940)
  • George S. Patton, general (1945)
  • Stella Adler, actress and teacher (1992)
  • Albert King, singer-songwriter and guitarist (1992)

Holidays and Celebrations

  • Divalia (Roman Empire)
  • Forefather’s Day (Plymouth, Massachusetts)
  • Pancha Ganapati, celebrated until December 25 (Saiva Siddhanta Church)
  • Sanghamitta Day (Theravada Buddhism)
  • São Tomé Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)
  • Ziemassvētki (ancient Latvia)
Informal and made-up holidays include Crossword Puzzle Day, Humbug Day, and International Dalek Remembrance Day.
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December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years). There are 10 days remaining until the end of the year.
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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.