December 21
Events
Pre-1600
1601âÂÂ1900
- 1620 – Plymouth Colony: William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land near 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 – EgyptianâÂÂOttoman 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: , commanded by Captain George Nares, sails from Portsmouth, England.
- 1879 – the fictional character of Nora Helmer is first portrayed by Betty Hennings at a showing of A Doll's House at the Royal Danish Theatre.
- 1883 – The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment, the first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army, are formed.
1901âÂÂpresent
- 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.
- 1919 – American anarchist Emma Goldman is deported to Russia.
- 1923 – United Kingdom and Nepal formally sign an agreement of friendship, called the NepalâÂÂBritain Treaty of 1923, which superseded the Treaty of Sugauli signed in 1816.
- 1934 РLieutenant Kij̩, one of Sergei Prokofiev's best-known works, premiered.
- 1941 – World War II: A Thai-Japanese Pact of Alliance is signed.
- 1946 – An 8.1 M<sub>w</sub> earthquake and subsequent tsunami in NankaidÃ
Â, Japan, kills over 1,300 people and destroys over 38,000 homes.
- 1963 – "Bloody Christmas" begins in Cyprus, ultimately resulting in the displacement of 25,000âÂÂ30,000 Turkish Cypriots and destruction of more than 100 villages.
- 1965 – International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is adopted.
- 1967 – Louis Washkansky, the first man to undergo a human-to-human 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 ArabâÂÂIsraeli 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. This is to date the deadliest air disaster to occur on British soil.
- 1991 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The leaders of 11 now effectively autonomous Soviet republics sign the Alma-Ata Protocol establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States in place of the collapsing Soviet Union.
- 1992 – A Dutch DC-10, flight Martinair MP 495, crashes at Faro Airport, Portugal, killing 56.
- 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.
- 1999 – Cubana de Aviación Flight 1216 overshoots the runway at La Aurora International Airport, killing 18.
- 2004 – Iraq War: A suicide bomber kills 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 in Iraq.
- 2012 – 2012 phenomenon: Festivities are held in parts of Mesoamerica to commemorate the conclusion of b'ak'tun 13, a roughly 5,126-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar whose passing many New Age spiritualists had earlier held to portend a variety of cataclysmic or transformative events.
- 2020 – A great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurs, with the two planets separated in the sky by 0.1 degrees. This is the closest conjunction between the two planets since 1623.
- 2023 – Fourteen people are killed and 25 others injured during a mass shooting at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic.
Births
Pre-1600
- 968 – Minamoto no Yorinobu, Japanese samurai (died 1048)
- 1401 – Masaccio, Italian painter (died 1428)
- 1468 – William Conyers, 1st Baron Conyers, English baron (died 1524)
- 1505 – Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, English politician (died 1550)
- 1538 – Luigi d'Este, Catholic cardinal (died 1586)
- 1542 – Thomas Allen, English mathematician and astrologer (died 1632)
- 1550 – Man Singh I, Mughal noble (died 1614)
- 1596 – Peter Mohyla, Ruthenian Orthodox metropolitan and saint (died 1646)
1601âÂÂ1900
- 1603 – Roger Williams, English minister, theologian, and politician, 9th President of the Colony of Rhode Island (died 1684)
- 1615 – Benedict Arnold, Rhode Island colonial governor (died 1678)
- 1672 – Benjamin Schmolck, German pastor and composer (died 1737)
- 1714 – John Bradstreet, Canadian-English general (died 1774)
- 1728 – Hermann Raupach, German harpsichord player and composer (died 1778)
- 1778 – Anders Sandøe ÃÂrsted, Danish jurist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Denmark (died 1860)
- 1795 – Jack Russell, English priest, hunter, and dog breeder (died 1883)
- 1795 – Leopold von Ranke, German historian, author, and academic (died 1886)
- 1803 – Achille Vianelli, Italian painter and academic (died 1894)
- 1804 – Benjamin Disraeli, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1881)
- 1805 – Thomas Graham, Scottish chemist and academic (died 1869)
- 1811 – Archibald Tait, Scottish-English archbishop (died 1882)
- 1815 – Thomas Couture, French painter and educator (died 1879)
- 1820 – William H. Osborn, American businessman (died 1894)
- 1830 – Bartolomé Masó, Cuban soldier and politician (died 1907)
- 1832 – John H. Ketcham, American general and politician (died 1906)
- 1840 – Ernest de Munck, Belgian cellist and composer (died 1915)
- 1840 РNam̱k Kemal, Turkish journalist, playwright, and activist (died 1888)
- 1843 – Thomas Bracken, Irish-New Zealander journalist, poet, and politician (died 1898)
- 1850 – ZdenÃÂk Fibich, Czech composer and poet (died 1900)
- 1851 – Thomas Chipman McRae, American lawyer and politician, 26th Governor of Arkansas (died 1929)
- 1857 – Joseph Carruthers, Australian politician, 16th Premier of New South Wales (died 1932)
- 1859 – Gustave Kahn, French poet and critic (died 1936)
- 1866 – Maud Gonne, Irish nationalist and political activist (died 1953)
- 1868 – George W. Fuller, American chemist and engineer (died 1934)
- 1872 – Trevor Kincaid, Canadian-American zoologist and academic (died 1970)
- 1872 – Lorenzo Perosi, Italian priest and composer (died 1956)
- 1872 – Albert Payson Terhune, American journalist and author (died 1942)
- 1876 – Jack Lang, Australian lawyer and politician, 23rd Premier of New South Wales (died 1975)
- 1877 – Jaan Sarv, Estonian mathematician and scholar (died 1954)
- 1878 – Jan Ã
Âukasiewicz, Polish-Irish mathematician and philosopher (died 1956)
- 1884 – MarÃÂa Cadilla, Puerto Rican writer, educator, women's rights activist (died 1951)
- 1885 – Frank Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 1960)
- 1888 – Jean Bouin, French runner and rugby player (died 1914)
- 1889 – Sewall Wright, American geneticist and biologist (died 1988)
- 1890 – Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1967)
- 1891 – John William McCormack, American lawyer and politician, 53rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (died 1980)
- 1892 – Walter Hagen, American golfer (died 1969)
- 1892 – Rebecca West, English journalist and author (died 1983)
- 1896 – Konstantin Rokossovsky, Marshal of the Soviet Union during World War II (died 1968)
- 1900 – Luis Arturo González López, Guatemalan supreme court judge and briefly acting president (died 1965)
1901âÂÂpresent
- 1905 – Käte Fenchel, German mathematician (died 1983)
- 1905 – Anthony Powell, English author (died 2000)
- 1909 – SeichÃ
 Matsumoto, Japanese journalist and author (died 1992)
- 1911 – Josh Gibson, American baseball player (died 1947)
- 1913 – Arnold Friberg, American illustrator and painter (died 2010)
- 1914 – Frank Fenner, Australian microbiologist and virologist (died 2010)
- 1917 РHeinrich B̦ll, German novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1985)
- 1918 – Donald Regan, American colonel and politician, 11th White House Chief of Staff (died 2003)
- 1918 – Kurt Waldheim, Austrian colonel and politician; 9th President of Austria (died 2007)
- 1919 – Doug Young, American voice actor (died 2018)
- 1920 – Alicia Alonso, Cuban ballerina and choreographer, founded the Cuban National Ballet (died 2019)
- 1920 – Adele Goldstine, American computer programmer (died 1964)
- 1920 – Iris Cummings, American swimmer and aviator (died 2025)
- 1922 – Itubwa Amram, Nauruan pastor and politician (died 1989)
- 1922 РC̩cile DeWitt-Morette, French mathematician and physicist (died 2017)
- 1922 – Paul Winchell, American actor, voice artist, and ventriloquist (died 2005)
- 1923 – Wat Misaka, American basketball player (died 2019)
- 1926 – ArnoÃ
¡t Lustig, Czech author and playwright (died 2011)
- 1926 – Joe Paterno, American football player and coach (died 2012)
- 1927 – Charles Bailleul, French linguist and missionary (died 2026)
- 1930 – Phil Roman, American animator
- 1932 – U. R. Ananthamurthy, Indian author, poet, and critic (died 2014)
- 1932 – Edward Hoagland, American author and critic
- 1933 – Jackie Hendriks, Jamaican cricketer
- 1933 – Robert Worcester, American businessman and academic, founded MORI (died 2025)
- 1934 – Giuseppina Leone, Italian sprinter
- 1934 – Hanif Mohammad, Pakistani cricketer (died 2016)
- 1935 – John G. Avildsen, American director, producer, and cinematographer (died 2017)
- 1935 – Lorenzo Bandini, Italian racing driver (died 1967)
- 1935 – Phil Donahue, American talk show host and producer (died 2024)
- 1935 – Stela Popescu, Romanian actress (died 2017)
- 1935 – Edward Schreyer, Canadian academic and politician, Governor General of Canada
- 1935 – Janet Metcalf, American politician (died 2025)
- 1937 – Jane Fonda, American actress and activist
- 1938 – Larry Bryggman, American 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 – Frank Zappa, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer and producer (died 1993)
- 1942 – Hu Jintao, Chinese engineer and politician, 5th Paramount leader of China
- 1942 – Carla Thomas, American singer
- 1943 – Albert Lee, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1943 – Walter Spanghero, French rugby player
- 1944 – Michael Tilson Thomas, American pianist, composer, and conductor
- 1944 – Zheng Xiaoyu, Chinese diplomat (died 2007)
- 1945 – Doug Walters, Australian cricketer
- 1946 – Roy Karch, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1946 – Carl Wilson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1998)
- 1947 – Paco de LucÃÂa, Spanish guitarist, songwriter, and producer (died 2014)
- 1948 – Barry Gordon, American actor and voice artist; longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild (1988âÂÂ95)
- 1948 – Samuel L. Jackson, American actor and producer
- 1948 – Dave Kingman, American baseball player
- 1949 РThomas Sankara, Burkinab̩ captain and politician, 5th President of Burkina Faso (died 1987)
- 1949 – Nikolaos Sifounakis, Greek lawyer and politician
- 1950 – Jeffrey Katzenberg, American screenwriter and producer, co-founded DreamWorks Animation
- 1950 – Max Maven, American magician and mentalist (died 2022)
- 1950 – Lillebjørn Nilsen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2024)
- 1951 – Steve Perryman, English footballer and manager
- 1952 – JoaquÃÂn Andújar, Dominican baseball player (died 2015)
- 1952 – Dennis Boutsikaris, American actor
- 1952 – Steve Furniss, American swimmer
- 1953 – András Schiff, Hungarian-English pianist and conductor
- 1953 – Betty Wright, American singer-songwriter (died 2020)
- 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 (died 2009)
- 1957 – Ray Romano, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1957 – Tony Lewis, English singer and songwriter (died 2020)
- 1958 – Tamara Bykova, Russian high jumper
- 1959 – Florence Griffith Joyner, American sprinter and actress (died 1998)
- 1959 – Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Indian cricketer
- 1960 – Sherry Rehman, Pakistani journalist, politician, and diplomat, 25th Pakistan Ambassador to the United States
- 1961 – Ryuji Sasai, Japanese bass player and composer
- 1963 – Govinda, Indian actor, singer, and politician
- 1964 – Kunihiko Ikuhara, Japanese director and illustrator
- 1964 – Joe Kocur, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1965 – Glenn Coleman, Australian rugby league player
- 1965 – Andy Dick, American actor and comedian
- 1965 – Anke Engelke, Canadian-German actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1966 – Michelle Hurd, American actress
- 1966 – William Ruto, 5th President of Kenya
- 1966 – Kiefer Sutherland, British-Canadian actor, director, and producer
- 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 Zemüinskis, Latvian footballer, coach, and manager
- 1971 – Matthieu Chedid, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1971 – Natalie Grant, American singer-songwriter and author
- 1972 – Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, Indian politician, 17th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh
- 1973 – Irakli Alasania, Georgian colonel and politician, Georgian Minister of Defense
- 1973 – MatÃÂas Almeyda, Argentine footballer and manager
- 1974 – Karrie Webb, Australian golfer
- 1975 – Paloma Herrera, Argentine ballerina
- 1977 – Buddy Carlyle, American baseball player
- 1977 – Corey Collymore, Barbadian cricketer
- 1977 – Leon MacDonald, New Zealand rugby player
- 1977 – Emmanuel Macron, French politician, 25th President of France
- 1977 – Freddy Sanchez, American baseball player
- 1978 – Emiliano Brembilla, Italian swimmer
- 1978 – Charles Dera, American pornographic actor, dancer, model, and mixed martial arts fighter
- 1978 – Shaun Morgan, South African musician, singer, and guitarist
- 1978 – Rutina Wesley, American actress
- 1979 – Steve Montador, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2015)
- 1981 – Marta Fernández, Spanish basketball player
- 1981 – Cristian Zaccardo, Italian footballer
- 1982 – Primo Colón, Puerto Rican wrestler
- 1982 – Philip Humber, American baseball player
- 1982 – Tom Payne, English actor
- 1983 – Taylor Teagarden, American baseball player
- 1983 – Steven Yeun, American actor
- 1985 – Tom Sturridge, English actor
- 1987 – Khris Davis, American baseball player
- 1988 – Danny Duffy, American baseball player
- 1988 – Perri Shakes-Drayton, English sprinter and hurdler
- 1989 – Mark Ingram II, American football player
- 1989 – Tamannaah, Indian actress
- 1991 – Nic Maddinson, Australian cricketer
- 1991 – Otis, American wrestler
- 1991 – Riccardo Saponara, Italian footballer
- 1992 – Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, American football player
- 1992 – Jamie Oleksiak, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1994 – Luke Brooks, Australian rugby league player
- 1996 – Ben Chilwell, English footballer
- 1996 – Kaitlyn Dever, American actress
- 1997 – Madelyn Cline, American actress and model
- 1997 – Charlie McAvoy, American ice hockey player
- 2002 – Clara Tauson, Danish tennis player
- 2006 – Cooper Flagg, American basketball player
Deaths
Pre-1600
- AD 72 – Thomas the Apostle, Roman martyr and saint (born 1 AD)
- 882 – Hincmar, French archbishop and historian (born 806)
- 956 – Sun Sheng, Chinese chancellor
- 975 – Al-Mu'izz, Fatimid caliph (born 932)
- 1001 – Hugh of Tuscany, Italian margrave (born 950)
- 1215 – Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Walid, DÃÂÿë al-Muá¹Âlaq of Tayyibi Isma'ilism (born c. 1128)
- 1308 – Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse (born 1244)
- 1338 – Thomas Hemenhale, bishop of Worcester
- 1362 – Constantine III, king of Armenia (born 1313)
- 1375 – Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian author and poet (born 1313)
- 1504 – Berthold von Henneberg, German archbishop (born 1442)
- 1536 – John Seymour, English courtier (born 1474)
- 1549 – Marguerite de Navarre, queen of Henry II of Navarre (born 1492)
- 1581 РJean de la Cassi̬re, 51st Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitaller (born 1502)
- 1597 – Peter Canisius, Dutch priest and saint (born 1521)
1601âÂÂ1900
1901âÂÂpresent
- 1920 – Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, leader of the Dervish movement (born 1856)
- 1929 – I. L. Patterson, American politician, 18th Governor of Oregon (born 1859)
- 1933 – Knud Rasmussen, Greenlandic anthropologist and explorer (born 1879)
- 1935 – Ted Birnie, English footballer and manager (born 1878)
- 1935 – Kurt Tucholsky, German-Swedish journalist and author (born 1890)
- 1937 – Violette Neatley Anderson, American judge (born 1882)
- 1937 – Ted Healy, American comedian and actor (born 1896)
- 1937 – Frank B. Kellogg, American lawyer and politician, 45th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1856)
- 1940 – F. Scott Fitzgerald, American novelist and short story writer (born 1896)
- 1945 – George S. Patton, American general (born 1885)
- 1948 – WÃ
ÂadysÃ
Âaw Witwicki, Polish psychologist, philosopher, translator, historian (of philosophy and art) and artist (born 1878)
- 1952 – Kenneth Edwards, American golfer (born 1886)
- 1953 – Kaarlo Koskelo, Finnish-American wrestler and businessman (born 1888)
- 1957 – Eric Coates, English viola player and composer (born 1886)
- 1958 – H.B. Warner, English actor (born 1875)
- 1958 – Lion Feuchtwanger, German-American author and playwright (born 1884)
- 1959 – Rosanjin, Japanese calligrapher, engraver, and painter (born 1883)
- 1963 – Jack Hobbs, English cricketer and journalist (born 1882)
- 1964 – Carl Van Vechten, American author and photographer (born 1880)
- 1965 – Claude Champagne, Canadian violinist, pianist, and composer (born 1891)
- 1968 – Vittorio Pozzo, Italian footballer, coach, and manager (born 1886)
- 1971 â ÃÂsta Sigurðardóttir, Icelandic writer and visual artist (born 1930)
- 1974 – Richard Long, American actor and director (born 1927)
- 1982 – Abu Al-Asar Hafeez Jullundhri, Pakistani poet and composer (born 1900)
- 1983 – Paul de Man, Belgian-born philosopher, literary critic and theorist (born 1919)
- 1988 – Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch-English ethologist and ornithologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1907)
- 1992 – Stella Adler, American actress and educator (born 1901)
- 1992 – Albert King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1924)
- 1992 – Nathan Milstein, Russian-American violinist and composer (born 1903)
- 1998 – Ernst-Günther Schenck, German colonel and physician (born 1904)
- 2004 – Autar Singh Paintal, Indian physiologist and neurologist (born 1925)
- 2006 – Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmen engineer and politician, 1st President of Turkmenistan (born 1940)
- 2009 – Edwin G. Krebs, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918)
- 2009 – Christos Lambrakis, Greek journalist and businessman (born 1934)
- 2010 – Enzo Bearzot, Italian footballer and manager (born 1927)
- 2013 – Edgar Bronfman Sr., Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist (born 1929)
- 2013 – John Eisenhower, American historian, general, and diplomat, 45th United States Ambassador to Belgium (born 1922)
- 2014 – Udo Jürgens, Austrian-Swiss singer-songwriter and pianist (born 1934)
- 2014 – Sitor Situmorang, Indonesian poet and author (born 1923)
- 2014 – Billie Whitelaw, English actress (born 1932)
- 2017 – Bruce McCandless II, US astronaut who conducted the first untethered spacewalk (born 1937)
- 2019 – Andrew Clennel Palmer, British engineer (born 1938)
- 2024 – Michelle Botes, South African actress (born 1962)
- 2024 – Art Evans, American actor (born 1942)
Holidays and observances
References
External links