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Today December 21st 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
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.
1598 – Battle of Curalaba: The revolting Mapuche, led by cacique Pelentaru, inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile; all Spanish cities south of the Biobio river are eventually taken by the Mapuches, and all conquest of Mapuche territories by Europeans practically ceases, until the 1870s Pacification of Araucania.
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.
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 Timisoara to Bucharest.
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 Zealand poet (d. 1898)
1850 – Zdenek Fibich, Bohemian composer (d. 1900)
1850 – William Wallace Lincoln, son of U.S. president Abraham Lincoln (d. 1862)
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 Lukasiewicz, Polish philosopher and mathematician (d. 1956)
1879 – Joseph Stalin, U.S.S.R. Leader (d. 1953)
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)
1909 – Seicho Matsumoto, Japanese mystery writer and journalist (d. 1992)
1911 – Josh Gibson, American baseball player (d. 1947)
1914 – Ivan Generalic, 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, American 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)
1922 – Itubwa Amram, Nauruan pastor and politician (d. 1989)
1923 – Intizar Hussain, Urdu writer and columnist 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
1938 – Frank Moorhouse, Australian author
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
1943 – Albert Lee, English guitarist
1944 – Zheng Xiaoyu, Chinese bureaucrat (d. 2007)
1944 – Bill Atkinson, English footballer
1944 – Michael Tilson Thomas, American conductor
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 – 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 – Ray Romano, Italian-American comedian
1959 – Florence Griffith Joyner, American sprinter (d. 1998)
1960 – Louis Demetrius Alvanis, London-based pianist
1960 – Roger McDowell, American Major League Baseball Pitcher
1960 – Andy Van Slyke, American 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 – Ervin Johnson, American basketball player
1967 – Terry Mills, American basketball player
1967 – Mikhail Saakashvili, Soviet-born President of Georgia
1969 – Julie Delpy, French actress
1969 – Mihails Zemlinskis, Latvian footballer
1971 – Mathieu Chedid, French musician
1971 – Fenton Keogh, Australian celebrity chef
1971 – Brett Scallions, American singer (Fuel, The X s)
1972 – Gloria De Piero, English journalist
1972 – Latroy Hawkins, American baseball player
1972 – Dustin Hermanson, American baseball player
1972 – Erwin Schrott, Uruguayan opera singer
1973 – Karmen Stavec, German-born Slovenian singer
1973 – Mike Alstott, American football player
1973 – Irakli Alasania,Georgian politician and diplomat
1974 – Karrie Webb, Australian golfer
1975 – Paloma Herrera, Argentine ballet dancer
1976 – Mirela Manjani, Greek javelin thrower
1976 – Lukas Rossi Lead Singer for Supernova
1977 – Toby Rand Lead Singer for Juke Kartel
1978 – Mike Vitar, American actor
1979 – Tuva Novotny, Swedish actress and singer
1980 – Royce Ring, American Major League Baseball Player
1981 – Frankie Abernathy, American actress, The Real World: San Diego (d. 2007)
1981 – Sajid Mahmood, English cricketer
1981 – Lynda Thomas, Mexican singer
1981 – Cristian Zaccardo, Italian football player
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
1984 – Darren Potter, Irish football player
1984 – Jackson Rathbone, American Actor
1985 – James Stewart Jr., American motorcycle racer
1987 – Brad Howard, Australian rules footballer
1987 – Valerie Concepcion, Filipino Actress
Deaths
72 – Thomas the Apostle
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)
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)
1963 – Jack Hobbs, English cricketer (b. 1882)
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.
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