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This day in history

This day in history: 21 December

Events, births and deaths on this date, ordered by how many people look them up.

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Key facts

284 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 21 December.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2023: Fourteen people are killed and 25 others injured during a mass shooting at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic.

Holidays and observances

Armed Forces Day (Philippines)

Christian feast day: December 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Christian feast day: O Oriens

Christian feast day: Peter Canisius

Christian feast day: Thomas the Apostle

Forefathers' Day (Plymouth, Massachusetts)

São Tomé Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)

Events

2023Fourteen people are killed and 25 others injured during a mass shooting at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic.

2022A Vega C rocket carrying two Pléiades Neo satellites fails after liftoff.

2020A 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.

20122012 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

2004Iraq 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.

1999Cubana de Aviación Flight 1216 overshoots the runway at La Aurora International Airport, killing 18.

1999The 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.

1995The city of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control.

1992A Dutch DC-10, flight Martinair MP 495, crashes at Faro Airport, Portugal, killing 56.

1991Dissolution 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.

1988A 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.

1979Lancaster 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.

1973The Geneva Conference on the Arab–Israeli conflict opens.

1968Apollo 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.

1967Louis 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.

1965International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is adopted.

1963"Bloody Christmas" begins in Cyprus, ultimately resulting in the displacement of 25,000–30,000 Turkish Cypriots and destruction of more than 100 villages.

1946An 8.1 Mw earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Nankaidō, Japan, kills over 1,300 people and destroys over 38,000 homes.

1941World War II: A Thai-Japanese Pact of Alliance is signed.

1934Lieutenant Kijé, one of Sergei Prokofiev's best-known works, premiered.

1923United Kingdom and Nepal formally sign an agreement of friendship, called the Nepal–Britain Treaty of 1923, which superseded the Treaty of Sugauli signed in 1816.

1919American anarchist Emma Goldman is deported to Russia.

1910An underground explosion at the Hulton Bank Colliery No. 3 Pit in Over Hulton, Westhoughton, England, kills 344 miners.

1907The Chilean Army commits a massacre of at least 2,000 striking saltpeter miners in Iquique, Chile.

1883The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment, the first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army, are formed.

1879the fictional character of Nora Helmer is first portrayed by Betty Hennings at a showing of A Doll's House at the Royal Danish Theatre.

1872Challenger expedition: HMS Challenger, commanded by Captain George Nares, sails from Portsmouth, England.

1861Medal of Honor: Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy Medal of Valor, is signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln.

1844The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers commences business at its cooperative in Rochdale, England, starting the Cooperative movement.

1832Egyptian–Ottoman War: Egyptian forces decisively defeat Ottoman troops at the Battle of Konya.

1826American settlers in Nacogdoches, Mexican Texas, declare their independence, starting the Fredonian Rebellion.

1620Plymouth Colony: William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land near what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

1598Battle of Curalaba: The revolting Mapuche, led by cacique Pelentaru, inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile.

1361The 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.

1237The city of Ryazan is sacked by the Mongol army of Batu Khan.

1140After a siege of several weeks, the city of Weinsberg and its castle surrender to Conrad III of Germany.

1124Pope Honorius II is consecrated, having been elected after the controversial dethroning of Pope-Elect Celestine II.

69The Roman Senate declares Vespasian emperor of Rome, the last in the Year of the Four Emperors.

Born on this day

2006Cooper Flagg, American basketball player

2002Clara Tauson, Danish tennis player

1997Charlie McAvoy, American ice hockey player

1997Madelyn Cline, American actress and model

1996Ben Chilwell, English footballer

1996Kaitlyn Dever, American actress

1994Luke Brooks, Australian rugby league player

1992Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, American football player

1992Jamie Oleksiak, Canadian ice hockey player

1991Nic Maddinson, Australian cricketer

1991Otis, American wrestler

1991Riccardo Saponara, Italian footballer

1989Mark Ingram II, American football player

1989Tamannaah, Indian actress

1988Danny Duffy, American baseball player

1988Perri Shakes-Drayton, English sprinter and hurdler

1987Khris Davis, American baseball player

1985Tom Sturridge, English actor

1983Steven Yeun, American actor

1983Taylor Teagarden, American baseball player

1982Philip Humber, American baseball player

1982Primo Colón, Puerto Rican wrestler

1982Tom Payne, English actor

1981Cristian Zaccardo, Italian footballer

1981Marta Fernández, Spanish basketball player

1979Steve Montador, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2015)

1978Charles Dera, American pornographic actor, dancer, model, and mixed martial arts fighter

1978Emiliano Brembilla, Italian swimmer

1978Rutina Wesley, American actress

1978Shaun Morgan, South African musician, singer, and guitarist

1977Buddy Carlyle, American baseball player

1977Corey Collymore, Barbadian cricketer

1977Emmanuel Macron, French politician, 25th President of France

1977Freddy Sanchez, American baseball player

1977Leon MacDonald, New Zealand rugby player

1975Paloma Herrera, Argentine ballerina

1974Karrie Webb, Australian golfer

1973Irakli Alasania, Georgian colonel and politician, Georgian Minister of Defense

1973Matías Almeyda, Argentine footballer and manager

1972Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, Indian politician, 17th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh

Died on this day

2024Art Evans, American actor (born 1942)

2024Michelle Botes, South African actress (born 1962)

2019Andrew Clennel Palmer, British engineer (born 1938)

2017Bruce McCandless II, US astronaut who conducted the first untethered spacewalk (born 1937)

2014Billie Whitelaw, English actress (born 1932)

2014Sitor Situmorang, Indonesian poet and author (born 1923)

2014Udo Jürgens, Austrian-Swiss singer-songwriter and pianist (born 1934)

2013Edgar Bronfman Sr., Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist (born 1929)

2013John Eisenhower, American historian, general, and diplomat, 45th United States Ambassador to Belgium (born 1922)

2010Enzo Bearzot, Italian footballer and manager (born 1927)

2009Christos Lambrakis, Greek journalist and businessman (born 1934)

2009Edwin G. Krebs, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918)

2006Saparmyrat Nyýazow, Turkmen engineer and politician, 1st President of Turkmenistan (born 1940) (date death announced)

2004Autar Singh Paintal, Indian physiologist and neurologist (born 1925)

1998Ernst-Günther Schenck, German colonel and physician (born 1904)

1992Albert King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1924)

1992Nathan Milstein, Russian-American violinist and composer (born 1903)

1992Stella Adler, American actress and educator (born 1901)

1988Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch-English ethologist and ornithologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1907)

1983Paul de Man, Belgian-born philosopher, literary critic and theorist (born 1919)

1982Abu Al-Asar Hafeez Jullundhri, Pakistani poet and composer (born 1900)

1974Richard Long, American actor and director (born 1927)

1971Ásta Sigurðardóttir, Icelandic writer and visual artist (born 1930)

1968Vittorio Pozzo, Italian footballer, coach, and manager (born 1886)

1965Claude Champagne, Canadian violinist, pianist, and composer (born 1891)

1964Carl Van Vechten, American author and photographer (born 1880)

1963Jack Hobbs, English cricketer and journalist (born 1882)

1959Rosanjin, Japanese calligrapher, engraver, and painter (born 1883)

1958H.B. Warner, English actor (born 1875)

1958Lion Feuchtwanger, German-American author and playwright (born 1884)

Quote of the day

“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.”

Seneca

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From Wikipedia’s on-this-day pages for this language, updated once a day and ordered by how often each article is read.

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