What are the important events that happened on December 21? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

December 21: Facts & Myths About This Day

December 21 is the 355^th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 10 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is December 8, 2025 – a Sunday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 490,632 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘trihectapentacontapentagon’ day.

Sagittarius is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Turquoise is the modern birthstone for this month. Onyx is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 58 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,748 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

December 21: This Day In History

This is a frequent day for the winter solstice to occur in the northern hemisphere and summer solstice to occur in the southern hemisphere.

December 21 Historical Events

• 1620 –
  Plymouth Colony: William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
• 1832 –
  Egyptian–Ottoman War: Egyptian forces decisively defeat Ottoman troops at the Battle of Konya.
• 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.
• 1937 –
  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the world’s first full-length animated feature, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theater.
• 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.
• 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.
• 1994 –
  Mexican volcano Popocatepetl, 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.

Who were born on December 21?

• 1805 –
  Thomas Graham, British chemist (d. 1869)
• 1811 –
  Archibald Campbell Tait, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1882)
• 1892 –
  Rebecca West, British writer (d. 1983)
• 1924 –
  Rita Reys, Dutch jazzsinger
• 1935 –
  Phil Donahue, American talk show host
• 1946 –
  Christopher Keene, American conductor (d. 1995)
• 1957 –
  Ray Romano, Italian-American comedian
• 1961 –
  Francis Ng, Hong Kong actor
• 1969 –
  Jack Noseworthy, American actor
• 1969 –
  Mihails Zemļinskis, Latvian footballer

Who died on December 21?

• 1799 –
  Philip Affleck, British Admiral and First Lord of the Admiralty (b. 1726)
• 1920 –
  Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, Somalian nationalist leader (b. 1856)
• 1957 –
  Eric Coates, English-born American composer (b. 1886)
• 1967 –
  Stuart Erwin, American actor (b. 1903)
• 1983 –
  Paul de Man, Belgian-born literary critic (b. 1919)
• 1992 –
  Nathan Milstein, Ukrainian violinist (b. 1903)
• 1997 –
  Amie Comeaux, American country music singer (b. 1976)
• 2004 –
  Autar Singh Paintal, Indian medical scientist (b. 1925)
• 2009 –
  Edwin G. Krebs, American biochemist (b. 1918)
• 2010 –
  Enzo Bearzot, Italian football player and manager (b. 1927)