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 356th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 10 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is December 8, 2024 – a Saturday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 481,872 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 ‘trihectapentacontahexagon’ 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 39 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 4,383 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
Do people and celebrities interest you? Discover all the December 21 famous birthdays who share your special day. Learn some fun facts about your birthday! (Sponsored link)
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
- 69 –The Roman Senate declares Vespasian as Roman emperor, the last in the Year of Four Emperors.
- 1598 –Battle of Curalaba: The revolting Mapuche, led by cacique Pelentaru, inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile.
- 1826 –American settlers in Nacogdoches, Mexican Texas, declare their independence, starting the Fredonian Rebellion.
- 1879 –World première of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen.
- 1907 –The Chilean Army commits a massacre of at least 2,000 striking saltpeter miners in in Iquique, Chile.
- 1910 –An underground explosion at the Hulton Bank Colliery No. 3 Pit in Over Hulton, Westhoughton, England, kills 344 miners.
- 1913 –Arthur Wynne’s “word-cross”, the first crossword puzzle, is published in the New York World.
- 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 after the transplant.
- 1988 –A bomb explodes on board Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, killing 270.
Who were born on December 21?
- 1866 –Maud Gonne, Irish activist (d. 1953)
- 1873 –Blagoje Bersa, Croatian composer (d. 1934)
- 1917 –Heinrich Böll, German writer and Nobel laureate (d. 1985)
- 1939 –Lloyd Axworthy, Canadian politician
- 1942 –Reinhard Mey, German singer
- 1951 –Nick Gilder, English musician (Sweeney Todd)
- 1967 –Fritz Karl, Austrian actor
- 1971 –Fenton Keogh, Australian celebrity chef
- 1978 –Emiliano Brembilla, Italian swimmer
- 1988 –Yasmin, British DJ and Singer
Who died on December 21?
- 1295 –Marguerite Berenger of Provence, wife of Louis IX of France (b. c.1221)
- 1579 –Vicente Masip, Spanish painter
- 1597 –Petrus Canisius, Dutch Jesuit (b. 1521)
- 1869 –Friedrich Ernst Scheller, German jurist and politician (b. 1791)
- 1940 –F. Scott Fitzgerald, American writer (b. 1896)
- 1967 –Stuart Erwin, American actor (b. 1903)
- 1968 –Vittorio Pozzo, Italian football coach (b. 1886)
- 1986 –Bill Simpson, Scottish actor (b. 1931)
- 1988 –Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch ornithologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1907)
- 2009 –Edwin G. Krebs, American biochemist (b. 1918)
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