Sunday, 21st December 2025 in Lisbon

21st December in the Stars – Star Sign Sagittarius

Today, the zodiac sign Sagittarius celebrates its birthday.

Personality Profile

Personality Those born on December 21st embody a rare blend of Sagittarian wanderlust and solar charisma. These individuals radiate natural vitality and constantly seek deeper meaning in life. Connected to Master Number 33, they possess a pronounced drive to inspire and teach others.

Strengths & Weaknesses Their strengths lie in optimism, intellectual brilliance, and infectious enthusiasm. They think generously and act directly. However, impatience and a tendency toward non-commitment can strain relationships, and their willfulness sometimes leads to rash decisions.

Love December 21st natives cherish freedom yet crave deeper emotional connections. Partners should respect their independence and value their philosophical discussions. Loyalty develops through mutual respect and shared intellectual adventures.

Caree & Finance These people thrive in roles requiring knowledge transmission, creative leadership, or exploration. Teaching, writing, travel, and innovative projects appeal to them. Financially generous, they should plan more consciously and curb excessive risk-taking.

Health December 21st natives need physical activity and mental stimulation for optimal wellbeing. Outdoor sports and adventures strengthen their vitality. They should monitor tendencies toward overextension and ensure adequate rest, especially during intense mental work.

That night, the moon was in its full moon phase.

Chinese year of the Snake (Wood).

Fun Facts About 21st December

Name Days in Your Language: Estella, Estelle, Ester, Esther, Star, Stella, Van, Vance, Vanesa, Vaness, Vanna

Someone born on this day would be just 185 days old today — roughly 4,457 hours, 267,477 minutes, or 16,048,672 seconds spent on Earth so far.

It's the 355. day of the year. In 2025, 21st December falls on a Sunday.

There are 10 days still to come.

We’re currently in Week 51 — the year marches on.

Famous Birthdays on 21st December

On this day, 178 notable people were born on 21st December — spanning from 968 to 2006. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.

21/12/2006

Cooper Flagg, American basketball player

Cooper Flagg is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the first overall pick of the 2025 NBA draft, selected by the Mavericks, and became that season's Rookie of the Year.

21/12/2002

Clara Tauson, Danish tennis player

Clara Tauson is a Danish professional tennis player. Her career-high rankings are world No. 12 in singles, achieved on 8 September 2025, and No. 56 in doubles, achieved on 23 February 2026. Tauson has won three WTA Tour titles, all on hardcourts.

21/12/1997

Madelyn Cline, American actress and model

Madelyn Cline is an American actress and model. She is best known for her roles in the Netflix teen drama series Outer Banks (2020–present), in Rian Johnson's mystery film Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022), and in the slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025).

Charlie McAvoy, American ice hockey player

Charles Patrick McAvoy Jr. is an American professional ice hockey player who is a defenseman and alternate captain for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 14th overall in the 2016 NHL entry draft.

21/12/1996

Ben Chilwell, English footballer

Benjamin James Chilwell is an English professional footballer who plays as a left-back or left wing-back for Ligue 1 club Strasbourg.

Kaitlyn Dever, American actress

Kaitlyn Rochelle Dever is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the television series Justified (2011–2015), Last Man Standing (2011–2021), Unbelievable (2019), Dopesick (2021), Apple Cider Vinegar (2025), and The Last of Us (2025–present). She earned two Golden Globe Award nominations for Unbelievable and Dopesick, in addition to two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Dopesick and The Last of Us.

21/12/1994

Luke Brooks, Australian rugby league player

Luke Brooks is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a five-eighth for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL).

21/12/1992

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, American football player

Ha'Sean Treshon "Ha Ha" Clinton-Dix is an American former professional football player who was a safety for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Green Bay Packers. He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide and was selected by the Packers in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft. He later played for the Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears, and Las Vegas Raiders. He is currently the director of player development for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Jamie Oleksiak, Canadian ice hockey player

Jamieson Oleksiak is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed the "Big Rig", Oleksiak was selected 14th overall in the first round of the 2011 NHL entry draft by the Dallas Stars, the highest draft choice in Northeastern University's history.

21/12/1991

Nic Maddinson, Australian cricketer

Nicolas James Maddinson is an Australian cricketer. He is a left-handed opening batsman who has represented Australia in both Test matches and Twenty20 Internationals. Domestically, he plays for New South Wales and the Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League, previously having played for Victoria, Melbourne Stars, Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Sixers.

Otis, American wrestler

Nikola Michal Bogojević is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Otis and is a member of the Alpha Academy stable.

Riccardo Saponara, Italian footballer

Riccardo Saponara is an Italian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder.

21/12/1989

Mark Ingram II, American football player

Mark Valentino Ingram II is an American former professional football running back and current on-air personality for Fox Sports. He played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, becoming the first Alabama player to win the Heisman Trophy after rushing for 1,658 yards in 2009 en route to winning the 2010 BCS National Championship Game.

Tamannaah, Indian actress

Tamanna Santosh Bhatia, better known as Tamannaah Bhatia, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. Having appeared in 89 films, she is recognized as a leading actress in South Indian cinema and has received several awards, including three Santosham Film Awards, two SIIMA Awards and the Kalaimamani Award.

21/12/1988

Danny Duffy, American baseball player

Daniel Richard Duffy is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals.

Perri Shakes-Drayton, English sprinter and hurdler

Peirresha Alexandra Shakes-Drayton is a British retired track and field athlete. After specialising in the 400 metres hurdles in the early part of her career, a knee injury at the 2013 World Championships forced Shakes-Drayton to concentrate on the 400 metres on her return to athletics. She is the 2013 European Indoor Champion in the 400 metres and won a 2012 World Indoor Championship gold medal in the 4 × 400 metres relay. She has also won silver and bronze medals in the 4 × 400 m relay at the World Championships.

21/12/1987

Khris Davis, American baseball player

Khristopher Adrian Davis, nicknamed “Khrush”, is an American former professional baseball left fielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers. Davis led MLB with 48 home runs in the 2018 season.

21/12/1985

Tom Sturridge, English actor

Thomas Sidney Jerome Sturridge is an English actor. His early films include Being Julia (2004), Like Minds (2006), and The Boat That Rocked (2009). He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in Orphans (2013) and Sea Wall/A Life (2019). He was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 2016 for his performance in a West End revival of the play American Buffalo. Sturridge starred as Dream in the Netflix fantasy series The Sandman (2022–2025).

21/12/1983

Taylor Teagarden, American baseball player

Taylor Hill Teagarden is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2008 to 2015 for the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, and Chicago Cubs.

Steven Yeun, American actor

Sang-yeop Yeun, known professionally as Steven Yeun, is an American actor. He rose to prominence for playing Glenn Rhee in the television series The Walking Dead (2010–2016). He earned critical acclaim for the films Burning (2018) and Minari (2020). For the latter, he became the first East Asian-American nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021. For the Netflix dark comedy series Beef (2023), which he produced and starred in, Yeun received Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Lead Actor.

21/12/1982

Primo Colón, Puerto Rican wrestler

Edwin Carlos Colón Coates is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He works with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) as Eddie Colón and is in a tag team with his cousin Orlando Colón. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Primo Colón.

Philip Humber, American baseball player

Philip Gregory Humber is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, and Houston Astros in seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Although he debuted in the major leagues in 2006 and had worked mostly as a starter in the minor leagues, he did not become a regular MLB starter until 2011.

Tom Payne, English actor

Tom Payne is an English actor. He is known for appearing on AMC's The Walking Dead as Paul "Jesus" Rovia, and BBC's Waterloo Road as Brett Aspinall. He portrayed Malcolm Bright on the American television series Prodigal Son from 2019 to 2021. Payne also currently has a recurring role in Law & Order: Organized Crime.

21/12/1981

Marta Fernández, Spanish basketball player

Marta Fernández Farrés is a retired Spanish women's basketball player. A 1.80 m guard, she won three bronze medals with the Spain women's national basketball team. At club level, she played in 2007 with the Los Angeles Sparks of the United States' WNBA., the Polish team Wisła Can-Pack Kraków and the Spanish teams Universitari Barcelona, Ros Casares Valencia and Perfumerías Avenida, where she retired in 2015. Marta Fernández is the sister of former Spanish international and Real Madrid shooting guard Rudy Fernández.

Cristian Zaccardo, Italian footballer

Cristian Zaccardo is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender. He mainly played as a centre back, although he was also capable of playing as a full-back or in midfield.

21/12/1979

Steve Montador, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2015)

Steven Richard "The Matador" Montador was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 571 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers, Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres and Chicago Blackhawks before ending his career in 2014 as a member of Medveščak Zagreb of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

21/12/1978

Emiliano Brembilla, Italian swimmer

Emiliano Brembilla is a freestyle swimmer from Italy who was five-time individual European Champion, four in 400 m freestyle and one in 1500 m freestyle (1997).

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

Charles Dera is an American pornographic film actor, mixed martial artist, Marine veteran, and former exotic dancer. Dera has received several adult industry awards, including the NightMoves Award for Male Performer of the Year. In 2022, he was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame.

Shaun Morgan, South African musician, singer, and guitarist

Shaun Morgan Welgemoed is a South African musician. He is the lead singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Seether.

Rutina Wesley, American actress

Rutina Wesley is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Tara Thornton in the HBO fantasy drama series True Blood, Nova Bordelon on the OWN drama series Queen Sugar, and Maria Miller in the HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us.

21/12/1977

Buddy Carlyle, American baseball player

Earl Lester "Buddy" Carlyle is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, and New York Mets. He also played for in the KBO League for the LG Twins, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hanshin Tigers and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.

Corey Collymore, Barbadian cricketer

Corey Dalanelo Collymore is a former Barbadian cricketer, who represented the West Indies team in both Tests and ODIs cricket as seam bowler. Collymore was a member of the West Indies team that won the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy.

Leon MacDonald, New Zealand rugby player

Leon Raymond MacDonald is a retired New Zealand rugby union footballer, and former head coach for the Auckland Blues rugby team, who played 56 tests for the national team, the All Blacks. He played as a first five-eighth (fly-half), centre, and fullback. He is currently a coaching consultant with the Western Force.

Emmanuel Macron, French politician, 25th President of France

Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. He has been a member of Renaissance since founding the party in 2016. Macron previously served as Deputy Secretary-General to the President from 2012 to 2014 and Minister of Economics and Finance from 2014 to 2016 under President François Hollande.

Freddy Sanchez, American baseball player

Frederick Phillip Sanchez Jr. is an American former professional baseball second baseman. Sanchez played in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox (2002–2003), Pittsburgh Pirates (2004–2009) and San Francisco Giants (2009–2011). He batted and threw right-handed.

21/12/1975

Paloma Herrera, Argentine ballerina

Paloma Herrera is a prominent Argentine ballet dancer, choreographer, and artistic director who was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, where she worked for twenty-four years. She was the director of Colon Theater Ballet from 2017 until 2022.

21/12/1974

Karrie Webb, Australian golfer

Karrie Anne Webb is an Australian professional golfer. She plays mainly on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour, and also turns out once or twice a year on the ALPG Tour in her home country. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame. She has 41 wins on the LPGA Tour, more than any other active player.

21/12/1973

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

Irakli Alasania is a Georgian politician, soldier and former diplomat who served as the Minister of Defense of Georgia from 2012 to 2014. He was Georgia's Ambassador to the United Nations from September 11, 2006, until December 4, 2008. His previous assignments include Chairman of the Government of Abkhazia(-in-exile) and the President of Georgia's aide in the Georgian-Abkhaz talks. Soon after his resignation, Alasania withdrew into opposition to the Mikheil Saakashvili administration, setting up the Our Georgia – Free Democrats party in July 2009. In 2012 Alasania was appointed Minister of Defense, a position he held until 2014.

Matías Almeyda, Argentine footballer and manager

Matías Jesús Almeyda is an Argentine professional football manager and former player. He is the current head coach of Monterrey in Mexico.

21/12/1972

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

Yeduguri Sandinti Jagan Mohan Reddy, also known mononymously as Jagan, is an Indian politician and a Member of Legislative Assembly representing Pulivendula Assembly constituency in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative assembly. He previously served as the 17th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He is the founding president of YSR Congress Party. He is also the son of Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and Y. S. Vijayamma. He is also the brother of APCC president Y. S. Sharmila.

21/12/1971

Matthieu Chedid, French singer-songwriter and guitarist

Matthieu Chedid is a French multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter.

Natalie Grant, American singer-songwriter and author

Natalie Diane Grant is an American singer and songwriter of contemporary Christian music. She received the Gospel Music Association's Dove Award for Female Vocalist of the Year four consecutive years, 2006–2009, and a fourth additional prize in 2012. She has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards.

21/12/1969

Julie Delpy, French model, actress, director, and screenwriter

Julie Delpy is a French-American actress, screenwriter, and film director. She studied filmmaking at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and has directed, written, and acted in more than 30 films, including Europa Europa (1990), Voyager (1991), Three Colours: White (1993), the Before trilogy, An American Werewolf in Paris (1997), and 2 Days in Paris (2007).

Mihails Zemļinskis, Latvian footballer, coach, and manager

Mihails Zemļinskis is a Latvian politician and former professional footballer. He played as a centre-back or sweeper, making over 100 appearances for the Latvia national team.

21/12/1967

Terry Mills, American basketball player and coach

Terry Richard Mills is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a power forward. He was a member of the Michigan Wolverines' 1989 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men's Division I Basketball Championship winning team before playing over a decade in the NBA.

Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Georgia

Mikheil "Misha" Saakashvili is a Georgian-Ukrainian politician. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from January 2004 to November 2013, with a break from November 2007 to January 2008 after he stepped down following anti-government demonstrations and ahead of an early presidential election. He is the founder and former chairman of Georgia's United National Movement party. From May 2015 until November 2016, Saakashvili was the governor of Ukraine's Odesa Oblast.

21/12/1966

Michelle Hurd, American actress

Michelle Hurd is an American actress and secretary-treasurer of SAG AFTRA. Hurd has worked as a television character actress, first appearing on the soap opera Another World (1991–1997). She later earned recognition for playing Monique Jeffries in the legal drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999–2001). Afterwards, she led the drama series Leap Years (2001–2002) and held recurring roles in the drama series Skin (2003), the comedy According to Jim (2004), the medical drama ER (2006–2007), and the teen drama Gossip Girl (2007–2008).

William Ruto, 5th President of Kenya

William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto is a Kenyan politician who is the fifth and current president of Kenya since 13 September 2022. Prior to becoming president, he served as the first elected deputy president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. He previously served in three cabinet portfolios as the Minister for Home Affairs, the Minister of Agriculture and as Minister for Higher Education.

Kiefer Sutherland, British-Canadian actor, director, and producer

Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland is a British and Canadian actor. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox drama series 24, for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, and President Tom Kirkman in the ABC political drama series Designated Survivor.

21/12/1965

Glenn Coleman, Australian rugby league player

Glenn Coleman is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played his entire club football career with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. He primarily played on the wing

Andy Dick, American actor and comedian

Andrew Roane Dick is an American actor and comedian. Dick was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and joined The Second City and studied improvisational theater. Dick has had a long career as a stand-up comedian; he has appeared throughout the United States, has released several comedy albums, and has acted in television and film. Dick's first regular television role was on The Ben Stiller Show on Fox. In the mid-1990s, he regularly appeared on NBC's NewsRadio and as a supporting character on Less than Perfect. He also had two short-lived television series on MTV; these were the sketch comedy series The Andy Dick Show (2001) and the reality series The Assistant (2004). He also is noted for his behavior on a number of Comedy Central Roasts, stand-up comedy performances, and late night talk show appearances.

Anke Engelke, Canadian-German actress, director, and screenwriter

Anke Christina Fischer is a German comedian, actress, voice-actress, and television presenter.

21/12/1964

Kunihiko Ikuhara, Japanese director and illustrator

Kunihiko Ikuhara , also known by the nickname Ikuni, is a Japanese director, writer, artist, and music producer. He has created and collaborated on several notable anime and manga series, including Sailor Moon, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Penguindrum, Yurikuma Arashi, and Sarazanmai.

Joe Kocur, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Gregory Joseph "Joey" Kocur is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is best known for his activities as a fighter and enforcer, as well as being one half of the "Bruise Brothers" with then- Detroit Red Wings teammate Bob Probert, during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Joe Kocur is a 4 time Stanley Cup champion.

21/12/1963

Govinda, Indian actor, singer, and politician

Govind Arun Ahuja is an Indian actor-turned-politician, who has appeared in more than 120 Hindi-language films. A leading actor throughout late 1980s & 1990s, Govinda is known for his slapstick performances and dancing skills. He has received 12 Filmfare Award nominations and won two Filmfare Special Awards and one Filmfare Award for Best Comedian.

21/12/1961

Ryuji Sasai, Japanese bass player and composer

Ryuji Sasai is a Japanese video game composer and bass guitarist. He is best known for his work on Xak, Final Fantasy Legend III and Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. His musical career came about when he was 15 years old, and he formed a band. Before entering the gaming industry, Sasai was involved in the anime department, scoring two television series and a film. After creating music for four games as a freelancer, he was employed at Square from 1991 to 1998, where he worked on five games in total. Sasai often collaborated with fellow composers Tadahiro Nitta and Chihiro Fujioka during his career. He has also been a member of the rock bands Novela and Action and is currently performing as a bassist.

21/12/1960

Sherry Rehman, Pakistani journalist, politician, and diplomat, 25th Pakistan Ambassador to the United States

Shehrbano "Sherry" Rehman is a Pakistani politician and journalist who has been the member of the Senate of Pakistan since 2015. She was the first female Leader of the Opposition in the Senate from March to August 2018 and served as Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States from 2011 to 2013. She is currently serving as the Federal Minister for the Ministry of Climate Change.

21/12/1959

Florence Griffith Joyner, American sprinter and actress (died 1998)

Florence Delorez Griffith Joyner, also known as Flo-Jo, was an American track and field athlete who set world records in the 100m and 200m in 1988. During the late 1980s, she became a popular figure due to both her record-setting athleticism and eclectic personal style.

Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Indian cricketer

Krishnamachari "Kris" Srikkanth, also known as Cheeka, is a former Indian cricket captain and coach. He also serves as a cricket commentator. He was a hard-hitting opening batter and an occasional right arm offbreak bowler. He has served as a captain of the Indian cricket team and chairman of the men's selection committee later.

21/12/1958

Tamara Bykova, Russian high jumper

Tamara Vladimirovna Bykova is a Russian former track and field athlete who represented the Soviet Union and competed in the high jump. She is the 1983 World Champion, the 1987 World Championship silver medallist, the 1988 Olympic bronze medallist, and is a former world record holder, with clearances of 2.03 and 2.04 metres in 1983 and 2.05 metres in 1984. She also won silver medals at the 1982 European Championships, the 1989 and 1991 World Indoor Championships, and three times at the World Cup.

21/12/1957

Ray Romano, American actor, producer, and screenwriter

Raymond Albert Romano is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for his role as Raymond "Ray" Barone on the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005), for which he won three Primetime Emmy Awards. He is also known for being the voice of Manny in the Ice Age franchise. He has received several other awards including nominations for two Grammy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.

Tony Lewis, English singer and songwriter (died 2020)

Tony G Lewis was an English singer and musician. He was the lead singer and bassist of the pop-rock band the Outfield, best known for their hit singles "Your Love" and "All the Love in the World". After a long career with that band, Lewis began work as a solo artist, releasing his first album Out of the Darkness in 2018 on Madison Records.

21/12/1956

Dave Laut, American shot putter (died 2009)

David Lester Laut was an American shot putter. He was born in Findlay, Ohio, and grew up in Oxnard, California. Laut attended Art Haycox Elementary School, E. O. Green Junior High School, Santa Clara High School, Moorpark College, along with San Jose City College and UCLA, where he was a two-time NCAA champion and ranked No. 1 shot putter in the United States.

21/12/1955

Jane Kaczmarek, American actress

Jane Frances Kaczmarek is an American actress. Her role as Lois on the Fox sitcom Malcolm in the Middle (2000–2006) earned her three Golden Globe nominations and seven Primetime Emmy nominations. She also appeared as Linda Bauer in Equal Justice (1990–1991), Judge Trudy Kessler in Raising the Bar (2008–2009), Ann in Falling in Love (1984), Emily in The Heavenly Kid (1985), and Gayle in 6 Balloons (2018). She had recurring roles as Holly in Cybill and as Maureen Cutler in Frasier. Kaczmarek was a replacement for the character of Bella in the Broadway production of Neil Simon's Lost In Yonkers.

Kazuyuki Sekiguchi, Japanese singer-songwriter and bass player

Kazuyuki Sekiguchi is a Japanese musician, best known for playing the bass guitar for Southern All Stars. As a solo artist, he has played ukulele. He is a fan of Hawaiian music, and is the founder of the annual Ukulele Picnic music festival in Hawaii. For over thirty years, Sekiguchi has worked with Akira Sakuma in the Momotaro Dentetsu video game series as a music composer.

21/12/1954

Chris Evert, American tennis player and coach

Christine Marie Evert is an American former professional tennis player. One of the most successful players of all time, she was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 260 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 seven times: 1974–1978, 1980 and 1981. Evert won 157 singles titles, including 18 majors. Alongside Martina Navratilova, her greatest rival, Evert dominated women's tennis from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s.

21/12/1953

András Schiff, Hungarian-English pianist and conductor

Sir András Schiff is a Hungarian and British classical pianist and conductor. He has received numerous awards and honours, including the Grammy Award, Gramophone Award, Mozart Medal, and Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize, and was appointed Knight Bachelor in the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to music.

Betty Wright, American singer-songwriter (died 2020)

Bessie Regina Norris, better known by her stage name Betty Wright, was an American soul and R&B singer, songwriter and background vocalist. Beginning her professional career in the late 1960s as a teenager, Wright rose to fame in the 1970s with hits such as "Clean Up Woman" and "Tonight Is the Night". Wright was also prominent in her use of whistle register.

21/12/1952

Joaquín Andújar, Dominican baseball player (died 2015)

Joaquín Andújar was a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, and Oakland Athletics from 1976 through 1988. Andújar was a four-time MLB All-Star and a Gold Glove Award winner.

Dennis Boutsikaris, American actor

Dennis Boutsikaris is an American stage and film actor. A two-time Obie Award Winner, he has appeared on and off Broadway, being the first American to play Mozart in Amadeus. On television he is best known for his role on Better Call Saul as Rich Schweikart. He has also narrated over 200 audiobooks.

Steve Furniss, American swimmer

Steven Charles Furniss is an American former swimmer, business owner, Olympic bronze medalist and world record-holder.

21/12/1951

Steve Perryman, English footballer and manager

Stephen John Perryman MBE is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender or midfielder. He is best-known for his successes with Tottenham Hotspur during the 1970s and early 1980s. He has won the FA Cup, League Cup, and UEFA Cup all twice with Tottenham in his 17 years at the club. Perryman was voted Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year in 1982 and made a club record 854 first team appearances for Tottenham. He was the director of football at Exeter City from 2003 until his temporary retirement in March 2018.

21/12/1950

Jeffrey Katzenberg, American screenwriter and producer, co-founded DreamWorks Animation

Jeffrey David Katzenberg is an American media proprietor and film producer. He served as chair of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994, a position in which he oversaw production and business operations for the company's feature films. Following his departure, he co-founded DreamWorks SKG in 1994, where he served as the company's chief executive officer (CEO) and executive producer of its animated franchises—including Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon—until stepping down from the title in 2016. He has since founded the venture capital firm WndrCo in the same year, which invests in digital media projects, and launched Quibi in 2020, a defunct short-form mobile video platform that lost US$1.35 billion in seven months.

Max Maven, American magician and mentalist (died 2022)

Max Maven was an American illusionist and mentalist whose performances were considered erudite and intelligent. He is ranked as one of the most influential mentalists of all time, and one of the 100 "Most Influential Magicians of the 20th Century" by Magic Magazine.

Lillebjørn Nilsen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2024)

Lillebjørn Falk Nilsen was a Norwegian singer-songwriter and folk musician. He was considered by many to be a leading "voice of Oslo", alongside Ole Paus, thanks to numerous classic songs about the city from the 1970s and onwards.

21/12/1949

Thomas Sankara, Burkinabé captain and politician, 5th President of Burkina Faso (died 1987)

Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara was a Burkinabé military officer, Marxist and Pan-Africanist revolutionary who, following his takeover in a coup, remained in power as the first President of Burkina Faso from 1983 until his assassination in 1987. He was also the 5th Prime Minister of Upper Volta from January to May 1983.

Nikolaos Sifounakis, Greek lawyer and politician

Nikolaos Sifounakis is a Greek politician, former Minister for the Aegean and ex-member of the European Parliament (MEP). He was elected on the Panhellenic Socialist Movement ticket and sat with the Party of European Socialists group. On 23 July 2004 he was elected Chair of the Committee on Culture and Education.

21/12/1948

Barry Gordon, American actor and voice artist; longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild (1988–95)

Barry Gordon is an American actor and political talk show host. He was the longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild, having served from 1988 to 1995. He is perhaps best known as the original voice of Donatello and Bebop in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play in 1963 for his performance in A Thousand Clowns.

Samuel L. Jackson, American actor and producer

Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American actor and film producer. He is one of the most widely recognized actors of his generation. The films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed more than $27 billion worldwide, making him the highest-grossing actor of all time. In 2022, he received the Academy Honorary Award as "a cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide".

Dave Kingman, American baseball player

David Arthur Kingman, nicknamed "Kong", "King Kong", and "Sky King", is an American former Major League Baseball left fielder, first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter who was a three-time MLB All-Star with 442 career home runs and 1,210 runs batted in (RBI) in 16 seasons. In his career, Kingman averaged a home run every 15.11 at bats, tied for 19th best all-time.

21/12/1947

Paco de Lucía, Spanish guitarist, songwriter, and producer (died 2014)

Francisco Gustavo Sánchez Gómez, known as Paco de Lucía, was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flamenco guitarists to branch into classical and jazz. Richard Chapman and Eric Clapton, authors of Guitar: Music, History, Players, describe de Lucía as a "titanic figure in the world of flamenco guitar", and Dennis Koster, author of Guitar Atlas, Flamenco, has referred to de Lucía as "one of history's greatest guitarists".

21/12/1946

Roy Karch, American director, producer, and screenwriter

The AVN Hall of Fame has honored people for their work in the adult entertainment industry since 1995. The individuals inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame have "made significant contributions to the adult industry" and have had "a minimum of 10 years in the industry" to be considered for induction.

Carl Wilson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1998)

Carl Dean Wilson was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's de facto leader in the early to mid-1970s. He was also the band's musical director on stage from 1965 until his death.

21/12/1945

Doug Walters, Australian cricketer

Kevin Douglas Walters is a former Australian cricketer. He was known as an attacking batsman, a useful part-time bowler, and also as a typical ocker. He was a part of the Australian squad which finished as runners-up at the 1975 Cricket World Cup.

21/12/1944

Michael Tilson Thomas, American pianist, composer, and conductor (died 2026)

Michael Tilson Thomas was an American conductor, composer, pianist and music pedagogue. He was music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra from 1971 to 1979. He founded the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy in Miami Beach, Florida, in 1987, serving as artistic director until 2022 and then as artistic director laureate. Thomas was principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra from 1988 to 1995, and then music director of the San Francisco Symphony until 2020. He conducted a wide repertoire of music, with a focus on the works by Gustav Mahler and of contemporary American music; he was the first to record some works by Aaron Copland, Charles Ives, and Steve Reich. Thomas appeared on television in the Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic and hosted the Keeping Score series. He collaborated with popular artists including Elvis Costello and Metallica.

Zheng Xiaoyu, Chinese diplomat (died 2007)

Zheng Xiaoyu was the director of the State Food and Drug Administration of the People's Republic of China from 2003 to 2005. He was sentenced to death for corruption and allowing possibly tainted products in mainland China in the first instance trial at Beijing No.1 Intermediate Court on May 29, 2007. He was executed on July 10, 2007.

21/12/1943

Albert Lee, English guitarist and songwriter

Albert William Lee is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked, both in the studio and on tour, with many famous musicians from a wide range of genres. He has also maintained a solo career and is a noted composer and musical director.

Walter Spanghero, French rugby player

Walter Spanghero is a former French rugby union footballer. His father, Ferruccio Dante Spanghero, emigrated from Friuli, arriving in France in the 1930s to make a living as a bricklayer. He was a part of the France national team which won the 1968 Grand Slam in the Five Nations. He was also a part of the French side which won the Five Nations in 1967 and 1973. He played for France over 50 times. He played at number 8, lock and flanker. He famously had a very stormy relationship with his brother, Claude, who was also an international rugby player for France.

21/12/1942

Hu Jintao, Chinese engineer and politician, 5th Paramount leader of China

Hu Jintao is a Chinese retired politician who served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012, president of China from 2003 to 2013, chairman of the Party Central Military Commission (CMC) from 2004 to 2012 and chairman of the State Central Military Commission from 2005 to 2013. He was a member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee, China's top decision-making body, from 1992 to 2012, and served as the paramount leader of China from 2002 to 2012.

Carla Thomas, American singer

Carla Venita Thomas is an American singer, who is often referred to as the Queen of Memphis Soul. She is best known for her 1960s recordings for Atlantic and Stax including the hits "Gee Whiz " (1960), "B-A-B-Y" (1966) and "Tramp" (1967), a duet with Otis Redding. She is the daughter of Rufus Thomas.

21/12/1940

Frank Zappa, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer and producer (died 1993)

Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, songwriter, guitarist, conductor, actor, satirist, filmmaker, and activist. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and musique concrète works; he additionally produced nearly all the 60-plus albums he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. His discography is characterized by nonconformity, improvisation, sonic experimentation, musical virtuosity and satire of American culture. Zappa also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers. He is considered one of the most innovative and stylistically diverse musicians of his generation.

21/12/1939

Lloyd Axworthy, Canadian academic and politician, 2nd Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs

Lloyd Norman Axworthy is a Canadian politician, elder statesman and academic. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Following his retirement from parliament, he served as president and vice-chancellor of the University of Winnipeg from 2004 to 2014 and as chancellor of St. Paul's University College. He is currently the Chair of the World Refugee & Migration Council.

Wafic Saïd, Syrian-Saudi Arabian financier, businessman and philanthropist

Wafic Rida Saïd is a Syrian-Saudi-Canadian businessman, financier, and philanthropist who has resided for many years in Monaco.

21/12/1938

Larry Bryggman, American actor

Arvid Laurence Bryggman is an American actor. He is known for playing the role of Dr. John Dixon on the CBS Daytime soap opera As the World Turns. He won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his work on As the World Turns in 1984 and 1987. He received six other Daytime Emmy Award nominations. He has had roles in many theatrical productions, including Ulysses in Nighttown (1974), The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel (1977), Prelude to a Kiss (1990), Picnic (1994), Proof (2000), Romance (2005), Festen (2006), and Harvey (2012). He has received two Tony Award nominations and won two Obie Awards. He has also appeared in the films ...And Justice for All (1979), Hanky Panky (1982), Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995) and Spy Game (2001).

21/12/1937

Jane Fonda, American actress and activist

Jane Seymour Fonda is an American actress and activist. Fonda's work spans several genres and over seven decades of film and television. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards (Oscars), two British Academy Film Awards, eight Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for a Grammy Award and two Tony Awards. Fonda is also the recipient of various honorary awards including the Honorary Palme d'Or in 2007, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2014, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2017, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2021, and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2025.

21/12/1935

John G. Avildsen, American director, producer, and cinematographer (died 2017)

John Guilbert Avildsen was an American film director. He is best known for directing Rocky (1976), which earned him the Academy Award for Best Director. He is also known for directing the first three films in The Karate Kid franchise (1984–1989). Other films he directed include Joe (1970), Save the Tiger (1973), The Formula (1980), Neighbors (1981), Lean on Me (1989), Rocky V (1990), 8 Seconds (1994), and Inferno (1999).

Lorenzo Bandini, Italian racing driver (died 1967)

Lorenzo Bandini was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1961 to 1967. Bandini won the 1964 Austrian Grand Prix with Ferrari. In endurance racing, Bandini won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1963, as well as the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1967, both with Ferrari.

Phil Donahue, American talk show host and producer (died 2024)

Phillip John Donahue was an American media personality, writer, film producer, and the creator and host of The Phil Donahue Show. The television program, later known simply as Donahue, was the first popular talk show to feature a format that included audience participation. The show had a 29-year run on national television that began in Dayton, Ohio, in 1967 and ended in New York City in 1996.

Stela Popescu, Romanian actress (died 2017)

Stela Popescu was a Romanian actress and TV personality considered the greatest comedy actress and one of best female actresses of all time in Romania. With Ștefan Bănică and Alexandru Arșinel she was successively half of two famous romantic partnerships.

Edward Schreyer, Canadian academic and politician, Governor General of Canada

Edward Richard Schreyer is a Canadian politician, diplomat, and statesman who served as the 22nd governor general of Canada from 1979 to 1984. He previously served as the 16th premier of Manitoba from 1969 to 1977.

Janet Metcalf, American politician (died 2025)

Janet S. Metcalf was an American politician in the state of Iowa.

21/12/1934

Giuseppina Leone, Italian sprinter

Giuseppina "Giusy" Leone is a retired Italian sprinter. She competed in the 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 m events at the 1952, 1956 and 1960 Olympics and reached the final on five occasions. In 1960 she won a bronze medal in the 100 m.

Hanif Mohammad, Pakistani cricketer (died 2016)

Hanif Mohammad PP was a Pakistani cricketer. He played for the Pakistani cricket team in 55 Test matches between the 1952–53 season and the 1969–70 season. He averaged 43.98, scoring twelve centuries. At his peak, he was considered one of the best batsmen in the world despite playing at a time when Pakistan played very little Test cricket; Hanif played just 55 Test matches in a career spanning 17 years. In his obituary by ESPNcricinfo, he was honoured as the original Little Master, a title later assumed by Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. He was the first Pakistani to score a triple hundred in a Test match.

21/12/1933

Jackie Hendriks, Jamaican cricketer

John Leslie Hendriks is a former Jamaican cricketer who was a Test wicket-keeper in the West Indies cricket team from 1962 to 1969.

Robert Worcester, American businessman and academic, founded MORI (died 2025)

Sir Robert Milton Worcester, was an American-born British pollster who was the founder of MORI and a member and contributor to many voluntary organisations. He was a well-known figure in British public opinion research and political circles and as a media commentator, especially about voting intentions in British and American elections.

21/12/1932

U. R. Ananthamurthy, Indian author, poet, and critic (died 2014)

Udupi Rajagopalacharya Ananthamurthy was an Indian contemporary writer and critic in the Kannada language. He was born in Thirtahalli Taluk and is considered one of the pioneers of the Navya movement. In 1994, he became the sixth Kannada writer to be honored with the Jnanpith Award, the highest literary honour conferred in India. In 1998, he received the Padma Bhushan award from the Government of India. He was the vice-chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University in Kerala during the late 1980s. He was one of the finalists of Man Booker International Prize for the year 2013. He remained a fervent critic of nationalistic political parties until his death from kidney failure and cardiac arrest on 22 August 2014.

Edward Hoagland, American author and critic

Edward Morley Hoagland was an American author best known for his nature and travel writing.

21/12/1930

Phil Roman, American animator

Philip Roman is an American animator. He is the director of the Peanuts and Garfield animated specials and is the founder of the animation studios Film Roman and Phil Roman Entertainment.

21/12/1927

Charles Bailleul, French linguist and missionary (died 2026)

Charles Bailleul was a French linguist and Roman Catholic missionary, a member of the White Fathers.

21/12/1926

Champ Butler, American singer (died 1992)

Champ Clark Butler was an American popular music singer who had several Billboard singles chart hits in the 1950s, and recorded primarily for Columbia Records. The label's head of A & R, Mitch Miller, writing about Butler's singing in 1953, described him as "one of the most versatile lads in the business." Butler had six gold records, with his singles "Them There Eyes", "Down Yonder", "Oh, Looka There, Ain't She Pretty", "Be Anything ", "Fit as a Fiddle" and "I Apologize". He also featured in a nightly CBS television show, Musical Nightcap, for over two years.

Arnošt Lustig, Czech author and playwright (died 2011)

Arnošt Lustig was a Czech Jewish writer, playwright and screenwriter. His works have often involved the Holocaust.

Joe Paterno, American football player and coach (died 2012)

Joseph Vincent Paterno, sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2011. With 409 victories, Paterno is the most victorious coach in NCAA FBS history. He recorded his 409th victory on October 29, 2011; his career ended with his dismissal from the team on November 9, 2011, as a result of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. He died 74 days later, of complications from lung cancer.

21/12/1923

Wat Misaka, American basketball player (died 2019)

Wataru Misaka was an American professional basketball player. A 5-foot-7-inch (1.70 m) point guard of Japanese descent, he broke a color barrier in professional basketball by being the first non-white player and the first player of Asian descent to play in the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The National Basketball Association (NBA), which was created in 1949 with the merger of the BAA and the NBL, later adopted the BAA's history and thus considers Misaka to be the first non-white player of the league.

21/12/1922

Itubwa Amram, Nauruan pastor and politician (died 1989)

The Reverend Alfred Itubwa Amram was a Nauruan pastor and political figure.

Cécile DeWitt-Morette, French mathematician and physicist (died 2017)

Cécile Andrée Paule DeWitt-Morette was a French mathematician and physicist. She founded the Les Houches School of Physics in the French Alps. For this and her publications, she was awarded the American Society of the French Legion of Honour 2007 Medal for Distinguished Achievement. Attendees at the summer school included over twenty students who would go on to be Nobel Prize winners, including Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Georges Charpak, and Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, who identify the school for assisting in their success.

Paul Winchell, American actor, voice artist, and ventriloquist (died 2005)

Paul Winchell was an American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, humanitarian, and inventor whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1950 to 1954, he hosted The Paul Winchell Show, which also used two other titles during its prime time run on NBC: The Speidel Show, and What's My Name? From 1965 to 1968, Winchell hosted the children's television series Winchell-Mahoney Time.

21/12/1920

Alicia Alonso, Cuban ballerina and choreographer, founded the Cuban National Ballet (died 2019)

Alicia Alonso was a Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and choreographer whose company became the Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1955. She is best known for her portrayals of Giselle and the ballet version of Carmen.

Adele Goldstine, American computer programmer (died 1964)

Adele Goldstine was an American mathematician and computer programmer. She wrote the manual for the first electronic digital computer, ENIAC. Through her programming work, she was instrumental in converting the ENIAC from a computer that required reprogramming each time it was used to one capable of performing a set of fifty stored instructions.

Iris Cummings, American swimmer and aviator (died 2025)

Iris Cummings, also known by her married name Iris Critchell, was an American aviator and competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. After an active athletic career in swimming, which included a reign as U.S. national 200-meter breaststroke champion from 1936 to 1939, she was accepted into the University of Southern California's first Civilian Pilot Training Program in 1939. After graduation, she worked as a flight instructor prior to being selected to serve her country during World War II as a member of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) and Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). Following the conflict, she returned to California, where she developed and taught a curriculum on civilian flight for veterans returning from the war at the University of Southern California.

21/12/1919

Doug Young, American voice actor (died 2018)

Douglas Hiram Young was an American voice actor who worked on radio programs and in animated cartoons.

21/12/1918

Donald Regan, American colonel and politician, 11th White House Chief of Staff (died 2003)

Donald Thomas Regan was an American government official and business executive who served as the 66th United States secretary of the treasury from 1981 to 1985 and as the 11th White House chief of staff from 1985 to 1987 under President Ronald Reagan.

Kurt Waldheim, Austrian colonel and politician; 9th President of Austria (died 2007)

Kurt Josef Waldheim was an Austrian politician and diplomat. Waldheim was the secretary-general of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981 and the president of Austria from 1986 to 1992.

21/12/1917

Heinrich Böll, German novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1985)

Heinrich Theodor Böll was a German writer. Considered one of Germany's foremost post–World War II writers, Böll received the Georg Büchner Prize (1967) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1972).

21/12/1914

Frank Fenner, Australian microbiologist and virologist (died 2010)

Frank John Fenner was an Australian scientist with a distinguished career in the field of virology. His two greatest achievements are cited as overseeing the eradication of smallpox, and the attempted control of Australia's rabbit plague through the introduction of Myxoma virus.

21/12/1913

Arnold Friberg, American illustrator and painter (died 2010)

Arnold Friberg was an American illustrator and painter of religious and patriotic works. One example is his 1975 painting The Prayer at Valley Forge, a depiction of George Washington praying at Valley Forge. He is also known for his 15 "pre-visualization" paintings for the Cecil B. DeMille film The Ten Commandments which were used to promote the film worldwide and for which he received an Academy Award nomination.

21/12/1911

Josh Gibson, American baseball player (died 1947)

Joshua Gibson was an American professional baseball catcher who played primarily in the Negro leagues. In 1972, he became the second Negro league player to be inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, after Satchel Paige.

21/12/1909

Seichō Matsumoto, Japanese journalist and author (died 1992)

Seichō Matsumoto was a Japanese writer, credited with popularizing detective fiction in Japan.

21/12/1905

Käte Fenchel, German mathematician (died 1983)

Käte Fenchel née Käte Sperling was a German-born Jewish mathematician, best known for her work on non-abelian groups.

Anthony Powell, English author (died 2000)

Anthony Dymoke Powell was an English novelist best known for his 12-volume work A Dance to the Music of Time, published between 1951 and 1975. It is on the list of longest novels in English.

21/12/1900

Luis Arturo González López, Guatemalan supreme court judge and briefly acting president (died 1965)

Luis Arturo González López was a Guatemalan attorney and politician who served as the acting President of Guatemala from 27 July 1957 to 24 October 1957. He became president after the assassination of Carlos Castillo Armas, under whom he was designated as first in the presidential line of succession by Congress.

21/12/1896

Konstantin Rokossovsky, Marshal of the Soviet Union during World War II (died 1968)

Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky was a Soviet and Polish general who served as a top commander in the Red Army during World War II and achieved the ranks of Marshal of the Soviet Union and Marshal of Poland. He also served as Defence Minister of Poland from 1949 to 1956.

21/12/1892

Walter Hagen, American golfer (died 1969)

Walter Charles Hagen was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus (18) and Tiger Woods (15). Known as the "father of professional golf," he brought publicity, prestige, big prize money, and lucrative endorsements to the sport. Hagen is rated one of the greatest golfers ever.

Rebecca West, English journalist and author (died 1983)

Dame Cecily Isabel Fairfield, known as Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, was a British author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. An author who wrote in many genres, West reviewed books for The Times, the New York Herald Tribune, The Sunday Telegraph and The New Republic, and she was a correspondent for The Bookman.

21/12/1891

John William McCormack, American lawyer and politician, 53rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (died 1980)

John William McCormack was an American politician from Boston, Massachusetts who served as the 45th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1962 until his retirement in 1971. McCormack served in the United States Army during World War I, and afterwards in the Massachusetts State Senate before winning election to the United States House of Representatives.

21/12/1890

Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1967)

Hermann Joseph Muller was an American geneticist who was awarded the 1946 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for the discovery of the production of mutations by means of X-ray irradiation". Muller warned of long-term dangers of radioactive fallout from nuclear war and nuclear testing, which resulted in greater public scrutiny of these practices.

21/12/1889

Sewall Wright, American geneticist and biologist (died 1988)

Sewall Green Wright ForMemRS HonFRSE was an American geneticist known for his influential work on evolutionary theory and also for his work on path analysis. He was a founder of population genetics alongside Ronald Fisher and J. B. S. Haldane, which was a major step in the development of the modern synthesis combining genetics with evolution. He discovered the inbreeding coefficient and methods of computing it in pedigree animals. He extended this work to populations, computing the amount of inbreeding between members of populations as a result of random genetic drift, and along with Fisher he pioneered methods for computing the distribution of gene frequencies among populations as a result of the interaction of natural selection, mutation, migration and genetic drift. Wright also made major contributions to mammalian and biochemical genetics.

21/12/1888

Jean Bouin, French runner and rugby player (died 1914)

Alexandre François Étienne Jean Bouin was a French middle-distance runner. He competed in the 1500m at the 1908 Olympics and the 5000m at the 1912 Olympics. He won a silver medal in the 5000m in 1912, behind Hannes Kolehmainen. His race against Kolehmainen has long been regarded as one of the most memorable moments in running. Kolehmainen and Bouin quickly pulled away from the others, with Bouin leading and Kolehmainen repeatedly trying to pass him. Kolehmainen succeeded only 20 metres from the finish, winning by 0.1 seconds. Both contenders broke the previous world record.

21/12/1885

Frank Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 1960)

Francis Alexis Patrick was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, head coach, manager, and executive. Along with his brother Lester, he founded the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the first major professional hockey league in Western Canada. Patrick, who also served as president of the league, took control of the Vancouver Millionaires, serving as a player, coach, and manager of the team. It was in the PCHA that Patrick would introduce many innovations to hockey that remain today, including the blue line, the penalty shot, and tracking assists, among others.

21/12/1884

María Cadilla, Puerto Rican writer, educator, women's rights activist (died 1951)

Dr. María Cadilla Colón de Martínez was a Puerto Rican writer, educator, women's rights activist and one of the first women in Puerto Rico to earn a doctoral degree.

21/12/1878

Jan Łukasiewicz, Polish-Irish mathematician and philosopher (died 1956)

Jan Łukasiewicz was a Polish logician and philosopher who is best known for Polish notation and Łukasiewicz logic. His work centred on philosophical logic, mathematical logic and history of logic. He thought innovatively about traditional propositional logic, the principle of non-contradiction and the law of excluded middle, offering one of the earliest systems of many-valued logic. Contemporary research on Aristotelian logic also builds on innovative works by Łukasiewicz, which applied methods from modern logic to the formalization of Aristotle's syllogistic.

21/12/1877

Jaan Sarv, Estonian mathematician and scholar (died 1954)

Jaan Sarv was an Estonian mathematician and educator. Most of his life he worked as a professor at the University of Tartu. Sarv laid the foundation of Estonian language mathematical education.

21/12/1876

Jack Lang, Australian lawyer and politician, 23rd Premier of New South Wales (died 1975)

John Thomas "Jack" Lang, nicknamed "the Big Fella", was an Australian politician who served as the 23rd premier of New South Wales from 1925 to 1927 and from 1930 to 1932. He was the state leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1923 to 1939 and his Lang Labor faction was an influential force in both state and federal politics, breaking away from the official ALP on several occasions.

21/12/1872

Trevor Kincaid, Canadian-American zoologist and academic (died 1970)

Trevor Charles Digby Kincaid was a Canadian-American scientist and professor at the University of Washington who achieved national acclaim for his scientific achievements while an undergraduate student. Kincaid's interests ranged from insect life to marine biology to mollusks, though he once described himself as an "omniologist". He is best known for introducing the gypsy moth parasite to the United States, for helping establish the Washington state oyster industry, and as the driving force behind the creation of the Friday Harbor Laboratories. Kincaid is responsible for the identification and naming of hundreds of species; at least 47 plant and animal species were, in turn, named after him. In 1938 he was designated Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus of the University of Washington, that school's highest honor for its alumni.

Lorenzo Perosi, Italian priest and composer (died 1956)

Monsignor Lorenzo Perosi was an Italian composer of sacred music and the only member of the Giovane Scuola who did not write opera. In the late 1890s, while he was still only in his twenties, Perosi was an internationally celebrated composer of sacred music, especially large-scale oratorios. Nobel Prize winner Romain Rolland wrote, "It's not easy to give you an exact idea of how popular Lorenzo Perosi is in his native country." Perosi's fame was not restricted to Europe. A 19 March 1899 New York Times article entitled "The Genius of Don Perosi" began, "The great and ever-increasing success which has greeted the four new oratorios of Don Lorenzo Perosi has placed this young priest-composer on a pedestal of fame which can only be compared with that which has been accorded of late years to the idolized Pietro Mascagni by his fellow-countrymen." Gianandrea Gavazzeni made the same comparison: "The sudden clamors of applause, at the end of the [19th] century, were just like those a decade earlier for Mascagni." Perosi worked for five Popes, including Pope Pius X who greatly fostered his rise.

Albert Payson Terhune, American journalist and author (died 1942)

Albert Payson Terhune was an American writer, dog breeder, and journalist. He was popular for his novels relating the adventures of his beloved collies and as a breeder of collies at his Sunnybank Kennels, the lines of which still exist in today's Rough Collies.

21/12/1868

George W. Fuller, American chemist and engineer (died 1934)

George Warren Fuller was an American sanitary engineer who was also trained in bacteriology and chemistry. His career extended from 1890 to 1934 and he was responsible for important innovations in water and wastewater treatment. He designed and built the first modern water filtration plant, and he designed and built the first chlorination system that disinfected a U.S. drinking water supply. In addition, he performed groundbreaking engineering work on sewage treatment facilities in the U.S. He was President of both the American Water Works Association and the American Public Health Association, and he was recognized internationally as an expert civil and sanitary engineer.

21/12/1866

Maud Gonne, Irish nationalist and political activist (died 1953)

Maud Gonne MacBride was an Irish republican revolutionary, suffragette and actress. She was, contrary to her own claims of Anglo-Irish descent, English on the sides of both parents, and was won over to Irish nationalism by the plight of people evicted in the Land Wars. MacBride actively agitated for Home Rule and then for the republic declared in 1916. During the 1930s, as a founding member of the Social Credit Party, she promoted the distributive programme of C. H. Douglas. Gonne was well known for being the muse and long-time love interest of Irish poet W. B. Yeats.

21/12/1859

Gustave Kahn, French poet and critic (died 1936)

Gustave Kahn was a French Symbolist poet and art critic. He was also active, via publishing and essay-writing, in defining Symbolism and distinguishing it from the Decadent Movement.

21/12/1857

Joseph Carruthers, Australian politician, 16th Premier of New South Wales (died 1932)

Sir Joseph Hector McNeil Carruthers was an Australian politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1904 to 1907.

21/12/1851

Thomas Chipman McRae, American lawyer and politician, 26th Governor of Arkansas (died 1929)

Thomas Chipman McRae was an American attorney and politician from Arkansas. Described as a “Woodrow Wilson progressive," he served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives and the 26th governor of Arkansas, from 1921 to 1925.

21/12/1850

Zdeněk Fibich, Czech composer and poet (died 1900)

Zdeněk Fibich was a Czech composer of classical music. Among his compositions are chamber works, symphonic poems, three symphonies, at least seven operas, melodramas including the substantial trilogy Hippodamia, liturgical music including a mass – a missa brevis; and a large cycle of piano works called Moods, Impressions, and Reminiscences. The piano cycle served as a diary of sorts of his love for a piano pupil, and one of the pieces formed the basis for the short instrumental work Poème, for which Fibich is best remembered today.

21/12/1843

Thomas Bracken, Irish-New Zealander journalist, poet, and politician (died 1898)

Thomas Bracken was an Irish-born New Zealand poet, journalist and politician. He wrote "God Defend New Zealand", one of the two national anthems of New Zealand, and was the first person to publish the phrase "God's Own Country" as applied to New Zealand. He also won the Otago Caledonian Society's prize for poetry.

21/12/1840

Ernest de Munck, Belgian cellist and composer (died 1915)

Ernest de Munck was a Belgian cellist and composer. Born in Brussels, de Munck learned the cello from his professional cellist father François de Munck as well as Adrien-François Servais. He later became a professor at the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music in London.

Namık Kemal, Turkish journalist, playwright, and activist (died 1888)

Namık Kemal was an Ottoman writer, poet, democrat, intellectual, reformer, journalist, playwright, and political activist who was influential in the formation of the Young Ottomans and their struggle for governmental reform in the Ottoman Empire during the late Tanzimat period, which led to the First Constitutional Era in the Empire in 1876. Kemal championed notions of freedom and fatherland in his plays and poems, and his works had a significant impact on the establishment of and future reform movements in Turkey, as well as other former Ottoman territories. He is often regarded as being instrumental in redefining Western concepts like natural rights and constitutional government.

21/12/1832

John H. Ketcham, American general and politician (died 1906)

John Henry Ketcham was an American politician and military officer who was a United States representative from New York for over 33 years from 1877 to 1893 and from 1897 to 1906. He also served as a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

21/12/1830

Bartolomé Masó, Cuban soldier and politician (died 1907)

Bartolomé de Jesús Masó Márquez was a Cuban politician and military patriot for Cuban independence from the colonial power of Spain, and later President of the República en Armas.

21/12/1820

William H. Osborn, American businessman (died 1894)

William Henry Osborn was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was a railroad tycoon who, as head of the Illinois Central Railroad and later the Chicago, St. Louis and New Orleans Railroad, became one of the most prominent railroad leaders in the United States. A friend and patron of the painter Frederic Edwin Church, he was an avid art collector. His two sons went on to become presidents of prominent museums in New York City.

21/12/1815

Thomas Couture, French painter and educator (died 1879)

Thomas Couture was a French history painter and teacher. He taught many notable contemporary figures of the art world, such as Édouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour, John La Farge, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, John Ward Dunsmore, Karel Javůrek, William Morris Hunt, and Joseph-Noël Sylvestre.

21/12/1811

Archibald Tait, Scottish-English archbishop (died 1882)

Archibald Campbell Tait was an Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England and theologian. He was the first Scottish priest to become Archbishop of Canterbury and thus, head of the Church of England.

21/12/1805

Thomas Graham, Scottish chemist and academic (died 1869)

Thomas Graham was a Scottish chemist known for his pioneering work in dialysis and the diffusion of gases. He is regarded as one of the founders of colloid chemistry.

21/12/1804

Benjamin Disraeli, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1881)

Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, was a British statesman, Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation of the modern Conservative Party, defining its policies and its broad outreach. Disraeli is remembered for his influential voice in world affairs, his political battles with the Liberal Party leader William Ewart Gladstone, and his one-nation conservatism or "Tory democracy". He made the Conservatives the party most identified with the British Empire and military action to expand it, both of which were popular among British voters. He is the only British prime minister to have been born Jewish.

21/12/1803

Achille Vianelli, Italian painter and academic (died 1894)

Achille Vianelli or Vianelly was an Italian painter of landscapes with genre scenes, often in watercolor.

21/12/1795

Jack Russell, English priest, hunter, and dog breeder (died 1883)

John "Jack" Russell, was an English parson, dog breeder, and enthusiastic follower of country sports, particularly fox hunting. He was known as "The Sporting Parson".

Leopold von Ranke, German historian, author, and academic (died 1886)

Leopold von Ranke was a German historian and a founder of modern source-based history. He was able to implement the seminar teaching method in his classroom and focused on archival research and the analysis of historical documents. Building on the methods of the Göttingen school of history, he was the first to establish a historical seminar. Ranke set the standards for much of later historical writing, introducing such ideas as reliance on primary sources (empiricism), an emphasis on narrative history and especially international politics (Außenpolitik). He was ennobled in 1865, with the addition of a "von" to his name.

21/12/1778

Anders Sandøe Ørsted, Danish jurist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Denmark (died 1860)

Anders Sandøe Ørsted was a Danish lawyer, politician and jurist. He served as the Prime Minister of Denmark between 1853–1855. He was brother of Hans Christian Ørsted.

21/12/1728

Hermann Raupach, German harpsichord player and composer (died 1778)

Hermann Friedrich Raupach was an 18th-century German composer.

21/12/1714

John Bradstreet, Canadian-English general (died 1774)

Major-General John Bradstreet was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served in King George's War, the French and Indian War and Pontiac's War. He was born in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, to a British army lieutenant and an Acadian mother. He also served as the Commodore-Governor for Newfoundland.

21/12/1672

Benjamin Schmolck, German pastor and composer (died 1737)

Benjamin Schmolck was a German Lutheran writer of hymns.

21/12/1615

Benedict Arnold, Rhode Island colonial governor (died 1678)

Benedict Arnold was president and then governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving for a total of 11 years in these roles. He was born and raised in the town of Ilchester, Somerset, England, likely attending school in Limington nearby. In 1635 at age 19, he accompanied his parents, siblings, and other family members on a voyage from England to New England where they first settled in Hingham in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In less than a year, they moved to Providence Plantation at the head of the Narragansett Bay at the request of Roger Williams. In about 1638, they moved once again about five miles (8 km) south to the Pawtuxet River, settling on the north side at a place commonly called Pawtuxet. Here they had serious disputes with their neighbors, particularly Samuel Gorton, and they put themselves and their lands under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, a situation which lasted for 16 years.

21/12/1603

Roger Williams, English minister, theologian, and politician, 9th President of the Colony of Rhode Island (died 1684)

Roger Williams was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and later the State of Rhode Island. He was a staunch advocate for religious liberty, separation of church and state, and fair dealings with the Native Americans.

21/12/1596

Peter Mohyla, Ruthenian Orthodox metropolitan and saint (died 1646)

Petro Mohyla or Peter Mogila was the Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus' in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Eastern Orthodox Church from 1633 to 1646.

21/12/1550

Man Singh I, Mughal noble (died 1614)

Mirza Raja Man Singh I was the 24th Kachawaha ruler of the Kingdom of Amber from 1589 to 1614. For the Mughals, he also served as the foremost imperial Subahdar of Bihar Subah from 1587 to 1594, then for Bengal Subah for three terms from 1595 to 1606 and the Subahdar of Kabul Subah from 1585 to 1586. He served in the imperial Mughal Army under Emperor Akbar. Man Singh fought sixty-seven important battles in Kabul, Balkh, Bukhara, Bengal and Central and Southern India. He was well versed in the battle tactics of both the Rajputs as well as the Mughals. He is commonly considered to be one of the Navaratnas, or the nine (nava) gems (ratna) of the royal court of Akbar.

21/12/1542

Thomas Allen, English mathematician and astrologer (died 1632)

Thomas Allen (or Alleyn) (21 December 1542 – 30 September 1632) was an English mathematician and astrologer. Highly reputed in his lifetime, he published little, but was an active private teacher of mathematics. He was also well connected in the English intellectual networks of the period.

21/12/1538

Luigi d'Este, Catholic cardinal (died 1586)

Luigi d'Este was an Italian Catholic cardinal, the second son of the five children of Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Modena and Ferrara, and Renée de Valois, daughter of Louis XII of France.

21/12/1505

Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, English politician (died 1550)

Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, was an English peer, secretary of state, Lord Chancellor and Lord High Admiral. A naturally skilled but unscrupulous and devious politician who changed with the times, Wriothesley served as a loyal instrument of King Henry VIII in the latter's break with the Catholic Church. Richly rewarded with royal gains from the Dissolution of the Monasteries, he nevertheless prosecuted Calvinists and other Protestants when political winds changed.

21/12/1468

William Conyers, 1st Baron Conyers, English baron (died 1524)

William Conyers, 1st Baron Conyers, also known as William Conyers of Hornby, was an English baron and aristocrat.

21/12/1401

Masaccio, Italian painter (died 1428)

Masaccio, born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, was a Florentine artist who is regarded as the first great Italian painter of the Quattrocento period of the Italian Renaissance. According to Vasari, Masaccio was the best painter of his generation because of his skill at imitating nature, recreating lifelike figures and movements as well as a convincing sense of three-dimensionality. He employed nudes and foreshortenings in his figures. This had seldom been done before him.

21/12/0968

Minamoto no Yorinobu, Japanese samurai (died 1048)

Minamoto no Yorinobu was a samurai commander and member of the powerful Minamoto clan. Along with his brother Yorimitsu, Yorinobu served the regents of the Fujiwara clan, taking the violent measures the Fujiwara were themselves unable to take. He held the title, passed down from his father, of Chinjufu-shōgun, Commander-in-chief of the Defense of the North. He served as Governor of Ise, Shinano, Sagami, Mutsu and Kai Provinces, and was the progenitor of the Kawachi Genji.

Lives Remembered on 21st December

On 21st December, 68 remarkable people passed away — from 72 to 2024. Remember the lives and legacies of those we lost on this day.

21/12/2024

Michelle Botes, South African actress (born 1962)

Michélle Botes was a South African actress, language instructor, designer and aromatherapist. She is best known for her roles in the television soapies Legacy (2020), Isidingo (1998) and Arende (1994).

Art Evans, American actor (born 1942)

Arthur James Evans was an American actor who made multiple film and television appearances over five decades.

21/12/2019

Andrew Clennel Palmer, British engineer (born 1938)

Andrew Clennel Palmer was a British engineer who worked on offshore geotechnical problems of submarine pipeline design and the study of the properties of ice. He spent much of his career as a teacher and academic researcher, at the University of Liverpool, Cambridge University, the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, and the National University of Singapore, punctuated by work in industry, while also serving as an expert witness and as a member of various industrial and academic committees.

21/12/2017

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

Bruce McCandless II was an American Navy officer and aviator, electrical engineer, and NASA astronaut. In 1984, during the first of his two Space Shuttle missions, he completed the first untethered spacewalk by using the Manned Maneuvering Unit.

21/12/2014

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

Udo Jürgens was an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spanned over 50 years. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria, composed close to 1,000 songs, and sold over 104 million records. In 2007, he additionally obtained Swiss citizenship.

Sitor Situmorang, Indonesian poet and author (born 1923)

Sitor Situmorang was an Indonesian poet, essayist and writer of short stories. Situmorang was born in Harianboho, North Sumatra, and educated in Jakarta. He worked as a journalist and literary critic in Medan, Yogyakarta and Jakarta for a variety of newspapers and periodicals.

Billie Whitelaw, English actress (born 1932)

Billie Honor Whitelaw was an English actress. She worked in close collaboration with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years and was regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of his works. She was also known for her portrayal of Mrs Baylock, the demonic nanny in the 1976 horror film The Omen.

21/12/2013

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

Edgar Miles Bronfman was a Canadian-American businessman. He worked for his family's distilled beverage firm, Seagram, eventually becoming president, treasurer and CEO. As president of the World Jewish Congress, Bronfman initiated diplomacy with the Soviet Union, which resulted in the Soviet government legitimizing the Hebrew language in the USSR and contributed to Soviet Jews being legally able to practice their religion and immigrate to Israel.

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

John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower was a United States Army officer, diplomat, and military historian. He was the second son of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. His military career spanned from before, during, and after his father's presidency, and he left active duty in 1963 and then retired in 1974. From 1969 to 1971, Eisenhower served as United States Ambassador to Belgium during the administration of President Richard Nixon, who was previously his father's vice president and also father-in-law to Eisenhower's son David.

21/12/2010

Enzo Bearzot, Italian footballer and manager (born 1927)

Enzo Bearzot was an Italian professional football player and manager. A defender and midfielder in his playing career, he also coached the Italy national team to victory in the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

21/12/2009

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

Edwin Gerhard Krebs was an American biochemist. He received the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research and the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize of Columbia University in 1989 together with Alfred Gilman and, together with his collaborator Edmond H. Fischer, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1992 for describing how reversible phosphorylation works as a switch to activate proteins and regulate various cellular processes.

Christos Lambrakis, Greek journalist and businessman (born 1934)

Christos Dimitriou Lambrakis was the owner of Lambrakis Press Group (DOL), one of the largest newspaper groups in Greece, and arguably the most influential.

21/12/2006

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

Saparmurat Atayevich Niyazov was a Turkmen politician and dictator who led Turkmenistan from 1985 until his death in 2006. He was the first secretary of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan from 1985 until 1991 and supported the 1991 Soviet coup attempt. He continued to rule Turkmenistan as the first president for 15 years after independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

21/12/2004

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

Autar Singh Paintal was an Indian medical scientist who made pioneering discoveries in the area of neurosciences and respiratory sciences. He is the first Indian Physiologist to become the Fellow of the Royal Society, London.

21/12/1998

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

Ernst-Günther Schenck was a German medical doctor and member of the SS in Nazi Germany. Because of a chance encounter with Adolf Hitler during the closing days of World War II, his memoirs proved historically valuable. His accounts of this period are prominent in the works of Joachim Fest and James P. O'Donnell regarding the end of Hitler's life, and were included in the film Downfall (2004). Schenck was not allowed to continue his medical career in post-war Germany.

21/12/1992

Stella Adler, American actress and educator (born 1901)

Stella Adler was an American actress and acting teacher.

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

Albert King was an American guitarist and singer, who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists ever. He is perhaps best known for his popular and influential album Born Under a Bad Sign (1967) and its title track. B. B. King, Freddie King, and he, all unrelated, were known as the "Three Kings of the Blues". The left-handed Albert King was known for his "deep, dramatic sound that was widely imitated by both blues and rock guitarists".

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

Nathan Mironovich Milstein was a Russian-American virtuoso violinist.

21/12/1988

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

Nikolaas "Niko" Tinbergen was a Dutch biologist and ornithologist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Karl von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz for their discoveries concerning the organization and elicitation of individual and social behavior patterns in animals. He is regarded as one of the founders of modern ethology, the study of animal behaviour.

21/12/1983

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

Paul de Man, born Paul Adolph Michel Deman, was a Belgian-born American literary critic and literary theorist. He was known particularly for his importation of German and French philosophical approaches into Anglo-American literary studies and critical theory. Along with Jacques Derrida, he was part of an influential critical movement that went beyond traditional interpretation of literary texts to reflect on the epistemological difficulties inherent in any textual, literary, or critical activity. This approach aroused considerable opposition, which de Man attributed to "resistance" inherent in the difficult enterprise of literary interpretation itself.

21/12/1982

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

Abul Asar Hafeez Jalandhari PP HI was a Pakistani poet who wrote the lyrics for the National Anthem of Pakistan and the Anthem of Azad Kashmir.

21/12/1974

Richard Long, American actor and director (born 1927)

Richard McCord Long was an American actor best known for his leading roles in three ABC television series, The Big Valley, Nanny and the Professor, and Bourbon Street Beat. He was also a series regular on ABC's 77 Sunset Strip during the 1961–1962 season.

21/12/1971

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

Ásta Sigurðardóttir was an Icelandic writer and visual artist recognized for her pioneering contributions to modernist short fiction. Her work is notably characterized by its depiction of urban marginalization in mid-twentieth-century Reykjavík.

21/12/1968

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

Vittorio Pozzo was an Italian football player, manager and journalist.

21/12/1965

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

Claude Champagne was a French Canadian composer, teacher, pianist, and violinist.

21/12/1964

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

Carl Van Vechten was an American writer and artistic photographer who was a patron of the Harlem Renaissance and the literary executor of Gertrude Stein. He gained fame as a writer, and notoriety as well, for his 1926 novel Nigger Heaven. In his later years, he took up photography and took many portraits of notable people. Although he was married to women for most of his adult years, Van Vechten engaged in numerous affairs with other men during his lifetime.

21/12/1963

Jack Hobbs, English cricketer and journalist (born 1882)

Sir John Berry Hobbs was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Master", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century-maker in first-class cricket, with 61,760 runs and 199 centuries. A right-handed batsman and an occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, Hobbs also excelled as a fielder, particularly in the position of cover point. Hobbs was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century alongside Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Garfield Sobers, Shane Warne, and Sir Viv Richards.

21/12/1959

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

Kitaōji Rosanjin was the pseudonym for a noted artist and epicure during the early to mid-Shōwa period of Japan. His real name was Kitaōji Fusajirō , but he is best known by his artistic name, Rosanjin. A man of many talents, Rosanjin was also a calligrapher, ceramicist, engraver, painter, lacquer artist and restaurateur.

21/12/1958

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

Henry Byron Warner was an English film and theatre actor. He was popular during the silent era and played Jesus Christ in The King of Kings. In later years, he successfully moved into supporting roles and appeared in numerous films directed by Frank Capra.

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

Lion Feuchtwanger was a German Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht.

21/12/1957

Eric Coates, English viola player and composer (born 1886)

Eric Francis Harrison Coates was an English composer of light music and, early in his career, a leading violist.

21/12/1953

Kaarlo Koskelo, Finnish-American wrestler and businessman (born 1888)

Kaarlo Anton "Kalle" Koskelo was a Greco-Roman wrestler from Finland who won the featherweight event at the 1912 Olympics. He then fought in World War I and Finnish Civil War, and in 1919 immigrated to the United States. He settled in Astoria, Oregon, where he became a prominent local businessman.

21/12/1952

Kenneth Edwards, American golfer (born 1886)

Kenneth Paine Edwards was an American golfer who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics.

21/12/1948

Władysław Witwicki, Polish psychologist, philosopher, translator, historian (of philosophy and art) and artist (born 1878)

Władysław Witwicki was a Polish psychologist, philosopher, translator, historian and artist. He is seen as one of the fathers of psychology in Poland.

21/12/1945

George S. Patton, American general (born 1885)

George Smith Patton Jr. was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, then the Third Army in France and Germany after the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944.

21/12/1940

F. Scott Fitzgerald, American novelist and short story writer (born 1896)

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, widely known as F. Scott Fitzgerald or simply Scott Fitzgerald, was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age, a term that he popularized in his short story collection Tales of the Jazz Age. He published four novels, four story collections, and 164 short stories. He achieved transient success and fortune in the 1920s, but did not receive critical acclaim until after his death. He is now widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.

21/12/1937

Violette Neatley Anderson, American judge (born 1882)

Violette Neatley Anderson became the first African-American woman to practice law before the United States Supreme Court on January 29, 1926. She was one of the most prominent advocates of a landmark piece of legislation that helped secure rights and economic mobility for sharecroppers in the South, the Bankhead-Jones Act.

Ted Healy, American comedian and actor (born 1896)

Ted Healy was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. Though he is chiefly remembered as the creator of the Three Stooges and the style of slapstick comedy that they later made famous, he had a successful stage and film career of his own and was cited as a formative influence by several later comedy stars.

Frank B. Kellogg, American lawyer and politician, 45th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1856)

Frank Billings Kellogg was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served in the U.S. Senate and as U.S. Secretary of State. He co-authored the Kellogg–Briand Pact, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1929.

21/12/1935

Ted Birnie, English footballer and manager (born 1878)

Edward Lawson Birnie was an English professional football player and manager. He played for Sunderland Seaburn, Newcastle United, Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur In his managerial career, he took on the reins at Southend United, staying in charge of the seaside club until his retirement in 1934.

Kurt Tucholsky, German-Swedish journalist and author (born 1890)

Kurt Tucholsky was a German journalist, satirist, and writer. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Kaspar Hauser, Peter Panter, Theobald Tiger and Ignaz Wrobel.

21/12/1933

Knud Rasmussen, Greenlandic anthropologist and explorer (born 1879)

Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen was a Greenlandic-Danish polar explorer and anthropologist. He has been called the "father of Eskimology" and was the first European to cross the Northwest Passage via dog sled. He remains well known in Greenland, Denmark and among Canadian Inuit.

21/12/1929

I. L. Patterson, American politician, 18th Governor of Oregon (born 1859)

Isaac Lee Patterson was the 18th governor of Oregon from 1927 to 1929. An Oregon native, he served in the Oregon Legislative Assembly from 1918 to 1922, and was a farmer in the Willamette Valley. He was the first governor of Oregon born in the state after it was admitted to the Union.

21/12/1920

Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, leader of the Dervish movement (born 1856)

Sayyid Moḥammad Abdallah Hassan was a Somali scholar, poet, military leader and religious, cultural and political figure who founded and headed the Somali Dervish movement, which led a holy war against British, Italian and Ethiopian colonial intrusions in the Somali Peninsula. He was pejoratively known by the British Empire as the "Mad Mullah." In 1917, the Ottoman Empire referred to him as the "Emir of the Somali People." Due to his successful completion of the Hajj to Mecca, his assertion of being the descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his complete memorization of the Quran, his name is preluded with honorifics such as Hajji, Hafiz, Emir, Sheikh, Mullah or Sayyid. His influence led him to being regarded the "Father of Somali nationalism."

21/12/1889

Friedrich August von Quenstedt, German geologist and palaeontologist (born 1809)

Friedrich August von Quenstedt was a German geologist and palaeontologist.

21/12/1873

Francis Garnier, French admiral and explorer (born 1839)

Marie Joseph François Garnier was a French officer, inspector of Indigenous Affairs of Cochinchina and explorer. He eventually became mission leader of the Mekong Exploration Commission in 19th century Southeast Asia.

21/12/1869

Friedrich Ernst Scheller, German jurist and politician (born 1791)

Friedrich Ernst Scheller was a German jurist and politician. He served as a member of the Frankfurt Parliament.

21/12/1824

James Parkinson, English physician and paleontologist (born 1755)

James Parkinson was an English surgeon, apothecary, geologist, palaeontologist, and political activist. He is best known for his 1817 work An Essay on the Shaking Palsy, in which he was the first to describe "paralysis agitans", a condition that was later renamed Parkinson's disease by Jean-Martin Charcot.

21/12/1807

John Newton, English soldier and minister (born 1725)

John Newton was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. Newton served as a sailor in the Royal Navy and was himself enslaved for a time in West Africa. Newton is noted for being author of the hymns "Amazing Grace" and "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken".

21/12/1701

Sir Hugh Paterson, Baronet of Bannockburn (born 1659)

Sir Hugh Paterson, 1st Baronet of Bannockburn, was a Scottish baronet and landowner.

21/12/1646

Sophie Axelsdatter Brahe, Danish noblewoman (born 1578)

Sophie Axelsdatter Brahe was a Danish noblewoman and landowner. She is notable for being the first confirmed owner of Gunhild Cross. She was married to nobleman Holger Rosenkrantz, with whom she had 13 children, and raised 10 of her nieces and nephews, including Anne Gøye. She was also known for her accounting, of which her books are held in the Karen Brahe library, and landowning.

21/12/1610

Catherine Vasa, Swedish princess (born 1539)

Catherine Vasa of Sweden was a Swedish princess, and the Countess consort of East Frisia as the spouse of Edzard II, Count of East Frisia. She was the oldest daughter of Gustav Vasa and Margareta Leijonhufvud. She was the autonomous Regent of Berum and Norden in Ostfriesland from 1599 to 1610.

21/12/1608

William Davison, secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England (born c. 1541)

William Davison was an English diplomat and secretary to Queen Elizabeth I. As a Secretary of some influence, he was active in forging alliances with England's Protestant friends in Holland and Scotland to prevent war with France. He was involved in the 1587 execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, and was made a scapegoat for this event.

21/12/1597

Peter Canisius, Dutch priest and saint (born 1521)

Peter Canisius was a Dutch Jesuit priest known for his strong support for the Catholic faith during the Protestant Reformation in Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, Switzerland and the British Isles. The restoration of the Catholic Church in Germany is largely attributed to the work there of the Jesuits, which Canisius led. He is venerated in the Catholic Church as a saint and as a Doctor of the Church.

21/12/1581

Jean de la Cassière, 51st Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitaller (born 1502)

Fra' Jean l'Evesque de la Cassière was the 51st Grand Master of the Order of Malta, from 1572 to 1581. He commissioned the building of the Conventual Church of the Order in Valletta, Malta, and is buried in its crypt.

21/12/1549

Marguerite de Navarre, queen of Henry II of Navarre (born 1492)

Marguerite de Navarre, also known as Marguerite of Angoulême and Margaret of Navarre, was a princess of France, Duchess of Alençon and Berry, and Queen of Navarre by her second marriage to King Henry II of Navarre. Her brother became King of France, as Francis I, and the two siblings were responsible for the celebrated intellectual and cultural court and salons of their day in France. Marguerite is the ancestress of the Bourbon kings of France, being the mother of Jeanne d'Albret, whose son, Henry of Navarre, succeeded as Henry IV of France, the first Bourbon king. As an author and a patron of humanists and reformers, she was an outstanding figure of the French Renaissance. Samuel Putnam called her "The First Modern Woman".

21/12/1536

John Seymour, English courtier (born 1474)

Sir John Seymour, Knight banneret was an English soldier and a courtier who served both Henry VII and Henry VIII. Born into a prominent gentry family, he is best known as the father of Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour, and hence the maternal grandfather of king Edward VI of England.

21/12/1504

Berthold von Henneberg, German archbishop (born 1442)

Bertold von Henneberg-Römhild (1442–1504) was Archbishop of Mainz and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 1484, imperial chancellor from 1486, and leader of the reform faction within the Empire.

21/12/1375

Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian author and poet (born 1313)

Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was sometimes simply known as "the Certaldese". He was one of the most important figures in the European literary panorama of the fourteenth century. Some scholars define him as the greatest European prose writer of his time, a versatile writer who amalgamated different literary trends and genres, making them converge in original works, thanks to a creative activity exercised under the banner of experimentalism.

21/12/1362

Constantine III, king of Armenia (born 1313)

Constantine III was the King of Armenian Cilicia from 1344 to 1362. He was the son of Baldwin, Lord of Neghir, and second cousin of Constantine II.

21/12/1338

Thomas Hemenhale, bishop of Worcester

Thomas Hemenhale was a medieval Bishop of Norwich-elect and then Bishop of Worcester.

21/12/1308

Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse (born 1244)

Henry I of Hesse "the Child" was the first Landgrave of Hesse. He was the son of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and Sophie of Thuringia.

21/12/1215

Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Walid, Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq of Tayyibi Isma'ilism (born c. 1128)

Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ja'far ibn Ibrahim ibn Abi Salama ibn al-Walid al-Abshami al-Qurashi was the 5th Tayyibi Isma'ili Da'i al-Mutlaq in Yemen from 1209 to his death in 1215. Descended from a noble lineage of the Quraysh, he was a noted scholar and Tayyibi theologian, and an author of several influential works on Tayyibi doctrine. Before becoming himself Da'i al-Mutlaq, he served as senior deputy to the third and fourth holders of the office. His rise to the office inaugurated a period of two and a half centuries where it would be almost monopolized by members of his own family.

21/12/1001

Hugh of Tuscany, Italian margrave (born 950)

Hugh, called the Great, was the Margrave of Tuscany from 969 until his death in 1001, and the Duke of Spoleto and Margrave of Camerino from 989 to 996. He was known for his restoration of the state apparatus in Tuscany after decades of neglect from various Margraves, whose main interests lay elsewhere. Hugh was also noted for his support of the new Ottonian dynasty, and has been praised for his justice by the contemporary theologian Peter Damian in his De principis officio. Hugh's rule has also been remembered for its close cooperation with the Papal States in the resolution of territorial disputes and his generosity in gifting marchesal (public) lands for the foundation of monasteries of the Catholic Church.

21/12/0975

Al-Mu'izz, Fatimid caliph (born 932)

Abu Tamim Ma'ad al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah was the fourth Fatimid caliph and the 14th Ismaili imam, reigning from 953 to 975. It was during his caliphate that the center of power of the Fatimid dynasty was moved from Ifriqiya to Egypt. The Fatimids founded the city of Cairo in 969 as the new capital of the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt during his reign. The Al-Mu'izz Street in Cairo is named after him, it is considered to be the most important historical street in Cairo and it includes monumental buildings from the Fatimid era as well as the later Ayyubid, Memluk and Ottoman eras.

21/12/0956

Sun Sheng, Chinese chancellor

Sun Sheng (孫晟), né Sun Feng (孫鳳), known as Sun Ji (孫忌) at one point, formally Duke Wenzhong of Lu (魯文忠公), was an official of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period states Later Tang, Wu, and Southern Tang, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Southern Tang's second emperor Li Jing. When the Southern Tang came under attack by its northern neighbor Later Zhou, Li Jing sent him as an emissary to Later Zhou to try to persuade Later Zhou's emperor Guo Rong to end his campaign, but Guo, after being unable to get Sun to give him secrets of the Southern Tang state, executed him.

21/12/0882

Hincmar, French archbishop and historian (born 806)

Hincmar, archbishop of Reims, was a Frankish jurist and theologian, as well as the friend, advisor and propagandist of Charles the Bald. He belonged to a noble family of northern Francia.

21/12/0072

Thomas the Apostle, Roman martyr and saint (born 1 AD)

AD 72 (LXXII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vespasian and Titus. The denomination AD 72 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

Celebrations & Special Days Worldwide on 21st December

Armed Forces Day (Philippines)

An Armed Forces Day, alongside its branch-specific variants often referred to as Army or Soldier's Day, Navy or Sailor's Day, and Air Force or Aviator's Day, is a holiday dedicated to honoring the armed forces, or one of their branches, of a sovereign state, including their personnel, history, achievements, and sacrifices. It's often patriotic or nationalistic in nature, carrying information value outside of the conventional boundaries of a military's subculture and into the wider civilian society. Many nations around the world observe this day. It is usually distinct from a Veterans or Memorial Day, as the former is dedicated to those who previously served and the latter is dedicated to those who perished in the fulfillment of their duties.

Christian feast day: O Oriens

The O Antiphons are antiphons used at Vespers during the Magnificat on the last seven days of Advent in Western Christian traditions. They likely date to sixth-century Italy, when Boethius refers to the text in The Consolation of Philosophy. They subsequently became one of the key musical features of the days leading up to Christmas.

Christian feast day: Peter Canisius

Peter Canisius was a Dutch Jesuit priest known for his strong support for the Catholic faith during the Protestant Reformation in Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Moravia, Switzerland and the British Isles. The restoration of the Catholic Church in Germany is largely attributed to the work there of the Jesuits, which Canisius led. He is venerated in the Catholic Church as a saint and as a Doctor of the Church.

Christian feast day: Thomas the Apostle

Thomas the Apostle also known as Didymus, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Thomas is commonly known as "doubting Thomas" because he initially doubted the resurrection of Jesus when he was told of it ; he later confessed his faith on seeing the places where the wounds appeared still fresh on the holy body of Jesus after the Crucifixion of Jesus.

Christian feast day: December 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

December 20 - Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar - December 22

Forefathers' Day (Plymouth, Massachusetts)

Forefathers' Day is a holiday celebrated in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on December 22. It is a commemoration of the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on December 21, 1620. It was introduced in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1769.

São Tomé Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)

This is a list of holidays in São Tomé and Príncipe.

What Happened on 21st December?

38 significant events took place on Thursday, 21st December — stretching from 69 to 2023. Explore the moments that shaped history on this day.

21/12/2023

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

On 21 December 2023, a mass shooting occurred at Charles University's Faculty of Arts main building in central Prague, Czech Republic. A lone gunman, 24-year-old postgraduate student David Kozák, killed 13 people and injured 25 others before committing suicide after exchanging gunfire with police; an additional victim died indirectly from falling to her death while trying to escape the perpetrator.

21/12/2022

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

Vega C, or Vega Consolidation, is a European expendable, medium-lift launch vehicle developed and produced by Avio. It is an evolution of the original Vega launcher, designed to offer greater launch performance and flexibility.

21/12/2020

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.

A great conjunction is a conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn, when the two planets appear closest together in the sky. Great conjunctions occur approximately every 20 years when Jupiter "overtakes" Saturn in its orbit. They are named "great" for being by far the rarest of the conjunctions between naked-eye planets.

21/12/2012

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.

The 2012 phenomenon was a range of eschatological beliefs that cataclysmic or transformative events would occur on or around 21 December 2012. This date was regarded as the end-date of a 5,126-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, and festivities took place on 21 December 2012 to commemorate the event in the countries that were part of the Maya civilization, with main events at Chichén Itzá in Mexico and Tikal in Guatemala.

21/12/2004

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.

The Iraq War, also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a protracted armed conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States–led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein. During the US occupation of Iraq, the conflict persisted as an insurgency that arose against coalition forces and the newly established Iraqi government. US forces were officially withdrawn in 2011. In 2014, the US became re-engaged in Iraq, leading a new coalition under Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, as the conflict evolved into the ongoing Islamic State insurgency.

21/12/1999

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.

The Civil Guard is one of the two national law enforcement agencies of Spain. As a national gendarmerie, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the authority of both the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence. The role of the Ministry of Defence is limited except in times of war when the Ministry has exclusive authority. The corps is colloquially known as the benemérita. In annual surveys, it generally ranks as the national institution most valued by Spaniards, closely followed by other law enforcement agencies and the armed forces.

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

Cubana de Aviación Flight 1216 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 that overran the runway at La Aurora International Airport, Guatemala City, on 21 December 1999. 8 passengers and 8 crew members on board were killed as well as 2 people on the ground.

21/12/1995

The city of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control.

Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about ten kilometres south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of 28,591 people, as of 2017. The city's economy is strongly linked to tourism, especially during the Christmas period, when Christians embark on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity, which is revered as the location of the birth of Jesus.

21/12/1992

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

The Netherlands, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands consists of twelve provinces and three overseas special municipalities. European Netherlands has land borders with Germany to the east and with Belgium to the south, and a coastline to the north and west. It shares maritime borders with the United Kingdom, Germany, and Belgium in the North Sea. The official language is Dutch, with West Frisian as a secondary official language in the province of Friesland. Dutch, English, and Papiamento are official in the Caribbean territories. People from the Netherlands are referred to as Dutch.

21/12/1991

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.

The Soviet Union was formally dissolved and ceased to exist as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. It also brought an end to the Soviet Union's federal government and CPSU General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev's effort to reform the Soviet political and economic system in an attempt to stop a period of political stalemate and economic backslide.

21/12/1988

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.

Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. Shortly after 19:00 on 21 December 1988, the Boeing 747 Clipper Maid of the Seas was destroyed by a bomb while flying over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew aboard. Large sections of the aircraft crashed in a residential street in Lockerbie, killing 11 residents. With a total of 270 fatalities, the event, which became known as the Lockerbie bombing, is the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the United Kingdom and one of deadliest terror attacks in European history.

21/12/1979

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.

The Lancaster House Agreement is an agreement signed on 21 December 1979 in Lancaster House, following the conclusion of a constitutional conference where different parties discussed the future of Zimbabwe Rhodesia, formerly known as Rhodesia. The agreement effectively concluded the Rhodesian Bush War. It also marked the nullification of Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence, as British colonial authority was to be restored for a transitional period to internationally recognised independence, during which free elections under supervision by the British government would take place. Crucially, ZANU and ZAPU, the political wings of ZANLA and ZIPRA, would be permitted to stand candidates in the forthcoming elections. This was however conditional to compliance with the ceasefire and the verified absence of voter intimidation.

21/12/1973

The Geneva Conference on the Arab–Israeli conflict opens.

The Geneva Conference of 1973 was an attempt to negotiate a solution to the Arab–Israeli conflict as envisioned in United Nations Security Council Resolution 338 following the called-for cease-fire to end the Yom Kippur War. After considerable "shuttle diplomacy" negotiations by Henry Kissinger, the conference opened on 21 December 1973 under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary General, with the United States and the USSR as co-chairmen. The foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan and Israel were in attendance. The table with Syria's nameplate remained unoccupied, although Syria had indicated possible future participation. Each foreign minister spoke, mainly directed to their domestic audiences rather than to each other. Kissinger articulated his step-by-step strategy and stated that the goal of the conference was peace; the immediate need was to strengthen the cease-fire by accomplishing a disengagement of forces as the "essential first step" toward implementation of UN 242. The meeting was then adjourned.

21/12/1968

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.

The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo was conceived in 1960 in the Dwight D. Eisenhower presidency during Project Mercury and executed after Project Gemini. Apollo was later dedicated to President John F. Kennedy's national goal, "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" in his address to the U.S. Congress on May 25, 1961.

21/12/1967

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.

Louis Joshua Washkansky was a South African man who was the recipient of the world's first human-to-human heart transplant, and the first patient to regain consciousness following the operation. Washkansky lived for 18 days and was able to speak with his wife and reporters.

21/12/1965

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

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) is a United Nations convention. A third-generation human rights instrument, the Convention commits its members to the elimination of racial discrimination and the promotion of understanding among all races. The convention also requires its parties to criminalize hate speech and criminalize membership in racist organizations.

21/12/1963

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

Bloody Christmas refers to intercommunal violence between Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot populations during the Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, on the night of 20–21 December 1963 and the subsequent period of island-wide violence amounting to civil war. This initial episode of violence lasted until 31 December and was somewhat subdued with the start of peace talks at the London Conference, but outbursts of violence continued thereafter. The violence precipitated the end of Turkish Cypriot representation in the Republic of Cyprus.

21/12/1946

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

The moment magnitude scale is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude based on its seismic moment. Mw was defined in a 1979 paper by Thomas C. Hanks and Hiroo Kanamori. Similar to the local magnitude/Richter scale (ML) defined by Charles Francis Richter in 1935, it uses a logarithmic scale; small earthquakes have approximately the same magnitudes on both scales. Despite the difference, news media often use the term "Richter scale" when referring to the moment magnitude scale.

21/12/1941

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

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

21/12/1934

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

Sergei Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kijé music was originally written to accompany the film of the same name, produced by the Belgoskino film studios in Leningrad in 1933–34 and released in March 1934. It was Prokofiev's first attempt at film music, and his first commission.

21/12/1923

United 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.

Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, and India to the south, east, and west, while it is narrowly separated from Bangladesh by the Siliguri Corridor, and from Bhutan by the Indian state of Sikkim. Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten highest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point above mean sea level on Earth. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and its largest city. Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious, and multi-cultural sovereign state, with Nepali as the official language.

21/12/1919

American anarchist Emma Goldman is deported to Russia.

Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or hierarchy, primarily targeting the state and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state with stateless societies and voluntary free associations. Anarchism is described as being part of the libertarian wing of the socialist movement.

21/12/1910

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

The Pretoria Pit disaster was a mining accident on 21 December 1910, when an underground explosion occurred at the Hulton Colliery Bank Pit No. 3, known as the Pretoria Pit, in Over Hulton, Westhoughton, then in the historic county of Lancashire, in North West England. A total of 344 men and boys lost their lives.

21/12/1907

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

The Chilean Army is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army is organized into six divisions, an army aviation brigade and a special operations brigade.

21/12/1883

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

The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) is the senior armoured regiment of the Canadian Army by precedence. It is one of three armoured regiments in the Regular Force and forms part of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps.

21/12/1879

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.

Nora Helmer is a fictional character in Henrik Ibsen's 1879 play A Doll's House. She is introduced as a seemingly devoted wife and mother, living in a comfortable middle-class home with her husband Torvald, a recently promoted bank manager, and their three children. After committing forgery to pay for her husband's medical treatment without his knowledge, Nora attempts to deal with the consequences that threaten her marriage.

21/12/1872

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

The Challenger expedition of 1872–1876 was a scientific programme that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography. The expedition was named after the naval vessel that undertook the trip, HMS Challenger.

21/12/1861

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

The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the highest military decoration of the United States Armed Forces and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians, and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. The medal is normally awarded by the president of the United States and is presented "in the name of Congress." According to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, Congressional Medal of Honor (CMOH) "is sometimes mistakenly used because the Medal was created by Congress," though the official name of the award is simply "Medal of Honor."

21/12/1844

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

The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, founded in 1844, was an early consumers' co-operative, and one of the first to pay a patronage dividend, forming the basis for the modern co-operative movement. Although other co-operatives preceded it, the Rochdale Pioneers co-operative became the prototype for societies in Great Britain. The Rochdale Pioneers are most famous for designing the Rochdale Principles, a set of principles of co-operation, which provide the foundation for the principles on which co-ops around the world operate to this day. The model the Rochdale Pioneers used is a focus of study within co-operative economics.

21/12/1832

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

The First Egyptian–Ottoman War or First Syrian War (1831–1833) was a military conflict between the Ottoman Empire and Egypt brought about by Muhammad Ali Pasha's demand to the Sublime Porte for control of Greater Syria, as reward for aiding the Sultan during the Greek War of Independence. As a result, Egyptian forces temporarily gained control of Syria, advancing as far north as Kütahya.

21/12/1826

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

Nacogdoches is a city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, Nacogdoches had a population of 32,147. Stephen F. Austin State University is located in Nacogdoches and specializes in forestry and agriculture. Nacogdoches is also known as "The Oldest Town in Texas". Its sister city is Natchitoches, Louisiana.

21/12/1620

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

Plymouth Colony was the first permanent English colony in New England, founded in 1620, and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on the Mayflower at a location that had previously been surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement served as the capital of the colony and developed as the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts. At its height, Plymouth Colony occupied most of what is now the southeastern portion of Massachusetts; it was approximately coterminous with the combined territories of Plymouth, Barnstable, and Bristol Counties, all of which were originally established by the General Court of the Plymouth Colony. Many of the people and events surrounding Plymouth Colony have become part of American folklore, including the American tradition of Thanksgiving and the monument of Plymouth Rock.

21/12/1598

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

The Battle of Curalaba was a battle and an ambush in 1598 when Mapuche people led by Pelantaru defeated Spanish conquerors led by Martín García Óñez de Loyola at Curalaba, southern Chile. In Chilean historiography, where the event is often called the Disaster of Curalaba, the battle marks the end of the conquest period in Chile's history, although the fast Spanish expansion in the south had already been halted in the 1550s. The battle led to a general Mapuche uprising that resulted in Destruction of the Seven Cities. This severe crisis reshaped Colonial Chile and forced the Spanish to reassess their mode of warfare.

21/12/1361

The 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.

The Battle of Linuesa was an action fought on 21 December 1361 in the city of Huesa, Kingdom of Jaén. The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Castile and the forces of the Emirate of Granada. The battle resulted in a victory for the forces of the Kingdom of Castile.

21/12/1237

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

Ryazan is the largest city and the administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, 196 km (122 mi) southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, Ryazan had a population of 524,927, making it the 33rd most populated city in Russia, and the fourth most populated in Central Russia after Moscow, Voronezh, and Yaroslavl.

21/12/1140

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

The siege of Weinsberg took place in 1140 in Weinsberg, in the modern state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, which was then part of the Holy Roman Empire. The siege was a decisive battle between two dynasties, the Welfs and the Hohenstaufen. The Welfs for the first time changed their war cry from "Kyrie Eleison" to their party cries. The Hohenstaufen used the 'Strike for Gibbelins' war cry.

21/12/1124

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

Pope Honorius II, born Lamberto Scannabecchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 December 1124 to his death in 1130.

21/12/0069

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

AD 69 (LXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the consulship of Galba and Vinius. The denomination AD 69 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

On this day

World Basketball Day

Winter Solstice (Northern Hemisphere)

What the Weather Had in Store for Lissabon on 21st December 2025

21st December in the Stars – Star Sign Sagittarius

Personality Profile

Fun Facts About 21st December

Famous Birthdays on 21st December

Cooper Flagg, American basketball player

Clara Tauson, Danish tennis player

Madelyn Cline, American actress and model

Charlie McAvoy, American ice hockey player

Ben Chilwell, English footballer

Kaitlyn Dever, American actress

Luke Brooks, Australian rugby league player

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, American football player

Jamie Oleksiak, Canadian ice hockey player

Nic Maddinson, Australian cricketer

Otis, American wrestler

Riccardo Saponara, Italian footballer

Mark Ingram II, American football player

Tamannaah, Indian actress

Danny Duffy, American baseball player

Perri Shakes-Drayton, English sprinter and hurdler

Khris Davis, American baseball player

Tom Sturridge, English actor

Taylor Teagarden, American baseball player

Steven Yeun, American actor

Primo Colón, Puerto Rican wrestler

Philip Humber, American baseball player

Tom Payne, English actor

Marta Fernández, Spanish basketball player

Cristian Zaccardo, Italian footballer

Steve Montador, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2015)

Emiliano Brembilla, Italian swimmer

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

Shaun Morgan, South African musician, singer, and guitarist

Rutina Wesley, American actress

Buddy Carlyle, American baseball player

Corey Collymore, Barbadian cricketer

Leon MacDonald, New Zealand rugby player

Emmanuel Macron, French politician, 25th President of France

Freddy Sanchez, American baseball player

Paloma Herrera, Argentine ballerina

Karrie Webb, Australian golfer

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

Matías Almeyda, Argentine footballer and manager

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

Matthieu Chedid, French singer-songwriter and guitarist

Natalie Grant, American singer-songwriter and author

Julie Delpy, French model, actress, director, and screenwriter

Mihails Zemļinskis, Latvian footballer, coach, and manager

Terry Mills, American basketball player and coach

Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Georgia

Michelle Hurd, American actress

William Ruto, 5th President of Kenya

Kiefer Sutherland, British-Canadian actor, director, and producer

Glenn Coleman, Australian rugby league player

Andy Dick, American actor and comedian

Anke Engelke, Canadian-German actress, director, and screenwriter

Kunihiko Ikuhara, Japanese director and illustrator

Joe Kocur, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

Govinda, Indian actor, singer, and politician

Ryuji Sasai, Japanese bass player and composer

Sherry Rehman, Pakistani journalist, politician, and diplomat, 25th Pakistan Ambassador to the United States

Florence Griffith Joyner, American sprinter and actress (died 1998)

Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Indian cricketer

Tamara Bykova, Russian high jumper

Ray Romano, American actor, producer, and screenwriter

Tony Lewis, English singer and songwriter (died 2020)

Dave Laut, American shot putter (died 2009)

Jane Kaczmarek, American actress

Kazuyuki Sekiguchi, Japanese singer-songwriter and bass player

Chris Evert, American tennis player and coach

András Schiff, Hungarian-English pianist and conductor

Betty Wright, American singer-songwriter (died 2020)

Joaquín Andújar, Dominican baseball player (died 2015)

Dennis Boutsikaris, American actor

Steve Furniss, American swimmer

Steve Perryman, English footballer and manager