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

December 21: Facts & Myths About This Day

December 21 is the 356^th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 10 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is December 8, 2024 – a Saturday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 28,912,320 minutes has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

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

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

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 39 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,383 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

December 21: This Day In History

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

December 21 Historical Events

• 69 –
  The Roman Senate declares Vespasian as Roman emperor, the last in the Year of Four Emperors.
• 1844 –
  The Rochdale Pioneers commence business at their cooperative in Rochdale, England, starting the Cooperative movement.
• 1907 –
  The Chilean Army commits a massacre of at least 2,000 striking saltpeter miners in in Iquique, Chile.
• 1910 –
  An underground explosion at the Hulton Bank Colliery No. 3 Pit in Over Hulton, Westhoughton, England, kills 344 miners.
• 1913 –
  Arthur Wynne’s “word-cross”, the first crossword puzzle, is published in the New York World.
• 1919 –
  American anarchist Emma Goldman is deported to Russia.
• 1962 –
  Rondane National Park is established as Norway’s first national park.
• 1973 –
  The Geneva Conference on the Arab-Israeli conflict opens.
• 1988 –
  A bomb explodes on board Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, killing 270.
• 1992 –
  A Dutch DC-10, flight Martinair MP 495, crashes at Faro Airport, killing 56 people.

Who were born on December 21?

• 1876 –
  Jack Lang, Australian politician (d. 1975)
• 1908 –
  Herbert Hutner, American banker and attorney (d. 2008)
• 1915 –
  Werner von Trapp, member of the Trapp Family Singers (d. 2007)
• 1937 –
  Jane Fonda, American actress
• 1940 –
  Frank Zappa, American musician (d. 1993)
• 1946 –
  Carl Wilson, American musician (The Beach Boys) (d. 1998)
• 1972 –
  Latroy Hawkins, American baseball player
• 1974 –
  Karrie Webb, Australian golfer
• 1981 –
  Frankie Abernathy, American actress (d. 2007)
• 1982 –
  Iljo Keisse, Belgian cyclist

Who died on December 21?

• 72 –
  Thomas the Apostle
• 1900 –
  Roger Wolcott, American politician (b. 1847)
• 1933 –
  Knud Rasmussen, Greenlandic polar explorer and anthropologist (b. 1879)
• 1958 –
  Lion Feuchtwanger, German writer (b. 1884)
• 1959 –
  Rosanjin, Japanese calligrapher, restaurateur and ceramicist (b. 1883)
• 1963 –
  Jack Hobbs, English cricketer (b. 1882)
• 1987 –
  John Spence, American musician (No Doubt) (b. 1969)
• 1989 –
  Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Nigerian-born British photographer (b.1955)
• 1998 –
  Karl Denver, Scottish singer (b. 1931)
• 2004 –
  Autar Singh Paintal, Indian medical scientist (b. 1925)