December 21: Holidays, Historical Events, Famous Birthdays & Zodiac Sign
On December 21, 1968, Apollo 8 launched humans toward the Moon for the first time—exactly 348 years after the Mayflower Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.
About December 21
December 21 carries an explorer's spirit. In 1620, William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims waded ashore near Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts, planting one of the most enduring seeds of European settlement in North America. Plymouth still honors that moment with Forefathers' Day, a local tradition older than the United States itself. Nearly two and a half centuries later, in 1872, HMS Challenger sailed from Portsmouth, England, on a voyage that essentially founded modern oceanography—proving that the urge to chart unknown waters never really went away.
The day also bookends the Cold War's defining bookends. In 1968, Apollo 8 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center, sending Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders on humanity's first journey to another celestial body. They orbited the Moon on Christmas Eve and read from Genesis, a moment watched by a quarter of humanity. Twenty-three years later, in 1991, leaders of eleven Soviet republics signed the Alma-Ata Protocol, creating the Commonwealth of Independent States and effectively dissolving the Soviet Union. Between those milestones, the United Nations adopted the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 1965, a landmark treaty born from the global struggle for civil rights.
And in 2020, skywatchers were treated to the closest great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn since 1623—the two giant planets separated by just a tenth of a degree, appearing as a brilliant double star. It was a fitting astronomical flourish for a date that falls on the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the darkest night that also promises returning light.
Holidays & Observances on December 21
- Armed Forces Day (Philippines)
- Forefathers' Day (Plymouth, Massachusetts)
- São Tomé Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)
Fun & National Days on December 21
- Crossword Puzzle Day — Grab a pencil and celebrate the centennial joy of filling in little white squares with clever clues.
- Humbug Day — Channel your inner Scrooge and grumble about holiday cheer—bah, but just for today.
- International Dalek Remembrance Day — Exterminate boredom by binging Doctor Who and saluting the Doctor's most iconic tin-plated villains.
- National Flashlight Day — Test every flashlight in the junk drawer; the winter solstice is the longest night to need one.
- Don't Make Your Bed Day — Leave the covers crumpled and enjoy the rebellious thrill of a perfectly unmade mattress.
- Anne and Samantha Day
- National Coquito Day
- National French Fried Shrimp Day
- National Hamburger Day
On This Day in History
- 69 — The Roman Senate proclaimed Vespasian as emperor, closing the chaotic Year of the Four Emperors and founding the Flavian dynasty.
- 1620 — William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims came ashore near Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts, establishing one of the earliest permanent English settlements in New England.
- 1844 — The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers opened its cooperative store in Lancashire, England, launching the modern cooperative movement that would spread worldwide.
- 1861 — President Abraham Lincoln signed Public Resolution 82, establishing a Navy Medal of Valor—the legislation that created what became the Medal of Honor.
- 1872 — HMS Challenger departed Portsmouth under Captain George Nares on a pioneering oceanographic expedition that laid the foundations for modern marine science.
- 1934 — Sergei Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kijé, one of the Russian composer's most beloved and widely recognized works, received its first performance.
- 1965 — The United Nations adopted the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, a landmark treaty in the global fight for equality.
- 1967 — Louis Washkansky, the first recipient of a human-to-human heart transplant, passed away in Cape Town eighteen days after the groundbreaking surgery by Christiaan Barnard.
- 1968 — Apollo 8 launched from Kennedy Space Center, sending its three-man crew on a trajectory to the Moon—the first time humans traveled beyond Earth orbit to another celestial body.
- 1979 — The Lancaster House Agreement was signed in London, paving the way for Zimbabwe's independence and ending white minority rule in Rhodesia.
- 1991 — Leaders of eleven Soviet republics signed the Alma-Ata Protocol, establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States and effectively sealing the dissolution of the USSR.
- 2020 — Jupiter and Saturn appeared just 0.1 degrees apart in the closest great conjunction visible since 1623, dazzling skywatchers as a brilliant 'Christmas star.'
Famous Birthdays on December 21
- 1804 — Benjamin Disraeli, Twice British prime minister and a towering Victorian statesman, novelist, and wit who reshaped the Conservative Party.
- 1937 — Jane Fonda, Oscar-winning actress, fitness icon, and political activist whose career has spanned seven decades of Hollywood and protest.
- 1940 — Frank Zappa, Genre-defying American composer, guitarist, and bandleader who blurred rock, jazz, and orchestral music with biting satire.
- 1942 — Hu Jintao, Chinese engineer and politician who served as the fifth paramount leader of China, steering a decade of rapid economic growth.
- 1948 — Samuel L. Jackson, Prolific American actor whose roles in Pulp Fiction and the Marvel films made him one of the highest-grossing stars in cinema history.
- 1954 — Chris Evert, American tennis champion who won eighteen Grand Slam singles titles and dominated the women's game in the 1970s and 1980s.
- 1959 — Florence Griffith Joyner, American sprinter whose still-standing world records in the 100 and 200 meters made her the fastest woman of all time.
- 1966 — Kiefer Sutherland, British-Canadian actor and producer best known as Jack Bauer in the thriller series 24 and a fixture of film and television for decades.
- 1977 — Emmanuel Macron, French politician and former investment banker who became the twenty-fifth president of France and its youngest head of state since Napoleon.
- 1983 — Steven Yeun, Korean-American actor acclaimed for The Walking Dead and his Oscar-nominated performance in Minari, a landmark for Asian-American representation.