| 68 |
|
Vespian, a gruff-spoken general of humble origins, enters Rome and is named emperor by the Senate. |
| 1620 |
|
The Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock. |
| 1708 |
|
French forces seize control of the eastern shore of Newfoundland after winning a victory at St. John’s. |
| 1790 |
|
Samuel Slater opens the first cotton mill in the United States (in Rhode Island). |
| 1862 |
|
The U.S. Congress authorizes the Medal of Honor to be awarded to Navy personnel who have distinguished themselves by their gallantry in action. |
| 1866 |
|
Indians, led by Red Cloud and Crazy Horse, kill Captain William J. Fetterman and 79 other men who had ventured out from Fort Phil Kearny to cut wood. |
| 1910 |
|
Over 2.5 million plague victims are reported in the An-Hul province of China. |
| 1928 |
|
President Calvin Coolidge signs the Boulder Dam bill. |
| 1944 |
|
German troops surround the 101st Airborne Division at the Bastogne in Belgium. |
| 1945 |
|
General George S. Patton dies at the age of 60 after being injured in a car accident. |
| 1946 |
|
An earthquake and tidal wave kill hundreds in Japan. |
| 1963 |
|
The Turk minority riots in Cyprus to protest anti-Turkish revisions in the constitution. |
| 1964 |
|
Great Britain’s House of Commons votes to ban the death penalty. |
| 1965 |
|
Four pacifists are indicted in New York for burning draft cards. |
| 1969 |
|
American draft evaders gather for a holiday dinner in Montreal, Canada. |
| 1986 |
|
500,000 Chinese students gather in Shanghai’s People’s Square calling for democratic reforms, including freedom of the press. |
| 1988 |
|
Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York explodes in midair over Lockerbie, Scotland, an hour after departure. All 259 passengers were killed in the explosion caused by a bomb– hidden inside an audio cassette player — that detonated inside the cargo area when the plane was at an altitude of 31,000 feet. A shower of airplane parts falling from the sky also killed 11 Lockerbie residents. |
| Born on December 21 |
| 1804 |
|
Benjamin Disraeli, Prime Minister of Great Britain. |
| 1879 |
|
Joseph Stalin, Communist leader of the Soviet Union. |
| 1911 |
|
Josh Gibson, baseball player for the Negro Leagues, Home-Run King. |
| 1918 |
|
Kurt Waldheim, controversial fourth Secretary General of the United Nations. |
| 1937 |
|
Jane Fonda, actress, political activist, exercise guru; films include Klute and Coming Home. |
| 1940 |
|
Frank Zappa, bandleader, composer, guitarist, satirist, filmmaker and advocate of creative freedom. |
| 1959 |
|
Florence Griffith Joyner, track star, Olympic medalist. Died unexpectedly of heart failure at age thirty-eight on September 21, 1998. |
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