12 History Lessons + 7 Births & 7 Deaths for December 21, 2025
Today’s History:
- 69 – The Roman Senate declares Vespasian emperor, closing the “Year of the Four Emperors” and stabilizing Rome under the Flavian dynasty.
- 1620 – Plymouth Colony: the Mayflower Pilgrims land near what becomes known as Plymouth Rock in present-day Massachusetts.
- 1844 – The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers opens its cooperative store in England, a foundational moment for the modern cooperative movement.
- 1879 – Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House premieres in Copenhagen, challenging 19th-century social norms and reshaping modern drama.
- 1891 – James Naismith’s new game of basketball is first played, launching what becomes one of the world’s most popular sports.
- 1913 – The first crossword puzzle is published in the New York World, creating a new kind of mass-market word entertainment.
- 1937 – Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premieres, ushering in the feature-length animated film era.
- 1944 – U.S. orders allow Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II to begin returning to the U.S. West Coast, a major step toward ending wartime exclusion policies.
- 1968 – Apollo 8 is launched, the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon, redefining the space race and paving the way for lunar landings.
- 1988 – Pan Am Flight 103 is destroyed by a bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks involving an aircraft.
- 2020 – A rare “great conjunction” brings Jupiter and Saturn exceptionally close in the night sky, the tightest such pairing in centuries.
- 2025 – The Winter Solstice occurs (astronomical), marking the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1937 – Jane Fonda – American actor and activist, two-time Academy Award winner and a major cultural figure spanning film, fitness media, and political advocacy. (88)
- 1944 – Michael Tilson Thomas – American conductor and composer, long associated with the San Francisco Symphony and a prominent advocate for American orchestral music. (81)
- 1948 – Samuel L. Jackson – American actor known for iconic roles across blockbuster franchises and auteur cinema, one of the most recognizable performers of his era. (77)
- 1954 – Chris Evert – American tennis legend, 18-time Grand Slam singles champion and a defining champion of women’s tennis in the modern era. (71)
- 1957 – Ray Romano – American comedian and actor, best known for Everybody Loves Raymond and a long career in stand-up and television. (68)
- 1966 – Kiefer Sutherland – Canadian actor and producer, known for 24 and a career spanning film, television, and music. (59)
- 1996 – Jasmine Tookes – American model, widely known for major fashion campaigns and runway work including Victoria’s Secret. (29)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1937 – Frank B. Kellogg – American statesman and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, remembered for the Kellogg–Briand Pact renouncing war as national policy. (81)
- 1940 – F. Scott Fitzgerald – American novelist whose The Great Gatsby became a defining work of 20th-century American literature. (44)
- 1945 – George S. Patton – U.S. Army general, a central commander in World War II’s European theater and one of America’s most famous military leaders. (60)
- 1942 – Franz Boas – German-born American anthropologist, widely regarded as a founder of modern anthropology and a major critic of “scientific racism.” (84)
- 1963 – Jack Hobbs – English cricketer, one of the sport’s greatest opening batsmen and a towering figure in early 20th-century cricket. (81)
- 1992 – Stella Adler – American acting teacher and influential studio founder whose methods helped shape generations of stage and screen performers. (91)
- 1996 – Margret Rey – German-born American children’s author and illustrator, co-creator of the Curious George books. (90)
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