December 21 - Rise and Fall

Rise and Fall

This Day In History

1620

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

1872

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

1879

World première of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark.

1913

Arthur Wynne's "word-cross", the first crossword puzzle, is published in the New York World.

1937

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the world's first full-length animated feature, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theater.

1968

Apollo 8 launches from the Kennedy Space Center, placing its crew on a lunar trajectory for the first visit to another celestial body by humans.

1994

Mexican volcano Popocatépetl, dormant for 47 years, erupts gases and ash.

Famous Birthdays

1118

Thomas Becket, Lord Chancellor of England and Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1170)

1603

Roger Williams, English theologian and founder of Providence Plantations (d. 1684)

1672

Benjamin Schmolck, German Lutheran composer of hymns (d. 1737)

1795

John Russell, English parson and dog breeder (d. 1883)

1804

Benjamin Disraeli, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1881)

1868

George W. Fuller: American sanitary engineer (d. 1934)

1892

Walter Hagen, American golfer (d. 1969)

1940

Frank Zappa, American musician (d. 1993)

1948

Samuel L. Jackson, American actor

1954

Chris Evert, American tennis player

1966

Kiefer Sutherland, British-born Canadian actor
Karri Turner, American actress