The World's First Crossword Puzzle was published on December 21, 1913. Can You Solve It?
Holidays
Feast Day of St. Thomas the Apostle
Patron Saint of India, East Indies, architects, and builders.
What Happened On
Mayan End of the World
December 21, 2012
According to some, the ancient Mayan calendar predicted the end of the world on December 21, 2012. If you're reading this, they were wrong. Also, the winter solstice is aligned with the Milky Way on this date.
Elvis Meets Nixon
December 21, 1970
Elvis Presley, "The King of Rock 'n' Roll," meets with U.S. President Richard Nixon. Elvis was wearing a purple velvet suit, a gold belt, and a Colt 45 pistol. Elvis claimed to have done an in-depth study of drug abuse and Communist brainwashing techniques and wanted to lend his assistance. He asked Nixon for a Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs badge to add to similar items he had begun collecting and to signify official sanction of his patriotic efforts.
First Earthrise photographed by humans
First Earthrise photographed by humans
First Manned Moon Mission
December 21, 1968
Apollo 8 is launched with Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders aboard. They orbited the Moon on the 24th and returned to Earth on the 27th. While orbiting the Moon, they also became the first humans to photograph the Earthrise.
First African-American Drafted by the NFL
December 21, 1948
George Taliaferro is picked by the Chicago Bears in the thirteenth round of the 1949 NFL Draft. However, he had already signed with the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference the previous week. He played with the Dons for one year, then joined the NFL's New York Yanks.
First Feature-Length Animation with Both Color and Sound
December 21, 1937
Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premieres. It was his first feature-length animation and the world's first animated feature made in full color and sound. At a cost $1.5 million, many in the film industry predicted it would flop and bankrupt the company. But instead, the film grossed $6.5 million, making it the most successful motion picture of 1938 and the most successful sound film made to that date.
First Crossword Puzzle
December 21, 1913
By Arthur Wynne appearing in the New York World. Can You Solve It?
Naismith and the original 1891 "Basket Ball" court
Naismith and the original 1891 "Basket Ball" court
First Basketball Game
December 21, 1891
YMCA instructor Dr. James Naismith organizes a game between his students in Springfield, Massachusetts. The original game used a soccer ball and peach baskets with the bottoms still intact. The players had to use a ladder to retrieve the ball from the basket. Eventually, they poked a small hole in the basket so they could use a stick to retrieve the ball.
Naismith invented the game of basketball after being given two weeks to create a game that:
• Would provide an "athletic distraction" to calm rowdy boys.
• Could be played indoors.
• Not take up too much room.
• Keep track athletes in shape.
• Fair for all players.
• Not too rough.
To reduce physical contact, players were required to pass the ball instead of running with it. Dribbling wasn't introduced until 1901 and didn't become popular until the 1950s with improvements to the shape of the balls.
Naismith also tried to reduce physical contact by locating the goals above the players' heads so they could not guard it. The goals were to have an opening parallel to the floor so that they would require a soft, lobbing toss to score. Naismith asked a janitor for a pair of boxes, but he returned with a pair of peach baskets, thus the name "basket ball".
Home Alone
December 21, 1992
Two Chicago girls, ages nine and four, call 911 after overfilling a bathtub and setting off a smoke alarm. Police found that they had been left alone, while their parents took a nine-day vacation in Acapulco, Mexico.
Dan Quayle vs. the Grammar Police
December 21, 1989
U.S. Vice-President Dan Quayle sends out 30,000 misspelled Christmas cards: "May our nation continue to be the beakon of hope."
Photo Credit: Air Accident Investigation Branch
Photo Credit: Air Accident Investigation Branch
Flight 103 Bombing
December 21, 1988
A bomb explodes on Pan Am flight 103 over Scotland, killing all 259 persons on board and 11 on the ground, in what became known as the Lockerbie bombing.
In 2001, Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was jailed for life after being found guilty of 270 counts of murder in connection with the bombing. He was the only person convicted for the attack. In August 2009, he was released by the Scottish Government on compassionate grounds after being diagnosed with prostate cancer and died in 2012.
In 2003, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi accepted responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing and paid compensation to the families of the victims, although he maintained that he had never given the order for the attack.
Drexel Burnham Lambert
December 21, 1988
The financial giant Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. pleads guilty to six violations of federal law and accepts penalties of $650 million. This led to Michael Milken's departure from the firm. Milken would plead guilty to securities and reporting violations and served 22 months in prison and fined $1.1 billion.
NFL Dropkick
December 21, 1941
Chicago Bears' Scooter McLean makes what would be the last successful NFL dropkick until Doug Flutie completed one in 2006.
Civil War - Sherman Takes Savannah
December 21, 1864
Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman (Union) takes Savannah, Georgia.
First U.S. Cotton Mill
December 21, 1790
The First U.S. cotton mill begins production, in Rhode Island.
Birthdays
Winchell with Jerry Mahoney (left) and Nucklehead Smiff (right)
Winchell with Jerry Mahoney (left) and Nucklehead Smiff (right)
Paul Winchell (Paul Wilchinsky)
Born December 21, 1922 d. 2005
American ventriloquist. He worked with a couple of dummies named Jerry Mahoney and Knucklehead Smiff. He was also the voice of Tigger in "Winnie the Pooh" features. No dummy himself, Winchell used his medical training to build and receive the first U.S. patent for an implantable artificial heart (1963, U.S. Patent #3097366). He developed it with the assistance of Henry Heimlich (the inventor of the Heimlich maneuver).
Winchell offered $100,000 to Metromedia for the tapes to his most successful show, Winchell-Mahoney Time. Metromedia, who wanted to syndicate the show, responded, "Agree on a syndication plan or the tapes will be destroyed." When Winchell declined, Metromedia followed through with their threat and destroyed the tapes. Winchell sued and in 1986 was awarded $3.8 million for the value of the tapes and $14 million in punitive damages against Metromedia.
TV: The Paul Winchell Show (1950-54, host) and Winchell-Mahoney Time (1965-68, host).
Father of Modern Art
Masaccio (Tomaso Guidi)
Born December 21, 1401 d. circa 1428
Italian Renaissance painter, called the father of modern art. He was one of the first painters to use linear perspective, employing techniques such as a vanishing point in his art.
James "Bubba" Stewart, Jr.
Born December 21, 1985
African-American motocross racer. He was the first African-American to win a major motorsport event (250cc THQ AMA Supercross Series race at Texas Stadium, 2005).
Kiefer Sutherland
Born December 21, 1966
English-born Canadian Emmy-winning actor. He has worked the rodeo circuit winning rodeos in Albuquerque and Phoenix. Film: Stand By Me (1986), The Lost Boys (1985), Flatliners (1990), and A Few Good Men (1992). TV: 24 (Jack Bauer).
World's Fastest Woman
Florence Griffith Joyner (Flo Jo)
Born December 21, 1959 d. 1998
American athlete. "World's Fastest Woman." She was the first U.S. female athlete to win four medals at a single Olympics (1988, three gold and a silver), and was the co-chairman of the President's Council on Physical Fitness. She died of epilepsy at age 38.
Chris Evert
Born December 21, 1954
American tennis champion. She is the all-time leader in tournament victories (157) and has been ranked #1 in the world five times.
Carl Wilson
Born December 21, 1946 d. 1998
American guitarist, with The Beach Boys. Music: Surfin' USA (1963), I Get Around (1964, #1), Help Me Rhonda, (1965, #1), and Good Vibrations (1966, #1).
Frank Zappa (Francis Vincent Zappa Jr.)
Born December 21, 1940 d. 1993
American Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, leader of The Mothers of Invention. Music: Yellow Snow (1974), Valley Girl (1982), and Jazz From Hell (1987, Grammy).
In 1971, Zappa was playing at the Montreux Casino, Switzerland when "Some stupid with a flare gun burned the place to the ground", an event that was immortalized by the Deep Purple song Smoke on the Water. Six days later he pushed off a London stage by a fan and suffered a broken leg and ankle and a fractured skull and was wheelchair-bound for a year. The attacker said he was jealous because his girlfriend was infatuated with Zappa.
Quote: "Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible."
Quote: "Jazz is not dead. It just smells funny."
Larry Bryggman
Born December 21, 1938
American actor. TV: As the World Turns (Dr. John Dixon). He was married to his As the World Turns co-star Jacqueline Schultz.
Jane Fonda as Barbarella and Fonda at an anti-aircraft gun
Jane Fonda as Barbarella and Fonda at an anti-aircraft gun
Jane Fonda
Born December 21, 1937
American Oscar-Emmy-winning actress, activist. In 1972, Fonda made a two-week trip to Hanoi where she made radio broadcasts describing her trip and denouncing U.S. policy concerning the Vietnam War. During her trip, she also visited American prisoners of war (POWs). At the end of her trip she was photographed sitting at a Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun.
Later when the Nixon administration began publicizing stories of the North Vietnamese torturing POWs, Fonda said that those making such claims were "hypocrites and liars and pawns", and that the prisoners she visited, "…were not men who had been tortured. These were not men who had been starved. These were not men who had been brainwashed." Her visit and remarks earned her the name "Hanoi Jane".
Many stories of her ratting out the POWs she visited continue to circulate on the Internet, although Fonda and the POWs involved have denied those claims.
Film: Cat Ballou (1965), Barefoot in the Park (1967), Barbarella (1968), Coming Home (1978, Oscar), The China Syndrome (1979), and On Golden Pond (1981).
Photo Credit: jbach
Photo Credit: jbach
Phil Donahue
Born December 21, 1935 d. 2024
American Emmy-winning talk show host. TV: Donahue (1967-96).
The Great Impostor
Ferdinand Waldo Demara, Jr.
Born December 21, 1921 d. 1982
American impostor. He lied and forged his way into jobs as a surgeon; professor of applied psychology; Trappist monk; and prison guidance counselor; all of which he performed admirably, although he didn't even possess a high-school diploma. He was the basis for the film The Great Impostor (1961).
George Ball
Born December 21, 1909 d. 1994
American lawyer, economist, presidential advisor. In 1961, as U.S. President John F. Kennedy's undersecretary of state, he advised that if 15,000 troops were sent to Vietnam, it would take another 300,000 to bring them back home.
Laura Dewey Bridgman
Born December 21, 1829 d. 1889
American blind deaf-mute. She was the first person educated using the techniques that later evolved into the modern methods.
Benjamin Disraeli
Born December 21, 1804 d. 1881
British prime minister. In his political novel The New Generation he wrote: "No Government can be long secure without a formidable Opposition. It reduces their supporters to that tractable number which can be managed by the joint influences of fruition and hope. It offers vengeance to the discontented, and distinction to the ambitious; and employs the energies of aspiring spirits, who otherwise may prove traitors in a division or assassins in a debate."
Robert Brown
Born December 21, 1773 d. 1858
British botanist. Known for his description of Brownian motion (1827), which is the rapid movement of minute particles suspended in liquid. Albert Einstein used Brownian motion to prove the existence of atoms (1905).
Deaths
George S. Patton (George Smith Patton, Jr.)
Died December 21, 1945 b. 1885
American four-star general, called "Old Blood and Guts." He led the 3rd Army during World War II.
He competed as the Army's entry for the first modern pentathlon at the 1912 Olympic Games.
His Ridiculous "Monkey Crouch" Riding Style
His Ridiculous "Monkey Crouch" Riding Style
Monkey Crouch Jockey
James Forman "Tod" Sloan
Died December 21, 1933 b. 1874
American jockey. The leading race horse jockey of the late 1800s. He introduced the practices of riding high on the horse and hunching down to reduce wind resistance. He was ridiculed by his detractors, calling his riding style the "monkey crouch."
First African American Governor of a U.S. State
P. B. S. Pinchback (Pinckney Benton Stewart)
Died December 21, 1921 b. 1837
American publisher, politician. He was the first African American governor of a U.S. state (1872, Louisiana). Born to a black freed slave and her former master in Georgia. When the lieutenant governor Oscar Dunn died, Pinchback, as Senate president pro tempore, succeeded to the position of acting lieutenant governor (1871). In 1872, when the governor was impeached, state law required the governor to step aside until his impeachment case was tried. Pinchback served in his place for about 6 weeks until his term ended.
Amazing Grace
John Newton
Died December 21, 1807 b. 1725
English clergyman, hymn writer. Music: Amazing Grace (1779), with lyrics, "Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound). That sav'd a wretch like me!"
Dick Enberg
Died December 21, 2017 b. 1935
American sportscaster, game show host. He was known for his on-air catchphrases "Touch 'em all" (for home runs) and "Oh, my!" TV: Sports Challenge (host) and the cartoon series Where's Huddles? (voice of the sports announcer).
Billie Whitelaw
Died December 21, 2014 b. 1932
English actress. Film: Charlie Bubbles (1968, British Film Academy Award) and The Omen (1976).
Alfred J. Gross
Died December 21, 2000 b. 1918
Canadian-born inventor. He invented the walkie-talkie (1939) and the pager (1949) and laid the groundwork for cordless and cellular phones. While visiting Gross' workshop, Chester Gould was inspired to give his Dick Tracy character a 2-way TV wristwatch.
Zack Mosley
Died December 21, 1993 b. 1906
American cartoonist. Creator of The Adventures of Smilin' Jack (1933-73).
Stella Adler
Died December 21, 1992 b. 1901
American acting instructor. Her students included Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor, Martin Sheen, Harvey Keitel, Melanie Griffith, Peter Bogdanovich, and Warren Beatty.
Albert King (Albert Nelson)
Died December 21, 1992 b. 1923
American blues musician. Music: Laundromat Blues (1966) and Born Under a Bad Sign (1967).
First Woman Secretary of a National Political Party
Dorothy McElroy Vredenburg
Died December 21, 1991 b. 1916
American politician. First woman secretary of a national political party (1944, secretary of the Democratic National Committee). This also made her the youngest person elected as an officer of either the Democratic or Republican party.
Bob Steele (Robert North Bradbury Jr.)
Died December 21, 1988 b. 1907
American actor. TV: F Troop (Trooper Duffy).
Louis Washkansky
Died December 21, 1967 b. 1914
South African grocer. He received the first successful human heart transplant, surviving for 18 days.
Hattie Wyatt Caraway
Died December 21, 1950 b. 1878
American politician. She was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate (1932, Arkansas), the first woman to preside over Senate Sessions (1932) and the first woman president pro tem of the Senate (1943).
F. Scott Fitzgerald (Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald)
Died December 21, 1940 b. 1896
American author. Writings: This Side of Paradise (1920) and The Great Gatsby (1925).
James M. Black
Died December 21, 1938 b. 1856
American Methodist composer. Music: When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder (wrote the tune).
James Parkinson
Died December 21, 1824 b. 1755
English surgeon. He described the disease of shaking palsy (1817), which now bears his name. He was also one of the first to give a scientific account of fossils.