December 21 - What happened today?

Home What happened today in history? Blamepro's Almanac for December 21
In the headlines today:

1995	Israel passes control of the historic city of Bethlehem to Palestine.
1991	The Commonwealth of Independent States is born as 11 of the 12 former Soviet republics proclaim their independence.
1988	Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 258 passengers and crew, plus additional people on the ground.
1976	Millions of gallons of oil spill into the North Atlantic, as the Liberian tanker Argo Merchant runs aground near Nantucket Island.
1971	Kurt Waldheim is chosen by the UN Security Council to succeed U Thant as Secretary-General.
1968	The Apollo 8 manned lunar orbiter mission is launched.
1958	Charles de Gaulle is elected as the first president of France's Fifth Republic.
1945	US Army General George S. Patton dies at age 60 in Heidelberg, Germany, from injuries sustained in a car accident.
1945	Ecuador and Iraq are admitted to the United Nations.
1940	Author F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby) dies in Hollywood at age 44.
1937		Walt Disney releases his animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to theaters. (photo credit: Disney)
1913	The New York World newspaper publishes the first crossword puzzle.
1898	The radioactive element radium is discovered by Pierre and Marie Curie.
1620	Pilgrims aboard the ship Mayflower land at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts.