Date·Lore

On This Day · The 355th day of the year

December 21

December 21's record stretches 758 years, from 1237 to 1995. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and conflict is a recurring thread.

♐ZodiacSagittarius ◈BirthstoneTurquoise ❀Birth flowerHolly

Sagittarius is the sign for December 21 — read more on the Sagittarius page, or see December's birthstone & birth flower.

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on December 21?

December 21 is the 355th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1237 and 1995. Famous people born on December 21 include Kurt Waldheim, Masaccio and Chris Evert.

Released on December 21

Movies, games, albums & shows

2023

  • Game Paranoia: Happiness is Mandatory

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1237

    Ryazan

  2. 1844

    Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers

  3. 1879

    Nora Helmer

  4. 1919

    Anarchism

  5. 1923

    Nepal

  6. 1934

    Lieutenant Kijé (Prokofiev)

  7. 1941

    World War II

  8. 1988

    Pan Am Flight 103

  9. 1992

    Netherlands

  10. 1995

    Bethlehem

Famous birthday twins

Born on December 21

Kurt Waldheim

b. 1918

Masaccio

b. 1401

Chris Evert

b. 1954

Hu Jintao

b. 1942

Florence Griffith Joyner

b. 1959

Rutina Wesley

b. 1978

Adele Goldstine

b. 1920

Konstantin Rokossovsky

b. 1896

Deaths

  • 1992Stella Adler
  • 1992Albert King
  • 1935Kurt Tucholsky
  • 1597Peter Canisius
  • 1375Giovanni Boccaccio

Holidays & observances

  • —Armed Forces Day (Philippines)
  • —Christian feast day: O Oriens
  • —Christian feast day: Peter Canisius
  • —Christian feast day: Thomas the Apostle
  • —Christian feast day: December 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • —Forefathers' Day (Plymouth, Massachusetts)
  • —São Tomé Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)

The factual record above — event titles, dates, names, and observances — is drawn from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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