A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on December 21st. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
On December 21, 1898, the chemical element radium (Ra) was discovered by Pierre and Marie Curie who had isolated it from uranium.
On December 21, 1936, the Nazi German concept of a “schnellbomber” (fast bomber) that could outrun most fighter planes took to the air when the prototype Junkers Ju-88 made its first flight, achieving a remarkable (for the time) speed of 360 mph.
On December 21, 1936, the German concept of a “schnellbomber” that could outrun most fighter planes took to the air when the prototype Junkers Ju-88 made its first flight, achieving a speed of 360 mph.
On December 21, 1965, the United Nations, often accused of being a useless organization, outlawed racism by passing The International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.
On December 21, 1970, one of the great naval fighter jets made its debut flight when an F-14 Tomcat first took to the air.
On December 21, 1988, the giant Soviet cargo jet, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, made its maiden flight.
On December 21, 1990, one of the greatest contributors to American military technology and perhaps the greatest airplane designer of all time passed away quietly in Burbank, California at the age of 80.
On December 21, 2012, people across the globe waited for the end of the world!
On December 21, 2017, the American public awaited another hard to define movie before Downsizing opened across the country on December 22, 2017.
On December 21, 2018, at 5:23 pm (EST), the Northern half of the world experienced its annual Winter Solstice.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Which event that occurred on today’s date would you like to learn more about?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.