December 21
1620 - The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts.
1898 - Pierre and Marie Curie discovered the radioactive element radium.
1913 - The first crossword puzzle was printed in the New York World.
1914 - The U.S. government began requiring passport applicants to provide photographs of themselves.
1937 - Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", the first feature-length color and sound animated film, premiered.
1940 - Author F. Scott Fitzgerald died in Hollywood, California, at age 44.
1942 - The U.S. Supreme Court, in Williams v. North Carolina, ruled 6-2 that all states had to recognize divorces granted in Nevada.
1945 - U.S. Army Gen. George S. Patton died in Heidelberg, Germany at age 60, 12 days after being seriously injured in a car accident.
1948 - Ireland became an independent republic.
1958 - Charles de Gaulle was elected the first president of France's Fifth Republic.
1968 - Apollo 8 was launched on a mission to orbit the moon.
1970 - Elvis Presley met with President Richard Nixon at the White House to discuss fighting drugs.
1971 - The U.N. Security Council chose Kurt Waldheim to succeed U Thant as secretary-general.
1978 - Police in Des Plaines, Illinois arrested John W. Gacy Jr. and begun unearthing the remains of 33 men and boys he was later convicted of murdering.
1988 - A terrorist bomb exploded aboard a Pan Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people.
1991 - Eleven of the 12 former Soviet republics form the Commonwealth of Independent States and marked the formal end of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
1995 - Palestinians took over control of the city of Bethlehem.
1996 - After two years of denials, House Speaker Newt Gingrich admitted violating House ethics rules.
2010 - The Census Bureau announced that the nation's population on April 1, 2010 was 308,745,538, up from 281.4 million a decade earlier.
2010 - A divided Federal Communications Commission approved, 3-2, new rules known as “net neutrality” meant to prohibit broadband companies from interfering with Internet traffic flowing to their customers.
2015 - The nation’s three-decade-old ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men was formally lifted, but major restrictions continued to limit who could give blood in the U.S.
Birthdays
23 - Madelyn Cline (actress)
23 - Kida (singer)
24 - Kaitlyn Dever (actress)
29 - Otis (professional wrestler)
37 - Steven Yeun (actor)
38 - Luke Stricklin (country singer)
38 - Anna Bulbrook (musician)
38 - Mahira Khan (actress)
42 - Rutina Wesley (actress)
46 - Karrie Webb (golfer)
49 - Glenn Fitzgerald (actor)
49 - Natalie Grant (singer)
51 - Julie Delpy (actress)
52 - Khrystyne Haje (actress)
54 - Karri Turner (actress)
54 - Kiefer Sutherland (actor)
54 - Michelle Hurd (actress)
55 - Andy Dick (actor/comedian)
58 - Christy Forester (country singer)
63 - Ray Romano (actor/comedian)
65 - Jane Kaczmarek (actress)
66 - Chris Evert (tennis player)
68 - Dennis Boutsikaris (actor)
70 - Kay Robertson (reality star)
72 - Samuel L. Jackson (actor)
74 - Josh Mostel (actor)
78 - Carla Thomas (singer)
83 - Jane Fonda (actress)
85 - Phil Donahue (talk show host)
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Today in Sports History - December 21
1891 - The first basketball game, invented at Springfield College in Massachusetts by James E. Naismith, was played.
1941 - Ray McLean (Chicago Bears) performed a drop kick for an extra point in the NFL. The next one would not happen until Doug Floutie performed on 61 years later.
1941 - The Chicago Bears defeat the New York Giants 37-9 to win the NFL Championship Game.
1951 - Joe DiMaggio announced his retirement from baseball.
1959 - Tom Landry was named head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, a position he would hold for the next 29 years.
1969 - Vince Lombardi coached his last football game as his team, the Washington Redskins, lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 20-10. The Redskins ended that season at 7-5-2, which was the first winning season for the team in 14 years.
1975 - George Blanda, in his final regular-season game, became the first professional football player to reach 2,000 points. His total was 2,002 points over a 26-year career.
1981 - Cincinnati defeated Bradley 75-73 in seven overtimes. The game was the longest collegiate basketball game in the history of NCAA Division I competition.
1984 - BYU defeats Michigan 24-17 to win the Holiday Bowl and secure an undefeated season and claim the national championship.
1983 - The NBA's Indiana Pacers ended a 28 game losing streak.
1997 - Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions became the third player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.
2010 - The No. 1-ranked Connecticut women’s basketball team topped the 88-game winning streak by John Wooden’s UCLA men’s team from 1971-74, beating No. 22 Florida State 93-62.
2012 - The NHL announces a further cancellation of games until January 14 bringing the total number of cancelled games to 625.
1620 - The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts.
1898 - Pierre and Marie Curie discovered the radioactive element radium.
1913 - The first crossword puzzle was printed in the New York World.
1914 - The U.S. government began requiring passport applicants to provide photographs of themselves.
1937 - Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", the first feature-length color and sound animated film, premiered.
1940 - Author F. Scott Fitzgerald died in Hollywood, California, at age 44.
1942 - The U.S. Supreme Court, in Williams v. North Carolina, ruled 6-2 that all states had to recognize divorces granted in Nevada.
1945 - U.S. Army Gen. George S. Patton died in Heidelberg, Germany at age 60, 12 days after being seriously injured in a car accident.
1948 - Ireland became an independent republic.
1958 - Charles de Gaulle was elected the first president of France's Fifth Republic.
1968 - Apollo 8 was launched on a mission to orbit the moon.
1970 - Elvis Presley met with President Richard Nixon at the White House to discuss fighting drugs.
1971 - The U.N. Security Council chose Kurt Waldheim to succeed U Thant as secretary-general.
1978 - Police in Des Plaines, Illinois arrested John W. Gacy Jr. and begun unearthing the remains of 33 men and boys he was later convicted of murdering.
1988 - A terrorist bomb exploded aboard a Pan Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people.
1991 - Eleven of the 12 former Soviet republics form the Commonwealth of Independent States and marked the formal end of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
1995 - Palestinians took over control of the city of Bethlehem.
1996 - After two years of denials, House Speaker Newt Gingrich admitted violating House ethics rules.
2010 - The Census Bureau announced that the nation's population on April 1, 2010 was 308,745,538, up from 281.4 million a decade earlier.
2010 - A divided Federal Communications Commission approved, 3-2, new rules known as “net neutrality” meant to prohibit broadband companies from interfering with Internet traffic flowing to their customers.
2015 - The nation’s three-decade-old ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men was formally lifted, but major restrictions continued to limit who could give blood in the U.S.
Birthdays
23 - Madelyn Cline (actress)
23 - Kida (singer)
24 - Kaitlyn Dever (actress)
29 - Otis (professional wrestler)
37 - Steven Yeun (actor)
38 - Luke Stricklin (country singer)
38 - Anna Bulbrook (musician)
38 - Mahira Khan (actress)
42 - Rutina Wesley (actress)
46 - Karrie Webb (golfer)
49 - Glenn Fitzgerald (actor)
49 - Natalie Grant (singer)
51 - Julie Delpy (actress)
52 - Khrystyne Haje (actress)
54 - Karri Turner (actress)
54 - Kiefer Sutherland (actor)
54 - Michelle Hurd (actress)
55 - Andy Dick (actor/comedian)
58 - Christy Forester (country singer)
63 - Ray Romano (actor/comedian)
65 - Jane Kaczmarek (actress)
66 - Chris Evert (tennis player)
68 - Dennis Boutsikaris (actor)
70 - Kay Robertson (reality star)
72 - Samuel L. Jackson (actor)
74 - Josh Mostel (actor)
78 - Carla Thomas (singer)
83 - Jane Fonda (actress)
85 - Phil Donahue (talk show host)
============================================
Today in Sports History - December 21
1891 - The first basketball game, invented at Springfield College in Massachusetts by James E. Naismith, was played.
1941 - Ray McLean (Chicago Bears) performed a drop kick for an extra point in the NFL. The next one would not happen until Doug Floutie performed on 61 years later.
1941 - The Chicago Bears defeat the New York Giants 37-9 to win the NFL Championship Game.
1951 - Joe DiMaggio announced his retirement from baseball.
1959 - Tom Landry was named head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, a position he would hold for the next 29 years.
1969 - Vince Lombardi coached his last football game as his team, the Washington Redskins, lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 20-10. The Redskins ended that season at 7-5-2, which was the first winning season for the team in 14 years.
1975 - George Blanda, in his final regular-season game, became the first professional football player to reach 2,000 points. His total was 2,002 points over a 26-year career.
1981 - Cincinnati defeated Bradley 75-73 in seven overtimes. The game was the longest collegiate basketball game in the history of NCAA Division I competition.
1984 - BYU defeats Michigan 24-17 to win the Holiday Bowl and secure an undefeated season and claim the national championship.
1983 - The NBA's Indiana Pacers ended a 28 game losing streak.
1997 - Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions became the third player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.
2010 - The No. 1-ranked Connecticut women’s basketball team topped the 88-game winning streak by John Wooden’s UCLA men’s team from 1971-74, beating No. 22 Florida State 93-62.
2012 - The NHL announces a further cancellation of games until January 14 bringing the total number of cancelled games to 625.
