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What happened in history on this day: December 21?
Since 1995, I have been collecting information on a variety of topics,
creating several timelines of history.
Here you will find specific events from those databases
for this day, on the topics of personal computers, video games, the Walt Disney Company,
Chevrolet Corvettes, A&W Root Beer, Sweden, and Canadian coins.
On December 21 in ...
- 1929 - Disney completes the Mickey Mouse film Wild Waves. Minnie Mouse also appears.
- 1937 - RKO Radio Pictures world premieres Disney's first full-length animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Hollywood. It is the world's first color full-length animated talking movie. The US$1.5 million needed to complete the film nearly bankrupted the company. This is the first public appearance of live-actor cartoon characters at the theater - dwarfs, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto. Two million drawings make up the 83-minute film.
- 1937 - Walt Disney mentions to a colleague at the premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that his dream is to build a park designed for kids.
- 1944 - RKO Radio Pictures world premieres Disney's animated and live-action feature film The Three Caballeros in theaters in Mexico City, Mexico.
- 1945 - The Donald Duck film Old Sequoia is released.
- 1948 - Disney's first True-Life Adventure film, Seal Island, is released as a sneak-preview in the Crown Theater in Pasadena, California.
- 1955 - Disney releases the fourth People and Places film, Men Against the Arctic, to theaters.
- 1958 - Disneyland debuts The Candlelight Procession and Massed Choir Ceremony.
- 1960 - Disney releases the live-action featurette film The Horse with the Flying Tail to theaters.
- 1979 - Buena Vista releases the live-action feature film The Black Hole to theaters in the US. It is the first Disney-created film to be given a PG rating. The original title was Space Probe One. It cost US$20 million to make.
- 1979 - Disney releases the live-action feature film The London Connection to theaters in England. The film was previously released in the US under the title The Omega Connection.
- 1980 - The NBC TV network airs the Disney's Wonderful World show, featuring The Ghosts of Buxley Hall, part one.
- 1985 - Maldives issues seven postage stamps depicting Disney characters and Mark Twain quotes.
- 1985 - Maldives issues seven postage stamps depicting Disney character versions of the Brothers Grimm story Doctor Knowall.
- 1988 - Buena Vista Pictures premieres the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film Beaches in a New York theater. The film is a Bette Midler drama made by Garry Marshall for Disney.
- 1990 - CBS airs the TV special program Disney's Christmas on Ice.
- 1990 - Disney releases the film Peter Pan on laserdisc in the US, for US$30-40.
- 1992 - The Aladdin's Royal Caravan parade begins at Disney-MGM Studios in Walt Disney World.
- 1998 - At Disney's Animal Kingdom, cast members begin giving guests a sneak peek at the Maharaja Jungle Trek in the upcoming Asia area of the park.
- 1999 - The film Fantasia/2000 is shown at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England.
- 1977 - Warner Bros. Pictures releases the film The Gauntlet to theaters in the USA. A white 1974-75 convertible appears briefly.
- 1937 - The German General Staff's strategy plan, Plan Green, is completed, anticipating an aggressive war with Czechoslovakia.
- 1941 - (0850 hours) 146 Japanese bombers and fighters attack Wake Island, but do little damage.
- 1941 - In Hong Kong, British General C. Maltby sends a communique to the War Office in England. The reply from Prime Minister Churchill is to continue fighting.
- 1941 - Siam enters into an alliance with Japan.
- 1941 - British corvette Samphire and sloop Deptford sink German submarine U567.
- 1941 - (night) A German submarine torpedoes and sinks British carrier Audacity, 500 miles west of Finisterre.
- 1943 - In Italy, the battle for Ortona begins, with the Canadian Seaforth Highlanders and Loyal Edmonton Regiment moving into the outskirts of the town.
- 1944 - 94 British Lancaster bombers attack the rail centre at Trier.
- 1944 - (evening) Over 100 British Lancaster bombers attack the Cologne-Nippes railway yard and Bonn, Germany.
- 1944 - (evening) British bombers attack an oil plant at Pölitz near Stettin, Germany.
- 1945 - Details of German war reparations among 18 Allies are made public in Paris, France.
- 1990 - Poland issues a postage stamp marking the 50th anniversary of Polish participation in the Battle of Britain.
- 1989 - Hudson releases the Ys I & II video game for the PC Engine in Japan.
- 1994 - In Japan, Nintendo and St. Giga television service company announce the Satellaview service, allowing Super Famicom users to download games via cable service. Price is 14,000 yen (about US$150), set to begin in April.
- 2005 - U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte rules that a California law restricting minors from buying a "violent video game" unconstitutionally restricts minors' rights to information. The judge grants the Entertainment Software Association's request for a preliminary injunction.
- 1912 - Sweden, Denmark, and Norway issue a declaration of agreement on principles of neutrality, pledging to notify each other of any departure from these principles.
- 1791 - Legislation is introduced in the US Senate requiring the portrait of the President to appear on all US coins.
- 1933 - US President Franklin Roosevelt issues an Executive Proclamation authorising the US Treasury to coin half of the 97.7 million ounces of silver bullion agreed to be purchased over the next four years.
- 2012 - Joan Langbord and sons file an appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia, over their loss of ten 1933 Saint-Gaudens gold $20 coins to the US Mint.
- 1849 - First US skating club formed (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
- 1891 - Eighteen students play first basketball game (Springfield College).
- 1918 - Boston Red Sox trade Dutch Leonard, Ernie Shore and Duffy Lewis to New York Yankees for Ray Caldwell and Slim Love, Frank Gilhooey, Al Walters and $15,000.
- 1925 - Stork Hendry scores 325 for Victoria against New Zealand in cricket.
- 1932 - New York Giants sign former outfielder Billy Southworth as a coach.
- 1936 - Donald Bradman's second consecutive Test Cricket duck! Australia all out 80.
- 1937 - O'Reilly completes 14-98 for cricket match, New South Wales versus South Australia.
- 1941 - Chicago Bears win the NFL championship, Ray McLean makes last NFL drop kick for an extra point.
- 1944 - Saint Louis Cardinals' Marty Marion wins National League Most Valuable Player.
- 1959 - Tom Landry accepts coaching job with Dallas Cowboys (stays until 1988).
- 1969 - Vince Lombardi (Washington Redskins) coaches his last football game, losing.
- 1975 - First New York Jets' player to gain 1,000 yards rushing (John Riggins).
- 1975 - 64th Davis Cup: Sweden beats Czechoslovakia in Stockholm (3-2).
- 1975 - Buffalo Sabres set NHL record of 40 points beating Washington Capitals 14-2 scoring five goals versus Capitals in 4:57.
- 1976 - 20th New York Islanders' shut-out opponent-Billy Smith 3-0 versus Boston Bruins.
- 1979 - Gary Unger plays in record 914th consecutive NHL game.
- 1980 - Harold Carmichael ends NFL streak of 127 consecutive game receptions.
- 1981 - Cincinnati beats Bradley 75-73 in 7 overtimes (NCAA record).
- 1983 - NBA Indiana Pacers end a 28-game road losing streak.
- 1983 - NCAA rules rescind last two-minute men's basketball free throw rule.
- 1984 - New York Islanders' Kelly Hrudy's first shut-out win, over Hartford Whalers 1-0.
- 1985 - Alice Miller/Don January win LPGA Mazda Golf Championship.
- 1986 - 75th Davis Cup: Australia beats Sweden in Melbourne (3-2).
- 1986 - Amy Alcott/Bob Charles win LPGA Mazda Golf Championship.
- 1990 - Steve and Mark Waugh complete 464 partnership for New South Wales versus Western Australia.
- 1995 - Martina Ertl of Germany wins her third giant slalom world cup.
- 1995 - David Cone re-signs with the New York Yankees in three-year deal worth US$18 million.
- 1995 - The Baltimore Orioles sign second baseman Roberto Alomar to a three-year US$18 million contract.
- 1995 - San Francisco Giants announce plans to build a new stadium to open in 2000.
- 1996 - Pakistan all out 67 to lose to Tasmania by an inning.
- 1997 - Detroit Lions' Barry Sanders is third to run for 2,000 yards in a season.
- 1997 - Detroit Lions linebacker Reggie Brown knocked unconscious in game.
- 2006 - Australian cricket player Shane Warne announces his retirement from the sport.
- 2009 - Martin Brodeur, goalie for the NHL's New Jersey Devils breaks the record for shutouts with his 104th win, against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
- 2021 - At American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, USA, NHL regular season game: Dallas Stars beats Minnesota Wild by score 7-4.
- 2021 - At T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, NHL regular season game: Tampa Bay Lightning beats Vegas Golden Knights by score 4-3.
- 1966 - USSR launches Luna 13; later soft-lands in Oceanus Procellarum.
- 1968 - Apollo 8 (Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders) is launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the first manned Moon voyage.
- 1984 - USSR launches Vega 2 for fly-by of Halley's Comet.
- 1987 - Soyuz TM-4 carries three cosmonauts (Musa Manarov, Anatoly Levchenko, and Vladimir Titov) to space station Mir.
- 1988 - Vladimir Titov, Anatoly Levchenko, and Musa Manarov return to Earth (after a year) with Chretien.
- 2020 - A great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurs, with the two planets separated in the sky by 0.1 degrees. This is the closest conjunction between the two planets since 1623.
- 1163 - Hurricane hits villages in Holland/Friesland, causing floods.
- 1915 - 25.83 cm (10.17 inches) of rainfall, in Glenora, Oregon (state record).
- 1784 - John Jay becomes first US Secretary of State (foreign affairs).
- 1812 - In Santa Barbara Channel, California, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurs.
- 1829 - First stone arch railroad bridge in US is dedicated, in Baltimore, Maryland.
- 1861 - US President Abraham Lincoln signs law authorizing Navy Medal of Valor.
- 1863 - First national US bank note is issued, a $5 note, by the First National Bank of Washington, D.C.
- 1864 - USA Army General Tecumseh Sherman conquers Savannah, Georgia.
- 1866 - Cheyennes, Arapho's, Sioux, Fetterman Massacre.
- 1909 - First junior high school established (Berkeley, California).
- 1914 - First feature-length silent film comedy, Tillie's Punctured Romance is released (starring Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand and Charles Chaplin).
- 1915 - 25.83 cm (10.17 inches) of rainfall, in Glenora, Oregon (state record).
- 1921 - US Supreme Court rules labor injunctions and picketing are unconstitutional.
- 1929 - First US group hospital insurance plan instituted, Dallas, Texas.
- 1933 - Dried human blood serum first prepared, University of Pennsylvania.
- 1933 - US President Franklin Roosevelt issues an Executive Proclamation authorising the US Treasury to coin half of the 97.7 million ounces of silver bullion agreed to be purchased over the next four years.
- 1937 - RKO Radio Pictures world premieres Disney's first full-length animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Hollywood. It is the industry's first full-length animated movie. The US$1.5 million needed to complete the film nearly bankrupted the company. Two million drawings make up the 83 minute film.
- 1942 - US Supreme court declares Nevada marriage separation legal.
- 1946 - Frank Capra's movie It's a Wonderful Life premieres in theaters in the USA.
- 1952 - Broadway Tunnel opens in San Francisco, California, USA.
- 1959 - Citizens of Deerfield, Illinois, block building of interracial housing.
- 1962 - US and Cuba accord, for release of Bay of Pigs captives.
- 1968 - Joseph W. Barr begins term as US Treasury Secretary (lasts one month).
- 1968 - Apollo 8 (Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders) is launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the first manned Moon voyage.
- 1970 - The American F-14 Tomcat military jet first flies.
- 1973 - Israel, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, US and USSR meet in Geneva, Switzerland.
- 1976 - Patricia R Harris is named Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
- 1976 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1985 - ARCO Anchorage runs aground near Port Angeles, Washington.
- 1988 - Drexel agrees guilt to security felonies, pays a US$650 million fine.
- 1989 - US Vice-President Dan Quayle sends out 30,000 Christmas cards with word "beacon" spelled "beakon".
- 1994 - A homemade bomb goes off on the #4 train on Fulton Street in New York City.
- 2018 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at 22,445 after its worst week since 2008.
- 2020 - US Congress basses US$900 billion pandemic relief bill, including US$600 one-time payment to each citizen.
Other history:
- 1620 - 103 Mayflower pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock.
- 1898 - Scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discover radium.
- 1948 - State of Eire (formerly Irish Free State) declares its independence.
- 1991 - 95 share in Madrid Spain $1.3 billion lottery (#47996).
- 1991 - Soviet Union formally dissolves; 11 of 12 republics sign treaty forming Commonwealth of Independent States.
- 2007 - Queen Elizabeth II becomes the oldest-ever monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.
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