Updated December 20, 2011, 1:28 pm
On Dec. 21, 1988, a terrorist bomb exploded aboard a Pan Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people.
On Dec. 21, 1879, Joseph Stalin, the Soviet statesman who was leader of the Communist Party and dictator of the Soviet Union for 25 years , was born. Following his death on March 5, 1953, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1620 Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower went ashore for the first time at present-day Plymouth, Mass. 1879 Soviet dictator Josef Stalin was born Josef Dzhugashvili in Gori, Georgia. 1898 Scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discovered the radioactive element radium. 1913 The first crossword puzzle was published, in the New York World. 1937 The Disney animated feature film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” had its world premiere in Los Angeles. 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 M. Nixon in the Oval Office 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, Ill., arrested John W. Gacy Jr. and began unearthing the remains of 33 men and boys he was later convicted of murdering. 1991 Eleven of the 12 former Soviet republics proclaimed the birth of the Commonwealth of Independent States. 1995 The city of Bethlehem passed from Israeli to Palestinian control. 1996 After two years of denials, House Speaker Newt Gingrich admitted violating House ethics rules. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actor Samuel L. Jackson turns 63 years old today.
AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
1926 Joe Paterno, Former college football coach, turns 85 1928 Ed Nelson, Actor, turns 83 1935 Phil Donahue, Talk show host, turns 76 1937 Jane Fonda, Actress, turns 74 1938 Larry Bryggman, Actor, turns 73 1943 Albert Lee, Rock musician, turns 68 1944 Michael Tilson Thomas, Conductor, turns 67 1950 Jeffrey Katzenberg, Movie producer, turns 61 1954 Chris Evert, Tennis Hall of Famer, turns 57 1955 Jane Kaczmarek, Actress (“Malcolm in the Middle”), turns 56 1957 Ray Romano, Actor, comedian (“Everybody Loves Raymond”), turns 54 1959 Steve Spagnuolo, Football coach, turns 52 1965 Andy Dick, Actor, comedian, turns 46 1966 Kiefer Sutherland, Actor (“24”), turns 45 1969 Julie Delpy, Actress, director, turns 42 1974 Karrie Webb, Golfer, turns 37 Historic Birthdays
Joseph Stalin 12/21/1879 – 3/5/1953 Soviet dictator (1941-53). Go to obituary »
? Masaccio 12/21/1401 – //1428
Italian artist84 Robert Brown 12/21/1773 – 6/10/1858
Scottish botanist76 Benjamin Disraeli 12/21/1804 – 4/19/1881
Two-time English prime minister (1868,1874-80)72 Frederick Bonfils 12/21/1860 – 2/2/1933
American publisher of the Denver Post84 Henrietta Szold 12/21/1860 – 2/13/1945
American Jewish leader; founded Hadassah (Women’s Zionist Organization of America)90 Dame Rebecca West 12/21/1892 – 3/15/1983
English journalist and novelist35 Josh Gibson 12/21/1911 – 1/20/1947
American baseball player59 Andre Eglevsky 12/21/1917 – 12/4/1977
Russian-born American ballet dancer and instructor67 Heinrich Boll 12/21/1917 – 7/16/1985
German novelist and Nobel Prize winner
