December 21

1826 – American settlers in Nacogdoches, Mexican Texas, declare their independence, starting the Fredonian Rebellion.
1879 – World premiere of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark.
1907 – The Chilean Army commits a massacre of at least 2,000 striking saltpeter miners in Iquique, Chile.
1919 – American anarchist Emma Goldman is deported to Russia.
1988 – A bomb explodes on board Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, killing 270.
1999 – The Spanish Civil Guard intercepts a van loaded with 950 kg of explosives that ETA intended to use to blow up Torre Picasso in Madrid, Spain.
Births
1118 – Thomas Becket, English archbishop and saint (d. 1170)
1795 – Jack Russell, English priest, hunter, and dog breeder (d. 1883)
1915 – Werner von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (d. 2007)
1918 – Donald Regan, Reagan’s White House Chief of Staff (d. 2003)
1918 – Kurt Waldheim, Austrian colonel, war criminal, and politician, 9th President of Austria who also headed the United Nations (d. 2007)
1926 – Joe Paterno, American football player and coach at Penn State
1935 – Lorenzo Bandini, Italian race car driver (d. 1967)
1935 – Phil Donahue, American talk show host and producer
1940 – Frank Zappa, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1993)
1950 – Jeffrey Katzenberg, American screenwriter and producer, co-founded DreamWorks Animation
1953 – András Schiff, Hungarian-English pianist and conductor
1967 – Mikheil Saakashvili, third President of Georgia
Deaths
72 – Thomas the Apostle, Roman martyr and saint (b. 1 AD)
1937 – Frank B. Kellogg, American lawyer and politician, 45th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1856)
1945 – George S. Patton, American general (b. 1885)
2013 – Edgar Bronfman, Sr., Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1929)