Today in History: Dec. 21

Today is Saturday, Dec. 21, the 356th day of 2024. There are 10 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 21, 1988, 270 people were killed when a terrorist bomb exploded aboard a Pan Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, sending wreckage crashing to the ground.

Also on this date:

In 1620, Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower went ashore at present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, for the first time.

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union forces led by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman concluded their “March to the Sea” when they captured Savannah, Georgia.

In 1891, the first basketball game, devised by James Naismith, is believed to have been played at the International YMCA Training School (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts.

In 1913, the first newspaper crossword puzzle, billed as a “Word-Cross Puzzle,” was published in the New York World.

In 1976, the oil tanker Argo Merchant broke apart near Nantucket Island off Massachusetts almost a week after running aground, spilling 7.7 million gallons of oil into the North Atlantic.

In 1991, eleven of the 12 former Soviet republics formally proclaimed the birth of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

In 2020, President-elect Joe Biden received his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on live television as part of a growing effort to convince the American public the inoculations were safe.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Jane Fonda is 87. Singer Carla Thomas is 82. Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas is 80. Actor Samuel L. Jackson is 76. Film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg is 74. Tennis Hall of Famer Chris Evert is 70. Actor Jane Kaczmarek is 69. Country musician Lee Roy Parnell is 68. Actor-comedian Ray Romano is 67. Actor Kiefer Sutherland is 58. Actor-filmmaker Julie Delpy is 55. Golf Hall of Famer Karrie Webb is 50. French President Emmanuel Macron is 47. Actor Rutina Wesley is 46. Actor Steven Yeun is 41. Actor-producer-writer Quinta Brunson is 35. Actor Kaitlyn Dever is 28. Actor Madelyn Cline is 27.