December 21 in History: Triumphs and Tragedies Through the Years
Today is December 21, 2025, marking the 355th day of the year with only 10 days remaining. On this day in history, significant events took place. In 1620, Pilgrims from the Mayflower landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Fast forward to 1864, Union forces led by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman captured Savannah, Georgia, concluding their "March to the Sea" during the Civil War. The first basketball game, created by James Naismith, was played in 1891 at the International YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts. Moving on to 1913, the first newspaper crossword puzzle was published in the New York World.
In more recent history, in 1976, the oil tanker Argo Merchant spilled 7.7 million gallons of oil into the North Atlantic near Nantucket Island after breaking apart. Tragedy struck in 1988 when a terrorist bomb exploded on Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, claiming the lives of all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground. The year 1991 saw the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States by 11 of the 12 former Soviet republics. In 2020, President-elect Joe Biden received his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on live television to promote vaccination safety during the pandemic.
However, in 2023, a devastating event occurred at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, where a student opened fire, resulting in the deaths of at least 14 individuals and injuries to over 20 others. The 24-year-old student, who possessed a license for eight guns and had no criminal record, took his own life as police closed in on the scene. Today's date holds historical significance with a mix of triumphs and tragedies, shaping the course of history.