Birthdays
c. 1119 (or 1120) - Thomas Becket, known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket, was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was canonised by Pope Alexander III. (The London History Show: Thomas Becket. Uploaded by J Rennocks. Accessed December 21, 2018. Murder in the Cathedral! King Henry II and Thomas Becket). Uploaded by Lagan History. Accessed December 21, 2019).
1804 - Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS, British politician of the Conservative Party who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation of the modern Conservative Party. Disraeli is remembered for his influential voice in world affairs, his political battles with the Liberal Party leader William Ewart Gladstone, and his one-nation conservatism or "Tory democracy". He made the Conservatives the party most identified with the glory and power of the British Empire. He is the only British prime minister to have been of Jewish birth. He was also a novelist, publishing works of fiction even as prime minister.
British Statesman
1892 - Dame Rebecca West DBE (Cicily Isabel Fairfield), British author, critic, journalist, and travel writer. West reviewed books for The Times, the New York Herald Tribune, The Sunday Telegraph, and The New Republic, and she was a correspondent for The Bookman. Her major works include Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, on the history and culture of Yugoslavia; A Train of Powder, her coverage of the Nuremberg trials; The Meaning of Treason, later The New Meaning of Treason, a study of the trial of the British fascist William Joyce and others; The Return of the Soldier, a modernist World War I novel; and the "Aubrey trilogy" of autobiographical novels, The Fountain Overflows, This Real Night (published posthumously in 1984), and Cousin Rosamund. She was made CBE in 1949, and DBE in 1959. She took the pseudonym "Rebecca West" from the rebellious young heroine in Rosmersholm by Henrik Ibsen. She was a recipient of the Benson Medal. (Meet Rebecca West, uploaded by Open Road Media. Accessed December 21, 2014)
1937 - Jane Seymour Fonda, American actress, political activist, and former fashion model. She is the recipient of various accolades including two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the AFI Life Achievement Award, and the Honorary Golden Lion and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1982, she released her first exercise video, Jane Fonda's Workout, which became the highest-selling VHS of all time. It would be the first of 22 such videos over the next 13 years, which would collectively sell over 17 million copies. Fonda was a visible political activist in the counterculture era during the Vietnam War. In 2005, along with Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem, she co-founded the Women's Media Center, an organization that works to amplify the voices of women in the media through advocacy, media and leadership training, and the creation of original content. Fonda serves on the board of the organization.
1944 - Michael Tilson Thomas, American conductor, pianist and composer. He is music director of the San Francisco Symphony and artistic director of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy based in Miami Beach, Florida. (Michael Tilson Thomas: Music and emotion through time. Uploaded by TED. Accessed December 21, 2014).
1953 - Sir András Schiff, Hungarian-born British classical pianist and conductor, who has received numerous major awards and honours, including the Grammy Award, Gramophone Award, Mozart Medal, and Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize, and was appointed Knight Bachelor in the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to music. Schiff is distinguished visiting professor of piano at the Barenboim–Said Akademie in Berlin, and the first artist-in-residence of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. (Andras Schiff plays and conducts Mozart's Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor, K. 466. YouTube, uploaded by SW, accessed Dec 21, 2022.)
1954 - Chris Evert or Chris Evert Lloyd (Christine Marie Evert), former American World No. 1 tennis player, She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships and three doubles titles. She was the year-ending world No. 1 singles player in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, and 1981. Overall, Evert won 157 singles championships and 32 doubles titles. Evert reached 34 Grand Slam singles finals, more than any other player in the history of professional tennis. She holds the record of most consecutive years (13) to win at least one Grand Slam title. In singles, Evert reached the semifinals or better in 52 of the 56 Grand Slams she played, including the semifinals or better of 34 consecutive Grand Slams entered from the 1971 US Open through the 1983 French Open. She never lost in the first or second round of a Grand Slam singles tournament and lost in the third round only twice. In Grand Slam women's singles play, Evert won a record seven championships at the French Open and a co-record six championships at the US Open (tied with Serena Williams).
1966 - Kiefer Sutherland (Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland), British-born Canadian actor, producer, director, and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox drama series 24, for which he won an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Satellite Awards.
Sutherland has been inducted to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and to Canada's Walk of Fame, and has received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Zurich Film Festival.
Lefties:
None known
More birthdays and historical events, December 21 - On This Day
Historical Events
This day is Midwinter's Day, and Midsummer in Australia. The winter solstice, or shortest day. It is also known as the festival of the Holly King, just as the summer solstice is traditionally the festival of the Oak King. The winter solstice (or hibernal solstice), also known as midwinter, is an astronomical phenomenon marking the day
with the shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year. Although the winter solstice itself lasts only a moment in time, the term sometimes refers to the day on which it occurs.
1620 - Pilgrims on the Mayflower land at Plymouth, Massachusetts, where they establish one of America's earliest successful colonies.
