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Here are some interesting facts ih history happened on 21 December.

1. Boccaccio author of Decameron dies
2. Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock
3. Samuel Slater opens 1st textile factory in US in Rhode Island
4. U of Coopenhagen rejects Cook's claim that he was 1st to North Pole
5. 1st crossword puzzle (with 32 clues) printed in NY World
6. 1st group hospital insurance plan effected Dallas Tx
7. Human blood serum 1st prepared
8. 1st feature-length cartoon with color & sound premieres (Snow White)
9. Broadway Tunnel opens in SF
10. Dr Sam Sheppard's wife Marilyn was murdered
11. Apollo 8 (Frank Borman Jim Lovell Bill Anders) 1st manned moon voyage
12. Israel Egypt Syria Jordan US & USSR meet in Geneva
13. 20th Islander shut-out opponent - Billy Smith 3-0 vs Bruins
14. Islander Kelly Hrudy's 1st shut-out win - Whalers 1-0

These famous people were born on 21 December.

1. 1804 - Benjamin Disraeli (Tory), British prime minister (1868, 1874-80)
2. 1874 - Juan Bautista Sacasa, president of Nicaragua (1932-36)
3. 1879 - Joseph Stalin, Russian dictator
4. 1891 - John W McCormack, (D), Speaker of the House (1962-70)
5. 1909 - George Ball, former undersecretary of state
6. 1911 - Josh Gibson, pro baseball player, "Negro Babe Ruth"
7. 1917 - Heinrich Boll, German writer (Group Portrait with Lady) (Nobel '72)
8. 1918 - Donald Regan, White House staffer
9. 1918 - Kurt Waldheim, 4th UN sec-gen (1972-81), Austrian Pres, Nazi
10. 1922 - Paul Winchell, ventriloquist
11. 1935 - Phil Donahue, TV host
12. 1937 - Jane Fonda NYC, Actress (Barbarella, Klute)
13. 1939 - Diane Lennon, in LA
14. 1940 - Frank Zappa, rock singer (Grateful Dead)
15. 1944 - Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
16. 1948 - Dave Kingman, Baseball player
17. 1954 - Chris Evert Lloyd, Ft Lauderdale, tennis pro 'Miss pokerface'