Historical anniversaries are great for “On This Day in History” features and anniversary tie-ins. They’re popular with readers and viewers, editors and producers love them, they’re easy to research, and you can easily turn them into newspaper and magazine articles, movies, TV/radio/theater shows, and more.
Here are 31 newsworthy and notable historical anniversaries coming up in December 2021 (so you have time to write about them!)
We’ve randomly picked one anniversary for each day of the month from The Date-A-Base Book 2021. You’ll find hundreds more in the book. The 2022 and 2023 editions are also available if you work further ahead.
Dec 1, 1971 – 50 years ago
Project Gutenberg was founded. The volunteer organization digitizes out-of-print books and makes them available to the public at little or no cost.
Dec 2, 1971 – 50 years ago
The United Arab Emirates was founded.
Dec 3, 1896 – 125 years ago
The Tabulating Machine Company was founded by American inventor Herman Hollerith. The company was the predecessor of International Business Machines (IBM).
Dec 4, 1961 – 60 years ago
Birth control pills became available on the NHS in Britain.
Dec 5, 1996 – 25 years ago
General Motors released the EV1 electric car. It was the first modern electric car from a major manufacturer. It was only available to lease, not to buy. 1,117 cars were produced. Production ceased – somewhat controversially – in 1999, mainly because of its limited range.
Dec 6, 1921 – 100 years ago
The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in London. It ended the Irish War of Independence and established the Irish Free State (with effect from December 6, 1922).
Dec 7, 1941 – 80 years ago
World War II – the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Japan launched a surprise bomb attack on Pearl Harbor and other U.S. bases in the Pacific, and declared war on the USA, UK and the British dominions. Canada declared war on Japan. The USA, UK, Netherlands, New Zealand and other countries declared war on Japan the following day. The War in Europe had now became a World War.
Dec 8, 1941 to May 8, 1942 – 80 years ago
World War II: the Philippines Campaign.
Japan invaded the Philippines, which was defended by Filipino and US forces.
Japanese victory.
Dec 9, 1921 – 100 years ago
The invention of leaded gasoline.
Thomas Midgeley, Jr., an engineer at General Motors in the USA, discovered that adding tetraethyl lead (TEL) to gasoline eliminated knocking noises in engines. Leaded gas was later phased out and banned as it is harmful to human health.
Midgeley also famously invented CFCs for refrigerators. These were also later banned because they contributed to ozone depletion in the upper atmosphere.
Dec 10, 1896 – 125 years ago
Death of Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist, engineer, industrialist and philanthropist. Best known for inventing dynamite and for bequeathing his fortune to establish the Nobel Prize. The chemical element nobelium (No, atomic number 102) was named in his honor.
Dec 11, 1946 – 75 years ago
UNICEF, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, was established.
Dec 12, 1941 – 80 years ago
Holocaust: German leader Adolf Hitler announced his plan to the exterminate the Jews at a meeting with senior Nazi Party officials at the Reich Chancellery in Berlin.
Dec 13, 1721 – 300 years ago
Death of Alexander Selkirk, Scottish sailor and privateer. He spent more than 4 years marooned on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific and was the inspiration for Daniel Defoe’s character Robinson Crusoe.
Dec 14, 1896 – 125 years ago
The Glasgow Subway opened in Scotland. It was the world’s third underground metropolitan railway system.
Dec 15, 1981 – 40 years ago
Iraqi embassy bombing, Beirut, Lebanon. A suicide car bomb destroyed the embassy and killed 61 people, including the Iraqi Ambassador to Lebanon. This attack is considered the first modern suicide bombing.
Dec 16, 1971 – 50 years ago
The Bangladesh Liberation War ended. Bangladeshi victory. East Pakistan gained its independence from Pakistan as the new nation of Bangladesh.
Dec 17, 1971 – 50 years ago
The 7th James Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever, was released in the USA. (UK: December 30th.)
Dec 18, 1946 – 75 years ago
Birth of Steve Biko, South African anti-apartheid activist. Founder of the Black Consciousness Movement. (Beaten to death by state security officers in 1977, aged 30.)
Dec 19, 1946 to Aug 1, 1954 – 75 years ago
The First Indochina war (also called the French Indochina War). The Vietnamese fought the French, who opposed Vietnamese independence. Việt Minh victory, resulting in the partition of Vietnam into north and south.
Dec 20, 1946 – 75 years ago
The U.S. premiere of Frank Capra’s Christmas fantasy film It’s a Wonderful Life.
(Released: January 7, 1947. UK premiere: April 6, 1947.)
Dec 21, 1846 – 175 years ago
The first surgical operation in Europe using anesthesia (ether). Surgeon Robert Liston amputated a servant’s leg at University College Hospital in London. (The first surgical operation in the USA that used ether was in October 1846.)
Dec 22, 2001 – 20 years ago
British terrorist Richard Reid (the “shoe bomber”) attempted to blow up a transatlantic flight from Paris to Miami using explosives hidden in his shoes. A U.S. court sentenced him to life imprisonment in January 2003.
Dec 23, 1946 – 75 years ago
Birth of John Sullivan, British screenwriter and television producer. Best known for his TV sitcoms including Only Fools and Horses, Citizen Smith, Just Good Friends, Dear John, The Green Green Grass, and more. (Died 2011.)
Dec 24, 1871 – 150 years ago
The world premiere of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Aida, in Cairo, Egypt.
Dec 25, 1821 – 200 years ago
Birth of Clara Barton, American nurse and humanitarian who founded the American Red Cross.
Dec 26, 1991 – 30 years ago
The Soviet Union was officially dissolved. The 12 remaining Soviet republics became independent states.
Dec 27, 1996 – 25 years ago
The first genocide trial began in Rwanda following the 1994 civil war in which 800,000 people were killed.
Dec 28, 1846 – 175 years ago
Iowa was admitted as the 29th state of the USA.
Dec 29, 1721 – 300 years ago
Birth of Madame de Pompadour, chief mistress of Louis XV, King of France.
Dec 30, 2006 – 15 years ago
Death of Saddam Hussein, President/dictator of Iraq (1979–2003). (Executed for war crimes.)
Dec 31, 1951 – 70 years ago
The Marshall Plan ended. It was set up by the USA after WWII to help rebuild Europe, and distributed $13 billion in foreign aid. By the time it ended, the economies of all participating countries had surpassed their pre-war levels. (It was replaced by the Mutual Security Agency, established on October 10, 1951.)
More anniversaries:
You’ll find hundreds more anniversaries for this month in The Date-A-Base Book 2021. The 2022 and 2023 editions are also available if you work further ahead. The 2024, 2025 and 2026 editions will be released later this year. Find out more at ideas4writers.com.