Today in Histoy, 12/21

1118: Thomas Becket, future Archbishop of Canterbury, is born. He was to come out on the losing end in one of the first battles between Church and State.
1620: The Pilgrims land on Plymouth Rock. It's easily the least impressive national monument I've ever been to.
1804: Benjamin Disraeli is born. He was (so far) the only person of Jewish heritage to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and his battles with William Gladstone were to define the modern meanings of "Liberal" and "Conservative."
1844: The Rochdale Pioneers start the first modern co-op.
1898: Pierre and Marie Curie discover radium.
1912: Das Mirakel, a very early experiment in film with audio premieres in Germany.
1913: The first crossword puzzle is published in the New York World.
1915: Werner Von Trap, second-oldest son of the Von Trapp Family Singers is born.
1921: Vampira (aka Maila Nurmi) is born.
1935: John G. Avildsen is born. He directed The Karate Kid and Rocky V.
1935: Phil Donahue is born.
1937: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premieres in Los Angeles.
1937: Jane Fonda is born.
1937: The Lincoln Tunnel opens.
1940: Frank Zappa is born
1940: Ray Hildebrand is born. He was Paul in the singing duo Paul & Paula. My world has come crashing down around my ears now that I've learned that Paul & Paula weren't actually named Paul & Paula.
1945: George S. Patton dies after being paralyzed from the neck down in a car accident.
1946: Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys is born.
1948: Samuel L. Jackson is born.
1955: Jane Kaczmarek is born. She played the insane mom on Malcolm in the Middle.
1959: Florence Griffith Joyner is born.
1965: Andy Dick is born. He played the token dummy on Newsradio and most recently got beaten up by John Lovitz for mocking the memory of Phil Hartman.
1966: Keifer Sutherland is born.
1968: The crew of the Apollo 8 mission becomes the first humans to leave Earth's gravity field.
1970: Elvis meets Nixon at the White House to discuss the war on drugs.
1978: John Wayne Gacy, Jr. is arrested in Des Plaines, IL. The remains of 33 men and boys were found under his house.
1988: Pan Am flight 103 is destroyed by a bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland killing 270.
1992: Albert King, bluesman dies.

Today in History elements mostly cribbed from The History Channel, Wikipedia, The New York Times, The Jewish World Review, The Writer's Almanac and anything else I can dig up