The world didn't end despite widespread panic about the Mayan calendar apocalypse prediction
Millions of people believed the ancient Mayan Long Count calendar predicted the end of the world on December 21, 2012. Doomsday preppers stockpiled su...
Historical Events
2012
1988
Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 people aboard
MajorA terrorist bomb destroyed the Boeing 747 mid-flight, causing wreckage to rain down on the small Scottish town and killing 11 people on the ground. Th...
1968
Apollo 8 became the first manned spacecraft to orbit the Moon
MajorAstronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders became the first humans to see the far side of the Moon and witness Earthrise. Their famous...
1967
The Graduate premiered in New York, introducing the world to 'Mrs. Robinson' and making Dustin Hoffman a star
Mike Nichols' film about a college graduate seduced by an older woman became a cultural phenomenon and the third-highest-grossing film ever at the tim...
1958
Charles de Gaulle was elected as the first president of France's Fifth Republic
The legendary French general and WWII resistance leader won with 78% of the vote. He rewrote the French constitution to give himself sweeping presiden...
1937
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered, becoming the first full-length animated feature film
MajorWalt Disney bet his entire studio on this risky venture that Hollywood called 'Disney's Folly.' The film cost an unprecedented $1.5 million to make bu...
1923
Nepal was officially declared a country when the British recognized its independence
Though Nepal had existed as a kingdom for centuries, December 21 marked when the British formally acknowledged Nepali sovereignty through a treaty. Ne...
1913
The first crossword puzzle was published in the New York World newspaper
Arthur Wynne, a journalist from Liverpool, created what he called a 'word-cross' puzzle as a Christmas gift for readers. The diamond-shaped puzzle had...
1898
Scientists Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium
The husband-and-wife team isolated this highly radioactive element after processing tons of uranium ore in a converted shed. Their discovery would rev...
1891
The first basketball game was played using a soccer ball and two peach baskets
Dr. James Naismith nailed two peach baskets to the gymnasium balcony at a YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts, creating basketball to keep his students...
1879
Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia
MajorBorn Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili, the future Soviet dictator started life as the son of a cobbler and a washerwoman. He would go on to rule the U...
1844
The Rochdale Pioneers opened the first successful cooperative store in England
Twenty-eight weavers pooled £28 to open a tiny shop selling butter, sugar, flour, oatmeal and candles. Their revolutionary idea was that customers wou...