This day in history

[December 21, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, Dec. 21, the 355th day of 2010. There are 10 days left in the year. Winter arrives at 6:38 p.m. Eastern time.

Today's highlight in history:

On Dec. 21, 1620, Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower went ashore for the first time at present-day Plymouth, Mass.

On this date:

In 1860, American Zionist leader Henrietta Szold, founder of the Jewish women's group Hadassah, was born in Baltimore.

In 1910, 344 coal miners were killed in Britain's Pretoria Pit Disaster

In 1940, author F. Scott Fitzgerald died in Hollywood, Calif., at age 44.

In 1945, Gen. George S. Patton died in Heidelberg, Germany, of injuries from a car accident.

In 1948, the state of Eire, or Ireland, passed an act declaring itself a republic.

In 1958, Charles de Gaulle was elected to a seven-year term as the first president of the Fifth Republic of France.

In 1968, Apollo 8 was launched on a mission to orbit the moon.

In 1971, the U.N. Security Council chose Kurt Waldheim to succeed U Thant as Secretary-General.

In 1976, the Liberian-registered tanker Argo Merchant broke apart near Nantucket Island, off Massachusetts, almost a week after running aground, spilling 7.5 million gallons of oil into the North Atlantic.

In 1988, 270 people were killed when a terrorist bomb exploded aboard a Pam Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, sending wreckage crashing to the ground.

Ten years ago: President-elect George W. Bush resigned as governor of Texas; Lt. Gov. Rick Perry was sworn in to replace him.

Five years ago: The Senate rejected opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. The Senate approved a six-month extension of the USA Patriot Act to keep the anti-terror law from expiring on Dec. 31, 2005.

One year ago: President Barack Obama hailed a crucial, early-morning test vote in the Senate on his health care overhaul, in which all 58 Democrats and two independents held together against unanimous Republican opposition. The Obama administration imposed a 3-hour limit on how long airlines can keep passengers waiting inside planes delayed on the ground. A Russian rocket blasted off from Kazakhstan, shuttling an American, a Russian and a Japanese to the International Space Station.

Today's birthdays: Country singer Freddie Hart is 84. College Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno is 84. Actor Ed Nelson is 82. Talk show host Phil Donahue is 75. Movie director John Avildsen is 75. Actress Jane Fonda is 73. Actor Larry Bryggman is 72. Singer Carla Thomas is 68. Musician Albert Lee is 67. Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas is 66. Actor Josh Mostel is 64. Actor Samuel L. Jackson is 62. Movie producer Jeffrey Katzenberg is 60. Singer Betty Wright is 57. International Tennis Hall-of-Famer Chris Evert is 56. Actress Jane Kaczmarek is 55. Country singer Lee Roy Parnell is 54. Entertainer Jim Rose is 54. Actor-comedian Ray Romano is 53. Country singer Christy Forester (The Forester Sisters) is 48. Rock musician Murph (The Lemonheads; Dinosaur Jr.) is 46. Actor-comedian Andy Dick is 45. Rock musician Gabrielle Glaser is 45. Actor Kiefer Sutherland is 44. Actress Karri Turner is 44. Actress Khrystyne Haje is 42. Country singer Brad Warren (The Warren Brothers) is 42. Actress Julie Delpy is 41. Country singer-musician Rhean (rehn) Boyer (Carolina Rain) is 40. Contemporary Christian singer Natalie Grant is 39. Actor Glenn Fitzgerald is 39. Singer-musician Brett Scallions is 39. Rock singer Lukas Rossi (Rock Star Supernova) is 34. Country singer Luke Stricklin is 28.

Thought for today: "Winter comes but once a year, And when it comes it brings the doctor good cheer." -- Ogden Nash, American humorist (1902-1971)

[Associated Press]

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