{"id":8242,"date":"2021-12-21T07:05:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T06:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=195449"},"modified":"2021-12-21T07:23:09","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T06:23:09","slug":"21-december-on-this-day-in-history","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/21-december-on-this-day-in-history\/","title":{"rendered":"21 December: On this day in history"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Dominic Sandbrook\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 21 December 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

21 December 1409<\/h3>\n

By forcing the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Arundel, to resign as Henry IV<\/a>\u2018s chancellor, Prince Henry, the future Henry V<\/a>, briefly gained control of his father\u2019s council.<\/p>\n

21 December 1808<\/h3>\n

British hussars under Henry Lord Paget rout a French cavalry brigade at Sahagun, northern Spain. Paget is an able commander but his career will not be helped by his subsequent decision to elope with the sister-in-law of the future Duke of Wellington.<\/p>\n

21 December 1811<\/h3>\n

Archibald Campbell Tait was born in Edinburgh. After studying at Balliol College, Oxford, and a spell as headmaster at Rugby School, Tait was appointed dean of Carlisle Cathedral in 1849, bishop of London in 1856, and archbishop of Canterbury in 1868.<\/p>\n

21 December 1872<\/h3>\n

Under the captaincy of Welsh sailor George Nares, HMS Challenger<\/em> set sail from Portsmouth on a three-and-a-half-year scientific voyage to measure the physical characteristics of the ocean water and floor, and\u00a0record deep-water fauna and flora. The expedition visited 362 observation stations around the world and the onboard naturalist John Murray described the results as the \u201cgreatest advance in the knowledge of our planet\u2026\u201d Most of the specimens collected during the expedition are housed in London\u2019s Natural History Museum.<\/p>\n

21 December 1910<\/h3>\n

A massive underground explosion at Lancashire\u2019s Hulton Colliery Number 3 Bank Pit, known locally as the Pretoria Pit, killed 344 men and boys. It was the third worst mining disaster in British history.<\/p>\n

21 December 1937<\/h3>\n

First screening of Walt Disney\u2019s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. | <\/em>Read more about how Disney has shaped our perceptions of the past<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Browse more On this day in history<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n