Today in History: December 21, Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Lockerbie

On Dec. 21, 1988, a terrorist bomb exploded aboard New York-bound Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 people aboard the Boeing 747 and 11 on the ground. The blast occurred about 40 minutes into the flight from London and claimed the lives of citizens from 21 countries, including 190 Americans.

Also on this date:

In 1620, Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower went ashore at present-day Plymouth, Massachusetts, for the first time.

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union forces led by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman concluded their “March to the Sea” when they captured Savannah, Georgia.

In 1891, the first basketball game, devised by James Naismith, is believed to have been played at the International YMCA Training School (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts.

In 1913, the first newspaper crossword puzzle, billed as a “Word-Cross Puzzle,” was published in the New York World.

In 1976, the oil tanker Argo Merchant broke apart near Nantucket Island off Massachusetts almost a week after running aground, spilling 7.7 million gallons of oil into the North Atlantic.

In 1991, 11 of the 12 former Soviet republics formally proclaimed the birth of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

In 2020, President-elect Joe Biden received his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on live television as part of a growing effort early in the pandemic to convince the American public the inoculations were safe.

In 2023, a student opened fire at Charles University in Prague, killing at least 14 people and injuring more than 20 in the Czech Republic's worst mass shooting. Authorities said the 24-year-old student, who had a license to own eight guns and no criminal record, killed himself as police closed in.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Jane Fonda is 88. Singer Carla Thomas is 83. Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas is 81. Actor Samuel L. Jackson is 77. Film producer Jeffrey Katzenberg is 75. Tennis Hall of Famer Chris Evert is 71. Actor Jane Kaczmarek is 70. Country musician Lee Roy Parnell is 69. Actor-comedian Ray Romano is 68. Actor Kiefer Sutherland is 59. Actor-filmmaker Julie Delpy is 56. Golf Hall of Famer Karrie Webb is 51. French President Emmanuel Macron is 48. Actor Rutina Wesley is 47. Actor Steven Yeun is 42. Actor-producer-writer Quinta Brunson is 36. Actor Kaitlyn Dever is 29. Actor Madelyn Cline is 28.