What Happened in December 1721

Famous Birthdays

  • Dec 6 Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, French lawyer and statesman, born in Paris (d. 1794)
  • Dec 6 James Elphinston, Scottish philologist, born in Edinburgh (d. 1809)
  • Dec 25 William Collins, English poet (Ode to Simplicity), born in Chichester England, (d. 1759)
  • Dec 27 Frans Hemsterhuis, Dutch philosopher, born in Franker, Netherlands (d. 1790)
  • Dec 29 Madame De Pompadour, French mistress of French King Louis XV, born in Paris, France (d. 1764)

Famous Deaths

  • Dec 13 Alexander Selkirk, Scottish sailor and castaway, inspiration for Robinson Crusoe (b. 1676)
  • Dec 17 Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough, English statesman (b. 1640)
  • Dec 22 Nathaniel Hawes, tortured & executed in England for robbery