Birthdays

William Daily Clayton
Turns 21 on this date

Jonathan Perry Harrison
Turns 30 on this date

Anthony Kennedy
Turns 49 on this date

Samuel Alexander Mudd
Turns 26 on this date

Robert Barnwell Rhett
Turns 59 on this date

James Sewall Thomas
Turns 28 on this date

William Wright
Turns 71 on this date
Events
Lawmaking/Litigating | In the hotly contested Speaker's election, Democrat John Millson of Virginia comes to within eighteen votes of success | 12/21/1859 |
Legal/Political | Southern students make a mass exodus from Philadelphia's medical schools | 12/21/1859 |
Lawmaking/Litigating | The 36th U.S. Congress is in session in Washington, D.C. |
12/06/1859 to 06/24/1860 |
Documents
Newspaper | Lowell (MA) Citizen & News, “Frederick Douglass,” December 21, 1859 | 12/21/1859 |
Newspaper | New York Times, “Practical Secession,” December 21, 1859 | 12/21/1859 |