1. Alabama officially became a state on December 14, 1819, but it wasn't until December 21 of that year that the first session of the Alabama General Assembly took place in Huntsville.

2. On December 21, 1835, Creek Chief William McIntosh was executed for signing the Treaty of Indian Springs, which ceded a large portion of Creek lands to the United States. McIntosh's execution was controversial and remains a sensitive topic in Alabama's Native American history.

3. The great fire of Mobile, which destroyed much of the city's business district, broke out on December 21, 1839. Despite the efforts of firefighters, the fire raged for three days and destroyed over 200 buildings.

4. On December 21, 1914, the first play-by-play broadcast of a college football game was aired on radio from Birmingham's Rickwood Field. The game was the annual Iron Bowl between the University of Alabama and Auburn University.

5. December 21, 1985, marks the date of the deadliest tornado in Alabama's history. The tornado, which was part of a severe weather outbreak that also affected Mississippi and Georgia, killed 22 people and injured over 500 others in central Alabama.