1. On December 21, 1620, the English settlers at Jamestown experienced a severe winter storm that killed nearly a third of their population.

2. In 1785, the Virginia General Assembly granted Thomas Jefferson permission to establish the University of Virginia, which would become one of the nation's most prestigious institutions of higher learning.

3. On December 21, 1846, General George B. McClellan was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He would go on to become one of the Union Army's most prominent and controversial commanders during the Civil War and run unsuccessfully for President in 1864.

4. In 1863, during the Civil War, Union General George Meade established his headquarters at Brandy Station, Virginia, ahead of the Battle of Mine Run, which would take place the following day.

5. On December 21, 1954, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled that the state's policy of racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, paving the way for desegregation efforts throughout the South.