December 21 Through History

Explanation: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, released at the Carthay Circle Theater in Los Angeles, cost 1.5 million dollars, six times the original budget. Nicknamed 'Disney's folly' before its release, it became a commercial triumph and won a special Oscar in 1939.

Explanation: Apollo 8 is the first crewed mission to leave Earth's orbit and reach the Moon. Its astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders took the famous photo 'Earthrise', showing Earth rising above the lunar horizon, an image that became an icon of ecology.

Explanation: Coluche launched the idea of the Restos du Cœur live on Europe 1 in September 1985. He died in an accident in June 1986, six months after the opening, but the association he created continues its winter campaigns every year, now distributing more than 130 million meals per year.

Explanation: Richard the Lionheart, returning from the 3rd Crusade, was captured by Leopold V of Austria, with whom he had quarreled during the siege of Acre. He was then handed over to Emperor Henry VI of the Holy Roman Empire, who kept him prisoner until the payment of a colossal ransom of 150,000 silver marks.

Explanation: Médecins Sans Frontières was founded by a group of French doctors, including Bernard Kouchner, following the crises in Biafra and Bangladesh. The organization received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 and today operates in more than 70 countries facing humanitarian crises.

Explanation: The Bonnot Gang was the first group to use a car to commit a robbery. This crime revolutionized criminal methods and forced the French police to motorize. Jules Bonnot was killed during a siege in Choisy-le-Roi in April 1912.

Explanation: In 1958, the president of the Republic was elected by indirect suffrage through an electoral college made up of parliamentarians and local elected officials. It wasn't until 1962, after a referendum proposed by de Gaulle himself, that direct universal suffrage for presidential elections was introduced, applied for the first time in 1965.

Explanation: During the winter solstice, the North Pole is tilted at its maximum away from the Sun, giving the northern hemisphere its longest night of the year. The Romans celebrated this date under the name Saturnalia, a festival of the god Saturn, which influenced certain Christmas traditions.

Explanation: Frank Zappa, who died in 1993, produced more than 60 albums and blended rock, jazz, contemporary music, and social satire with his band The Mothers of Invention. He was also a fierce advocate for freedom of expression, testifying before the U.S. Senate in 1985 against musical censorship.

Explanation: The Camille Sée law created public high schools for girls in France, meeting the need for secular female education as an alternative to religious convents. It was complemented in 1924 by the Bérard reform, which brought male and female curricula in line, paving the way for mixed-gender schooling achieved in 1963.