On this day: December 21
POSTED: 09:02 PM PST Dec 20, 2012
UPDATED: 11:00 PM PST Dec 20, 2012
The Pilgrims land on Plymouth Rock, the first crossword puzzle is published, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" premieres, Gen. Patton dies, and Elvis visits Nixon at the White House, all on this day.
NASA
1968: Apollo 8, the second manned mission in the Apollo space program, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It would become the first manned space craft to leave Earth orbit, reach the Moon, orbit it and return safely to Earth. The three-astronaut crew -- Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders -- became the first humans to travel beyond low Earth orbit.
