On this day: December 27
POSTED: 12:53 PM PST Dec 26, 2012
UPDATED: 11:00 PM PST Dec 26, 2012
Charles Darwin embarks on the HMS Beagle, "Howdy Doody" makes its TV debut, Apollo 8 splashes down after orbiting the Moon, and the Soviet Union occupies Afghanistan, all on this day.
Warner Bros. Pictures
1981: Composer, singer and actor Hoagy Carmichael, best known for composing the music for "Stardust," "Georgia on My Mind," "The Nearness of You" and "Heart and Soul," four of the most-recorded American songs of all time, dies of heart failure at the age of 82 in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
