21Dec - Interesting US History

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A Website Devoted to Interesting Events in U.S. History

ON THIS DAY IN UNITED STATES HISTORY

December 21, 1968

The First Manned Spacecraft to Orbit
Another Celestial Body is Launched
Apollo 8

On this day in 1968, the Apollo 8 spacecraft was launched carrying its three-man crew of Mission Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders.

Three days later the spacecraft reached the moon at which time it orbited 10 times over the span of 20 hours.

The successful Apollo 8 mission brought the United States one step closer to completing the ultimate goal announced by John F. Kennedy in 1961, of successfully completing a manned moon landing.

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On This Day

Interesting History Facts

◦	The Star Spangled Banner
◦	The Mayflower Beer Run
◦	Women in the Civil War
◦	The Gettysburg Address
◦	The First Submarine
◦	New York Dixie
◦	Interesting Civil War Facts
◦	Our Founding Fathers
◦	The War of 1812
◦	Sherrod Bryant

Interesting History Myths

◦	Myth: George Washington was the First President of the United States
◦	Myth: Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone
◦	Myth: Daniel Boone wore a coonskin cap
◦	Myth: Betsy Ross designed the first American flag
◦	Myth: Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin
◦	Myth: Christopher Columbus discovered the earth is round
◦	Myth: Abraham Lincoln's childhood log cabin is on display in Hodgenville, Kentucky
◦	Myth: The Civil War was all about slavery
◦	Myth: In April of 1775, Paul Revere rode through the streets from Boston to Lexington yelling "The British Are Coming"
◦	Myth: The Pilgrims lived in log cabins
◦	Myth: During the Civil War, Lincoln once said about Grant's drinking: "If I knew what brand he used, I'd send every general a barrel"
◦	Myth: Charles Lindbergh was the first man to fly nonstop across the Atlantic
◦	Myth: George Washington fathered several children by his slaves
◦	Myth: The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on Bunker Hill
◦	Myth: When Confederate president, Jefferson Davis was arrested after the Civil War, he was wearing his wife's clothes
◦	Myth: The Liberty Bell rang on July 4, 1776 in celebration of American independence
◦	Myth: The reason Germany got off to such a fast start in World War II was because of its pre-war preparations

Presidential Facts / Trivia

◦	Presidents Adams through Jackson (alphabetic)
◦	John Adams
◦	John Quincy Adams
◦	Chester Arthur
◦	James Buchanan
◦	George H.W. Bush
◦	George W. Bush
◦	Jimmy Carter
◦	Grover Cleveland
◦	Grover Cleveland (2nd term)
◦	William J. Clinton
◦	Calvin Coolidge
◦	Dwight Eisenhower
◦	Millard Fillmore
◦	Gerald Ford
◦	James Garfield
◦	Ulysses S. Grant
◦	Warren Harding
◦	Benjamin Harrison
◦	William Henry Harrison
◦	Rutherford B. Hayes
◦	Herbert Hoover
◦	Andrew Jackson
◦	Presidents Jefferson through Wilson (alphabetic)
◦	Thomas Jefferson
◦	Andrew Johnson
◦	Lyndon Johnson
◦	John F. Kennedy
◦	Abraham Lincoln
◦	James Madison
◦	William McKinley
◦	James Monroe
◦	Richard Nixon
◦	Barack Obama
◦	Franklin Pierce
◦	James Polk
◦	Ronald Reagan
◦	Franklin D. Roosevelt
◦	Theodore Roosevelt
◦	William H. Taft
◦	Zachary Taylor
◦	Harry Truman
◦	John Tyler
◦	Martin Van Buren
◦	George Washington
◦	Woodrow Wilson

Civil War Generals

Origin of Common Items

Accidental Inventions

History Quizzes

Newletter Archive

◦	Lincoln's Pocket Watch
◦	George Washington: The Man (part 1)
◦	George Washington: The Man (part 2)
◦	The True Story of Bass Reeves
◦	The True Story of Sam Wilson
◦	The Incredible Story of Sam Whittemore
◦	Julia and Hiram
◦	The Boston Massacre Lawyer
◦	Women in the American Civil War
◦	Beyond the Medal
◦	Jackson and Benton
◦	Arnold
◦	King and Colvin
◦	Stand Watie
◦	Carbine Williams
◦	George Read
◦	Newsletter Signup

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December 21, 1968

The First Manned Spacecraft to Orbit Another Celestial Body is Launched Apollo 8

The First Manned Spacecraft to Orbit
Another Celestial Body is Launched
Apollo 8