On This Day

December 25, 1941 – ”White Christmas,” written by the formidable composer and lyricist Irving Berlin receives its world premiere  on Bing Crosby’s weekly NBC radio program, The Kraft Music Hall. It went on to become one of the most commercially successful singles of all time, and the top-selling single ever until being surpassed by Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind 1997.”

On This Day

December 19, 1972 – The Apollo lunar-landing program ends when the last three astronauts to travel to the moon splash down safely in the Pacific Ocean. Apollo 17  had lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, 10 days before.