Apollo 8 returns to Earth

December 27, 1968

ON this day, Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, returns safely to Earth after an historic six-day journey.

Apollo 8 was launched by a three-stage Saturn 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, US, with astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, Jr., and William Anders aboard. On Christmas Eve, the astronauts entered into orbit around the Moon, television images were sent back home and spectacular photos were taken of the Earth and the Moon from the spacecraft. The three astronauts were also the first to see the dark side of the Moon.

On Christmas morning, Apollo 8 left its lunar orbit and began its journey back to Earth, landing safely in the Pacific Ocean on this day.

December 31, 1879

ON this day, in the first public demonstration of his incandescent light bulb, American inventor Thomas Alva Edison lights up a street in Menlo Park, New Jersey. Although the first incandescent lamp had been produced 40 years earlier, no inventor had been able to come up with a practical design until Edison embraced the challenge in the late 1870s.

It was after countless tests, he developed a high-resistance carbon-thread filament that burned steadily for hours and an electric generator sophisticated enough to power a large lighting system. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company ran special trains to Menlo Park on the day of the demonstration in response to public enthusiasm over the event.

January 1, 45 BC

ON this day, in 45 BC, New Year’s Day is celebrated on January 1, for the first time in history as the Julian calendar takes effect.

Roman dictator, Julius Caesar decided that the traditional Roman calendar was in dire need of reform which followed the lunar cycle, but frequently fell out of phase with the seasons and had to be corrected. Therefore, Caesar with the aid of Sosigenes, an Alexandrian astronomer, who advised him to do away with the lunar cycle entirely and follow the solar year, as did the Egyptians.

Thus, the year was calculated to be 365 and 1/4 days, and Caesar added 67 days to 45 B.C., making 46 BC begin on January 1, rather than in March. He also decreed that every four years a day be added to February. He also changed the name of the month Quintilis to Julius (July) after himself. Later, the month of Sextilis was renamed Augustus (August) after his successor.