Six months after the congress of the Republic of Texas accepted
U.S. annexation of the territory, Texas was admitted into the
United States as the 28th state.

Debating Texas Annexation.

Harry Mason Reid (December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021)

Reid, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2018, served
in Congress from 1983 until his retirement in 2017. He announced
in 2019 his cancer was in remission.

John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021)

John Madden was a football coach and sportscaster. He served as
the head coach of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football
League (NFL) for 10 seasons, and helmed the team to a victory in
Super Bowl XI. After retiring from coaching, he became a well-
known color commentator for NFL Cause of death not known
at this time. He was at 85.

Actor Denzel Hayes Washington Jr.  is 67 years old today.

Washington has earned various awards including two Academy
Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild
Award, and a Tony Award. In 2016, he received the Cecil B.
DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2020, The New York
Times ranked him as the greatest actor of the twenty-first
century.

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

On December 21, Apollo 8 was launched by a three-stage Saturn 5
rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell, Jr., and William Anders aboard. On Christmas Eve,
the astronauts entered into orbit around the moon, the first manned 
spacecraft ever to do so. During Apollo 8‘s 10 lunar orbits, television images were sent back home and spectacular photos were taken of
the Earth and the moon from the spacecraft. In addition to being the
first human beings to view firsthand their home world in its entirety,
the three astronauts were also the first to see the far 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.  

Apollo 8 crew members from left to right: James A. Lovell Jr., William A. Anders, and Frank Borman.