December 22nd to December 31st
Sunday, December 22nd, 1968 - Julie Nixon (daughter of President-elect Richard M. Nixon) and David Eisenhower (grandson of former president Dwight D. Eisenhower) are married at the Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan.
Monday, December 23rd, 1968 - The 82 surviving crewmen of the intelligence ship USS "Pueblo", which was seized off the Korean coast by North Korean patrol boats on January 23rd, are released after eleven months of captivity. U.S. sailor Duane Hodges was killed during the seizure.
Tuesday, December 24th,1968 - Apollo 8, which was launched December 21st, becomes the first manned spacecraft to reach the moon's orbit. During a live Chirstmas Eve broadcast, a transfixed world gets its first look at live pictures of the Earth as seen from the moon. Apollo 8 safely returns on December 27th, and its three astronauts (Frank Borman, James Lovell, Jr., and William Anders) are designated TIME magazine's "Man of the Year".
Wednesday, December 25th, 1968 - England's Queen Elizabeth II makes a call for racial tolerance in her annual Christmas message to Britain and the Commonwealth.
Thursday, December 26th, 1968 - Two Arabs, identified as members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, set fire to an Israeli jetliner, killing one passanger as the plane was preparing to take off from Athens, Greece.
Friday, December 27th, 1968 - The sex spoof film "Candy", starring Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, Walter Matthau, and Ringo Starr is released.
Saturday, December 28th, 1968 - In retaliation for the December 26th Arab attack of an Israeli airliner, Israeli troops in helicopters attack the Beirut, Lebanon airport, destroying 13 Lebanese airliners.
Sunday, December 29th, 1968 - The Baltimore Colts win the 36th National League Championship game with a 34 - 0 shutout over the Cleveland Browns.
Sunday, December 30th, 1968 - Norwegian politician Trygve Halvdan Lie, who served as the first Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1946 to 1952, dies of a heart attack at age 72.
Sunday, December 31st, 1968 - The FBI announces that 1968 is the first year since they began collecting data in 1930 that no executions took place in the Untied States.