December 23rd, 1823'Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house,Not, not a creature was stirring even a mouse…’

Clement C. Moore’s Christmas poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” is first published in the upstate New York "Troy Sentinel" newspaper.

1948In Tokyo, Japan’s former premier Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese leaders during World War II are hanging for war crimes.

1805Joseph Smith, Jr., the principal founder of the Mormon religious movement is born in Sharon, Vermont.

1968North Korea releases the 82 crew members of the U.S. intelligence ship 'Pueblo' - 11 months after they were captured by Pyongyang. The ship’s commander Lloyd Bucher - after he and his crew arrived in neighboring South Korea – "I can’t begin to tell you how happy my crew is. The sin, the sad of that land has divided the country in two. "1986The experimental airplane "Voyager" completes the first non-stop, non-refueled flight  around the world. "Voyager" piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager lands safely at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

1946And born on this day, Susan Lucci of TV's All My Children. Ross Simpson, the Associated Press.