On This Day, Dec. 21: 'Gangnam Style' hits record 1B views on YouTube

UPI Staff
·4 min read
South Korean rapper PSY performs at Hot 99.5's Jingle Ball 2012 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va., on December 11, 2012. On December 21, 2012, his video for "Gangnam Style" became the first to hit 1 billion views on YouTube. File Photo by Molly Riley/UPI
South Korean rapper PSY performs at Hot 99.5's Jingle Ball 2012 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va., on December 11, 2012. On December 21, 2012, his video for "Gangnam Style" became the first to hit 1 billion views on YouTube. File Photo by Molly Riley/UPI
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Dec. 21 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1620, the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth, Mass., following a 63-day voyage from England aboard the Mayflower.

In 1864, Union Gen. William T. Sherman completed his Civil War "march to the sea" across the South and arrived in Savannah, Ga.

In 1913, the first crossword puzzle in an American newspaper appeared in The New York Sunday World.

In 1937, Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated feature film, premiered in Los Angeles.

On December 21, 1620, the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth, Mass., following a 63-day voyage from England aboard the Mayflower. Image by Henry Bacon/Pilgrim Hall Museum
On December 21, 1620, the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth, Mass., following a 63-day voyage from England aboard the Mayflower. Image by Henry Bacon/Pilgrim Hall Museum

In 1958, three months after a new French Constitution was approved, Charles de Gaulle was elected the first president of the Fifth Republic by a sweeping majority of voters.

UPI File Photo
UPI File Photo
The Apollo 8 space vehicle launches from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:51 a.m., December 21, 1968. Apollo 8 was the first manned mission to the moon. File Photo courtesy NASA
The Apollo 8 space vehicle launches from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:51 a.m., December 21, 1968. Apollo 8 was the first manned mission to the moon. File Photo courtesy NASA

In 1968, Apollo 8, the first manned voyage to orbit the moon, was launched. Apollo 11 was the first mission to put astronauts on the moon's surface.

In 1975, the notorious terrorist Carlos the Jackal led a raid on a meeting of OPEC oil ministers in Vienna. German and Arab terrorists stormed in with machine guns, killed three people and took 63 others hostage, including 11 oil ministers. The hostages were later freed.

People pose for photos next to Walt Disney's "Snow White" figurines at a mall in Beijing on September 24, 2015. On December 21, 1937, Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," the first full-length animated feature film, premiered in Los Angeles. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI
People pose for photos next to Walt Disney's "Snow White" figurines at a mall in Beijing on September 24, 2015. On December 21, 1937, Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," the first full-length animated feature film, premiered in Los Angeles. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI

In 1980, wealthy socialite Martha "Sunny" Crawford von Bulow was found comatose in her Newport, R.I., mansion. Her husband, Claus von Bulow was convicted of attempted murder in a trial that garnered worldwide attention. His conviction was later overturned.

In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 exploded and crashed in Lockerbie, Scotland, killing everyone aboard and 11 people on the ground for a total death toll of 270.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netaynayhu confers with Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon in his Jerusalem office November 19, 1998. On December 21, 1998, the shaky coalition of Netanyahu collapsed when Israel's parliament voted 81-30 to dissolve the government. File Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netaynayhu confers with Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon in his Jerusalem office November 19, 1998. On December 21, 1998, the shaky coalition of Netanyahu collapsed when Israel's parliament voted 81-30 to dissolve the government. File Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI
File Photo by Alexis C. Glenn/UPI
File Photo by Alexis C. Glenn/UPI

In 1990, a boat carrying about 100 U.S. sailors involved in Operation Desert Shield capsized off the Israeli coast. Twenty-one people died.

Travelers walk through Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va., as Delta Airlines airplanes sit on the tarmac on December 26, 2009. On December 21, In 2009, the U.S. government set a 3-hour limit on the time airlines can keep passengers waiting on a plane without giving them food or letting them off the aircraft. File Photo by Alexis C. Glenn/UPI
Travelers walk through Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va., as Delta Airlines airplanes sit on the tarmac on December 26, 2009. On December 21, In 2009, the U.S. government set a 3-hour limit on the time airlines can keep passengers waiting on a plane without giving them food or letting them off the aircraft. File Photo by Alexis C. Glenn/UPI

In 1991, 11 former Soviet republics declared an end to the Soviet Union and forged a commonwealth that guaranteed independence.

In 1992, 54 people were killed when a chartered jetliner carrying 340 people on a holiday to southern Portugal crashed in bad weather.

On December 21, 1975, the notorious terrorist Carlos the Jackal led a raid on a meeting of OPEC oil ministers in Vienna. German and Arab terrorists stormed in with machine guns, killed three people and took 63 others hostage, including 11 oil ministers. The hostages were later freed. File Photo by Handout/EPA
On December 21, 1975, the notorious terrorist Carlos the Jackal led a raid on a meeting of OPEC oil ministers in Vienna. German and Arab terrorists stormed in with machine guns, killed three people and took 63 others hostage, including 11 oil ministers. The hostages were later freed. File Photo by Handout/EPA

In 2009, the U.S. government set a 3-hour limit on the time airlines can keep passengers waiting on a plane without giving them food or letting them off the aircraft.

In 2012, PSY's video for his hit song, "Gangnam Style," became the first to hit 1 billion views on YouTube. Even before the milestone, the South Korean rapper's song was the most-watched video on the website.

In 2020, President-elect Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech.

File Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI
File Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI