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December 24

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Events

=Pre-1600=

  • 502 – Chinese emperor Xiao Yan names Xiao Tong his heir designate.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OWLPBAAAQBAJ&dq=Xiao+Yan+Xiao+Tong+heir+designate+502+december&pg=PA1503 |title=Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature (vol. 3 & 4): A Reference Guide, Part Three & Four |date=2014-09-18 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-27185-2 |language=en}}
  • 640 – Pope John IV is elected, several months after his predecessor's death.{{cite web |title=The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church-Biographical Dictionary-Honorius I (625-638)-636 (II) |url=http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios636.htm |publisher=Florida International University |access-date=23 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613051048/http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/bios636.htm |archive-date=13 June 2010 |date=1998–2010 |url-status=dead}}
  • 759 – Tang dynasty poet Du Fu departs for Chengdu, where he is hosted by fellow poet Pei Di.
  • 971 – Battle of Ayn Shams: The Fatimids under Jawhar defeat the Qarmatians at the gates of Cairo, putting an end to the First Qarmatian invasion of Egypt.{{cite book | last = Brett | first = Michael | title = The Rise of the Fatimids: The World of the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the Fourth Century of the Hijra, Tenth Century CE | series = The Medieval Mediterranean | volume = 30 | publisher = Brill | location = Leiden, Boston, Köln | year = 2001 | isbn = 90-04-11741-5 | url = {{Google Books|BqCdfhW3nVwC|plainurl=y}} | pages=314–315}}
  • 1144 – The capital of the crusader County of Edessa falls to Imad ad-Din Zengi, the atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo.{{cite book|last=Baldwin|first=M. W.|title=A History of the Crusades Volume I: The first hundred years|date=1969|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|location=Madison, Wisconsin|isbn=0-299-04834-9|page=461|url=http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/History.CrusOne|access-date=October 23, 2021}}
  • 1294 – Pope Boniface VIII is elected, replacing St. Celestine V, who had resigned.{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Boniface}}
  • 1500 – A joint Venetian–Spanish fleet captures the Castle of St. George on the island of Cephalonia.{{cite book |last1=Setton |first1=Kenneth Meyer |author1-link=Kenneth Setton |title=The Papacy and the Levant, 1204-1571 Volume 2 |date=1976 |publisher=American Philosophical Society |isbn=0-87169-127-2 |page=523 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Sz2VYI0l1IC}}

=1601–1900=

  • 1737 – The Marathas defeat the combined forces of the Mughal Empire, Rajputs of Jaipur, Nizam of Hyderabad, Nawab of Awadh and Nawab of Bengal in the Battle of Bhopal.{{Cite web |date=2020-11-02 |title=The Battle of Bhopal between Marathas and Mughal Empire (1737) |url=http://indianexpresss.in/the-battle-of-bhopal-between-marathas-and-mughal-empire-1737/ |access-date=2022-06-10 |website=indianexpresss.in |language=en-US}}
  • 1777 – Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is discovered by James Cook.{{cite web |title=225 YEARS AGO: OCTOBER - DECEMBER 1777 |url=https://www.captaincooksociety.com/home/detail/225-years-ago-october-december-1777 |website=Captain Cook Society |access-date=23 October 2021}}
  • 1800 – The Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise fails to kill Napoleon Bonaparte.{{cite book |last1=McLynn |first1=Frank |title=Napoleon |date=1998 |publisher=Pimlico |isbn=9780712662475 |page=243 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FRj1MNP-3xwC |access-date=23 October 2021}}
  • 1814 – Representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States sign the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812.{{cite news|last=Engelman|first=Fred L.|date=December 1960|title=The peace of Christmas Eve|url=https://www.americanheritage.com/peace-christmas-eve|magazine=American Heritage|volume=12|issue=1|access-date=October 23, 2021}}
  • 1818 – The first performance of "Silent Night" takes place in the Nikolauskirche in Oberndorf, Austria.{{cite news |last1=Daley |first1=Jason |title=It's the Bicentennial of 'Silent Night' |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/silent-night-celebrates-its-bicentennial-180971044/ |access-date=23 October 2021 |work=Smithsonian Magazine |date=17 December 2018}}
  • 1826 – The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy begins that night, wrapping up the following morning.
  • 1846 – British acquired Labuan from the Sultanate of Brunei for Great Britain.{{cite news |title=The Island of Laburn |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/94443846 |access-date=23 October 2021 |work=Geelong Advertiser and Squatters' Advocate |date=10 September 1847 |page=1}}
  • 1865 – Former Confederate officers Frank McCord, Richard Reed, John Lester, John Kennedy, J. Calvin Jones, and James Crowe form the Ku Klux Klan.{{cite web|date=October 23, 2018|title=Ku Klux Klan not founded by the Democratic Party|url=https://apnews.com/afs:Content:2336745806|access-date=July 19, 2020|website=AP News|archive-date=July 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707094431/https://apnews.com/afs:Content:2336745806|url-status=live}}
  • 1868 – The Greek Presidential Guard is established as the royal escort by King George I.
  • 1871 – The opera Aida premieres in Cairo, Egypt.

=1901–present=

  • 1906 – Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio broadcast; consisting of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech.{{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=H. P. |title=The radio industry; the story of its development |date=1928 |publisher=A. W. Shaw company |location=Chicago & New York |page=190 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/radioindustrysto00harvrich/page/190/mode/2up |access-date=23 October 2021 |chapter=The Early History of Broadcasting in the United States}}
  • 1913 – The Italian Hall disaster in Calumet, Michigan results in the deaths of 73 striking workers families at a Christmas party participants (including 59 children) when someone falsely yells "fire".{{cite news |last1=Gmiter |first1=Tanda |title=1913 Italian Hall Disaster was a Michigan Christmas Eve tragedy |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/2017/12/1913_italian_hall_disaster_was.html |access-date=23 October 2021 |publisher=Michigan Live |date=24 December 2019}}
  • 1914 – World War I: The "Christmas truce" begins.
  • 1918 – Region of Međimurje is captured by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes from Hungary.{{cite journal|url = https://hrcak.srce.hr/225220|title = Pripojenje Međimurja Kraljevstvu Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca: Od neuspjeloga pokušaja 13. studenog do uspješnoga zaposjedanja Međimurja 24. prosinca 1918. godine|language = hr|trans-title = The Annexation of Međimurje to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes: From the unsuccessful attempt on 13 November to the successful occupation of Međimurje on 24 December 1918|first = Ivan|last = Vuk|pages = 520–525|year = 2019|volume = 51|issue = 2|journal = Časopis za suvremenu povijest |issn = 0590-9597 |publisher = Croatian Institute of History |location = Zagreb|doi = 10.22586/csp.v51i2.8927|s2cid = 204456373|doi-access = free}}
  • 1920 – Gabriele D'Annunzio surrendered the Italian Regency of Carnaro in the city of Fiume to Italian Armed Forces.{{cite web |last1=Doody |first1=Richard |url=http://worldatwar.net/nations/other/fiume/ |title=Stati Libero di Fiume – Free State of Fiume |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090308033039/http://worldatwar.net/nations/other/fiume/ |archive-date=8 March 2009 |access-date=24 October 2021}}, The World at War.
  • 1924 – Albania becomes a republic.{{Cite web |title=Zog I, King of the Albanians – Albanian Royal Family |url=https://albanianroyalcourt.al/zog-i-king-of-the-albanians/ |access-date=2022-04-18 |language=en-GB}}
  • 1929 – Assassination attempt on Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen.{{Cite web |title=Message to President Hipolito Irigoyen of Argentina on His Escape From Assassination. {{!}} The American Presidency Project |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/message-president-hipolito-irigoyen-argentina-his-escape-from-assassination |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu}}
  • 1929 – A four alarm fire breaks out in the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C.{{Cite web|url=https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-christmas-eve-west-wing-fire-of-1929|title=The Christmas Eve West Wing Fire of 1929|website=WHHA (en-US)}}
  • 1939 – World War II: Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas Eve appeal for peace.{{Cite web |title=Alla Curia Romana in occasione del Natale (24 dicembre 1939) {{!}} PIO XII |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/it/speeches/1939/documents/hf_p-xii_spe_19391224_questo-giorno.html |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=www.vatican.va}}
  • 1941 – World War II: Kuching is conquered by Japanese forces.{{cite book |author=Ooi |first=Keat Gin |author-link=Keat Gin Ooi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QKgraWbb7yoC&pg=PA1177 |title=Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to Timor. R-Z. volume three |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-57607-770-2 |pages=1177– |access-date=18 July 2013}}
  • 1941 – World War II: Benghazi is conquered by the British Eighth Army.{{Cite journal |last=Addington |first=Larry |date=Autumn 1967 |title=Operation Sunflower: Rommel Versus the General Staff |journal=Military Affairs |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=120–130 |jstor=1984650 |doi=10.2307/1984650 |id={{ProQuest|1296635624}}}}
  • 1942 – World War II: French monarchist, Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, assassinates Vichy French Admiral François Darlan in Algiers, Algeria.{{cite book |last=Atkinson |first=Rick |title=An Army at Dawn |date=2003 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/armyatdawn00rick/page/251 251–52] |publisher=Henry Holt |isbn=9780805074482 |url=https://archive.org/details/armyatdawn00rick/page/251 }}
  • 1943 – World War II: U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower is named Supreme Allied Commander for Operation Overlord.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Belgian Troopship Leopoldville was torpedoed and sank with the loss of 763 soldiers and 56 crew.{{Cite web |url=http://www.uboat.net/history/leopoldville.htm|last=Allen|first=Tonya|title=The Sinking of SS Léopoldville|work=uboat.net|publisher=Guðmundur Helgason|access-date=10 May 2021}}
  • 1945 – Five of nine children become missing after their home in Fayetteville, West Virginia, is burned down.{{cite news|last=Abbott|first=Karen|title=The Children Who Went Up In Smoke|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-children-who-went-up-in-smoke-172429802/|newspaper=Smithsonian|date=25 December 2012|accessdate=24 October 2021}}
  • 1951 – Libya becomes independent. Idris I is proclaimed King of Libya.{{cite book |last1=Vandewalle |first1=Dirk |title=A History of Modern Libya |date=26 March 2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781107019393 |page=43 |edition=2nd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ua2wPCQbpgcC |access-date=24 October 2021}}
  • 1952 – First flight of Britain's Handley Page Victor strategic bomber.
  • 1953 – Tangiwai disaster: In New Zealand's North Island, at Tangiwai, a railway bridge is damaged by a lahar and collapses beneath a passenger train, killing 151 people.{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Jacqueline |title=Death and the maiden: The tale of 'Tangiwai' |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/new-zealand/news/article.cfm?l_id=71&objectid=10743254 |access-date=24 October 2021 |work=The New Zealand Herald |date=6 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025191303/http://www.nzherald.co.nz/new-zealand/news/article.cfm?l_id=71&objectid=10743254 |archive-date=25 October 2012}}
  • 1955 – A flood devastates California, killing 74 people across portions of the state.{{Cite web |last=Villarreal |first=Whip |title=A Devastating Flood: How and why the Yuba Water Agency was created |url=https://sacramento.newsreview.com/spotlight/a-devastating-flood-how-and-why-the-yuba-water-agency-was-created/ |access-date=2025-05-28 |website=Sacramento News & Review |language=en-US}}
  • 1964 – Vietnam War: Viet Cong operatives bomb the Brinks Hotel in Saigon, South Vietnam to demonstrate they can strike an American installation in the heavily guarded capital.{{cite book |last1=Langguth |first1=A. J. |title=Our Vietnam-The War 1954-1975 |date=2000 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=9780743212441 |page=326 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vQorBRYyu_gC |access-date=24 October 2021}}
  • 1964 – Flying Tiger Line Flight 282 crashes after takeoff from San Francisco International Airport, killing three.{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellation N6915C San Francisco International Airport, CA (SFO)|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19641224-0|access-date=2019-12-23|website=aviation-safety.net|publisher=Aviation Safety Network}}
  • 1966 – A Canadair CL-44 chartered by the United States military crashes into a small village in South Vietnam, killing 111.{{cite web |title=Canadair CL-44D4-2 |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19660321-0 |website=Aviation Safety Network}}
  • 1968 – Apollo program: The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so. They performed ten lunar orbits, took the Earthrise photograph, broadcast live TV pictures, and read the first ten verses of Genesis.{{cite book |last=Chaikin |first=Andrew|title = A Man on the Moon |orig-year=First published 1994 |year=1998 |publisher=Penguin Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-14-027201-7 }}
  • 1969 – Nigerian troops capture Umuahia, the Biafran capital.
  • 1971 – LANSA Flight 508 is struck by lightning and crashes in the Puerto Inca District in the Department of Huánuco in Peru, killing 91.{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed L-188A Electra OB-R-941 Puerto Inca|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19711224-0|access-date=2020-12-23|website=aviation-safety.net|publisher=Aviation Safety Network}}
  • 1973 – District of Columbia Home Rule Act is passed, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to elect their own local government.
  • 1974 – Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia.{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/about/extremes.shtml|title=Tropical cyclone extremes|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|access-date=24 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721225339/http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/about/extremes.shtml|archive-date=21 July 2015|url-status=live}}
  • 1983 – Aeroflot Flight 601 crashes during takeoff from Leshukonskoye Airport, Russia, killing 44 of the 49 people on board.{{cite web |title=Катастрофа Ан-24РВ Архангельского ОАО в районе а/п Лешуконское |trans-title=An-24RV crash of the Arkhangelsk OJSC near the Leshukonskoye airport |url=http://www.airdisaster.ru/database.php?id=67 |access-date=4 January 2015 |publisher=Airdisaster.ru |language=ru}}
  • 1994 – Air France Flight 8969 is hijacked on the ground at Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers, Algeria. Over the course of three days three passengers are killed, as are all four terrorists.{{cite magazine|first=Thomas |last=Sancton |author-link=Tom Sancton |title=Anatomy of a Hijack |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,163487,00.html |date=24 June 2001 |location=Paris |magazine=Time |publisher=AOL Time Warner |access-date=24 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090523083536/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C163487%2C00.html |archive-date=23 May 2009 |url-status=dead }}
  • 1996 – A Learjet 35 crashes into Smarts Mountain near Dorchester, New Hampshire, killing both pilots on board.{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=ASN Aircraft accident Learjet 35A N388LS Dorchester, NH|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19961224-0|url-status=live|access-date=2021-12-21|website=aviation-safety.net|publisher=Aviation Safety Network|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060207071700/http://aviation-safety.net:80/database/record.php?id=19961224-0 |archive-date=2006-02-07 }}
  • 1997 – The Sid El-Antri massacre in Algeria kills between 50 and 100 people.{{cite web |title="L'important pour nous c'est d'avoir nos droits" |url=http://www.algeria-watch.de/fr/article/pol/amnistie/amnistie_tissemsilt.htm |website=Algeria-Watch |access-date=24 October 2021 |language=French |date=13 December 2009}}
  • 1999 – Indian Airlines Flight 814 is hijacked in Indian airspace between Kathmandu, Nepal, and Delhi, India. The aircraft landed at Kandahar in Afghanistan. The incident ended on December 31 with the release of 190 survivors (one passenger is killed).{{cite web|date=7 September 2006|title=How Govt lost the IC-814 hijack deal|url=http://www.ibnlive.com/news/govt-fumbled-ic814-taken-away/20846-3.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326022254/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/govt-fumbled-ic814-taken-away/20846-3.html|archive-date=26 March 2014|access-date=24 October 2021|website=IBN Live}}
  • 2003 – The Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m. inside Madrid's busy Chamartín Station.{{cite news |last1=Goodman |first1=Al |title=Spain police thwart train bombing |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/12/24/spain.arrests/index.html |access-date=17 February 2022 |work=CNN |publisher=Time Warner |date=24 Dec 2003}}
  • 2005 – Chad–Sudan relations: Chad declares a state of belligerence against Sudan following a December 18 attack on Adré, which left about 100 people dead.{{cite news |last1=Padire |first1=Dany Danzoumbe |title=Chad declares "state of belligerence" with Sudan |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/chad/chad-declares-state-belligerence-sudan |access-date=17 February 2022 |work=ReliefWeb |date=23 Dec 2005}}
  • 2008 – The Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group, begins a series of attacks against civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, massacring more than 400.{{Cite news|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2009/01/17/dr-congo-lra-slaughters-620-christmas-massacres|title=DR Congo: LRA Slaughters 620 in 'Christmas Massacres'|date=17 January 2009|work=Human Rights Watch|access-date=24 October 2021|language=en}}
  • 2018 – A helicopter crash kills Martha Érika Alonso, first female Governor of Puebla, Mexico, and her husband Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, former governor.{{citation|website=Vanguardia.com.mx|date=Aug 13, 2019|access-date=Aug 31, 2019|title=Rotores no presentaban fallas en accidente de Martha Erika Alonso y Moreno Valle|url=https://vanguardia.com.mx/articulo/rotores-no-presentaban-fallas-en-accidente-de-martha-erika-y-moreno-valle|language=es|trans-title=Rotors did not fail in accident of Martha Erika Alonso and Moreno Valle}}
  • 2021 – Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians.{{Cite news |title=Myanmar's military is blamed for a Christmas Eve massacre |language=en |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/12/27/1068201334/myanmars-military-is-blamed-for-a-christmas-eve-massacre |url-status=live |access-date=December 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228072254/https://www.npr.org/2021/12/27/1068201334/myanmars-military-is-blamed-for-a-christmas-eve-massacre |archive-date=December 28, 2021}}

Births

=Pre-1600=

  • 3 BC – Galba, Roman emperor (died 69){{cite book|author=Samuel Farmar Jarvis|title=A Chronological Introduction to the History of the Church: Being a New Inquiry Into the Birth and Death of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; and Containing an Original Harmony of the Four Gospels|url=https://archive.org/details/chronologicalint00jarv|year=1845|publisher=Harper & brothers|pages=[https://archive.org/details/chronologicalint00jarv/page/313 313]}}
  • 1166 – John, King of England (died 1216){{cite book|author=Richard Thomson|title=An Historical Essay on the Magna Charta of King John: To which are Added, the Great Charter in Latin and English; the Charters of Liberties and Confirmations, Granted by Henry III. and Edward I.; the Original Charter of the Forests; and Various Authentic Instruments Connected with Them: Explanatory Notes on Their Several Privileges; a Descriptive Account of the Principal Originals and Editions Extant, Both in Print and Manuscript; and Other Illustrations, Derived from the Most Interesting and Authentic Sources|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CsYsAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA461|year=1829|publisher=J. Major|pages=461}}
  • 1389 – John V, Duke of Brittany (died 1442){{cite book|author=Michael Jones|title=Creation of Brittany|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XfgHKGYI92kC&pg=PA163|date=1 July 1988|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-8264-3450-0|pages=163}}
  • 1474 – Bartolomeo degli Organi, Italian musician (died 1539){{cite book|title=Journal of the American Musicological Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-kwvAAAAMAAJ|year=1970|publisher=American Musicological Society}}
  • 1475 – Thomas Murner, German poet and translator (died 1537){{cite book|author=Tyll Eulenspiegel|title=The marvellous adventures and rare conceits of master Tyll Owlglass, newly collected, chronicled and set forth, in our Engl. tongue, by K.R.H. Mackenzie|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KrcBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA244|year=1860|pages=244}}
  • 1508 – Pietro Carnesecchi, Italian scholar (died 1567){{cite book|author=Philip M. J. McNair|title=Peter Martyr in Italy: An Anatomy of Apostasy|url=https://archive.org/details/petermartyrinita0000mcna|url-access=registration|year=1967|publisher=Clarendon Press}}
  • 1520 – Martha Leijonhufvud, Swedish noble (died 1584)
  • 1537 – Willem IV van den Bergh, Stadtholder of Guelders and Zutphen (died 1586)
  • 1549 – Kaspar Ulenberg, German theologian (died 1617)
  • 1588 – Constance of Austria (died 1631)
  • 1596 – Leonaert Bramer, Dutch painter (died 1674)
  • 1597 – Honoré II, Prince of Monaco (died 1662)

=1601–1900=

=1901–present=

Deaths

=Pre-1600=

=1601–1900=

=1901–present=

Holidays and observances

References

External links

{{commons}}

  • [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/24 BBC: On This Day]
  • {{NYT On this day|month=12|day=24}}
  • [https://www.onthisday.com/events/december/24 Historical Events on December 24]

{{months}}

Category:Days of December