What happened on December 24? There are more than 258 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About December 24
December 24 is the 359th day of the year 2024. There are 7 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday. This day falls under the 52nd week of the year 2024.
On this day in Belton, Missouri 64012 sunrise will occur at 07:32 AM and sunset will occur at 05:03 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Capricorn. The modern birthstone for this month is Turquoise while the mystical birthstone is Onyx.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 36 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
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Historical Events For December 24
- 563The Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is dedicated for the second time after being destroyed by earthquakes.
- 1294Pope Boniface VIII is elected Pope, replacing St. Celestine V, who had resigned.
- 1777Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is discovered by James Cook.
- 1814The Treaty of Ghent is signed ending the War of 1812.
- 1818The first performance of “Silent Night” takes place in the church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria.
- 1826The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy begins that night, wrapping up the following morning.
- 1851Library of Congress burns.
- 1865The Ku Klux Klan is formed.
- 1871Aida opens in Cairo.
- 1906Radio: Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio broadcast; consisting of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech.
- 1911Lackawanna Cut-Off railway line opens in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
- 1913The Italian Hall Disaster (“1913 Massacre”) in Calumet, Michigan, results in the death of 73 Christmas party goers held by striking mine workers, including 59 children.
- 1914World War I: The “Christmas truce” begins.
- 1924Albania becomes a republic.
- 1929Assassination attempt on Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen.
- 1939World War II: Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas Eve appeal for peace.
- 1941World War II: Kuching is conquered by Japanese forces.
- 1942World War II: French monarchist, Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, assassinates Vichy French Admiral François Darlan in Algiers.
- 1943World War II: U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the Supreme Allied Commander.
- 1951Libya becomes independent from Italy. Idris I is proclaimed King of Libya.
- 1953Tangiwai disaster: A railway bridge is destroyed by a lahar at Tangiwai, in the Central North Island of New Zealand, sending a fully loaded passenger train into the Whangaehu River, and killing 153 people.
- 1955NORAD Tracks Santa for the first time in what will become an annual Christmas Eve tradition.
- 1964Vietnam War: Viet Cong operatives bomb the Brinks Hotel in Saigon to demonstrate they can strike an American installation in the heavily guarded capital.
- 1966A Canadair CL-44 chartered by the United States military crashes into a small village in South Vietnam, killing 129.
- 1968Apollo Program: The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so. They performed 10 lunar orbits and broadcast live TV pictures that became the famous Christmas Eve Broadcast, one of the most watched programs in history.
- 1973District of Columbia Home Rule Act is passed, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to elect their own local government.
- 1974Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia.
- 1979The first European Ariane rocket is launched.
- 1980Witnesses report the first of several sightings of unexplained lights near RAF Woodbridge, in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England, an incident called “Britain’s Roswell”.
- 1997The Sid El-Antri massacre (or Sidi Lamri) in Algeria kills 50-100 people.
- 2000The Texas 7 hold up a sports store in Irving, Texas. Police officer Aubrey Hawkins is murdered during the robbery.
- 2003The Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m. inside Madrid’s busy Chamartín Station.
- 2005Chad–Sudan relations: Chad declares a state of war against Sudan following a December 18 attack on Adré, which left about 100 people dead.
- 2008Lord’s Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group, begins a series of attacks on Democratic Republic of the Congo, massacring more than 400.
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Who Were Born On December 24?
- 3 BCServius Sulpicius Galba, Roman Emperor (d. 69)
- 1166King John of England (d. 1216)
- 1389John VI, Duke of Brittany (d. 1442)
- 1475Thomas Murner, German writer (d. c. 1537)
- 1508Pietro Carnesecchi, Italian humanist (d. 1567)
- 1588Constance of Austria, queen of Poland (d. 1631)
- 1609Philip Warwick, English writer and politician (d. 1683)
- 1635Mariana of Austria, second wife of king Philip IV of Spain (d. 1696)
- 1698William Warburton, English Bishop of Gloucester (d. 1779)
- 1724Johann Conrad Ammann, Swiss physician and naturalist (d. 1811)
- 1745Benjamin Rush, doctor and Founding Father of the United States (d. 1813)
- 1754George Crabbe, British poet and naturalist (d. 1832)
- 1761Jean-Louis Pons, French astronomer (d. 1831)
- 1784Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia (d. 1803)
- 1798Adam Mickiewicz, Polish poet (d. 1855)
- 1809Kit Carson, American frontiersman (d. 1868)
- 1810Wilhelm Marstrand, Danish painter (d. 1873)
- 1812Karl Eduard Zachariae von Lingenthal, German jurist (d. 1894)
- 1818James Prescott Joule, British physicist (d. 1889)
- 1822Matthew Arnold, British poet (d. 1888)
- 1837Elisabeth of Bavaria, also known as Sissi, Empress of Austria (d. 1898)
- 1843Lydia Koidula, Estonian poet (d. 1886)
- 1845King George I of Greece (d. 1913)
- 1867Kantarō Suzuki, 42nd Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1948)
- 1868Emanuel Lasker, German chess player (d. 1941)
- 1877Sigrid Schauman, Finnish painter (d. 1979)
- 1879Émile Nelligan, Quebec poet (d. 1941)
- 1879Queen Alexandrine of Denmark, Queen Consort to Christian X (d. 1952)
- 1880Johnny Gruelle, American cartoonist, children’s book writer and creator of Raggedy Ann (d. 1939)
- 1881Juan Ramón Jiménez, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
- 1886Michael Curtiz, Hungarian-born director (d. 1962)
- 1887Louis Jouvet, French actor and producer (d. 1951)
- 1893Harry Warren, American composer and lyricist (Chattanooga Choo Choo – I Only Have Eyes for You) (d. 1981)
- 1893Ruth Chatterton, American actress (d. 1961)
- 1894Georges Guynemer, French aviator (d. 1917)
- 1895E. Roland Harriman, American financier (d. 1978)
- 1895Noel Streatfeild, English children’s writer (d. 1986)
- 1896Jens Oliver Lisberg, Faroese law student, designer of the Flag of the Faroe Islands (d. 1920)
- 1898Baby Dodds, American jazz drummer (d. 1959)
- 1898Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan footballer (d. 1967)
- 1900Joey Smallwood, Canadian politician, Premier of Newfoundland (d. 1991)
- 1903Ava Helen Pauling, American human rights activist (d. 1981)
- 1904Joseph Moses Juran, American industrial engineer and philanthropist (d. 2008)
- 1905Howard Hughes, American film producer and inventor (d. 1976)
- 1906Franz Waxman, German film composer (d. 1967)
- 1907I. F. Stone, American journalist (d. 1989)
- 1910Fritz Leiber, American writer (d. 1992)
- 1910Max Miedinger, typeface designer, famous for creating Helvetica in 1957. (d. 1980)
- 1914Herbert Reinecker, German writer (d. 2007)
- 1914Ralph Marterie, American trumpet player and big band leader (d. 1978)
- 1919Qateel Shifai, Pakistani Urdu poet, Lyricist (d. 11 July 2001)
- 1920Yevgeniya Rudneva, Russian World War II heroine (d. 1944)
- 1922Ava Gardner, American actress (d. 1990)
- 1923George Patton IV, American general (d. 2004)
- 1923Michael DiBiase, American wrestler (d. 1969)
- 1924Lee Dorsey, American singer (d.1986)
- 1924Mohammed Rafi, Indian actor and playback singer (d. 1980)
- 1924Norman Rossington, British actor (d. 1999)
- 1926Paul Buissonneau, French-born Quebec theatre director
- 1927Mary Higgins Clark, American author
- 1930Robert Joffrey, American choreographer (d. 1988)
- 1931Mauricio Kagel, Argentine composer (d. 2008)
- 1931Ray Bryant, American jazz pianist and composer
- 1932On Kawara, Japanese conceptual artist
- 1934Stjepan Mesić, president of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement and president of Croatia
- 1937Félix Miéli Venerando, Brazilian football player
- 1938Bobby Henrich, American baseball player
- 1938Valentim Loureiro, Portuguese politician, and former football chairman of Boavista F.C. and Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional
- 1941John Levene, British actor
- 1943Tarja Halonen, President of Finland
- 1944Barry Chuckle, British comedian
- 1944Daniel Johnson, Jr., Quebec politician, Premier of Quebec
- 1944Mike Curb, American musician, record company executive and politician
- 1944Oswald Gracias, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bombay
- 1945Lemmy, British singer, bassist (Motörhead)
- 1945Nicholas Meyer, American author
- 1945Steve Smith, Canadian Comedian, The New Red Green Show, Duct Tape Forever
- 1946Brenda Howard, American bisexual activist (d. 2005)
- 1946Jan Akkerman, Dutch guitarist, Focus
- 1946Jeff Sessions, American politician
- 1947Kevin Sheedy, coach of Australian Football League club Essendon FC
- 1948Frank Oliver, New Zealand rugby player
- 1949Randy Neugebauer, American politician
- 1949Warwick Brown, Australian racing driver
- 1950Dana Gioia, American poet
- 1951John D'Acquisto, baseball player
- 1952Christopher Buckley, American author and political commentator
- 1953François Loos, French politician
- 1953Timothy Carhart, American actor
- 1954José María Figueres, Costa Rican politician
- 1955Clarence Gilyard, American actor
- 1955Grand L. Bush, American actor
- 1957Diane Tell, Quebec singer
- 1957Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan
- 1958Gene Sperling, American economist and government official
- 1958Munetaka Higuchi, Japanese drummer (d. 2008)
- 1958Paul Pressey, American basketball player
- 1959Anil Kapoor, Indian actor
- 1959Keith Deller, British darts player
- 1960Carol Vorderman, British television presenter
- 1960Glenn McQueen, American animator (d. 2002)
- 1961Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan
- 1961Jay Wright, American basketball coach
- 1963Caroline Aherne, British comedienne, writer and actress
- 1963Jay Bilas, American basketball analyst
- 1963Mary Ramsey, American singer (10,000 Maniacs)
- 1964Mark Valley, American actor
- 1965Millard Powers, American musician (Counting Crows)
- 1966Diedrich Bader, American actor
- 1967Mikhail Shchennikov, Russian race walker
- 1968Choi Jin-sil, South Korean actress and model (d. 2008)
- 1968Doyle Bramhall II, American guitarist
- 1968Marleen Renders, Belgian athlete
- 1969Brad Anderson, American professional wrestler
- 1969Ed Miliband, British politician
- 1969Mark Millar, Scottish comic book writer
- 1969Sean Michael, South African actor
- 1970Amaury Nolasco, American actor
- 1970Will Oldham, American singer and songwriter
- 1971Christopher Daniels, American professional wrestler
- 1971Giorgos Alkaios, Greek singer
- 1971Oro, Mexican professional wrestler (d. 1993)
- 1971Ricky Martin, Puerto Rican singer
- 1971Sascha Fischer, German rugby player
- 1972Alvaro Mesen, Costa Rican footballer
- 1972Klaus Schnellenkamp, German-Chilean author
- 1973Eddie Pope, American soccer player
- 1973Stephenie Meyer, American author
- 1974Marcelo Salas, Chilean footballer
- 1974Ryan Seacrest, American television host
- 1974Thure Lindhardt, Danish actor
- 1976Yuri, Korean singer
- 1978Warren Tredrea, Australian rules footballer
- 1978Yıldıray Baştürk, Turkish footballer
- 1979Chris Hero, American professional wrestler
- 1980Tomas Kalnoky, Czech musician (Streetlight Manifesto)
- 1981Dima Bilan, Russian pop artist
- 1981Shane Tuck, Australian rules footballer
- 1982Aiba Masaki, Japanese singer and actor
- 1982Robert Carmine, American singer
- 1985Alexey Dmitriev, German ice hockey player
- 1985David Ragan, American race car driver
- 1986Kyrylo Fesenko, Ukrainian basketball player
- 1986Riyo Mori, Japanese model
- 1987Jane Summersett, American ice dancer
- 1988Stefanos Athanasiadis, Greek footballer, striker at PAOK F.C.
- 1991Louis Tomlinson, Member of British/Irish boy band One Direction
- 1991Wasim Tareen, Pakistani footballer
- 1992Melissa Suffield, English actress
- 1995Anett Kontaveit, Estonian tennis player
- 2000Ethan Bortnick, American musician
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Who Died On December 24?
- 427Archbishop Sisinnius I of Constantinople
- 738Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik, Umayyad prince and general
- 1257John I, Count of Hainaut (b. 1218)
- 1400Archibald the Grim, Scottish magnate (b. 1328)
- 1453John Dunstaple, English composer (b. c.1390)
- 1524Vasco da Gama, Portuguese explorer (b. c.1469)
- 1660Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange (b. 1631)
- 1707Noël Coypel, French painter (b. 1628)
- 1813Empress Go-Sakuramachi of Japan (b. 1740)
- 1863William Makepeace Thackeray, British writer (b. 1811)
- 1865Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, British painter and writer (b. 1793)
- 1868Adolphe d'Archiac, French paleontologist and geologist (b. 1802)
- 1872William John Macquorn Rankine, British physician and engenier (b. 1820)
- 1873Johns Hopkins, Baltimore philanthropist and businessman (b. 1795)
- 1889Jan Jakob Lodewijk ten Kate, Dutch poet and clergyman (b. 1819)
- 1898Sharbel Makhluf, Lebanese monk canonized in 1977 by Pope Paul VI (b. 1828)
- 1914John Muir, Scottish-American naturalist (b. 1838)
- 1920Stephen Mosher Wood, American politician (b. 1832)
- 1935Alban Berg, Austrian composer (b. 1885)
- 1938Bruno Taut, German architect (b. 1880)
- 1941Siegfried Alkan, German composer (b. 1858)
- 1942François Darlan, vice-premier of Vichy France (b. 1881)
- 1957Norma Talmadge, American actress (b. 1893)
- 1965William M. Branham, Christian minister (b. 1906)
- 1967Burt Baskin, American entrepreneur (b. 1913)
- 1971Maria Koepcke, ornithologist (b. 1924)
- 1972Gisela Richter, British art historian (b. 1882)
- 1972Melville Ruick, American actor (b. 1898)
- 1975Bernard Herrmann, American film composer (b. 1911)
- 1976Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza, heir to the throne of Portugal (b. 1907)
- 1977Samael Aun Weor, Columbian writer (b. 1917)
- 1980Karl Dönitz, German naval admiral, and last leader of Nazi Germany (b. 1891)
- 1980Siggie Nordstrom, model, actress, entertainer, socialite and lead singer of The Nordstrom Sisters (b. 1893)
- 1982Louis Aragon, French writer (b. 1897)
- 1984Peter Lawford, British actor (b. 1923)
- 1985Camille Tourville, Professional wrestler (b. 1927)
- 1985Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, Last Lincoln descendant (b. 1904)
- 1986Gardner Fox, American writer (b. 1911)
- 1987Betty Noyes, singer who dubbed Debbie Reynold‘s singing voice in Singin’in the Rain
- 1987Joop den Uyl, Dutch politician (b. 1919)
- 1987M. G. Ramachandran, Chief Minister of the Tamil Nadu (b. 1917)
- 1990Thorbjørn Egner, Norwegian author (b. 1922)
- 1992Bobby LaKind, American musician and singer (The Doobie Brothers) (b. 1945)
- 1992Peyo, Belgian comics artist, and creator of The Smurfs (b. 1928)
- 1993Norman Vincent Peale, American writer (b. 1898)
- 1994John Boswell, American historian (b. 1947)
- 1994Rossano Brazzi, Italian actor and singer (b. 1916)
- 1997Pierre Péladeau, Quebec businessman, founder of Quebecor (b. 1925)
- 1997Toshirō Mifune, Japanese actor (b. 1920)
- 1998Syl Apps, Canadian ice hockey player and pole vaulter (b. 1915)
- 1999Bill Bowerman, American track and field coach (b. 1911)
- 1999João Figueiredo, President of Brazil (b. 1918)
- 1999Maurice Couve de Murville, French politician, Prime minister of France (b. 1907)
- 2000John Cooper, English race car designer (b. 1923)
- 2000Nick Massi, American singer (The Four Seasons) (b. 1935)
- 2002Jake Thackray, English singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
- 2002Kjell Aukrust, Norwegian author (b. 1920)
- 2002Laci Peterson, American murder victim (b. 1975)
- 2004Johnny Oates, baseball player and manager (b. 1946)
- 2005Michael Vale, American commercial actor (b. 1922)
- 2006“Braguinha”, Brazilian songwriter (b. 1907)
- 2006Frank Stanton, American television executive (b. 1908)
- 2006Kenneth Sivertsen, Norwegian singer, poet and comedian (b. 1961)
- 2007Akbar Radi, Iranian dramatist and playwright (b. 1939)
- 2007Nicholas Pumfrey, British judge (b. 1951)
- 2008Harold Pinter, British playwright (b. 1930)
- 2009George Michael, American sportscaster (The George Michael Sports Machine) (b. 1939)
- 2009Marcus Bakker, Dutch politician (b. 1923)
- 2009Rafael Caldera, lawyer, sociologist, writer, speaker, politician, and ex-president of Venezuela (b. 1916)
- 2010Eino Tamberg, Estonian composer (b. 1930)
- 2010Elisabeth Beresford, British author and creator of The Wombles (b. 1926)
- 2010Frans de Munck, Dutch football goalkeeper (b. 1922)
- 2010Orestes Quércia, Brazilian politician (b. 1938)
- 2011Johannes Heesters, Dutch actor and singer (b. 1903)
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