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On This Day in History — December 24
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Highlights of December 24
- 2021 — Burmese military forces killed at least 40 civilians during the Mo So massacre in Kayah State, Myanmar. Read more
- 2008 — The Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group, began attacks on several villages in the north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing hundreds and committing numerous atrocities. Read more
- 1999 — Jihadists linked to al-Qaeda hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 to force the release of Islamist figures held in prison in India. Read more
- 1979 — The Soviet government deployed troops in Afghanistan, starting the Soviet–Afghan War. Read more
- 1973 — The U.S. Congress granted home rule to Washington, D.C., allowing the residents to elect their own mayor and a city council. Read more
- 1968 — Piloted by Jim Lovell, Apollo 8 became the first human spaceflight to reach and orbit the Moon (Earthrise pictured). Read more
- 1964 — The Viet Cong bombed the Brinks Hotel in Saigon, killing two U.S. Army officers and raising fears of an escalation of the Vietnam War. Read more
- 1955 — According to legend, the NORAD Tracks Santa program began after children began calling the Continental Air Defense Command Center to inquire about Santa Claus's whereabouts due to a misprinted phone number in an advertisement. Read more
- 1953 — A railway bridge at Tangiwai on New Zealand's North Island was damaged by a lahar and collapsed beneath a passenger train (wreckage pictured), killing 151 people. Read more
- 1925 — Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by name in a children's story in the London Evening News. Read more
- 1918 — Forces united in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes defeated Hungarian forces to end the occupation of Međimurje. Read more
- 1914 — World War I: British and German soldiers interrupted fighting to celebrate Christmas, beginning the Christmas truce . Read more
- 1913 — Seventy-three people were crushed to death in a stampede after someone falsely yelled "fire" at a crowded Christmas party in Calumet, Michigan, U.S. Read more
- 1871 — Aida, one of Giuseppe Verdi's most popular operas, made its debut in Cairo, Egypt. Read more
- 1865 — Six Confederate veterans of the American Civil War founded a social club they named the Ku Klux Klan, which later became a white supremacist group. Read more
- 1846 — The Sultanate of Brunei ceded the island of Labuan to the British Empire. Read more
- 1818 — The Christmas carol "Silent Night" (audio featured) by Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber was first performed in a church in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. Read more
- 1814 — The United Kingdom and the United States signed a peace treaty in Ghent, present-day Belgium, ending the War of 1812. Read more
- 759 — The Tang-dynasty poet Du Fu departed for Chengdu, where he lived for the next five years and composed poems about life in his thatched cottage. Read more
Events
- 2021 — Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians. Read more
- 2018 — A helicopter crash kills Martha Érika Alonso, first female Governor of Puebla, Mexico, and her husband Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, former governor. Read more
- 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. Read more
- 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. Read more
- 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. Read more
- 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). Read more
- 1997 — The Sid El-Antri massacre in Algeria kills between 50 and 100 people. Read more
- 1996 — A Learjet 35 crashes into Smarts Mountain near Dorchester, New Hampshire, killing both pilots on board. Read more
- 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. Read more
- 1983 — Aeroflot Flight 601 crashes during takeoff from Leshukonskoye Airport, Russia, killing 44 of the 49 people on board. Read more
- 1979 — The first Ariane 1 rocket is launched from ELA-1 at the Guiana Space Centre. Read more
- 1974 — Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia. Read more
- 1973 — District of Columbia Home Rule Act is passed, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to elect their own local government. Read more
- 1971 — LANSA Flight 508 is struck by lightning and crashes in the Puerto Inca District in the Department of Huánuco in Peru, killing 91. Read more
- 1969 — Nigerian troops capture Umuahia, the Biafran capital. Read more
- 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. Read more
- 1968 — Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 crashes on approach to Bradford Regional Airport, killing 20. Read more
- 1966 — A Canadair CL-44 chartered by the United States military crashes into a small village in South Vietnam, killing 111. Read more
- 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. Read more
- 1964 — Flying Tiger Line Flight 282 crashes after takeoff from San Francisco International Airport, killing three. Read more
- 1955 — A flood devastates California, killing 74 people across portions of the state. Read more
- 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. Read more
- 1952 — First flight of Britain's Handley Page Victor strategic bomber. Read more
- 1951 — Libya becomes independent. Idris I is proclaimed King of Libya. Read more
- 1945 — Five of nine children become missing after their home in Fayetteville, West Virginia, is burned down. Read more
- 1944 — World War II: The Belgian Troopship Leopoldville was torpedoed and sank with the loss of 763 soldiers and 56 crew. Read more
- 1943 — World War II: U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower is named Supreme Allied Commander for Operation Overlord. Read more
- 1942 — World War II: French monarchist, Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, assassinates Vichy French Admiral François Darlan in Algiers, Algeria. Read more
- 1941 — World War II: Kuching is conquered by Japanese forces. Read more
- 1941 — World War II: Benghazi is conquered by the British Eighth Army. Read more
- 1939 — World War II: Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas Eve appeal for peace. Read more
- 1929 — Assassination attempt on Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen. Read more
- 1929 — A four alarm fire breaks out in the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C. Read more
- 1924 — Albania becomes a republic. Read more
- 1920 — Gabriele D'Annunzio surrendered the Italian Regency of Carnaro in the city of Fiume to Italian Armed Forces. Read more
- 1918 — Region of Međimurje is captured by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes from Hungary. Read more
- 1914 — World War I: The "Christmas truce" begins. Read more
- 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". Read more
- 1906 — Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio broadcast; consisting of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech. Read more
- 1868 — The Greek Presidential Guard is established as the royal escort by King George I. Read more
- 1865 — Former Confederate officers Frank McCord, Richard Reed, John Lester, John Kennedy, J. Calvin Jones, and James Crowe form the Ku Klux Klan. Read more
- 1846 — British acquired Labuan from the Sultanate of Brunei for Great Britain. Read more
- 1818 — The first performance of "Silent Night" takes place in the Nikolauskirche in Oberndorf, Austria. Read more
- 1814 — Representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States sign the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812. Read more
- 1800 — The Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise fails to kill Napoleon Bonaparte. Read more
- 1777 — Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is discovered by James Cook. Read more
- 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. Read more
- 1500 — A joint Venetian–Spanish fleet captures the Castle of St. George on the island of Cephalonia. Read more
- 1294 — Pope Boniface VIII is elected, replacing St. Celestine V, who had resigned. Read more
- 1144 — The capital of the crusader County of Edessa falls to Imad ad-Din Zengi, the atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo. Read more
- 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. Read more
- 759 — Tang dynasty poet Du Fu departs for Chengdu, where he is hosted by fellow poet Pei Di. Read more
- 640 — Pope John IV is elected, several months after his predecessor's death. Read more
- 502 — Chinese emperor Xiao Yan names Xiao Tong his heir designate. Read more
Born on December 24
- 2002 — Joshua Primo, Canadian basketball player Read more
- 2002 — Jeremiah Trotter Jr., American football player Read more
- 2001 — Choi Sung-beom, South Korean football player Read more
- 1998 — Alexis Mac Allister, Argentine footballer Read more
- 1997 — Neeraj Chopra, Indian javelin thrower Read more
- 1997 — William Contreras, Venezuelan baseball player Read more
- 1995 — Anett Kontaveit, Estonian tennis player Read more
- 1994 — Han Seung-woo, South Korean singer Read more
- 1992 — Davante Adams, American football player Read more
- 1992 — Serge Aurier, Ivorian footballer Read more
- 1992 — P. J. Hairston, American basketball player Read more
- 1991 — Sofia Black-D'Elia, American actress Read more
- 1991 — Lara Michel, Swiss tennis player Read more
- 1991 — Eric Moreland, American basketball player Read more
- 1991 — Louis Tomlinson, English singer Read more
- 1991 — Taylor Zakhar Perez, American actor Read more
- 1990 — Brigetta Barrett, American high jumper Read more
- 1989 — Matt Calvert, Canadian ice hockey player Read more
- 1988 — Stefanos Athanasiadis, Greek footballer Read more
- 1988 — Emre Özkan, Turkish footballer Read more
- 1988 — Simon Zenke, Nigerian footballer Read more
- 1987 — Jane Summersett, American ice dancer Read more
- 1986 — Kyrylo Fesenko, Ukrainian basketball player Read more
- 1985 — Alexey Dmitriev, German ice hockey player Read more
- 1984 — Isaac De Gois, Australian rugby league player Read more
- 1984 — Austin Stowell, American actor Read more
- 1983 — Gregor Blanco, Venezuelan baseball player Read more
- 1983 — Tim Jennings, American football player Read more
- 1981 — Dima Bilan, Russian singer-songwriter and actor Read more
- 1980 — Stephen Appiah, Ghanaian footballer Read more
- 1980 — Maarja-Liis Ilus, Estonian pop musician Read more
- 1978 — Yıldıray Baştürk, German-Turkish footballer Read more
- 1978 — Heinrich Himmer, Austrian politician Read more
- 1977 — Michael Raymond-James, American actor Read more
- 1976 — Linda Ferga, French hurdler Read more
- 1974 — Thure Lindhardt, Danish actor Read more
- 1974 — Paal Nilssen-Love, Norwegian drummer and composer Read more
- 1974 — Marcelo Salas, Chilean footballer Read more
- 1974 — Ryan Seacrest, American radio host and television personality, and producer Read more
- 1973 — Liu Dong, Chinese-Spanish runner Read more
Died on December 24
- 2024 — Hudson Meek, American actor (born 2008) Read more
- 2024 — Richard Perry, American record producer (born 1942) Read more
- 2023 — Cheri Barry, American politician and mayor of Meridian, Mississippi (born 1955) Read more
- 2023 — Richard Bowes, American science fiction author (born 1944) Read more
- 2023 — Troy Dargan, Cook Islands rugby league footballer (born 1997) Read more
- 2018 — Martha Érika Alonso, Governor of Puebla (born 1973) Read more
- 2018 — Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, former governor of Puebla (born 1968) Read more
- 2017 — Jerry Kindall, American baseball player and coach (born 1935) Read more
- 2017 — Heather Menzies, Canadian-American model and actress (born 1949) Read more
- 2016 — Rick Parfitt, British musician (born 1948) Read more
- 2016 — Liz Smith, English actress (born 1921) Read more
- 2016 — Richard Adams, English author (born 1920) Read more
- 2016 — Ben Xi, Chinese singer (born 1994) Read more
- 2015 — Turid Birkeland, Norwegian businesswoman and politician, Norwegian Minister of Culture (born 1962) Read more
- 2015 — Letty Jimenez Magsanoc, Filipino journalist (born 1941) Read more
- 2015 — Adriana Olguín, Chilean lawyer and politician, Chilean Minister of Justice (born 1911) Read more
- 2014 — Buddy DeFranco, American clarinet player (born 1923) Read more
- 2014 — Edward Greenspan, Canadian lawyer and author (born 1944) Read more
- 2014 — Herbert Harris, American lawyer and politician (born 1926) Read more
- 2014 — Krzysztof Krauze, Polish director and screenwriter (born 1953) Read more
- 2013 — Frédéric Back, German-Canadian director, animator, and screenwriter (born 1924) Read more
- 2013 — Ian Barbour, Chinese-American author and scholar (born 1923) Read more
- 2013 — John M. Goldman, English haematologist and oncologist (born 1938) Read more
- 2013 — Allan McKeown, English-American screenwriter and producer (born 1946) Read more
- 2012 — Richard Rodney Bennett, English-American composer and academic (born 1936) Read more
- 2012 — Charles Durning, American soldier and actor (born 1923) Read more
- 2012 — Jack Klugman, American actor (born 1922) Read more
- 2012 — Dennis O'Driscoll, Irish poet and critic (born 1954) Read more
- 2011 — Johannes Heesters, Dutch-German entertainer (born 1903) Read more
- 2010 — Elisabeth Beresford, English journalist and author (born 1926) Read more
- 2010 — Frans de Munck, Dutch footballer and manager (born 1922) Read more
- 2010 — Orestes Quércia, Brazilian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 28th Governor of São Paulo State (born 1938) Read more
- 2010 — Eino Tamberg, Estonian composer and educator (born 1930) Read more
- 2009 — Marcus Bakker, Dutch journalist and politician (born 1923) Read more
- 2009 — Rafael Caldera, Venezuelan lawyer and politician, 65th President of Venezuela (born 1916) Read more
- 2009 — George Michael, American sportscaster (born 1939) Read more
- 2009 — Gero von Wilpert, German author and academic (born 1933) Read more
- 2008 — Ralph Harris, British journalist (born 1921) Read more
- 2008 — Harold Pinter, English playwright, screenwriter, director, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1930) Read more
- 2007 — Nicholas Pumfrey, English lawyer and judge (born 1951) Read more
Holidays & observances
Christian feast day:
Adela and Irmina; Christian feast day:
Paola Elisabetta Cerioli; Christian feast day:
Adam and Eve; Christian feast day:
December 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
Aðfangadagskvöld, the day when the 13th and the last Yule Lad arrives to towns. (Iceland); Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
Feast of the Seven Fishes (Italian Americans); Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
Juleaften (Denmark)/Julaften (Norway)/Julafton (Sweden); Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
Nittel Nacht (certain Orthodox Jewish denominations); Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
Nochebuena (Spain and Spanish-speaking countries); Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
The Declaration of Christmas Peace (Old Great Square of Turku, Finland's official Christmas City); Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
Wigilia (Poland); Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
Quviasukvik, the Inuit new year (Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia); Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
Kūčios (Lithuania); Independence Day (Libya); Day of Military Honour – Siege of Ismail (Russia)
Events, births and deaths from Wikipedia contributors, “December 24”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Lists are selections; the full record lives at the source.