Famous Events For December 24 – Today In History

What Happened on December 24 in World History?

Early Centuries – December 24 Historic Events – Before 1700

1. December 24, 0563 – The Byzantine church Hagia Sophia, in Constantinople, earlier destroyed by the earthquake was bestowed for the second time
2. December 24, 0640 – appointment of John IV as Catholic Pope
3. December 24, 1046 – Pope Clement II, served from 25th Dec 1946 till his death after being elected
4. December 24, 1294 – nomination of Cardinal Benedetto Gaetani as Pope Boniface VIII
5. December 24, 1476 – The siege of Nancy caused the death of 400 Burgundian army men by chilling
6. December 24, 1515 – appointment of Thomas Wolsey as Lord Chancellor of England
7. December 24, 1565 – Investigation ended on the negotiation of Nobles in Habsburg Netherlands

8. December 24, 1568 – rebellion of Moriscos in Granada
9. December 24, 1593 – 500 feared dead when a tornado strikes 40 ships in Texel
10. December 24, 1651 – commencement of the journey of Jan van Riebeeck to reach Cope of Good Hope to establish the first permanent European community

18th Century – What Happened on December 24 – The 1700s

11. December 24, 1715 – Norway sieged by Swedish army
12. December 24, 1777 – the discovery of Kiritimati, also known as Christmas Island by James Cook
13. December 24, 1798 – an agreement between Russia and Britain on the Second anti-French Coalition
14. December 24, 1799 – exposure of a plan by Jacobin against Napoleon

19th Century – December 23 This Day That Year – The 1800s

15. December 24, 1814 – The 1812 conflict between the United States and the United Kingdom and their friendly nations terminated as per the Treaty of Ghent
16. December 24, 1818 – premiere of the Christmas carol, “Silent Night” constructed by Franz Xavier Gruber at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, Austria
17. December 24, 1832 – establishment of the first US Negro hospital by whites chartered, Savannah, Georgia
18. December 24, 1832 – the ship HMS Beagle stops in Wigwam Bay at Cape Receiver
19. December 24, 1849 – The first big inferno in San Francisco commences from the east side of the Plaza – considered as first big inferno of seven in 2 years
20. December 24, 1851 – 35,000 books were destroyed by an inferno in the US Library of Congress in Washington
21. December 24, 1860 – debut show of “Rip Van Winkle” by Joseph Jefferson in NYC
22. December 24, 1864 – War at Gordonsville, Virginia
23. December 24, 1865 – many friendly experts established the Ku Klux Klan in Pulaski, Tennessee
24. December 24, 1871 – the play by Giuseppe Verdi, “Aida” debuts in Cairo
25. December 24, 1874 – silver jubilee of 1875 declared by Pope Pius IX
26. December 24, 1877 – application for copyright by Thomas Edison for inventing the phonograph
27. December 24, 1884 – Congo Free State by King Leopold II, was recognized by Austria-Hungary

28. December 24, 1889 – copyright is given to Daniel Stover & William Hance for their invention of a bicycle with back pedal brake
29. December 24, 1893 – completion of the first petrol/gasoline run engine by Henry Ford
30. December 24, 1894 – cyclone damaged the Scheveningen fishing boats
31. December 24, 1894 – founding of football team, Achilles ‘94 in Axes
32. December 24, 1898 – first performance of “Ghetto” by Herman Heijermans in Amsterdam

20th Century – Important Events On This Day December 24 – The 1900s

33. December 24, 1900 – the debut of “Hope of Blessing” by Herman Heijermans in Amsterdam
34. December 24, 1900 – A Legislation by The French Chamber of Deputies and Senate to terminate the tension or hearings against those who participated in the Dreyfus issue, which separated France since 1894
35. December 24, 1900 – an appeal of the list of “cannot be changed and final stipulations” presented to the Chinese Empress by the foreign supremacies for retreating from China
36. December 24, 1901 – The usage of the word “postcard” by private companies was permitted in the US, against the earlier considered “Private Mailing Cards” and called “souvenir cards”
37. December 24, 1904 – slavery of young children in German SW Africa was prohibited
38. December 24, 1906 – The music over the radio was first aired by Reginald A Fessenden
39. December 24, 1910 – nearly 250,000 fans attended the music program of Luisa Tetrazzini at Lott’s Fountain, San Francisco
40. December 24, 1912 – The indexing system for archiving was first invented by Irving Fisher, and copyright was awarded to him
41. December 24, 1914 – air attack by Germans on Dover, England
42. December 24, 1920 – last public presentation in NYC by Enrico Caruso

43. December 24, 1921 – achievement of 10-6 score by Ottawa’s Harry Broadbent to defeat Senators of the Montreal Canadiens; this was the NHL’s 16-game winning streak record; the maximum by Charlie Simmer who achieved a 13-game record in 1979 is treated as the modern-day maximum
44. December 24, 1922 – The radio play, “The Truth about Father Christmas” was first aired by BBC
45. December 24, 1922 – Inauguration of the London Colosseum
46. December 24, 1924 – the first airing of NCRV by radio in the Netherlands
47. December 24, 1924 – Albania declared a Republic
48. December 24, 1924 – inauguration of the Richard Rodgers Theater (46th St Chanin’s) at 226 W 46th NYC
49. December 24, 1924 – 36 lost their life in an inferno at School in Babb’s Switch, Oklahoma
50. December 24, 1927 – Walter Hammond achieved 51 runs in his first Test Cricket and took 5/36 against S Africa
51. December 24, 1928 – inauguration of George Abbott Theater (Adelphi, 54 St) at 152 54th St. NYC
52. December 24, 1930 – Indonesian authorities awarded a four-year term jail to Sukarno, in Bandung Dutch East Indies
53. December 24, 1930 – first performance of “La Zapatera Prodigiosa” by F Garcia Lorca
54. December 24, 1932 – Arturo Alessandri chosen president of Chile
55. December 24, 1933 – in a train accident (derail) to express train in Paris takes the life of 160 and wounds 300 (France)

56. December 24, 1934 – Grimmett achieves 9-180 for SA, and Queensland scores 430
57. December 24, 1935 – founding of National Council of Negro Women
58. December 24, 1936 – the medicine containing radioactive isotope was administered in Berkeley, California for the first time
59. December 24, 1937 – acceptance by Dutch government Italian king Emanuel III as emperor of Abyssinia
60. December 24, 1939 – a Christmas Eve plea for peace by Pope Pius XII
61. December 24, 1941 – Return of warships of Admiral Nagumo’s Pearl Harbor navy to Japan
62. December 24, 1942 – inaugural power fight of V-1 “buzz bomb”, Peenemunde, Germany
63. December 24, 1942 – siege of German airports at Tasjinskaja and Morozowsk by Red army
64. December 24, 1943 – appointment of General Eisenhower as Supreme Commander of Allied forces by US President FDR
65. December 24, 1943 – first screening of “While the Sun Shires” by Terence Rattigan in London
66. December 24, 1943 – 800,000 “minor nazis” were pardoned by the US General Mac Naarney
67. December 24, 1946 – establishment of the French Fourth Republic
68. December 24, 1948 – The first house heated by solar energy in US-occupied
69. December 24, 1948 – press censorship disbanded in Greece due to the state of war
70. December 24, 1950 – Cleveland Browns defeat LA Rams; 30-28; Cleveland had 5 interceptions while Rams had 1
71. December 24, 1951 – first television transmission of the lay
72. December 24, 1951 – Italy grants freedom through the UN to the United Kingdom of Libya
73. December 24, 1953 – a head-on collision of two fast express trains takes the life of 103 in Czechoslovakia

74. December 24, 1953 – TV transmission channel 13 starts functioning in Kearney, NB on ABC
75. December 24, 1953 – TV transmission channel 4 starts functioning in Denver on ABC
76. December 24, 1953 – Nomination of Rene Coty as President of France
77. December 24, 1953 – 166 persons died when the Wellington-Auckland train was washed away in the floods
78. December 24, 1954 – establishment of the Council for the Protection of Children in the Netherlands
79. December 24, 1954 – freedom granted to Laos
80. December 24, 1955 – consumption of hallucinogenic drug by author Aldous Huxley for the first time
81. December 24, 1956 – The Christmas show, “I Love Lucy” was shown but not transferred to a group
82. December 24, 1956 – The statue of Ferdinand de Lesseps in Port Said Egypt was blasted
83. December 24, 1960 – a question was raised by Dutch bishops on papacy values
84. December 24, 1961 – Houston Oilers defeat San Diego Chargers, 10-3 and Billy Cannon achieves the play’s only TD
85. December 24, 1962 – Atomic test by USSR at Novaya Zemlya USSR
86. December 24, 1963 – rebellion in Cyprus by Greek and Turks
87. December 24, 1964 – the production work on “The Cage”, the original pilot for Star Trek commences
88. December 24, 1966 – the last performance of “Joyful Noise” at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 12 presentations
89. December 24, 1966 – Landing of Soviet spacecraft Luna 13 on the Moon
90. December 24, 1966 – an accident to USAF C 144 military plane near Binh Thai, Vietnam claiming 129 victims
91. December 24, 1967 – Atomic test by China at Lop Nor, PRC

92. December 24, 1967 – A pirate Radio Pegasus commences airing off New Zealand
93. December 24, 1968 – reading from the pages of the Book of Genesis by Astronauts of Apollo 8
94. December 24, 1968 – TV transmission channel 26 starts functioning in Augusta, GA on CBS
95. December 24, 1968 – Award of the best European football player, winger George Best of Manchester United earlier to his team player Bobby Charlton and Red Star Belgrade winger Dragan Dzajic; the first Northern Irish national to achieve the award
96. December 24, 1970 – 9 Jews were found guilty of kidnapping an aircraft in Leningrad
97. December 24, 1970 – announcement of “Aristocats” by Walt Disney
98. December 24, 1971 – All persons on board except 1, perished in an accident to Peruvian Airlines Electra in the jungle of Amazon; Juliane Margaret Koepcke was traced after 10 days
99. December 24, 1973 – 200 drowned when a commercial ship toppled near the coast of Ecuador
100. December 24, 1973 – The Home Rule Act of the District of Columbia comes into effect permitting residents of Washington DC to form their local government
101. December 24, 1974 – Award of Sportsman of the Year to Cardinals’ Lou Brock
102. December 24, 1974 – John Glenn, former US Astronaut, admitted to the Senate for Ohio
103. December 24, 1977 – Ghost to the Post is a significant play in NFL history. Raiders Dave Casper achieves a 42-yard reception to score a field-tying goal at the end of the play
104. December 24, 1979 – sending the 1st Ariane rocket into space
105. December 24, 1980 – remembering the Iran captives by Americans by lighting for 417 seconds
106. December 24, 1981 – atomic test by USSR at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
107. December 24, 1982 – Chaminade University of Honolulu which had a strength of 850 students, defeated No.1 rated Virginia, 77-72 in a Honolulu holiday basketball play
108. December 24, 1984 – military rebellion in Palace in Mauritania
109. December 24, 1985 – Europe’s Best Football Player award to Juventus French midfielder Michel Platini for the 3rd successive time, broke the achievements of Verona striker Preben Elkjaer and Barcelona midfielder Bernd Schuster

110. December 24, 1986 – Aurel Cornea, a French captive detained in Lebanon for 9 months set free
111. December 24, 1986 – Iran attacks Iraqi islands near Shatt Al-Arab
112. December 24, 1989 – Charles Taylor returns to Liberia to overthrow President Samuel K Doe
113. December 24, 1989 – Manual Noriega, Panama’s autocratic ruler requests refuge at the Vatican embassy
114. December 24, 1990 – Tim Raines of Expos, sold to White Sox in exchange for Ivan Calderon and Barry Jones
115. December 24, 1990 – Iraq declared as the first victim of Israel by Saddam Hussein
116. December 24, 1991 – award of Europe’s best player award to Jean-Pierre Papin, Marseille forward; first from the French League to achieve the award
117. December 24, 1992 – Caspar Weinberger, involved in the Iran-contra, a political scandal was excused by US President George H W Bush
118. December 24, 1994 – Algiers, the pilot of Air France was held captive by four Muslim radicals
119. December 24, 1995 – Europe’s best football player honor awarded to PSG/Milan’s Liberian striker George Weah for the first time for players not born in Europe allowed to accept votes
120. December 24, 1996 – Best Football Player in Europe title honor given to German sweeper Matthias Sammer of Borussia Dortmund earlier to striker Ronaldo of PSV/Barcelona and Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer

121. December 24, 1997 -Vatican City celebrates for the first time by lighting a Channukah candle
122. December 24, 1997 – 50-100 people were murdered in Algeria during the rebellion of Sid El-Antri killing (or Sidi Lamri)
123. December 24, 1997 – The Berne Convention copyright treaty accepts the membership of The Dominican Republic
124. December 24, 1999 – Given the commencement of the 3rd millennium, Pope John Paul II augurated St Peter’s Holy Door

21st Century – December 24 This Day In History – The 2000s

125. December 24, 2000 – Texas 7 shot dead Police Officer Aubrey Hawkins for trying to protect the sports store in Irving from burglary
126. December 24, 2001 – The Time Magazine awarded the title “Person of the Year” to New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani for his management after the 9/11 attacks
127. December 24, 2003 – An effort by ETA to blast 50 kg of explosives inside Madrid’s busy Chamartín Station at 3.55 p.m. was spoiled by the Spanish constabulary

128. December 24, 2012 – In a minivan accident that fell into a pond along the side of the road in Jiangxi, China, 11kindergarten children lost their life

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