December 24

December 24 is the 358th day of the year (359th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are seven days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

Up to 1900

563 – Second inauguration of the Hagia Sophia, then a cathedral.
640 – Pope John IV is elected.
759 – China: Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu leaves for Chengdu, where he is hosted by fellow poet Pei Di.
1294 – Pope Boniface VIII is elected, after the resignation of Pope Celestine V.
1717 – A North Sea Christmas flood kills 11,500 people.
1726 – Montevideo, the present–day capital city of Uruguay, is founded.
1777 – James Cook reaches the island of Kiritimati, in present–day Kiribati.
1811 – HMS Defence and HMS St. George sink in a storm off Denmark.
1814 – The Treaty of Ghent ends the War of 1812.
1818 – The famous Christmas carol Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht (Silent Night, Holy Night), is performed for the first time in Austria.
1851 – The US Library of Congress burns.
1865 – The Ku Klux Klan is founded by Confederate veterans.
1871 – The Opera Aida is first performed in Cairo.

1901 – 2000

1906 – Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio broadcast, consisting of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech.
1912 – A mining explosion in Hokkaido, Japan, kills 245 miners.
1913 – In Calumet, Michigan, 73 Christmas party goers die in a stampede after "fire" was falsely yelled.
1914 – World War I: The Christmas Truce begins.
1924 – Albania becomes a Republic.
1929 – An assassination attempt is made on President of Argentina Hipolito Yrigoyen.
1939 – Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas appeal for peace, after the start of World War II.
1942 – World War II: French monarchist Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle assassinates Vichy admiral Francois Darlan in Algiers, French Algeria.
1943 – World War II: Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes Supreme Allied Commander.
1951 – Libya becomes independent, with Idris I as king.
1953 – Tangiwai Disaster: After a volcanic eruption (of Mt. Ruapehu) on New Zealand's North Island, a train plunges into the Whangeahu river following a bridge collapse caused by the eruption, killing 153 people.
1954 – Laos is officially declared independent.
1964 – Flooding kills thousands of people in Southern India and Sri Lanka.
1968 – Apollo 8, with Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders on board, orbits the moon, and take a spectacular photograph of the Earth.
1971 – A Lockheed L–188 Electra crashes in the Peruvian rainforest, killing 91 people. The only survivor is then–17–year–old German Juliane Koepcke, who lost both her parents in the crash.
1972 – Japan Airlines Flight 472, a Douglas DC–8, lands at Juhu Aerodrome, overshooting the runway, instead of landing at nearby Bombay Santa Cruz Airport.
1973 – The District of Columbia Home Rule Act passes, allowing Washington, DC residents to elect their government.
1974 – Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, killing 71 people.
1979 – The first European–made rocket Ariane is launched from French Guiana.
1994 – Air France Flight 8969 is hijacked by terrorists on the ground; Over the course of three days, three passengers and four terrorists are killed.
1997 – The Sid El–Antri massacre in Algeria kills between 50 and 100 people.
2000 – The Texas Seven hold up a sports store in Irving, Texas.

From 2001

2003 – Spanish police stop an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kilogrammes of explosives at Madrid's Chamartin Station.
2005 – Chad declares that it is in a state of war with Sudan, though denies that it has declared war.
2008 – The Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group, begins a series of attacks on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
2013 – Queen Elizabeth II issues an official pardon to the mathematician Alan Turing (who had died in 1954). Turing was convicted of homosexuality at a time when it was illegal in the UK.
2017 – Alberto Fujimori, former President of Peru, is pardoned for reasons relating to his ill health.
2017 – Guatemala announces that, like the United States, it plans to move its Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Births

Up to 1800

3 BC – Galba, Roman Emperor (d. 69)
1166 – King John of England (d. 1216)
1389 – John VI, Duke of Brittany (d. 1442)
1475 – Thomas Murner, German poet and translator (d. 1537)
1508 – Pietro Carnesecchi, Italian humanist (d. 1567)
1588 – Constance of Austria, Queen of Poland (d. 1631)
1597 – Honoré II, Prince of Monaco (d. 1662)
1625 – Johann Rudolf Ahle, German composer, organist and theorist (d. 1673)
1635 – Mariana of Austria (d. 1696)
1679 – Domenico Sarro, Italian composer (d. 1744)
1698 – William Warburton, English bishop (d. 1779)
1724 – Johann Conrad Ammann, Swiss physician (d. 1811)
1737 – Silas Deane, American politician (d. 1789)
1745 – Benjamin Rush, American physician and founding father (d. 1813)
1754 – George Crabbe, British poet and naturalist (d. 1832)
1761 – Jean-Louis Pons, French astronomer (d. 1831)
1762 – Selim III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1808)
1784 – Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia (d. 1803)
1786 – Gregor MacGregor, Scottish soldier, adventurer and trickster (d. 1845)
1787 – Prince William of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1867)
1796 – Fernan Caballero, Spanish writer (d. 1877)
1798 – Adam Mickiewicz, Polish poet (d. 1855)

1801 – 1900

1809 – Kit Carson, American frontiersman (d. 1868)
1810 – Wilhelm Marstrand, Danish painter (d. 1873)
1818 – James Prescott Joule, British physicist (d. 1889)
1819 – Antonio de Trueba, Spanish writer (d. 1889)
1821 – Gabriel Garcia Moreno, President of Ecuador (d. 1875)
1837 – Elisabeth of Bavaria, Empress of Austria (d. 1898)
1837 – Cosima Wagner, wife of Richard Wagner (d. 1930)
1843 – Lydia Koidula, Estonian poet (d. 1886)
1845 – King George I of Greece (d. 1913)
1854 – Jose Maria Reina Barrios, President of Guatemala (d. 1898)
1863 – Enrique Fernandez Arbos, Spanish composer (d. 1959)
1867 – Suzuki Kantaro, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1948)
1868 – Emanuel Lasker, German chess player (d. 1941)
1886 – Richard Teichmann, German chess player (d. 1925)
1869 – Henriette Roland-Holst, Dutch poet (d. 1952)
1872 – Adam Gunn, American athlete (d. 1935)
1872 – Frederick Semple, American golfer and tennis player (d. 1927)
1879 – Queen Alexandrine of Denmark (d. 1952)
1881 – Juan Ramon Jimenez, Spanish writer (d. 1958)
1882 – Hans Rebane, Estonian politician, diplomat and journalist (d. 1961)
1887 – Louis Jouvet, French actor and producer (d. 1951)
1888 – Michael Curtiz, Hungarian–American movie director (d. 1962)
1892 – Ruth Chatterton, American actress, novelist and writer (d. 1961)
1893 – Harry Warren, American composer and lyricist (d. 1981)
1894 – Georges Guynemer, French pilot (d. 1917)
1896 – Jens Oliver Lisberg, Faroese law student and designer of the flag of the Faroe Islands (d. 1920)
1897 – Koto Okubo, Japanese supercentenarian (d. 2013)
1898 – Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan footballer (d. 1967)
1900 – Joey Smallwood, 1st Premier of Newfoundland (d. 1991)

1901 – 1950

1903 – Joseph Cornell, American artist and filmmaker (d. 1972)
1904 – Joseph M. Juran, Romanian–born American engineer (d. 2008)
1905 – Howard Hughes, American movie producer and inventor (d. 1976)
1906 – Joseph Höffner, German cardinal (d. 1987)
1907 – I. F. Stone, American journalist (d. 1989)
1907 – John Cody, American cardinal and Archbishop of Chicago (d. 1983)
1910 – Max Miedinger, Swiss typeface designer (d. 1980)
1914 – Ralph Marterie, Italian–American trumpeter and bandleader (d. 1978)
1914 – Herbert Reinecker, German writer (d. 2007)
1917 – Kim Jong-suk, North Korean figure, mother of Kim Jong-Il (d. 1949)
1919 – Pierre Soulages, French artist
1920 – Franco Lucentini, Italian writer and screenwriter (d. 2002)
1922 – Ava Gardner, American actress (d. 1990)
1923 – George Patton IV, American general (d. 2004)
1924 – Mohammed Rafi, Indian playback singer (d. 1980)
1924 – Lee Dorsey, American singer (d. 1986)
1924 – Abdirizak Haji Hussein, 4th Prime Minister of Somalia (d. 2014)
1926 – Ronald Draper, South African cricketer
1927 – Mary Higgins Clark, American writer (d. 2020)
1928 – Manfred Rommel, German politician (d. 2013)
1929 – Lennart Skoglund, Swedish footballer (d. 1975)
1931 – Walter Abish, American writer
1931 – Lech Trzeciakowski, Polish historian (d. 2017)
1931 – Mauricio Kagel, Argentine composer (d. 2008)
1934 – Stjepan Mesic, former President of Croatia
1937 – Félix Miéli Venerando, Brazilian footballer (d. 2012)
1940 – Anthony Fauci, American Physician and Director of NIAID
1941 – Hans Eichel, German politician
1941 – Andrzej Suski, Polish Roman Catholic bishop
1943 – Tarja Halonen, former President of Finland
1944 – Woody Shaw, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1989)
1944 – Daniel Johnson, Jr., 25th Premier of Quebec
1945 – Lemmy, British singer and musician (Motorhead) (d. 2015)
1946 – Jeff Sessions, American politician, 84th United States Attorney General
1948 – Frank Oliver, New Zealand rugby player
1948 – Edwige Fenech, Italian actress
1949 – Randy Neugebauer, American politician

1951 – 1975

1954 – Gregory S. Paul, American writer, illustrator and paleontologist
1954 – Jose Maria Figueres, former President of Costa Rica
1955 – Grand L. Bush, American actor
1956 – Irene Khan, Bangladeshi lawyer (Amnesty International)
1957 – Hamid Karzai, former President of Afghanistan
1958 – Lyse Doucet, Canadian journalist and BBC News correspondent
1958 – Philippa Whitford, Scottish politician
1959 – Anil Kapoor, Indian actor
1959 – Keith Deller, English darts player
1960 – Glenn McQueen, Canadian–American animator (d. 2002)
1960 – Carol Vorderman, English television host
1961 – Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan
1961 – Wade Williams, American actor
1962 – David Cobb, American lawyer and politician
1962 – Darren Wharton, English musician
1963 – Caroline Aherne, English comedienne and actress (d. 2016)
1963 – Mary Ramsey, American singer-songwriter
1966 – Diedrich Bader, American actor
1967 – Mikhail Shchennikov, Russian race walker
1967 – Pernilla Wahlgren, Swedish singer and actress
1968 – Choi Jin-sil, South Korean actress (d. 2008)
1969 – Ed Miliband, British politician
1969 – Mark Millar, British historian
1970 – Amaury Nolasco, Puerto Rican actor
1971 – Ricky Martin, Puerto Rican singer
1972 – Richard Dutruel, French footballer
1973 – Matt Passmore, Australian actor
1973 – Stephenie Meyer, American writer
1973 – Eddie Pope, American footballer
1974 – Marcelo Salas, Chilean footballer
1974 – Ryan Seacrest, American television host
1974 – Thure Lindhardt, Danish actor

From 1976

1978 – Yildiray Basturk, Turkish footballer
1978 – Souleymane Diawara, Senegalese footballer
1979 – Svetlana Pospelova, Russian athlete
1979 – Chris Hero, American professional wrestler
1980 – Stephen Appiah, Ghanaian footballer
1981 – Dima Bilan, Russian singer
1981 – Nneka, Nigerian singer
1982 – Aiba Masaki, Japanese singer and actor
1982 – Robert Schwartzman, American singer
1984 – Austin Stowell, American actor
1985 – Christina Schwanitz, German shot putter
1986 – Ana Brenda Contreras, Mexican–American actress and singer
1986 – Theodor Gebre Selassie, Czech footballer
1986 – Kyrylo Fesenko, Ukrainian basketball player
1986 – Riyo Mori, Japanese model
1986 – Satomi Ishihara, Japanese actress
1987 – Jane Summersett, American ice dancer
1988 – Simon Zenke, Nigerian footballer
1991 – Louis Tomlinson, English singer (One Direction)
1992 – Melissa Suffield, English actress
1993 – Mariya Nishiuchi, Japanese model, actress and singer
1993 – Yuya Kubo, Japanese footballer
2000 – Ethan Bortnick, American singer-songwriter, pianist and actor

Deaths

Up to 1900

1257 – John I, Count of Hainault (b. 1218)
1524 – Vasco da Gama, Portuguese explorer (b. 1469)
1660 – Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange (b. 1631)
1813 – Empress Go-Sakuramachi of Japan (b. 1740)
1863 – William Makepeace Thackeray, British writer (b. 1811)
1865 – Charles Lock Eastlake, English painter (b. 1793)
1868 – Adolphe d'Archiac, French paleontologist and geologist (b. 1802)
1869 – Edwin M. Stanton, American politician (b. 1815)
1872 – William John Macquorn Rankine, Scottish physician and engineer (b. 1820)
1873 – Johns Hopkins, American philanthropist and benefactor (b. 1795)
1889 – Jan Jakob Lodewijk ten Kate, Dutch clergyman and poet (b. 1819)
1893 – Robert Bentley, British botanist (b. 1821)
1898 – Charbel Makhluf, Lebanese monk and priest (b. 1828)

1901 – 2000

1914 – John Muir, Scottish–American naturalist and conservationist (b. 1838)
1920 – Stephen Mosher Wood, American politician (b. 1832)
1926 – Wesley Coe, American athlete (b. 1879)
1930 – Eduard David, German politician (b. 1863)
1934 – George W. P. Hunt, American politician, 1st Governor of Arizona (b. 1859)
1935 – Alban Berg, Austrian composer (b. 1885)
1938 – Bruno Taut, German architect (b. 1880)
1941 – Siegfried Alkan, German composer (b. 1858)
1942 – François Darlan, Prime Minister of France (b. 1881)
1947 – Charles Gondouin, French rugby player (b. 1875)
1957 – Norma Talmadge, American actress (b. 1894)
1962 – Wilhelm Ackermann, German mathematician (b. 1896)
1967 – Burt Baskin, American businessman (b. 1913)
1971 – Maria Koepcke, German–Peruvian ornithologist (b. 1924)
1973 – Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, Indian businessman, social activist, and politician (b. 1973)
1977 – Juan Velasco Alvarado, Peruvian politician and military (b. 1910)
1979 – Rudi Dutschke, German sociologist and student leader (b. 1940)
1980 – Karl Dönitz, German admiral (b. 1890)
1980 – Siggie Nordstrom, American actress and singer (b. 1893)
1982 – Louis Aragon, French writer (b. 1897)
1984 – Peter Lawford, British actor (b. 1923)
1985 – Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, American lawyer (b. 1904)
1987 – M. G. Ramachandran, Indian actor, producer and writer (b. 1917)
1987 – Joop den Uyl, Dutch politician (b. 1919)
1990 – Thorbjorn Egner, Norwegian writer (b. 1922)
1992 – Peyo, Belgian comic writer (b. 1928)
1994 – Rossano Brazzi, Italian actor, singer, director and screenwriter (b. 1916)
1997 – Toshiro Mifune, Japanese actor (b. 1920)
1999 – Maurice Couve de Murville, Prime Minister of France (b. 1907)
1999 – Joao Figueiredo, President of Brazil (b. 1918)
2000 – Nick Massi, American singer and musician (b. 1935)

From 2001

2002 – Kjell Aukrust, Norwegian writer (b. 1920)
2008 – Harold Pinter, British playwright (b. 1930)
2008 – Samuel P. Huntington, American politician (b. 1927)
2009 – Rafael Caldera, President of Venezuela (b. 1916)
2010 – Elisabeth Beresford, British writer (b. 1926)
2010 – Roy Neuberger, American banker (b. 1903)
2010 – Eino Tamberg, Estonian composer (b. 1930)
2011 – Johannes Heesters, Dutch–born entertainer, actor and singer (b. 1903)
2012 – Richard Rodney Bennett, British composer (b. 1936)
2012 – Charles Durning, American actor (b. 1923)
2012 – Jack Klugman, American actor (b. 1922)
2013 – Allan McKeown, English–American screenwriter and producer (b. 1946)
2014 – Krzysztof Krauze, Polish movie director and screenwriter (b. 1953)
2014 – Buddy DeFranco, American jazz clarinetist (b. 1923)
2014 – Edward Greenspan, Canadian lawyer (b. 1944)
2015 – Ron Jacobs, American basketball coach (b. 1942)
2016 – Liz Smith, English actress (b. 1921)
2016 – Richard Adams, English writer (b. 1920)
2016 – Rick Parfitt, English musician (Status Quo) (b. 1948)
2016 – Edwin Reinecke, American politician (b. 1924)
2017 – Jerry Kindall, American baseball player (b. 1935)
2017 – Heather Menzies, Canadian–American actress and model (b. 1949)
2017 – Andrey Zaliznyak, Russian linguist (b. 1935)

Observances

Christmas Eve (Western Christianity)
Independence Day (Libya)