December 24th in History

Michael Dobson | December 24

“Christmas Truce 1914” by Harold B. Robson, from collections of the Imperial War Museums. British troops from the Northumberland Hussars, 7th Division, in the Bridoux-Rouge Banc Sector, meet their German counterparts in No-Man’s Land during the unofficial truce, which began December 24, 1914.

Today in History

  • Captain James Cook discovers Christmas Island (Kiritimati) (1777)
  • The War of 1812 ends with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent (1814)
  • The carol “Silent Night” is performed publicly for the first time (1818)
  • The Eggnog Riot at West Point begins; it will end the following morning (1826)
  • A fire at the US Library of Congress destroys two-thirds of Thomas Jefferson’s book collection (1851)
  • The Ku Klux Klan is formed (1865)
  • Verdi’s opera Aida premiers in Cairo, Egypt (1871)
  • The first radio broadcast takes place (1906)
  • World War I: The “Christmas Truce” begins (1914)
  • World War II: Dwight D. Eisenhower is named Supreme Allied Commander (1943)
  • NORAD tracks Santa for the first time, beginning a holiday tradition (1955)
  • Apollo 8 enters into lunar orbit (1968)

Birthdays

  • King John, English monarch (1166)
  • Kit Carson, frontiersman (1809)
  • Matthew Arnold, poet (1822)
  • Michael Curtiz, filmmaker, director of Casablanca (1886)
  • J. M. Juran, quality guru (1904)
  • Howard Hughes, businessman, engineer, and pilot (1905)
  • I. F. Stone, journalist (1907)
  • Fritz Leiber, science fiction and fantasy writer (1910)
  • Ava Gardner, actress and singer (1922)
  • Mary Higgins Clark, author (1927)
  • Robert Joffrey, choreographer (1930)
  • Nicholas Meyer, author (1945)
  • Jeff Sessions, politician (1946)
  • Christopher Buckley, author (1952)
  • حامد کرزی (Hamid Karzai), president of Afghanistan (1957)
  • Kate Spade, fashion designer (1962)
  • Mark Millar, comic book writer (1969)
  • Ricky Martin, singer-songwriter (1971)
  • Stephanie Meyer, author (1973)
  • Ryan Seacrest, television host (1974)

Deaths

  • Vasco da Gama, explorer (1524)
  • William Makepeace Thackeray, author (1863)
  • Johns Hopkins, businessman and philanthropist (1973)
  • John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club (1914)
  • Norma Talmadge, actress (1957)
  • Bernard Herrmann, film composer (1975)
  • Karl Dönitz, German admiral (1980)
  • Peter Lawford, actor (1984)
  • Gardner Fox, comic book writer (1986)
  • Peyo, cartoonist, creator of The Smurfs (1992)
  • Norman Vincent Peale, self-help author (1993)
  • 三船 敏郎 (Toshiro Mifune), actor (1997)
  • Harold Pinter, playwright, Nobel laureate (2008)
  • Charles Durning, actor (2012)
  • Jack Klugman, actor (2012)

Holidays and Celebrations

  • Aðfangadagskvöld (Iceland)
  • Christmas Eve (Christianity)
  • Feast of the Seven Fishes (Italy)
  • Independence Day (Libya)
  • Juleaften (Denmark)/Julaften (Norway)/Julafton (Sweden)
  • Nittel Nacht (some Orthodox Jewish denominations)
  • Nochebuena (Spain and Spanish-speaking countries)
  • The Declaration of Christmas Peace (Old Great Square of Turku, Finland)
Informal and made-up holidays include National Chocolate Day and National Egg Nog Day.
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December 24 is the 358th day of the year (359th in leap years). There are 7 days remaining until the end of the year.