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Historical Events

24 Dec 1294
Cardinal Benedetto Gaetani chosen as Pope Boniface VIII
24 Dec 1476
400 Burgundian soldiers freeze to death during siege of Nancy
24 Dec 1515
Thomas Wolsey appointed Lord Chancellor of England
24 Dec 1565
Compromise of the Nobles in Habsburg Netherlands closes against inquisition
24 Dec 1651
Jan van Riebeeck departs for Cape of Good Hope to found 1st permanent European settlement
24 Dec 1798
Russia & Britain sign Second anti-French Coalition
24 Dec 1818
Christmas carol Silent Night composed by Franz Xaver Gruber is first sung at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf Austria
24 Dec 1832
1st US Negro hospital founded by whites chartered Savannah Georgia
24 Dec 1832
HMS Beagle anchors in Wigwam Bay at Cape Receiver
24 Dec 1849
First great fire of early San Francisco starts east side of the Plaza first of great seven fires in 2 years
24 Dec 1851
Fire devastates US Library of Congress in Washington destroys 35000 volumes
24 Dec 1860
Joseph Jeffersons Rip Van Winkle premieres in NYC
24 Dec 1865
Several Confederate veterans form Ku Klux Klan in Pulaski Tennessee
24 Dec 1871
Giusseppi Verdis Aida opera premieres in Cairo
24 Dec 1884
Austria-Hungary admits King Leopold IIs Congo Free State
24 Dec 1889
Daniel Stover & William Hance patent bicycle with back pedal brake
24 Dec 1898
Herman Heijermans Ghetto premieres in Amsterdam
24 Dec 1900
Herman Heijermans Hope of Blessing premieres in Amsterdam
24 Dec 1900
The French Chamber of Deputies and Senate pass a bill calling for an end to agitation or prosecutions against those involved in the Dreyfus affair which has divided France since 1894
24 Dec 1900
Foreign powers present the Chinese Empress with their list of irrevocable conditions before their nations will withdraw troops from China
24 Dec 1901
Private companies allowed to use the word postcard in the US. Previously they were labelled Private Mailing Cards and known as souvenir cards.
24 Dec 1904
German SW Africa abolishes slavery of young children
24 Dec 1906
Reginald A Fessenden became 1st to broadcast music over radio (Mass)
24 Dec 1910
Luisa Tetrazzini sings to 250000 people at Lottas Fountain San Francisco
24 Dec 1912
Irving Fisher patents archiving system with index cards
24 Dec 1920
Enrico Caruso gives his last public performance (NYC)
24 Dec 1921
Ottawas Harry Broadbent scores in 10-0 Senators blowout of the Montreal Canadiens first in 16-game NHL record goal-scoring streak Charlie Simmers 13 game streak (1979) is considered modern-day record
24 Dec 1922
BBC broadcasts first British radio play The Truth about Father Christmas
24 Dec 1924
Albania becomes a republic (ex-premier Ahmed Zogoes coup)
24 Dec 1924
Richard Rodgers Theater (46th St Chanins) opens at 226 W 46th NYC
24 Dec 1924
School in Babbs Switch Oklahoma catches fire 36 die
24 Dec 1927
Test Cricket debut of Walter Hammond who scored 51 & took 5-36 v S Af
24 Dec 1928
George Abbott Theater (Adelphi 54 St) opens at 152 W 54th St NYC
24 Dec 1930
F Garcia Lorcas La Zapatera Prodigiosa premieres in Madrid
24 Dec 1932
Arturo Alessandri wins presidental election in Chile
24 Dec 1933
Paris express train derails & kills 160 injures 300 (France)
24 Dec 1934
Grimmett takes 9-180 for SA as Queensland make 430
24 Dec 1936
1st radioactive isotope medicine administered in Berkeley California
24 Dec 1937
Dutch government recognizes Italian king Emanuel III as emperor of Abyssinia
24 Dec 1939
World War II Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas Eve appeal for peace.
24 Dec 1942
First powered flight of V-1 buzz bomb Peenemunde Germany
24 Dec 1942
Red army occupies German airports at Tasjinskaja & Morozowsk
24 Dec 1943
Terence Rattigans While the Sun Shines premieres in London
24 Dec 1946
US General MacNarney gives 800000 minor nazis amnesty
24 Dec 1948
First US completely solar heated house is occupied (Dover Mass)
24 Dec 1948
Greek government disbands due to state of war press censorship
24 Dec 1950
Cleveland Browns beat LA Rams 30-28 in NFL championship game
24 Dec 1951
United Kingdom of Libya gains independence from Italy via UN
24 Dec 1953
Two fast express trains crash head-on killing 103 in Czechoslovakia
24 Dec 1953
KHOL (now KHGI) TV channel 13 in Kearney NB (ABC) begins broadcasting
24 Dec 1953
KOA (now KCNC) TV channel 4 in Denver CO (NBC) begins broadcasting
24 Dec 1953
Wellington-Auckland (NZ) express train swept away in flood kills 166
24 Dec 1954
Council for the Protection of Children forms in Netherlands
24 Dec 1956
I Love Lucy Christmas show airs never put in syndication
24 Dec 1956
Ferdinand de Lesseps statue blown up in Port Said Egypt
24 Dec 1961
Houston Oilers beat San Diego Chargers 10-3 in AFL championship game
24 Dec 1964
Shooting begins on The Cage the pilot for Star Trek
24 Dec 1966
Joyful Noise closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 12 performances
24 Dec 1966
USAF C144 military charter aircraft crashes near Binh Thai Vietnam killing 129
24 Dec 1967
Pirate Radio Pegasus starts broadcasting off New Zealand
24 Dec 1968
Apollo 8 astronauts read passages from Book of Genesis
24 Dec 1968
WATU (now WAGT) TV channel 26 in Augusta GA (CBS) begins broadcasting
24 Dec 1968
Ballon dOr Manchester Uniteds winger George Best wins award for best European football player ahead of team mate Bobby Charlton and Red Star Belgrade winger Dragan Daji first Northern Irish national to win the award
24 Dec 1970
9 Jews are convicted in Leningrad of hijacking a plane
24 Dec 1971
Peruvian Airlines Electra crashes at headwaters of Amazon killing all except Juliane Margaret Koepcke found 10 days later
24 Dec 1973
Ferryboat capsized off coast of Equador drowning 200
24 Dec 1973
District of Columbia Home Rule Act is passed allowing residents of Washington D.C. to elect their own local government.
24 Dec 1974
Cardinals Lou Brock is named Sportsman of the Year
24 Dec 1977
Ghost to the Post Raiders tight end Dave Casper (The Ghost) catches a 42-yard reception to set up the Raiders tying field goal near the end of regulation (Raiders win in OT)
24 Dec 1980
Americans remembered Iran hostages by shining lights for 417 seconds
24 Dec 1982
Chaminade with a student body of only 850 students beats 1 ranked Virginia 77-72 in a Honolulu holiday basketball classic
24 Dec 1985
Ballon dOr Juventus French midfielder Michel Platini is named Europes best football player for the 3rd consecutive time beats Verona striker Preben Elkjr and Barcelona midfielder Bernd Schuster
24 Dec 1986
French hostage Aurel Cornea held in Lebanon for 9 months released
24 Dec 1986
Iran offensive against Iraqi islands of Shatt al-Arab
24 Dec 1989
Charles Taylor enters Liberia to unseat President Samuel K Doe
24 Dec 1991
Ballon dOr Marseille forward Jean-Pierre Papin is named Europes best football player first from the French League to win the trophy
24 Dec 1994
Four Muslim fundamentalists capture Air France pilot in Algiers
24 Dec 1995
Ballon dOr PSGMilans Liberian striker George Weah is named Europes best football player first edition where players born outside Europe permitted to receive votes
24 Dec 1996
Ballon dOr Borussia Dortmunds German sweeper Matthias Sammer is named best football player in Europe ahead of PSVBarcelona striker Ronaldo and Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer
24 Dec 1997
1st time a Channukah candle is officially lit in Vatican City
24 Dec 1997
The Sid El-Antri massacre (or Sidi Lamri) in Algeria kills 50-100 people.
24 Dec 1997
The Dominican Republic becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty
24 Dec 2000
The Texas 7 hold up a sports store in Irving Texas. Police officer Aubrey Hawkins is shot during the robbery
24 Dec 2003
Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 355 p.m. inside Madrids busy Chamartn Station.
24 Dec 2012
11 kindergarten children are killed after a minivan plunges into a roadside pond in Jiangxi China
24 Dec 1950
National Football League Championship Cleveland Stadium Cleveland Browns beat LA Rams 30-28 Cleveland has 5 interceptions Rams 1
24 Dec 1961
AFL Championship Balboa Stadium San Diego Houston Oilers beat San Diego Chargers 10-3 Billy Cannon scores games only TD
24 Dec 1860
Actor Joseph Jeffersons dramatization of Rip Van Winkle premieres in NYC
24 Dec 1932
Arturo Alessandri wins presidential election in Chile
24 Dec 1968
Ballon dOr Manchester Uniteds winger George Best wins award for best European football player ahead of teammate Bobby Charlton and Red Star Belgrade winger Dragan Daji first Northern Irish national to win the award
24 Dec 1734
Royal Alczar of Madrid burns down in Madrid with the lost of many artworks though paintings of Velzquez are saved
24 Dec 1871
Giusseppi Verdis Aida opera premieres in Cairo Egypt
24 Dec 1895
George Vanderbilt opens Biltmore estate the largest privately owned house in America at 178926 square feet (16622.8 m2) in Asheville North Carolina
24 Dec 1906
Reginald Fessenden becoomes 1st to broadcast music over radio (disputed)
24 Dec 1951
1st opera commissioned for television - Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti premieres on NBC with the NBC Opera Theater
24 Dec 1966
Oscar Brand and Paul Nassaus musical A Joyful Noise starring John Raitt closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 12 performances
24 Dec 1970
Walt Disney releases animated musical The Aristocats featuring voices of Phil Harris Eva Gabor Hermione Baddeley Sterling Holloway and Scatman Crothers
24 Dec 1974
MLB St Louis Cardinals Lou Brock is named Sportsman of the Year
24 Dec 1992
US President George Bush issues a pardon to former National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane for his role in Iran-Contra Affair
24 Dec 1815
Karol Kurpiskis melodramatic opera The Reward or the Revival of the Polish Kingdom premieres at the Warsaw Opera
24 Dec 1853
William Henry Frys Santa Claus Christmas Symphony premiere performance by conductor Louis Antoine Julliens orchestra at Metropolitan Hall NYC [1]
24 Dec 1515
Thomas Wolsey appointed Lord Chancellor of England by Henry VIII
24 Dec 1565
Compromise of the Nobles in Habsburg Netherlands closes against the Inquisition
24 Dec 1568
Morisco Revolt against Spanish suppression in the mountainous Alpujarra region of Granada begins with a wave of violence led by Aben Humeya
24 Dec 1824
Chi Phi Society forms at the College of New Jersey in Princeton said to be the first US fraternity disbands after a year but later revives and merges with similar groups across the nation as part of the Chi Pi Fraternity
24 Dec 1884
Austria-Hungary officially recognizes King Leopold IIs Congo Free State
24 Dec 1889
Daniel Stover and William Hance patent a bicycle with a back-pedal brake
24 Dec 1904
German South West Africa abolishes the slavery of young children
24 Dec 1924
First radio transmission of NCRV in the Netherlands
24 Dec 1927
Test cricket debut of Walter Hammond who scores 51 and takes 5-36 against South Africa
24 Dec 1930
F. Garca Lorcas La zapatera prodigiosa premieres in Madrid
24 Dec 1934
Cricketing spin bowler Clarrie Grimmett takes 9-180 for South Australia as Queensland make 430
24 Dec 1936
First radioactive isotope medicine is administered in Berkeley California
24 Dec 1942
Red Army occupies German airfields at Tatsinskaya and Morozovsk
24 Dec 1951
First opera commissioned for television - Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti premieres on NBC with the NBC Opera Theater
24 Dec 1951
The United Kingdom of Libya gains independence from Italy through the United Nations
24 Dec 1953
The Wellington to Auckland night express train plunges into the Whangaehu River at Tangiwai after floods weaken the bridge killing 151 of the 285 passengers and crew aboard in New Zealands worst railway accident [1]
24 Dec 1980
Americans remember hostages held by Iran by shining lights for 417 seconds
24 Dec 1982
Chaminade with a student body of only 850 students defeats 1 ranked Virginia 77-72 in a Honolulu holiday basketball classic
24 Dec 1997
Sid El-Antri massacre (or Sidi Lamri) in Algeria kills 50 to 100 people
24 Dec 2010
Gary Sinise converts to Catholicism following his wife who converted in 2000
24 Dec 2023
Beijing breaks its 1951 record for sub-zero December temperatures recording more than 300 hours as a record cold spell affects the north and northeast of China [1]
24 Dec 1593
Storm hits the North Holland port of Texel 40 ships are lost and about 500 seamen are killed [1]
24 Dec 1832
First Negro hospital founded by whites chartered in Savannah Georgia
24 Dec 1851
Fire devastates US Library of Congress in Washington and destroys 35000 volumes
24 Dec 1871
Giuseppe Verdis opera Aida premieres in Cairo Egypt
24 Dec 1889
Daniel Stover and William Hance patent a bicycle with a backpedal brake
24 Dec 1901
Private companies are allowed to use the word postcard in the US previously they were labeled Private Mailing Cards and known as souvenir cards
24 Dec 1904
The London Coliseum Theatre of Varieties opens
24 Dec 1922
BBC broadcasts the first British radio play The Truth About Father Christmas
24 Dec 1948
First US completely solar heated house is occupied in Dover Massachusetts
24 Dec 1970
Nine Jews are convicted in Leningrad of attempting to hijack a plane
24 Dec 1990
Expos trade Tim Raines to the White Sox for Ivn Caldern and Barry Jones
24 Dec 2024
NASAs Parker Solar probe makes a record-breaking approach to the Sun coming within 3.8 million miles (6 million kilometers) of the star [1]