This Day in History
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
More History
Every Rose Has Its Thorn puts Poison atop the charts
Fans of the subgenre typified by bands like Warrant Winger and Great White tended to refer to it as glam metal while detractors preferred the mo...
KKK founded
In Pulaski Tennessee a group of Confederate veterans convenes to form a secret society that they christen the Ku Klux Klan. The KKK rapidly grew...
War of 1812 ends
The Treaty of Peace and Amity between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America is signed by British and American representatives at Ghent Belgium...
Fire ravages Library of Congress
A devastating fire at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. destroys about two-thirds of its 55000 volumes including most of Thomas Jeffersons ...
Soviet tanks roll into Afghanistan
On December 24 1979 the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan under the pretext of upholding the Soviet-Afghan Friendship Treaty of 1978.As midnight approached t...
French Admiral Jean Darlan is assassinated
On this day a pro-Free French assassin in Algeria kills Jean Francois Darlan French admiral and collaborator in the Vichy government. He was 61.Born on August...
Viet Cong bomb Brinks Hotel
Two Viet Cong agents disguised as South Vietnamese soldiers leave a car filled with explosives parked at the Brinks Hotel in Saigon. The hotel was housing U.S. ...
Bob Hope gives his last show in Vietnam
Comedian Bob Hope gives what he says is his last Christmas show to U.S. servicemen in Saigon. Hope was a comedian and star of stage radio television and ove...
Curt Flood challenges MLB reserve clause
On this day in 1969 center fielder Curt Flood of the St. Louis Cardinals writes a letter to Bowie Kuhn the commissioner of major league baseball protesting t...
Fire destroys Jefferson library
On this day in 1851 a fire sweeps through the Library of Congress and destroys two-thirds of Thomas Jeffersons personal literary collection.Jefferson ...
Coolidge lights first national Christmas tree
On this day in 1923 President Calvin Coolidge touches a button and lights up the first national Christmas tree to grace the White House grounds.Not only was th...
Kit Carson born in Kentucky
Christopher Houston Kit Carson one of the most celebrated heroes of the American West is born in Richmond Kentucky.Shortly after Kit Carson was...
Woody Allen marries Soon-Yi Previn
On this day in 1997 Woody Allen the 62-year-old Academy Award-winning writer-director of such movies as Annie Hall and Hannah and Her Sisters marries 27-year...
Volcanic eruption sweeps away train
In a highly unusual chain of events a volcanic eruption in New Zealand causes a flood that sweeps away a train filled with passengers on this day in 1953. More...
Islamic terrorists hijack a French plane
On this day in 1994 four Islamic extremists hijack Air France Flight 8969 in Algiers. The terrorists then flew the plane to Marseilles with the permission of t...
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