December 24 in recent years
2009 (Thursday)
2008 (Wednesday)
2007 (Monday)
2006 (Sunday)
2005 (Saturday)
2004 (Friday)
2003 (Wednesday)
2002 (Tuesday)
2001 (Monday)
2000 (Sunday)
December 24 leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 6 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events [ ] 563 - The Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is inaugurated for the second time after being destroyed by earthquakes.640 - John IV becomes Pope .1294 - Pope Boniface VIII is elected Pope , replacing St. Celestine V , who had abdicated .1515 - Thomas Wolsey is named the English Lord Chancellor .1777 - Kiritimati , also called Christmas Island, was discovered by James Cook .1800 - Assassination attempt on Napoleon Bonaparte 's life.1814 - The Treaty of Ghent was signed which ended the War of 1812 .1818 - "Silent Night " composed by Franz Xaver Gruber and Josef Mohr .1851 - Library of Congress burns.1865 - Several US Civil War Confederate veterans form the Ku Klux Klan .1888 - Vincent Van Gogh cuts off his ear during some sort of seizure .1906 - Radio : Reginald Fessenden transmitted the first radio broadcast. The first program, consisted of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech.1914 - World War I : The "Christmas truce " begins.1924 - Albania becomes a republic.1929 - Assassination attempt of Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen .1939 - World War II : Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas Eve appeal for peace.1941 - World War II: Hong Kong falls to the Japanese Imperial Army .1941 - World War II: Kuching is conquered by Japanese forces.
1942 - World War II: French monarchist, Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle , assassinates Vichy French Admiral François Darlan in Algiers 1943 - World War II: U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the Supreme Allied Commander .1946 - France 's Fourth Republic founded.1951 - Libya becomes independent from Italy . Idris I is proclaimed King of Libya.1953 - Tangiwai disaster : A railway bridge collapse at Tangiwai , New Zealand sends a fully loaded passenger train into the Whangaehu River , killing 153 people.1953 - NBC 's Dragnet television program.
1954 - Laos becomes independent.1966 - A Canadair CL-44 chartered by the United States military crashes into a small village in South Vietnam , killing 129.1968 - The crew of the USS Pueblo is released by North Korea after being held for 11 months on suspicion of spying .1968 - Apollo Program : The crew of Apollo 8 Christmas Eve Broadcast , one of the most watched programs in history.
1974 - Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia .1979 - The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan to support the country's Marxist government.1979 - The first European Ariane rocket is launched.
1987 - Japanese legendary rock band BOØWY declares their breakup at the Shibuya Kokaido.1990 - Wedding from Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise.
1997 - The Sid El-Antri massacre (or Sidi Lamri) in Algeria kills 50-100 people.1997 - The Dominican Republic becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty .
2000 - The Texas 7 holds up a sports store in Irving . Police officer Aubrey Hawkins is shot during the robbery.2002 - The New Delhi Metro opens.2003 - The Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m. inside Madrid 's busy Chamartín Station .Births [ ] 1166 - King John of England (d. 1216 )1389 - John VI (d. 1442 )1475 - Thomas Murner , German writer (d.c. 1537 )1491 - Ignatius of Loyola , Spanish founder of the Jesuit order (d. 1556 )1508 - Pietro Carnesecchi , Italian humanist (d. 1567 )1588 - Constance of Austria , queen of Poland (d. 1631 )1609 - Philip Warwick , English writer and politician (d. 1683 )1635 - Mariana of Austria , second wife of king Philip IV of Spain (d. 1696 )1698 - William Warburton , English Bishop of Gloucester (d. 1779 )1724 - Johann Conrad Ammann , Swiss physician and naturalist (d. 1811 )1754 - George Crabbe , English poet and naturalist (d. 1832 )1761 - Jean-Louis Pons , French astronomer (d. 1831 )1798 - Adam Mickiewicz , Polish poet (d. 1855 )1809 - Kit Carson , American frontiersman (d. 1868 )1812 - Karl Eduard Zachariae , German jurist (d. 1894 )1818 - James Prescott Joule , British physicist (d. 1889 )1822 - Matthew Arnold , English poet (d. 1888 )1837 - Elisabeth of Bavaria a.k.a Sissi , Empress of Austria (d. 1898 )1843 - Lydia Koidula , Estonian poet (d. 1886 )1845 - King George I of Greece (d. 1913 )1867 - Kantaro Suzuki , 42nd Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1948 )1868 - Emanuel Lasker , German chess player (d. 1941 )1879 - Queen Alexandrine of Denmark , Queen Consort to Christian X (d. 1952 )1879 - Émile Nelligan , Quebec poet (d. 1941 )
1880 - Johnny Gruelle , American cartoonist, children's book writer and creator of Raggedy Ann (d. 1939 )1881 - Juan Ramón Jiménez , Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958 )1886 - Michael Curtiz , Hungarian-born director (d. 1962 )1887 - Louis Jouvet , French actor and producer (d. 1951 )1893 - Harry Warren , American composer and lyricist (Chattanooga Choo Choo - I Only Have Eyes for You ) (d. 1981 )1894 - Georges Guynemer , French aviator (d. 1917 )1895 - E. Roland Harriman , American financier (d. 1978 )1898 - Héctor Scarone , Uruguayan footballer (d. 1967 )1898 - Baby Dodds , American jazz drummer (d. 1959 )
1900 - Joey Smallwood , Canadian politician, Premier of Newfoundland (d. 1991 )1905 - Howard Hughes , American film producer and inventor (d. 1976 )1906 - Franz Waxman , German film composer (d. 1967 )1910 - Fritz Leiber , American writer (d. 1992 )1914 - Herbert Reinecker , German writer1917 - Kim Jong-suk , Wife of Kim Il-sung, mother of Kim Jung-Il, "The Heroine of the Anti-Japanese Revolution" (d. 1949 )1920 - Evgeniya Rudneva , Russian World War II heroine (d. 1944 )1922 - Ava Gardner , American actress (d. 1990 )1923 - George Patton IV , American general (d. 2004 )1923 - Michael DiBiase , American wrestler (d. 1969 )
1924 - Lee Dorsey , American singer (d. 1986 )1924 - Grigory Kriss , Russian Olympic champion fencer
1925 - Mohd. Rafi , Indian actor and playback singer (d. 1980 )1926 - Paul Buissonneau , French-born Quebec theatre director1929 - Mary Higgins Clark , American author1931 - Mauricio Kagel , Argentine composer1931 - Ray Bryant , American jazz pianist and composer
1932 - On Kawara , Japanese conceptual artist1937 - Félix Miéli Venerando , Brazilian football player1938 - Bobby Henrich , American baseball player1938 - Valentim Loureiro , Portuguese politician, and former football chairman of Boavista F.C. and Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional
1941 - John Levene , British actor1943 - Tarja Halonen , President of Finland 1944 - Daniel Johnson , Quebec politician, Premier of Quebec 1944 - Mike Curb , American musician, record company executive and politician
1944 - Oswald Gracias , Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bombay
1944 - Barry Chuckle , British comedian
1945 - Lemmy , British singer, bassist (Motörhead )1945 - Nicholas Meyer , American author
1946 - Brenda Howard , American bisexual activist (d. 2005 )1946 - Jeff Sessions , American politician
1947 - Kevin Sheedy , coach of Australian Football League club Essendon FC 1948 - Frank Oliver , New Zealand rugby player
1949 - Randy Neugebauer , American politician1949 - Warwick Brown , Australian racing driver
1950 - Dana Gioia , American poet1951 - John D'Acquisto , baseball player1953 - François Loos , French politician1954 - José María Figueres , Costa Rican politician
1955 - Grand L. Bush , American actor1955 - Clarence Gilyard , American actor
1957 - Hamid Karzai , President of Afghanistan 1957 - Diane Tell , Quebec singer
1958 - Munetaka Higuchi , Japanese drummer1959 - Keith Deller , English darts player1959 - Anil Kapoor , Indian actor
1960 - Glenn McQueen , American animator1960 - Carol Vorderman , British television presenter1961 - Ilham Aliyev , President of Azerbaijan Republic1963 - Mary Ramsey , American singer (10,000 Maniacs )1966 - Diedrich Bader , American actor1967 - Mikhail Shchennikov , Russian race walker1968 - Doyle Bramhall II , American guitarist1969 - Mark Millar , Scottish comic book writer1970 - Amaury Nolasco , American actor1970 - Will Oldham , American singer and songwriter
1971 - Christopher Daniels , American professional wrestler1971 - Ricky Martin , Puerto Rican singer
1971 - Giorgos Alkaios , Greek singer
1972 - Alvaro Mesen , Costa Rican footballer1973 - Eddie Pope , American soccer player1973 - Stephenie Meyer , Author1974 - Marcelo Salas , Chilean footballer1974 - Ryan Seacrest , American television host
1978 - Yıldıray Baştürk , Turkish footballer1979 - Chris Hero , American professional wrestler1980 - Tomas Kalnoky , American musician (Streetlight Manifesto )1981 - Dima Bilan , Karachay-Russian pop artist1982 - Aiba Masaki , Japanese singer and actor1985 - David Ragan , American race car driver1986 - Edward Southall , English composer1986 - Riyo Mori , Miss Universe 2007 from Japan Deaths [ ] 427 - Archbishop Sisinnius I of Constantinople 820 - Leo V , Byzantine Emperor (assassinated) (b. 775 )1257 - John I (b. 1218 )1453 - John Dunstaple , English composer (bc. 1390 )1524 - Vasco da Gama , Portuguese explorer (bc. 1469 )1660 - Mary (b. 1631 )1707 - Noël Coypel , French painter (b. 1628 )1813 - Empress Go-Sakuramachi of Japan (b. 1740 )1863 - William Makepeace Thackeray , English writer (b. 1811 )1865 - Sir Charles Lock Eastlake , English painter and writer (b. 1793 )1868 - Adolphe d'Archiac , French paleontologist and geologist (b. 1802 )1872 - William John Macquorn Rankine , Scotish physician and engenier (b. 1820 )1873 - Johns Hopkins , Baltimore philanthropist and businessman (b. 1795 )1889 - Jan Jakob Lodewijk ten Kate , Dutch poet and clergyman (b. 1819 )1898 - Sharbel Makhluf , Lebanese monk canonized in 1977 by Pope Paul VI (b. 1828 )1914 - John Muir , Scottish-born naturalist (b. 1838 )1935 - Alban Berg , Austrian composer (b. 1885 )1938 - Bruno Taut , German architect (b. 1880 )1941 - Siegfried Alkan , German composer (b. 1858 )1942 - François Darlan , vice-premier of Vichy France (b. 1881 )1957 - Norma Talmadge , American actress (b. 1894 )1972 - Gisela Richter , English art historian (b. 1882 )1972 - Melville Ruick , American actor (b. 1898 )
1975 - Bernard Herrmann , American film composer (b. 1911 )1976 - Duarte Nuno , heir to the throne of Portugal (b. 1907 )1977 - Samael Aun Weor , Columbian writer (b. 1917 )1980 - Karl Dönitz , President of Germany (b. 1891 )1980 - Siggie Nordstrom , model, actress, entertainer, socialite and lead singer of The Nordstrom Sisters (b. 1893 )
1982 - Louis Aragon , French writer (b. 1897 )1984 - Peter Lawford , English actor (b. 1923 )1985 - Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith , Last Lincoln descendant (b. 1904 )1986 - Gardner Fox , American writer (b. 1911 )1987 - Joop den Uyl , Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1919 )1987 - M. G. Ramachandran , Chief Minister of the Tamil Nadu (b. 1917 )
1990 - Thorbjørn Egner , Norwegian author (b. 1922 )1992 - Peyo , Belgian comics artist, and creator of The Smurfs (b. 1928 )1992 - Bobby LaKind , American musician and singer (The Doobie Brothers ) (b. 1945 )
1993 - Norman Vincent Peale , American writer (b. 1898 )1994 - John Boswell , American historian (b. 1947 )1994 - Rossano Brazzi , Italian actor and singer (b. 1916 )
1997 - Toshirô Mifune , Japanese actor (b. 1920 )1997 - Pierre Péladeau , Quebec businessman, founder of Quebecor (b. 1925 )
1999 - João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo , President of Brazil (b. 1918 )1999 - Maurice Couve de Murville , French politician, Prime minister of France (b. 1907 )
1999 - Bill Bowerman , American track and field coach
2000 - Nick Massi , American singer (The Four Seasons ) (b. 1935 )2002 - Kjell Aukrust , Norwegian author (b. 1920 )2002 - Laci Peterson , American murder victim (b. 1975 )
2004 - Johnny Oates , baseball player and manager (b. 1946 )2005 - Michael Vale , American commercial actor (b. 1922 )2006 - "Braguinha" , Brazilian songwriter (b. 1907 )2006 - Kenneth Sivertsen , Norwegian singer, poet and comedian (b. 1961 )
2006 - Frank Stanton , American television executive (b. 1908 ) Holidays and observances [ ] December 24 is celebrated as the day before Christmas , thus called Christmas Eve .
Calendar of saints : Feast of Saint Adela and Saint Irmina.It is the day when food is traditionally set out for Santa Claus and his reindeer . Children around the world are urged to go to bed early so they are not awake when he arrives.
In Portugal , Germany , Switzerland , Hungary , Finland , Denmark , Sweden , Iceland , Norway , Poland , the Czech Republic , Slovakia and the Dominican Republic , among others, this is the day that presents are exchanged and opened.
The Declaration of Christmas Peace takes place in the Old Great Square of Turku , Finland 's official Christmas City , according to old traditions dating back to the Middle Ages . External links [ ]
109 Familypedia people were born on December 24
152 Familypedia people died on December 24
144 Familypedia people were first married on December 24