Vintage News · Odd history for December 24

What Happened On December 24

Q: What happened on December 24?

2018: A helicopter crash kills Martha Érika Alonso, first female Governor of Puebla, Mexico, and her husband Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, former governor. 1818: The Christmas carol "Silent Night" (audio featured) by Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber was first performed in a church in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. 1818: The first performance of "Silent Night" takes place in the Nikolauskirche in Oberndorf, Austria. 1800: The Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise fails to kill Napoleon Bonaparte. 1294: Pope Boniface VIII is elected, replacing St. Celestine V, who had resigned. 640: Pope John IV is elected, several months after his predecessor's death. 1968: Piloted by Jim Lovell, Apollo 8 became the first human spaceflight to reach and orbit the Moon (Earthrise pictured). 1925: Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by name in a children's story in the London Evening News. 1979: The first Ariane 1 rocket is launched from ELA-1 at the Guiana Space Centre. 1971: LANSA Flight 508 is struck by lightning and crashes in the Puerto Inca District in the Department of Huánuco in Peru, killing 91.

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10 odd things that happened on December 24

2018 First ever
A helicopter crash kills Martha Érika Alonso, first female Governor of Puebla, Mexico, and her husband Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, former governor.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1818 First ever
The Christmas carol "Silent Night" (audio featured) by Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber was first performed in a church in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1818 First ever
The first performance of "Silent Night" takes place in the Nikolauskirche in Oberndorf, Austria.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1800 Weird
The Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise fails to kill Napoleon Bonaparte.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1294 Oddly true
Pope Boniface VIII is elected, replacing St. Celestine V, who had resigned.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
640 Oddly true
Pope John IV is elected, several months after his predecessor's death.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1968 First ever
Piloted by Jim Lovell, Apollo 8 became the first human spaceflight to reach and orbit the Moon (Earthrise pictured).
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1925 First ever
Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by name in a children's story in the London Evening News.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1979 First ever
The first Ariane 1 rocket is launched from ELA-1 at the Guiana Space Centre.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1971 Oddly true
LANSA Flight 508 is struck by lightning and crashes in the Puerto Inca District in the Department of Huánuco in Peru, killing 91.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2021Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians. Wikipedia →
2018A helicopter crash kills Martha Érika Alonso, first female Governor of Puebla, Mexico, and her husband Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, former governor. Wikipedia →
2008The Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group, begins a series of attacks against civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, massacring more than 400. Wikipedia →
2005Chad–Sudan relations: Chad declares a state of belligerence against Sudan following a December 18 attack on Adré, which left about 100 people dead. Wikipedia →
2003The Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m. inside Madrid's busy Chamartín Station. Wikipedia →
1999Indian Airlines Flight 814 is hijacked in Indian airspace between Kathmandu, Nepal, and Delhi, India. The aircraft landed at Kandahar in Afghanistan. The incident ended on December 31 with the release of 190 survivors (one passenger is killed). Wikipedia →
1997The Sid El-Antri massacre in Algeria kills between 50 and 100 people. Wikipedia →
1996A Learjet 35 crashes into Smarts Mountain near Dorchester, New Hampshire, killing both pilots on board. Wikipedia →
1994Air France Flight 8969 is hijacked on the ground at Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers, Algeria. Over the course of three days three passengers are killed, as are all four terrorists. Wikipedia →
1983Aeroflot Flight 601 crashes during takeoff from Leshukonskoye Airport, Russia, killing 44 of the 49 people on board. Wikipedia →
1979The first Ariane 1 rocket is launched from ELA-1 at the Guiana Space Centre. Wikipedia →
1974Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia. Wikipedia →
1973District of Columbia Home Rule Act is passed, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to elect their own local government. Wikipedia →
1971LANSA Flight 508 is struck by lightning and crashes in the Puerto Inca District in the Department of Huánuco in Peru, killing 91. Wikipedia →
1969Nigerian troops capture Umuahia, the Biafran capital. Wikipedia →
1968Apollo program: The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so. They performed ten lunar orbits, took the Earthrise photograph, broadcast live TV pictures, and read the first ten verses of Genesis. Wikipedia →
1968Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 crashes on approach to Bradford Regional Airport, killing 20. Wikipedia →
1966A Canadair CL-44 chartered by the United States military crashes into a small village in South Vietnam, killing 111. Wikipedia →
1964Vietnam War: Viet Cong operatives bomb the Brinks Hotel in Saigon, South Vietnam to demonstrate they can strike an American installation in the heavily guarded capital. Wikipedia →
1964Flying Tiger Line Flight 282 crashes after takeoff from San Francisco International Airport, killing three. Wikipedia →
1955A flood devastates California, killing 74 people across portions of the state. Wikipedia →
1953Tangiwai disaster: In New Zealand's North Island, at Tangiwai, a railway bridge is damaged by a lahar and collapses beneath a passenger train, killing 151 people. Wikipedia →
1952First flight of Britain's Handley Page Victor strategic bomber. Wikipedia →
1951Libya becomes independent. Idris I is proclaimed King of Libya. Wikipedia →
1945Five of nine children become missing after their home in Fayetteville, West Virginia, is burned down. Wikipedia →
1944World War II: The Belgian Troopship Leopoldville was torpedoed and sank with the loss of 763 soldiers and 56 crew. Wikipedia →
1943World War II: U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower is named Supreme Allied Commander for Operation Overlord. Wikipedia →
1942World War II: French monarchist, Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, assassinates Vichy French Admiral François Darlan in Algiers, Algeria. Wikipedia →
1941World War II: Kuching is conquered by Japanese forces. Wikipedia →
1941World War II: Benghazi is conquered by the British Eighth Army. Wikipedia →
1939World War II: Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas Eve appeal for peace. Wikipedia →
1929Assassination attempt on Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen. Wikipedia →
1929A four alarm fire breaks out in the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C. Wikipedia →
1924Albania becomes a republic. Wikipedia →
1920Gabriele D'Annunzio surrendered the Italian Regency of Carnaro in the city of Fiume to Italian Armed Forces. Wikipedia →
1918Region of Međimurje is captured by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes from Hungary. Wikipedia →
1914World War I: The "Christmas truce" begins. Wikipedia →
1913The Italian Hall disaster in Calumet, Michigan results in the deaths of 73 striking workers families at a Christmas party participants (including 59 children) when someone falsely yells "fire". Wikipedia →
1906Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio broadcast; consisting of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech. Wikipedia →
1868The Greek Presidential Guard is established as the royal escort by King George I. Wikipedia →
1865Former Confederate officers Frank McCord, Richard Reed, John Lester, John Kennedy, J. Calvin Jones, and James Crowe form the Ku Klux Klan. Wikipedia →
1846British acquired Labuan from the Sultanate of Brunei for Great Britain. Wikipedia →
1818The first performance of "Silent Night" takes place in the Nikolauskirche in Oberndorf, Austria. Wikipedia →
1814Representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States sign the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812. Wikipedia →
1800The Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise fails to kill Napoleon Bonaparte. Wikipedia →
1777Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is discovered by James Cook. Wikipedia →
1737The Marathas defeat the combined forces of the Mughal Empire, Rajputs of Jaipur, Nizam of Hyderabad, Nawab of Awadh and Nawab of Bengal in the Battle of Bhopal. Wikipedia →
1500A joint Venetian–Spanish fleet captures the Castle of St. George on the island of Cephalonia. Wikipedia →
1294Pope Boniface VIII is elected, replacing St. Celestine V, who had resigned. Wikipedia →
1144The capital of the crusader County of Edessa falls to Imad ad-Din Zengi, the atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo. Wikipedia →
971Battle of Ayn Shams: The Fatimids under Jawhar defeat the Qarmatians at the gates of Cairo, putting an end to the First Qarmatian invasion of Egypt. Wikipedia →
759Tang dynasty poet Du Fu departs for Chengdu, where he is hosted by fellow poet Pei Di. Wikipedia →
640Pope John IV is elected, several months after his predecessor's death. Wikipedia →
502Chinese emperor Xiao Yan names Xiao Tong his heir designate. Wikipedia →

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.