Who are famous people born on December 24?

Famous people born on December 24 include: Joshua Primo, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Choi Sung-beom.

What famous people died on December 24?

Notable historical figures who died on December 24 include: Hudson Meek, Richard Perry, Cheri Barry.

December 24 in History

Q: What happened on December 24 in history?

On December 24, 2021: Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians.

56 events 502 – 2021

December 24 spans 56 recorded events across recorded history — from 502 – 2021. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · December 24 — Wikipedia

2021 — Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians

Did you know

In 2021, Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

Did you know

The Mo So Massacre, also known as the Christmas Eve Massacre, was a mass killing of civilians that occurred on the afternoon of 24 December 2021, in Hpruso Township in Kayah State, Myanmar. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Did you know

During the massacre, Myanmar Army troops killed and burned over forty people. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.

Did you know

In 2021, Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.

Did you know

In 2021, Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.

Chinese emperor Xiao Yan names Xiao Tong his heir designate.

Calendar year

Year 502 (DII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avienus and Probus. The denomination 502 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.

502

Pope John IV is elected, several months after his predecessor's death.

Head of the Catholic Church from 640 to 642

Pope John IV was the bishop of Rome from 24 December 640 to his death on 12 October 642. His election followed a four-month vacancy. He wrote to the clergy of Ireland and Scotland to tell them of the mistakes they were making with regard to the time of keeping Easter and condemned Monothelitism as heresy. According to sacred tradition, he created the Catholic Church in Croatia with Abbot Martin.

640

Tang dynasty poet Du Fu departs for Chengdu, where he is hosted by fellow poet Pei Di.

Imperial dynasty of China from 618 to 907

The Tang dynasty, or the Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Historians generally regard the Tang as a high point of Chinese civilisation, and a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. Tang territory, acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers, surpassed that of the Han dynasty.

759

Battle 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.

Conflict between Qarmatians and Fatimids

The first Qarmatian invasion of Egypt took place in 971, when the Qarmatians of Bahrayn unsuccessfully invaded Egypt, which had recently been conquered by the Fatimid Caliphate. Both the Qarmatians and the Fatimids were offshoots of the Isma'ili sect of Shi'a Islam, but belonged to different and rival branches. Following the takeover of Egypt under the general Jawhar in 969, the Fatimids began their expansion into the Levant. There they confronted the Qarmatians, who in previous years had raided and extracted tribute from the regional potentates.

971

The capital of the crusader County of Edessa falls to Imad ad-Din Zengi, the atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo.

Religious wars of the High Middle Ages

The Crusades were a series of military campaigns launched by the papacy between 1095 and 1291 against Muslim rulers for the recovery and defence of the Holy Land, encouraged by promises of spiritual reward. The First Crusade was proclaimed by Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont in November 1095—a call to arms for Christians to reconquer Jerusalem from the Muslims. By this time, the papacy's position as head of the Catholic Church had strengthened, and earlier conflicts with secular rulers and wars on the frontiers of Western Christendom had prepared it for the direction of armed force in religious causes. The successes of the First Crusade led to the establishment of four Crusader states in the Levant, where their defence required further expeditions from Catholic Europe. The organisation of such large-scale campaigns demanded complex religious, social, and economic institutions, including crusade indulgences, military orders, and the taxation of clerical income. Over time, the crusading movement expanded to include campaigns against pagans, Christian dissidents, and other enemies of the papacy, promoted with similar spiritual rewards and continuing into the 18th century.

1144

Pope Boniface VIII is elected, replacing St.

Celestine V, who had resigned.

Pope Boniface VIII was head of the Catholic Church and leader of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 until his death in 1303. The Caetani family was of baronial origin with connections to the papacy. He succeeded Pope Celestine V, who had abdicated from the papal throne. Boniface spent his early pontificate abroad in diplomatic roles.

1294

A joint Venetian–Spanish fleet captures the Castle of St.

George on the island of Cephalonia.

The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and maritime republic with its capital in Venice, on the northeastern Italian coast. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 by Paolo Lucio Anafesto, over the course of its 1,100 years of history it established itself as one of the major European commercial and naval powers. Initially extended in the Dogado area, during its history it annexed a large part of Northeast Italy, Istria, Dalmatia, the coasts of present-day Montenegro and Albania as well as numerous islands in the Adriatic and eastern Ionian seas. At the height of its expansion, between the 13th and 16th centuries, it also governed Crete, Cyprus, the Peloponnese, a number of Greek islands, as well as several cities and ports in the eastern Mediterranean.

1500

The 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.

1674–1818 empire in the Indian subcontinent

The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. For most of its existence, it comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former and nominal loyalty to the Chhatrapatis who were successors of Shivaji.

1737

Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is discovered by James Cook.

Coral atoll in the northern Line Islands, Kiribati

Kiritimati, also known as Christmas Island, is a Pacific Ocean atoll in the northern Line Islands. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati. The name is derived from the English word "Christmas" written in Gilbertese according to its phonology, in which the combination ti is pronounced.

1777

The Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise fails to kill Napoleon Bonaparte.

1800 assassination attempt on Napoleon

The Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise, also known as the machine infernale plot, was an assassination attempt on the First Consul of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, in Paris on 24 December 1800. It followed the conspiration des poignards of 10 October 1800 and was one of many Royalist and Catholic plots. Though Napoleon and his wife Joséphine narrowly escaped the attempt, five people were killed and twenty-six others were injured.

1800

Representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States sign the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812.

Country in northwestern Europe

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a population of over 69 million in 2024. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of the smaller islands within the British Isles, covering 94,354 square miles (244,376 km2). It shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea, while maintaining sovereignty over the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. The capital and largest city of England and the UK is London; Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast are the national capitals of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

1814

The first performance of "Silent Night" takes place in the Nikolauskirche in Oberndorf, Austria.

1818 Christmas carol

"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011. The song was first recorded in 1905 and has remained a popular success, appearing in films and multiple successful recordings, as well as being quoted in other musical compositions. It is one of the most recorded Christmas songs, with more than 137,000 known recordings.

1818

The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy begins that night, wrapping up the following morning.

1826 cadet riot at the United States Military Academy

The eggnog riot, sometimes known as the grog mutiny or the Christmas 1826 cadet mutiny, was a riot that took place at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, on 24–25 December 1826. It was caused by a drunken Christmas party in the north barracks of the academy. Two days prior to the incident, a large quantity of whiskey was smuggled into the academy to make eggnog for the party, giving the riot its name. As described by Albert E. Church, who was absent on Christmas leave and missed the happenings but later became a math professor at the academy, "A large number of the cadets got on a spree, and became excessively riotous, setting all officers at defiance and even, with a drawn sword, chasing one to his room-throwing missiles through the halls, breaking windows and the railings of the stairs, &c. The scene, as described to me two days afterwards, was fit for Bedlam."

1826

British acquired Labuan from the Sultanate of Brunei for Great Britain.

British colony in Asia from 1848 to 1946

The Crown Colony of Labuan was a British Crown colony on the island of Labuan – just off the northwestern shore of Borneo – established in 1848 after its acquisition from the Sultanate of Brunei in 1846. Apart from the main island, Labuan consists of six smaller islands; Burung, Daat, Kuraman, Papan, Rusukan Kecil, and Rusukan Besar.

1846

Former Confederate officers Frank McCord, Richard Reed, John Lester, John Kennedy, J.

Calvin Jones, and James Crowe form the Ku Klux Klan.

The Ku Klux Klan, sometimes referred to as the Klan, is an American Protestant-led white supremacist and far-right hate group. Historians widely identify it as one of the earliest terrorist groups in the United States, citing its organized use of violence and intimidation to influence political and social conditions, particularly in the post-Civil War South. Across its three major iterations, the Klan has operated as a secret society made up of multiple affiliated organizations that used threats, assaults, and killings to advance their aims. Over its various eras, its targets included African Americans, Jews, Catholics, and immigrants.

1865

The Greek Presidential Guard is established as the royal escort by King George I.

Ceremonial guards

The Presidential Guard is a ceremonial infantry unit that guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Presidential Mansion in Athens, Greece. The unit is distinguished as the last unit of Evzones in the Hellenic Army, and is closely associated with the traditional Evzone's uniform, which evolved from the clothes worn by the klephts in the Greek War of Independence. The most visible item of this uniform is the fustanella, a kilt-like garment. In 1868–1914 and 1937–1973, the guard also included a cavalry company.

1868

The opera Aida premieres in Cairo, Egypt.

1871 tragic opera by Giuseppe Verdi

Aida is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December 1871, in a performance conducted by Giovanni Bottesini. Today the work holds a central place in the operatic canon, receiving performances every year around the world. At New York's Metropolitan Opera alone, Aida has been sung more than 1,100 times since 1886. Ghislanzoni's scheme follows a scenario often attributed to the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, but Verdi biographer Mary Jane Phillips-Matz argues that the source is actually Temistocle Solera.

1871

Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio broadcast; consisting of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech.

Canadian-American electrical engineer and inventor (1866–1932)

Reginald Aubrey Fessenden was a Canadian-American electrical engineer and inventor who received hundreds of patents in fields related to radio and sonar between 1891 and 1936.

1906

The 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".

1913 human crush in Calumet, Michigan

The Italian Hall disaster was a tragedy that occurred on Wednesday, December 24, 1913, at Italian Hall in Calumet, Michigan, United States. Seventy-three people – mostly striking mine workers and their families – were crushed to death in a stampede when someone falsely shouted "fire" at a crowded Christmas party.

1913

World War I: The "Christmas truce" begins.

1914–1918 global conflict

World War I, or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Major areas of conflict included Europe and the Middle East, as well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. The war saw important developments in weaponry including tanks, aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, it resulted in an estimated 15 to 22 million military and civilian casualties and genocide. The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic.

1914

Region of Međimurje is captured by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes from Hungary.

Post-World War I conflict in Hungary

In the immediate aftermath of World War I, the region of Međimurje was occupied by forces loyal to the National Council of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, one of the predecessor states to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, in November and December 1918. Predominantly inhabited by Croats, this territory was a part of the Kingdom of Hungary until it was captured by Yugoslav forces. The Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920) awarded the region to Yugoslavia, which annexed the territory.

1918

Gabriele D'Annunzio surrendered the Italian Regency of Carnaro in the city of Fiume to Italian Armed Forces.

Italian writer (1863–1938)

General Gabriele D'Annunzio, Prince of Montenevoso, sometimes written d'Annunzio as he used to sign himself, was an Italian poet, playwright, orator, journalist, aristocrat, and Royal Italian Army officer during World War I. He occupied a prominent place in Italian literature from 1889 to 1910 and in its political life from 1914 to 1924. He had the epithets il Profeta and il Vate : vate stems from the Latin vates, meaning a prophetic, divinatory, or inspirational poet.

1920

Albania becomes a republic.

Country in Southeast Europe

Albania, officially the Republic of Albania, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south. With an area of 28,748 km2 (11,100 sq mi), it has a varied range of climatic, geological, hydrological and morphological conditions. Albania's landscapes range from rugged snow-capped mountains in the Albanian Alps and the Korab, Skanderbeg, Pindus and Ceraunian Mountains, to fertile lowland plains extending from the Adriatic and Ionian seacoasts. Tirana is the capital and largest city in the country, followed by Durrës, Vlorë, and Shkodër.

1924

Assassination attempt on Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen.

Country in South America

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country located in the southern cone of South America and with a claimed portion of Antarctica. It covers an area of 2,780,085 km2 (1,073,397 mi2), making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourth-largest country in the Americas, and the eighth-largest country in the world. Argentina shares the bulk of the Southern Cone with Chile to the west, and is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. Argentina is a federal state subdivided into twenty-three provinces, and one autonomous city, which is the federal capital and largest city of the nation, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system. Argentina claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, and a part of Antarctica.

1929

A four alarm fire breaks out in the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C.

Structure part of the White House complex

The West Wing of the White House is the location of the office space of the president of the United States. The West Wing contains the Oval Office, the Cabinet Room, the Situation Room, and the Roosevelt Room.

1929

World War II: Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas Eve appeal for peace.

1939–1945 global conflict

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

1939

World War II: Kuching is conquered by Japanese forces.

City and state capital in Sarawak, Malaysia

Kuching, officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River at the southwestern tip of Sarawak on the island of Borneo and covers an area of 431 km2 (166 sq mi) with a population of about 162,843 in the Kuching North administrative region and 351,815 in the Kuching South administrative region—a total of 514,658 people.

1941

World War II: Benghazi is conquered by the British Eighth Army.

City in Cyrenaica, Libya

Benghazi is the second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean, Benghazi is also a major seaport.

1941

World War II: French monarchist, Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, assassinates Vichy French Admiral François Darlan in Algiers, Algeria.

Efforts to restore the monarchy following its 19th century abolution

Monarchism in France is the advocacy of restoring the monarchy in France, which was abolished after the 1870 defeat by Prussia, arguably before that in 1848 with the establishment of the French Second Republic. The French monarchist movements are roughly divided today into three groups:The Legitimists for the royal House of Bourbon, the Orléanists for the cadet branch of the House of Orléans, and the Bonapartists for the imperial House of Bonaparte

1942

World War II: U.S.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower is named Supreme Allied Commander for Operation Overlord.

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. A General of the Army, Eisenhower was the supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. His successful leadership in Operation Torch (1942–1943) and Operation Overlord was pivotal to the Allied victory in World War II.

1943

World War II: The Belgian Troopship Leopoldville was torpedoed and sank with the loss of 763 soldiers and 56 crew.

Belgian ocean liner converted into an Allied troop ship during WWII

SS Léopoldville was a 11,509 GRT passenger liner of the Compagnie Belge Maritime du Congo. She was converted for use as a troopship in the Second World War, and on 24 December 1944, while sailing between Southampton and Cherbourg, was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-486. As a result, about 763 US soldiers and 15 officers of the ship's crew died. The crew had abandoned ship and left U.S. troops without proper evacuation orders.

1944

Five of nine children become missing after their home in Fayetteville, West Virginia, is burned down.

1945 US missing-persons case

Early Christmas morning, December 25, 1945, a fire destroyed the Sodder residence in Fayetteville, West Virginia, United States. At the time, it was occupied by George Sodder, his wife Jennie, and nine of their ten children. During the fire, George, Jennie, and four of the nine children escaped. The bodies of the other five children have never been found. The surviving Sodder family believed for the rest of their lives that the five missing children survived.

1945

Libya becomes independent.

Idris I is proclaimed King of Libya.

Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad to the south, Niger to the southwest, Algeria to the west, and Tunisia to the northwest. With an area of almost 1.8 million km2 (700,000 sq mi), Libya is the fourth-largest country in Africa and the Arab world, and the 16th-largest in the world. The country claims 32,000 square kilometres of southeastern Algeria, south of the Libyan town of Ghat. The capital and largest city is Tripoli, located in the northwest and containing over a million of Libya's seven million people.

1951

First flight of Britain's Handley Page Victor strategic bomber.

British strategic bomber and tanker aircraft

The Handley Page Victor is a British jet-powered strategic bomber developed and produced by Handley Page during the Cold War. It was the third and final 'V bomber' to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), the other two being the Vickers Valiant and the Avro Vulcan.

1952

Tangiwai 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.

1953 railway accident in New Zealand

The Tangiwai disaster was a railway accident that occurred at 10:21 p.m. on 24 December 1953, when a railway bridge over the Whangaehu River collapsed beneath an express passenger train at Tangiwai, North Island, New Zealand. The locomotive and the first six carriages derailed into the river, killing 151 people. The subsequent board of inquiry found that the accident was caused by the failure of the tephra dam holding back nearby Mount Ruapehu's Crater Lake, creating a rapid mudflow (lahar) in the Whangaehu River which destroyed one of the bridge piers at Tangiwai only minutes before the train reached the bridge. The volcano at Mount Ruapehu was not erupting at the time. The disaster remains New Zealand's worst rail accident.

1953

A flood devastates California, killing 74 people across portions of the state.

1955 flood in California, U.S.

From December 16 to 25, 1955, devastating flooding struck portions of California. It was caused by heavy rainfall and a levee break on the Feather River, and directly resulted in the deaths of 74 people, leaving damages of an estimated $150 million, one of the costliest floods ever recorded in California. The floods are commonly known as the Yuba–Sutter floods as there was extensive damage in Yuba and Sutter counties.

1955

Vietnam 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.

War in Southeast Asia from 1955 to 1975

The Vietnam War was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China, while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The conflict was the second of the Indochina wars and a proxy war of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and US. The Vietnam War was one of the postcolonial wars of national liberation, a theater in the Cold War, and a civil war, with civil warfare a defining feature from the outset. Direct US military involvement escalated from 1965 until US forces were withdrawn in 1973. The fighting spilled into the Laotian and Cambodian civil wars, which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975.

1964

Flying Tiger Line Flight 282 crashes after takeoff from San Francisco International Airport, killing three.

1964 aviation accident

Flying Tiger Line Flight 282 refers to the crash of a Lockheed Super Constellation aircraft, N6915C, shortly after takeoff from San Francisco International Airport in the early morning hours of Thursday, December 24, 1964.

1964

A Canadair CL-44 chartered by the United States military crashes into a small village in South Vietnam, killing 111.

Canadian turboprop airliner (1950s–60s)

The Canadair CL-44 was a Canadian turboprop airliner and cargo aircraft based on the Bristol Britannia that was developed and produced by Canadair in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Although innovative, only a small number of the aircraft were produced for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), and for commercial operators worldwide.

1966

Apollo 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.

The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo was conceived in 1960 in the Dwight D. Eisenhower presidency during Project Mercury and executed after Project Gemini. Apollo was later dedicated to President John F. Kennedy's national goal, "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" in his address to the U.S. Congress on May 25, 1961.

1968

Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 crashes on approach to Bradford Regional Airport, killing 20.

1968 aviation accident

Allegheny Airlines Flight 736 was a regularly scheduled flight that crashed while attempting to land at Bradford Regional Airport in Bradford, Pennsylvania, on December 24, 1968. Of the 47 occupants on board, 20 were killed.

1968

Nigerian troops capture Umuahia, the Biafran capital.

Capital city of Abia State, Nigeria

Umuahia is the capital city of Abia State in southeastern Nigeria. Umuahia is located along the rail road that lies between Port Harcourt to its south, and Enugu city to its north. Umuahia has a population of 359,230 according to the 2006 Nigerian census.

1969

LANSA Flight 508 is struck by lightning and crashes in the Puerto Inca District in the Department of Huánuco in Peru, killing 91.

1971 aviation accident in Peru

LANSA Flight 508 was a Lockheed L-188A Electra turboprop operated as a scheduled domestic passenger flight by Lineas Aéreas Nacionales Sociedad Anonima (LANSA) that crashed in a thunderstorm en route from Lima to Pucallpa in Peru on 24 December 1971, killing 91 people – all 6 crew on board and 85 of its 86 passengers. It is regarded in popular retellings as the deadliest lightning strike disaster in aviation history.

1971

District of Columbia Home Rule Act is passed, allowing residents of Washington, D.C.

to elect their own local government.

The District of Columbia Home Rule Act is a United States federal law passed on December 24, 1973, which devolved certain congressional powers of the District of Columbia to local government, furthering District of Columbia home rule. In particular, it includes the District Charter, which provides for an elected mayor and the Council of the District of Columbia. The council is composed of a chair elected at large and twelve members, four of whom are elected at large, and one from each of the District's eight wards. Council members are elected to four-year terms.

1973

Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia.

Australian region cyclone in 1974

Severe Tropical Cyclone Tracy was a small but destructive tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia, in December 1974. The small but developing easterly storm was originally expected to pass clear of the city, but it turned towards it early on 24 December. After 10:00 p.m. ACST, damage became severe, with wind gusts reaching 217 km/h before instruments failed. The anemometer in Darwin Airport control tower had its needle bent in half by the strength of the gusts.

1974

The first Ariane 1 rocket is launched from ELA-1 at the Guiana Space Centre.

European medium-lift space launch vehicle (1979–1986)

Ariane 1 was the first rocket in the Ariane family of expendable launch systems. It was developed for and operated by the European Space Agency (ESA), which had been formed in 1973, the same year that development of the launcher had commenced. Aérospatiale was designated to lead the programme. Ariane 1 was the first launcher to be developed with the primary purpose of sending commercial satellites into geosynchronous orbit. Crucially, it was designed with the ability of sending a pair of satellites into orbit on a single launcher, thus reducing costs.

1979

Aeroflot Flight 601 crashes during takeoff from Leshukonskoye Airport, Russia, killing 44 of the 49 people on board.

1983 aviation accident

Aeroflot Flight 601 was a scheduled Soviet domestic passenger flight from Arkhangelsk to Leshukonskoye in the Russian SSR, operated by Aeroflot. The Antonov An-24RV that was involved crashed on 24 December 1983 during approach to Leshukonskoye. Forty-four people were killed; five survived the accident. Pilot error was cited as the cause of the accident.

1983

Air 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.

Air France Flight 8969 was an Air France flight that was hijacked on 24 December 1994 by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA) at Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers. The militants murdered three passengers and their intention was either to detonate the aircraft over the Eiffel Tower or the Tour Montparnasse in Paris. When the aircraft reached Marseille, the GIGN, a tier one counterterrorism and hostage rescue unit of the French National Gendarmerie, stormed the plane and killed all four hijackers. The incident led to Air France halting their flights to Algeria until 2004, two years after the end of the Algerian Civil War.

1994

A Learjet 35 crashes into Smarts Mountain near Dorchester, New Hampshire, killing both pilots on board.

Executive business jet series

The Learjet Model 35 and Model 36 are a series of American multi-role business jets and military transport aircraft manufactured by Learjet between 1973 and 1993. When used by the United States Air Force, they carry the designation C-21A. Learjet was acquired by Bombardier Aviation in 1990 as a subsidiary, so the aircraft is also known as the Bombardier Learjet 35.

1996

The Sid El-Antri massacre in Algeria kills between 50 and 100 people.

1997 mass killings near Tiaret, Algeria

The Sid El-Antri massacre took place on the night of 23–24 December 1997 in two small villages near Tiaret, Algeria. The death toll is unclear; Reuters cites "at least 80", or 48 according to the government. Le Jeune Independent reported 117 people were killed and 11 abducted by terrorists, and a timeline gives 53 killed in Sidi el-Antri and 28 in Shari. On the same day, 11 were killed further away in the Bainem area near Algiers. A few days later, another 26 civilians were killed in the Zouabria massacre, also near Tiaret.

1997

Indian 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).

Indian Airlines Flight 814, commonly known as IC 814, was an Indian Airlines Airbus A300 that was hijacked on 24 December 1999 by five members of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. The passenger flight, en route from Kathmandu to Delhi, was taken over shortly after it entered Indian airspace at about 16:53 IST. The aircraft had 190 occupants: 179 passengers and 11 crew members including Captain Devi Sharan, First Officer Rajinder Kumar, and Flight Engineer Anil Kumar Jaggia.

1999

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.

ETA, an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, was an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization active in Spain and France between 1959 and 2018. It was founded in 1959, during Francoist Spain, by a group of Basque nationalist students seeking to promote Basque identity and independence. Over time, ETA evolved into a clandestine paramilitary group that conducted a campaign of assassinations, bombings, and kidnappings primarily in Spain, particularly in the Basque Country and surrounding regions. ETA was considered the main organization of the Basque National Liberation Movement and played a central role in the Basque armed conflict, in which more than 850 people were killed, 2,600 were wounded, and nearly 90 were kidnapped. The group announced a definitive end to its armed activity in 2011 and formally dissolved in 2018.

2003

Chad–Sudan relations: Chad declares a state of belligerence against Sudan following a December 18 attack on Adré, which left about 100 people dead.

Bilateral relations

The populations of eastern Chad and western Sudan established social and religious ties long before either nation's independence, and these remained strong despite disputes between governments. In recent times, relations have been strained due to the conflict in Darfur and a civil war in Chad, which both governments accuse the other of supporting.

2005

The 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.

Christian extremist organization in Africa

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is a Christian extremist and Acholi nationalist organization operating in Central and East Africa. Its origins were in the Ugandan insurgency (1986–1994) against Yoweri Museveni, during which Joseph Kony founded the LRA in 1987.

2008

A helicopter crash kills Martha Érika Alonso, first female Governor of Puebla, Mexico, and her husband Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, former governor.

Accident that killed the Governor of Puebla, Mexico

On December 24, 2018, a helicopter carrying Martha Érika Alonso Hidalgo, the newly elected governor of the Mexican state of Puebla, and her husband, senator and former governor Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, crashed on a hill in Coronango near the city of Puebla. All five people on board the helicopter were killed in the crash: Alonso, Moreno, the two pilots, Captain Roberto Coppe Obregón and Captain Marco Antonio Tavera Romero, and an assistant to the senator. Alonso was 10 days into her term as governor at that time of the crash. The accident investigation found a preexisting problem with a stability system on the helicopter.

2018

Born on December 24

20 people 1990 – 2002

Joshua Primo

Canadian basketball player

Joshua Lincoln Alexander Primo is a Canadian professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Ontario Clippers of…

2002

Jeremiah Trotter Jr.

American football player

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is an American professional football linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, and was selected by the Eagles…

2002

Choi Sung-beom

South Korean football player

Choi Sung-beom is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a winger for K League 1 club FC Anyang. He made his appearance in the 2023 K League 2 season and scored his debut goal at the 2023 Korean FA Cup. His…

2001

Alexis Mac Allister

Argentine footballer

Alexis Mac Allister is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and the Argentina national team. Considered as one of the best midfielders in the world, he is…

1998

Neeraj Chopra

Indian javelin thrower

Lieutenant Colonel Neeraj Chopra is an Indian javelin thrower. He has won gold medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships and Asian Games. Chopra has won the Diamond League once. He won the Olympic gold medal in…

1997

William Contreras

Venezuelan baseball player

William Jesus Contreras is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves.

1997

Anett Kontaveit

Estonian tennis player

Anett Kontaveit is an Estonian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as high as world No. 2 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), which she first achieved on 6 June 2022 to become the highest-ranked…

1995

Fa'amanu Brown

New Zealand rugby league player

Fa'amanu Brown is a former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a hooker for the St. George Illawarra Dragons and has represented Samoa and New Zealand at international level. He played as a halfback,…

1994

Miguel Castro

Dominican baseball player

Miguel Ángel Castro is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher in the for the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League. He has previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles,…

1994

Matt Frawley

Australian rugby league player

Matthew Frawley is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a Stand-off, Scrum-half or hooker for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League.

1994

Han Seung-woo

South Korean singer

Han Seung-woo, known mononymously as Seungwoo, is a South Korean singer, singer-songwriter, and actor. He debuted as a member of South Korean group Victon in 2016. In 2019, he finished third on Produce X 101 and became…

1994

Davante Adams

American football player

Davante Lavell Adams is an American professional football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played two seasons of college football for the Fresno State Bulldogs and was…

1992

Serge Aurier

Ivorian footballer

Serge Alain Stéphane Aurier is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Persian Gulf Pro League club Persepolis.

1992

P. J. Hairston

American basketball player

Samuel Peterson "P. J." Hairston Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels. He finished his sophomore season in 2013 and was eligible for the…

1992

Sofia Black-D'Elia

American actress

Sofia Black-D'Elia is an American actress. She is known for her television roles, such as Tea Marvelli in Skins, Sage Spence in Gossip Girl, Andrea Cornish in The Night Of, and Frannie Latimer in Your Honor. From 2017…

1991

Lara Michel

Swiss tennis player

Lara Michel is a Swiss tennis player.

1991

Eric Moreland

American basketball player

Eric Andrew Moreland is an American professional basketball player for the Liaoning Flying Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Oregon State Beavers.

1991

Louis Tomlinson

English singer

Louis William Tomlinson is an English singer-songwriter. Born and raised in Doncaster, England, Tomlinson auditioned for British singing competition The X Factor as a solo artist in 2010, where he and four rejected solo…

1991

Taylor Zakhar Perez

American actor

Taylor Zakhar Perez is an American actor. He began his career by appearing in several series, before his breakthrough role in the romantic comedy films The Kissing Booth 2 (2020) and The Kissing Booth 3 (2021). Perez…

1991

Brigetta Barrett

American high jumper

Beloved Promise is a former high jumper from the United States. Her biggest success is winning the silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and the gold medal at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow. She…

1990

See all birthdays on December 24

Died on December 24

20 people 2014 – 2024

Hudson Meek

American actor (born 2008)

Hudson Joseph Meek was an American child actor, known for his role as young Baby in the 2017 film Baby Driver.

2024

Richard Perry

American record producer (born 1942)

Richard Van Perry was an American record producer. He began his musical career as a performer while attending Poly Prep, his high school in Brooklyn. After graduating from college he rose through the late 1960s and…

2024

Cheri Barry

American politician and mayor of Meridian, Mississippi (born 1955)

Cheryl Merritt Barry was an American politician who served as mayor of Meridian, Mississippi. She was the first woman to hold that position.

2023

Richard Bowes

American science fiction author (born 1944)

Richard Dirrane Bowes was an American author described as an "urban fantasist" whose stories tended to be "set in, and to evoke, a congested, magically altered New York." He won two World Fantasy Awards for his short…

2023

Troy Dargan

Cook Islands rugby league footballer (born 1997)

Troy Junior Clifton Dargan was an Australian-born Cook Islands international rugby league footballer who played as a five-eighth or halfback. In 2020, Dargan played two games for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the…

2023

Martha Érika Alonso

Governor of Puebla (born 1973)

Martha Érika Alonso Hidalgo was a Mexican politician of the National Action Party (PAN) who served as the first female governor of Puebla from 14 December 2018 until her death ten days later in a helicopter crash. She…

2018

Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas

former governor of Puebla (born 1968)

Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas was a Mexican politician affiliated at different times with both the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the National Action Party (PAN). He was the governor of Puebla from February…

2018

Jerry Kindall

American baseball player and coach (born 1935)

Gerald Donald Kindall was an American professional baseball player and college baseball player and coach. He was primarily a second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who appeared in 742 games played over nine…

2017

Heather Menzies

Canadian-American model and actress (born 1949)

Heather Margaret Brotherston Menzies Urich was a Canadian actress known for her roles as Louisa von Trapp in the 1965 film The Sound of Music and Jessica 6 in the TV series Logan's Run.

2017

Rick Parfitt

British musician (born 1948)

Richard John Parfitt, was an English musician, best known as a rhythm guitarist, singer and songwriter with rock band Status Quo.

2016

Liz Smith

English actress (born 1921)

Betty Gleadle, known by the stage name Liz Smith, was an English actress. She was known for her roles in BBC sitcoms, including as Annie Brandon in I Didn't Know You Cared (1975–1979), the sisters Bette and Belle in…

2016

Richard Adams

English author (born 1920)

Richard George Adams was an English novelist. He is best known for his debut novel Watership Down which achieved international acclaim. His other works included Maia, Shardik and The Plague Dogs. He studied Modern…

2016

Ben Xi

Chinese singer (born 1994)

Benxi, also known as Mǎ Xiǎochén or Utaoki, was a Chinese Hui singer-songwriter.

2016

Turid Birkeland

Norwegian businesswoman and politician, Norwegian Minister of Culture (born 1962)

Turid Birkeland was a Norwegian cultural executive and politician for the Labour Party. She was Minister of Culture in 1996–97. She was an author and also worked in television, including being chief of cultural…

2015

Letty Jimenez Magsanoc

Filipino journalist (born 1941)

Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc was a Filipino journalist and editor, notable for her role in overthrowing the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. She was an icon of democracy. Magsanoc was editor of the crusading weekly…

2015

Adriana Olguín

Chilean lawyer and politician, Chilean Minister of Justice (born 1911)

Adriana Margarita Olguín Büche was a Chilean lawyer and politician. She served as Minister of Justice under President Gabriel González Videla, becoming the first female cabinet minister in Latin America.

2015

Buddy DeFranco

American clarinet player (born 1923)

Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco was an American jazz clarinetist. In addition to his work as a bandleader, DeFranco led the Glenn Miller Orchestra for almost a decade in the 1960s and 1970s.

2014

Edward Greenspan

Canadian lawyer and author (born 1944)

Edward Leonard Greenspan, was one of Canada's most famous defence lawyers, and a prolific author of legal volumes. His fame was owed to numerous high-profile clients and to his national exposure on the Canadian…

2014

Herbert Harris

American lawyer and politician (born 1926)

Herbert Eugene Harris II was an American lawyer and politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia. He served three consecutive terms from 1975 to 1981.

2014

Krzysztof Krauze

Polish director and screenwriter (born 1953)

Krzysztof Krauze was a Polish film director, cinematographer and actor, best known for his thriller The Debt (1999).

2014

See all deaths on December 24

What happened on December 24 in history?

On December 24, one notable event in history was 2021: Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians..

This date currently highlights 56 recorded events on thisDay.info, spanning 502 – 2021.

DateDecember 24

Featured year2021

LocationHistorical Location

Events listed56

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December 24 in History

2021 — Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians

In 2021, Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

The Mo So Massacre, also known as the Christmas Eve Massacre, was a mass killing of civilians that occurred on the afternoon of 24 December 2021, in Hpruso Township in Kayah State, Myanmar. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

During the massacre, Myanmar Army troops killed and burned over forty people. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.

In 2021, Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.

In 2021, Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.

Born on December 24

Died on December 24

More questions about December 24

What happened on December 24?

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Who was born on December 24?

Who died on December 24?

What happened on December 24 in history?

Explore December 24

Explore December 24

December 24 in History

2021 — Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians

In 2021, Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

The Mo So Massacre, also known as the Christmas Eve Massacre, was a mass killing of civilians that occurred on the afternoon of 24 December 2021, in Hpruso Township in Kayah State, Myanmar. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

During the massacre, Myanmar Army troops killed and burned over forty people. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.

In 2021, Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.

In 2021, Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.

Born on December 24

Died on December 24

More questions about December 24

What happened on December 24?

Why is December 24 remembered in history?

Who was born on December 24?

Who died on December 24?

What happened on December 24 in history?

Explore December 24

Explore December 24

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