December 24 in History

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.

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

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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1800
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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…
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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…
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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…
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2001
Alexis Mac Allister
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…
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1998
Neeraj Chopra
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…
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1997
William Contreras
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.
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1997
Anett Kontaveit
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…
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1995
Fa'amanu Brown
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,…
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1994
Miguel Castro
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,…
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1994
Matt Frawley
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.
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1994
Han Seung-woo
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…
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1994
Davante Adams
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…
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1992
Serge Aurier
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.
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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…
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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…
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1991
Lara Michel
Lara Michel
Swiss tennis player
Lara Michel is a Swiss tennis player.
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1991
Eric Moreland
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.
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1991
Louis Tomlinson
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…
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1991
Taylor Zakhar Perez
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…
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1991
Brigetta Barrett
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…
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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.
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2024
Richard Perry
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…
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2024
Cheri Barry
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.
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2023
Richard Bowes
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…
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2023
Troy Dargan
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…
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2023
Martha Érika Alonso
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…
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2018
Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas
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…
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2018
Jerry Kindall
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…
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2017
Heather Menzies
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.
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2017
Rick Parfitt
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.
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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…
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2016
Richard Adams
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…
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2016
Ben Xi
Chinese singer (born 1994)
Benxi, also known as Mǎ Xiǎochén or Utaoki, was a Chinese Hui singer-songwriter.
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2016
Turid Birkeland
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…
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2015
Letty Jimenez Magsanoc
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…
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2015
Adriana Olguín
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.
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2015
Buddy DeFranco
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.
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2014
Edward Greenspan
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…
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2014
Herbert Harris
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.
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2014
Krzysztof Krauze
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).
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2014
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Related questions

More questions about December 24

What happened on December 24?

A featured event on this date is 2021: Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians. This page also lists 56 events from other years on the same day.

Why is December 24 remembered in history?

December 24 brings together events, births, and deaths across many eras, which makes it useful for seeing how one calendar date connects different historical turning points.

Who was born on December 24?

Notable birthdays on this date include Joshua Primo, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Choi Sung-beom.

See birthdays

Who died on December 24?

Notable deaths on this date include Hudson Meek, Richard Perry, Cheri Barry.

See deaths
Short answer

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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