WHAT HAPPENED ON 24. DECEMBER
Want to find out what all happened on 24. December

Pope John IV is elected. (24. December 640)

Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu departs for Chengdu, where he is hosted by fellow poet Pei Di. (24. December 759)

The capital of the crusader County of Edessa falls to Imad ad-Din Zengi, the atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo. (24. December 1144)

Pope Boniface VIII is elected Pope, replacing St. Celestine V, who had resigned. (24. December 1294)

Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is discovered by James Cook. (24. December 1777)

The Treaty of Ghent is signed ending the War of 1812. (24. December 1814)

The first performance of "Silent Night" takes place in the church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria. (24. December 1818)

The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy begins that night, wrapping up the following morning. (24. December 1826)

Library of Congress burns. (24. December 1851)

The Ku Klux Klan is formed. (24. December 1865)

Aida opens in Cairo, Egypt. (24. December 1871)

Radio: Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio broadcast; consisting of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech. (24. December 1906)

Lackawanna Cut-Off railway line opens in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. (24. December 1911)

The Italian Hall disaster ("1913 Massacre") in Calumet, Michigan, results in the death of 73 Christmas party goers held by striking mine workers, including 59 children. (24. December 1913)

World War I: The "Christmas truce" begins. (24. December 1914)

Albania becomes a republic. (24. December 1924)

Assassination attempt on Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen. (24. December 1929)

World War II: Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas Eve appeal for peace. (24. December 1939)

World War II: Kuching is conquered by Japanese forces. (24. December 1941)

World War II: French monarchist, Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, assassinates Vichy French Admiral François Darlan in Algiers, Algeria. (24. December 1942)