December 24

## Events 
### Up to 1900 
* 563 &ndash; Second inauguration of the Hagia Sophia, then a cathedral.
* 640 &ndash; Pope John IV is elected.
* 759 &ndash; China: Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu leaves for Chengdu, where he is hosted by fellow poet Pei Di.
* 1294 &ndash; Pope Boniface VIII is elected, after the resignation of Pope Celestine V.
* 1717 &ndash; A North Sea Christmas flood kills 11,500 people.
* 1726 &ndash; Montevideo, the present–day capital city of Uruguay, is founded.
* 1777 &ndash; James Cook reaches the island of Kiritimati, in present–day Kiribati.
* 1811 &ndash; HMS *Defence* and HMS *St. George* sink in a storm off Denmark.
* 1814 &ndash; The Treaty of Ghent ends the War of 1812.
* 1818 &ndash; The famous Christmas carol *Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht* (Silent Night, Holy Night), is performed for the first time in Austria.
* 1851 &ndash; The US Library of Congress burns.
* 1865 &ndash; The Ku Klux Klan is founded by Confederate veterans.
* 1871 &ndash; The Opera Aida is first performed in Cairo.

### 1901 &ndash; 2000 
* 1906 &ndash; Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio broadcast, consisting of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech.
* 1912 &ndash; A mining explosion in Hokkaido, Japan, kills 245 miners.
* 1913 &ndash; In Calumet, Michigan, 73 Christmas party goers die in a stampede after "fire" was falsely yelled.
* 1914 &ndash; World War I: The Christmas Truce begins.
* 1924 &ndash; Albania becomes a Republic.
* 1929 &ndash; An assassination attempt is made on President of Argentina Hipolito Yrigoyen.
* 1939 &ndash; Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas appeal for peace, after the start of World War II.
* 1942 &ndash; World War II: French monarchist Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle assassinates Vichy admiral Francois Darlan in Algiers, French Algeria.
* 1943 &ndash; World War II: Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes Supreme Allied Commander.
* 1951 &ndash; Libya becomes independent, with Idris I as king.
* 1953 &ndash; Tangiwai Disaster: After a volcanic eruption (of Mt. Ruapehu) on New Zealand's North Island, a train plunges into the Whangeahu river following a bridge collapse caused by the eruption, killing 153 people.
* 1954 &ndash; Laos is officially declared independent.
* 1964 &ndash; Flooding kills thousands of people in Southern India and Sri Lanka.
* 1968 &ndash; Apollo 8, with Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders on board, orbits the moon, and take a spectacular photograph of the Earth.
* 1971 &ndash; A Lockheed L–188 Electra crashes in the Peruvian rainforest, killing 91 people. The only survivor is then–17–year–old German Juliane Koepcke, who lost both her parents in the crash.
* 1972 &ndash; Japan Airlines Flight 472, a Douglas DC–8, lands at Juhu Aerodrome, overshooting the runway, instead of landing at nearby Bombay Santa Cruz Airport.
* 1973 &ndash; The District of Columbia Home Rule Act passes, allowing Washington, DC residents to elect their government.
* 1974 &ndash; Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, killing 71 people.
* 1979 &ndash; The first European–made rocket *Ariane* is launched from French Guiana.
* 1994 &ndash; Air France Flight 8969 is hijacked by terrorists on the ground; Over the course of three days, three passengers and four terrorists are killed.
* 1997 &ndash; The Sid El–Antri massacre in Algeria kills between 50 and 100 people.
* 2000 &ndash; The Texas Seven hold up a sports store in Irving, Texas.

### From 2001 
* 2003 &ndash; Spanish police stop an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kilogrammes of explosives at Madrid's Chamartin Station.
* 2005 &ndash; Chad declares that it is in a state of war with Sudan, though denies that it has declared war.
* 2008 &ndash; The ''Lord's Resistance Army'', a Ugandan rebel group, begins a series of attacks on the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
* 2013 &ndash; Queen Elizabeth II issues an official pardon to the mathematician Alan Turing (who had died in 1954). Turing was convicted of homosexuality at a time when it was illegal in the UK.
* 2017 &ndash; Alberto Fujimori, former President of Peru, is pardoned for reasons relating to his ill health.
* 2017 &ndash; Guatemala announces that, like the United States, it plans to move its Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

## Births
### Up to 1800 
* 3 BC &ndash; Galba, Roman Emperor (d. 69)
* 1166 &ndash; King John of England (d. 1216)
* 1389 &ndash; John VI, Duke of Brittany (d. 1442)
* 1475 &ndash; Thomas Murner, German poet and translator (d. 1537)
* 1508 &ndash; Pietro Carnesecchi, Italian humanist (d. 1567)
* 1588 &ndash; Constance of Austria, Queen of Poland (d. 1631)
* 1597 &ndash; Honoré II, Prince of Monaco (d. 1662)
* 1625 &ndash; Johann Rudolf Ahle, German composer, organist and theorist (d. 1673)
* 1635 &ndash; Mariana of Austria (d. 1696)
* 1679 &ndash; Domenico Sarro, Italian composer (d. 1744)
* 1698 &ndash; William Warburton, English bishop (d. 1779)
* 1724 &ndash; Johann Conrad Ammann, Swiss physician (d. 1811)
* 1737 &ndash; Silas Deane, American politician (d. 1789)
* 1745 &ndash; Benjamin Rush, American physician and founding father (d. 1813)
* 1754 &ndash; George Crabbe, British poet and naturalist (d. 1832)
* 1761 &ndash; Jean-Louis Pons, French astronomer (d. 1831)
* 1762 &ndash; Selim III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1808)
* 1784 &ndash; Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia (d. 1803)
* 1786 &ndash; Gregor MacGregor, Scottish soldier, adventurer and trickster (d. 1845)
* 1787 &ndash; Prince William of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1867)
* 1796 &ndash; Fernan Caballero, Spanish writer (d. 1877)
* 1798 &ndash; Adam Mickiewicz, Polish poet (d. 1855)

### 1801 &ndash; 1900 
* 1809 &ndash; Kit Carson, American frontiersman (d. 1868)
* 1810 &ndash; Wilhelm Marstrand, Danish painter (d. 1873)
* 1818 &ndash; James Prescott Joule, British physicist (d. 1889)
* 1819 &ndash; Antonio de Trueba, Spanish writer (d. 1889)
* 1821 &ndash; Gabriel Garcia Moreno, President of Ecuador (d. 1875)
* 1837 &ndash; Elisabeth of Bavaria, Empress of Austria (d. 1898)
* 1837 &ndash; Cosima Wagner, wife of Richard Wagner (d. 1930)
* 1843 &ndash; Lydia Koidula, Estonian poet (d. 1886)
* 1845 &ndash; King George I of Greece (d. 1913)
* 1854 &ndash; Jose Maria Reina Barrios, President of Guatemala (d. 1898)
* 1863 &ndash; Enrique Fernandez Arbos, Spanish composer (d. 1959)
* 1867 &ndash; Suzuki Kantaro, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1948)
* 1868 &ndash; Emanuel Lasker, German chess player (d. 1941)
* 1886 &ndash; Richard Teichmann, German chess player (d. 1925)
* 1869 &ndash; Henriette Roland-Holst, Dutch poet (d. 1952)
* 1872 &ndash; Adam Gunn, American athlete (d. 1935)
* 1872 &ndash; Frederick Semple, American golfer and tennis player (d. 1927)
* 1879 &ndash; Queen Alexandrine of Denmark (d. 1952)
* 1881 &ndash; Juan Ramon Jimenez, Spanish writer (d. 1958)
* 1882 &ndash; Hans Rebane, Estonian politician, diplomat and journalist (d. 1961)
* 1887 &ndash; Louis Jouvet, French actor and producer (d. 1951)
* 1888 &ndash; Michael Curtiz, Hungarian–American movie director (d. 1962)
* 1892 &ndash; Ruth Chatterton, American actress, novelist and writer (d. 1961)
* 1893 &ndash; Harry Warren, American composer and lyricist (d. 1981)
* 1894 &ndash; Georges Guynemer, French pilot (d. 1917)
* 1896 &ndash; Jens Oliver Lisberg, Faroese law student and designer of the flag of the Faroe Islands (d. 1920)
* 1897 &ndash; Koto Okubo, Japanese supercentenarian (d. 2013)
* 1898 &ndash; Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan footballer (d. 1967)
* 1900 &ndash; Joey Smallwood, 1st Premier of Newfoundland (d. 1991)

### 1901 &ndash; 1950 
* 1903 &ndash; Joseph Cornell, American artist and filmmaker (d. 1972)
* 1904 &ndash; Joseph M. Juran, Romanian–born American engineer (d. 2008)
* 1905 &ndash; Howard Hughes, American movie producer and inventor (d. 1976)
* 1906 &ndash; Joseph Höffner, German cardinal (d. 1987)
* 1907 &ndash; I. F. Stone, American journalist (d. 1989)
* 1907 &ndash; John Cody, American cardinal and Archbishop of Chicago (d. 1983)
* 1910 &ndash; Max Miedinger, Swiss typeface designer (d. 1980)
* 1914 &ndash; Ralph Marterie, Italian–American trumpeter and bandleader (d. 1978)
* 1914 &ndash; Herbert Reinecker, German writer (d. 2007)
* 1917 &ndash; Kim Jong-suk, North Korean figure, mother of Kim Jong-Il (d. 1949)
* 1919 &ndash; Pierre Soulages, French artist
* 1920 &ndash; Franco Lucentini, Italian writer and screenwriter (d. 2002)
* 1922 &ndash; Ava Gardner, American actress (d. 1990)
* 1923 &ndash; George Patton IV, American general (d. 2004)
* 1924 &ndash; Mohammed Rafi, Indian playback singer (d. 1980)
* 1924 &ndash; Lee Dorsey, American singer (d. 1986)
* 1924 &ndash; Abdirizak Haji Hussein, 4th Prime Minister of Somalia (d. 2014)
* 1926 &ndash; Ronald Draper, South African cricketer
* 1927 &ndash; Mary Higgins Clark, American writer (d. 2020)
* 1928 &ndash; Manfred Rommel, German politician (d. 2013)
* 1929 &ndash; Lennart Skoglund, Swedish footballer (d. 1975)
* 1931 &ndash; Walter Abish, American writer
* 1931 &ndash; Lech Trzeciakowski, Polish historian (d. 2017)
* 1931 &ndash; Mauricio Kagel, Argentine composer (d. 2008)
* 1934 &ndash; Stjepan Mesic, former President of Croatia
* 1937 &ndash; Félix Miéli Venerando, Brazilian footballer (d. 2012)
* 1940 &ndash; Anthony Fauci, American Physician and Director of NIAID
* 1941 &ndash; Hans Eichel, German politician
* 1941 &ndash; Andrzej Suski, Polish Roman Catholic bishop
* 1943 &ndash; Tarja Halonen, former President of Finland
* 1944 &ndash; Woody Shaw, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1989)
* 1944 &ndash; Daniel Johnson, Jr., 25th Premier of Quebec
* 1945 &ndash; Lemmy, British singer and musician (Motorhead) (d. 2015)
* 1946 &ndash; Jeff Sessions, American politician, 84th United States Attorney General
* 1948 &ndash; Frank Oliver, New Zealand rugby player
* 1948 &ndash; Edwige Fenech, Italian actress
* 1949 &ndash; Randy Neugebauer, American politician

### 1951 &ndash; 1975 
* 1954 &ndash; Gregory S. Paul, American writer, illustrator and paleontologist
* 1954 &ndash; Jose Maria Figueres, former President of Costa Rica
* 1955 &ndash; Grand L. Bush, American actor
* 1956 &ndash; Irene Khan, Bangladeshi lawyer (Amnesty International)
* 1957 &ndash; Hamid Karzai, former President of Afghanistan
* 1958 &ndash; Lyse Doucet, Canadian journalist and BBC News correspondent
* 1958 &ndash; Philippa Whitford, Scottish politician
* 1959 &ndash; Anil Kapoor, Indian actor
* 1959 &ndash; Keith Deller, English darts player
* 1960 &ndash; Glenn McQueen, Canadian–American animator (d. 2002)
* 1960 &ndash; Carol Vorderman, English television host
* 1961 &ndash; Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan
* 1961 &ndash; Wade Williams, American actor
* 1962 &ndash; David Cobb, American lawyer and politician
* 1962 &ndash; Darren Wharton, English musician
* 1963 &ndash; Caroline Aherne, English comedienne and actress (d. 2016)
* 1963 &ndash; Mary Ramsey, American singer-songwriter
* 1966 &ndash; Diedrich Bader, American actor
* 1967 &ndash; Mikhail Shchennikov, Russian race walker
* 1967 &ndash; Pernilla Wahlgren, Swedish singer and actress
* 1968 &ndash; Choi Jin-sil, South Korean actress (d. 2008)
* 1969 &ndash; Ed Miliband, British politician
* 1969 &ndash; Mark Millar, British historian
* 1970 &ndash; Amaury Nolasco, Puerto Rican actor
* 1971 &ndash; Ricky Martin, Puerto Rican singer
* 1972 &ndash; Richard Dutruel, French footballer
* 1973 &ndash; Matt Passmore, Australian actor
* 1973 &ndash; Stephenie Meyer, American writer
* 1973 &ndash; Eddie Pope, American footballer
* 1974 &ndash; Marcelo Salas, Chilean footballer
* 1974 &ndash; Ryan Seacrest, American television host
* 1974 &ndash; Thure Lindhardt, Danish actor

### From 1976 
* 1978 &ndash; Yildiray Basturk, Turkish footballer
* 1978 &ndash; Souleymane Diawara, Senegalese footballer
* 1979 &ndash; Svetlana Pospelova, Russian athlete
* 1979 &ndash; Chris Hero, American professional wrestler
* 1980 &ndash; Stephen Appiah, Ghanaian footballer
* 1981 &ndash; Dima Bilan, Russian singer
* 1981 &ndash; Nneka, Nigerian singer
* 1982 &ndash; Aiba Masaki, Japanese singer and actor
* 1982 &ndash; Robert Schwartzman, American singer
* 1984 &ndash; Austin Stowell, American actor
* 1985 &ndash; Christina Schwanitz, German shot putter
* 1986 &ndash; Ana Brenda Contreras, Mexican–American actress and singer
* 1986 &ndash; Theodor Gebre Selassie, Czech footballer
* 1986 &ndash; Kyrylo Fesenko, Ukrainian basketball player
* 1986 &ndash; Riyo Mori, Japanese model
* 1986 &ndash; Satomi Ishihara, Japanese actress
* 1987 &ndash; Jane Summersett, American ice dancer
* 1988 &ndash; Simon Zenke, Nigerian footballer
* 1991 &ndash; Louis Tomlinson, English singer (One Direction)
* 1992 &ndash; Melissa Suffield, English actress
* 1993 &ndash; Mariya Nishiuchi, Japanese model, actress and singer
* 1993 &ndash; Yuya Kubo, Japanese footballer
* 2000 &ndash; Ethan Bortnick, American singer-songwriter, pianist and actor

## Deaths
### Up to 1900 
* 1257 &ndash; John I, Count of Hainault (b. 1218)
* 1524 &ndash; Vasco da Gama, Portuguese explorer (b. 1469)
* 1660 &ndash; Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange (b. 1631)
* 1813 &ndash; Empress Go-Sakuramachi of Japan (b. 1740)
* 1863 &ndash; William Makepeace Thackeray, British writer (b. 1811)
* 1865 &ndash; Charles Lock Eastlake, English painter (b. 1793)
* 1868 &ndash; Adolphe d'Archiac, French paleontologist and geologist (b. 1802)
* 1869 &ndash; Edwin M. Stanton, American politician (b. 1815)
* 1872 &ndash; William John Macquorn Rankine, Scottish physician and engineer (b. 1820)
* 1873 &ndash; Johns Hopkins, American philanthropist and benefactor (b. 1795)
* 1889 &ndash; Jan Jakob Lodewijk ten Kate, Dutch clergyman and poet (b. 1819)
* 1893 &ndash; Robert Bentley, British botanist (b. 1821)
* 1898 &ndash; Charbel Makhluf, Lebanese monk and priest (b. 1828)

### 1901 &ndash; 2000 
* 1914 &ndash; John Muir, Scottish–American naturalist and conservationist (b. 1838)
* 1920 &ndash; Stephen Mosher Wood, American politician (b. 1832)
* 1926 &ndash; Wesley Coe, American athlete (b. 1879)
* 1930 &ndash; Eduard David, German politician (b. 1863)
* 1934 &ndash; George W. P. Hunt, American politician, 1st Governor of Arizona (b. 1859)
* 1935 &ndash; Alban Berg, Austrian composer (b. 1885)
* 1938 &ndash; Bruno Taut, German architect (b. 1880)
* 1941 &ndash; Siegfried Alkan, German composer (b. 1858)
* 1942 &ndash; François Darlan, Prime Minister of France (b. 1881)
* 1947 &ndash; Charles Gondouin, French rugby player (b. 1875)
* 1957 &ndash; Norma Talmadge, American actress (b. 1894)
* 1962 &ndash; Wilhelm Ackermann, German mathematician (b. 1896)
* 1967 &ndash; Burt Baskin, American businessman (b. 1913)
* 1971 &ndash; Maria Koepcke, German–Peruvian ornithologist (b. 1924)
* 1973 &ndash; Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, Indian businessman, social activist, and politician (b. 1973) 
* 1977 &ndash; Juan Velasco Alvarado, Peruvian politician and military (b. 1910)
* 1979 &ndash; Rudi Dutschke, German sociologist and student leader (b. 1940)
* 1980 &ndash; Karl Dönitz, German admiral (b. 1890)
* 1980 &ndash; Siggie Nordstrom, American actress and singer (b. 1893)
* 1982 &ndash; Louis Aragon, French writer (b. 1897)
* 1984 &ndash; Peter Lawford, British actor (b. 1923)
* 1985 &ndash; Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, American lawyer (b. 1904)
* 1987 &ndash; M. G. Ramachandran, Indian actor, producer and writer (b. 1917)
* 1987 &ndash; Joop den Uyl, Dutch politician (b. 1919)
* 1990 &ndash; Thorbjorn Egner, Norwegian writer (b. 1922)
* 1992 &ndash; Peyo, Belgian comic writer (b. 1928)
* 1994 &ndash; Rossano Brazzi, Italian actor, singer, director and screenwriter (b. 1916)
* 1997 &ndash; Toshiro Mifune, Japanese actor (b. 1920)
* 1999 &ndash; Maurice Couve de Murville, Prime Minister of France (b. 1907)
* 1999 &ndash; Joao Figueiredo, President of Brazil (b. 1918)
* 2000 &ndash; Nick Massi, American singer and musician (b. 1935)

### From 2001 
* 2002 &ndash; Kjell Aukrust, Norwegian writer (b. 1920)
* 2008 &ndash; Harold Pinter, British playwright (b. 1930)
* 2008 &ndash; Samuel P. Huntington, American politician (b. 1927)
* 2009 &ndash; Rafael Caldera, President of Venezuela (b. 1916)
* 2010 &ndash; Elisabeth Beresford, British writer (b. 1926)
* 2010 &ndash; Roy Neuberger, American banker (b. 1903)
* 2010 &ndash; Eino Tamberg, Estonian composer (b. 1930)
* 2011 &ndash; Johannes Heesters, Dutch–born entertainer, actor and singer (b. 1903)
* 2012 &ndash; Richard Rodney Bennett, British composer (b. 1936)
* 2012 &ndash; Charles Durning, American actor (b. 1923)
* 2012 &ndash; Jack Klugman, American actor (b. 1922)
* 2013 &ndash; Allan McKeown, English–American screenwriter and producer (b. 1946)
* 2014 &ndash; Krzysztof Krauze, Polish movie director and screenwriter (b. 1953)
* 2014 &ndash; Buddy DeFranco, American jazz clarinetist (b. 1923)
* 2014 &ndash; Edward Greenspan, Canadian lawyer (b. 1944)
* 2015 &ndash; Ron Jacobs, American basketball coach (b. 1942)
* 2016 &ndash; Liz Smith, English actress (b. 1921)
* 2016 &ndash; Richard Adams, English writer (b. 1920)
* 2016 &ndash; Rick Parfitt, English musician (Status Quo) (b. 1948)
* 2016 &ndash; Edwin Reinecke, American politician (b. 1924)
* 2017 &ndash; Jerry Kindall, American baseball player (b. 1935)
* 2017 &ndash; Heather Menzies, Canadian–American actress and model (b. 1949)
* 2017 &ndash; Andrey Zaliznyak, Russian linguist (b. 1935)

## Observances 
* Christmas Eve (Western Christianity)
* Independence Day (Libya)