A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on December 24th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On December 24, 1294, Pope Boniface VIII (born Benedetto Caetani) was elected Pope of the Roman Catholic Church to replace the previous Pope, St. Celestine V, who had resigned to return to his humble, monastic pre-papal life. On December 24, 1800, The “Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise,” also known as the “Machine Infernale Plot,” failed to kill Napoleon Bonaparte, then the First…
Browsing: December 24
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A Brief History On December 24, 1913, someone, either as a prank or as an evil way of messing with the crowd, yelled, “Fire!” in the crowded Italian Hall in Calumet, Michigan. The Christmas party turned tragic when 73 people died in the crush to escape the false fire. Digging Deeper When discussing “Freedom of Speech,” the example of falsely calling out “Fire!” in a crowded place is often cited as an exception. Some other exceptions include: Counterfeit currency. False advertising and speech that is copyrighted or otherwise owned by another. False statements, which include Slander and Libel, the spoken…
A Brief History On December 24, 1818, the day Christians celebrate as “Christmas Eve,” the first ever performance of the carol, “Silent Night,” was presented in Oberndorf, Austria at the church of St. Nikolaus. Our nominee for the “Greatest Christmas Carol” would be “O Holy Night,” and you are welcome to tell us which carol you believe is the “greatest.” Digging Deeper We list a few of our other favorites below: “Angels We Have Heard on High” “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen” “Good King Wenceslas” “Go Tell It on the Mountain” “Masters in this Hall” Question for students (and subscribers):…
A Brief History On December 24, 1952, the British Handley Page Victor strategic bomber made its maiden flight. The four engine jet bomber would enter service in 1958 as the third and last of the British “V” series of nuclear capable bombers, the other two members of the club being the Avro Vulcan and the Vickers Valiant. Digging Deeper In the post-World War II Cold War era, the United Kingdom (often abbreviated as “Britain”) struggled to remain a major world power in the face of the nuclear arming of the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR). In October of…
A Brief History World War I had seen its share of bloodshed and tragedy between its onset and its first Christmas. Still, around Christmas time in 1914, something miraculous happened. After violence had claimed a considerable number of lives, the German and British soldiers decided to stop killing each other for the holy Christmas day. Thus, the unofficial Christmas Truce of 1914 began, but what made it possible for them to start singing carols, and what is the actual story of the famous Christmas Truce? Let us find out more! Digging Deeper How It All Begun Before the legendary events…
