Browsing: December 24

A Brief History On December 24, 1971, a bolt of lightning took down a Lockheed 188A turboprop airliner over Peru, killing all but one of the 82 people aboard.  Thunderstorms and lightning are just one of many ways Mother Nature discourages and even puts an end to manned flight by humans in airplanes. Digging Deeper Besides weather, birds have a long history of bringing down airplanes, including the famous “Miracle on the Hudson” event in 2009.  Birds are so dangerous to airplanes, that many airports employ a variety of means to keep birds away from runways, from noisemakers and landscaping…

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…

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…