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 Consul of France, the de facto dictator of the French Republic.
On December 24, 1818, the day Christians celebrated as “Christmas Eve,” the first ever performance of the carol, “Silent Night,” was presented in Oberndorf, Austria at the church of St. Nikolaus.
On December 24, 1865, six former Confederate veterans of the recently concluded US Civil War formed the first known chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, an organization largely founded on the principles of White Supremacy and violence against African Americans and those not in agreement with Klan beliefs.
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.
On December 24, 1914, British and German soldiers facing each other across No Man’s Land in the trenches of World War I confounded their superiors by leaving their trenches and walking out to meet and greet their enemies in the spirit of Christmas brotherhood.
After the start of the Christmas Truce on December 24, 1914, about 100,000 soldiers from both German and British armies started celebrating Christmas together.
On December 24, 1942, French Patriots got their Christmas wish when Nazi collaborator and opportunist Admiral Francois Darlan was murdered by 20 year old French Monarchist, Fernand de la Chapelle.
On December 24, 1952, the British Handley Page Victor strategic bomber made its maiden flight.
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.
On December 24, 1980, a series of mysterious lights and aircraft were sighted in the area of Rendlesham Forest (Sussex England) and allegedly covered up by British authorities.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Which event that occurred on today’s date would you like to learn more about?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.