December 24: What Happened on This Day in History (Elementary Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 1777 - Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is discovered by James Cook.
2. 1851 - Library of Congress burns.
3. 1906 - Radio: Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio broadcast; consisting of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech.
4. 1955 - NORAD Tracks Santa for the first time in what will become an annual Christmas Evetradition.
5. 1968 - Apollo program: The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so. They performed 10 lunar orbits and broadcast live TV pictures that became the famous Christmas Eve Broadcast, one of the most watched programs in history.
6. Famous Birthdays: Benjamin Rush (American physician, signer of the United States Declaration of Independence), Jean-Louis Pons (French astronomer), James Prescott Joule (English physicist and brewer), Juan Ramón Jiménez (Spanish poet, Nobel Prize laureate), Jonathan Borofsky (American sculptor

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: December 23

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: December 25

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.