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

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 1777 - Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is discovered by James Cook.
2. 1814 - The Treaty of Ghent is signed ending the War of 1812.
3. 1818 - The first performance of "Silent Night" takes place in the church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria.
4. 1851 - Library of Congress burns.
5. 1906 - Radio: Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio broadcast; consisting of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech.
6. 1911 - Lackawanna Cut-Off railway line opens in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
7. 1914 - World War I: The "Christmas truce" begins.
8. 1955 - NORAD Tracks Santa for the first time in what will become an annual Christmas Evetradition.
9. 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.
10. 1973 - District of Columbia Home Rule Act is passed, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to elect their own local government.
11. 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.