Also available in: Português (Brasil)
What happened on December 24
Every December 24 carries a layer of history: wars that began or ended, inventions, premieres, treaties, and people born or lost on this day across the centuries. We gathered 12 of the most striking events recorded on December 24, plus notable births and deaths, each with its year and a link to the Wikipedia article where the story continues. It is a fast way to answer "what happened on December 24" without digging through many sources: the list arrives ranked by relevance and dated.
Notable events
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2021 | Burmese military forces killed at least 40 civilians during the Mo So massacre in Kayah State, Myanmar. Tatmadaw |
| 2008 | The Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group, began attacks on several villages in the north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing hundreds and committing numerous atrocities. Lord's Resistance Army |
| 1999 | Jihadists linked to al-Qaeda hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 to force the release of Islamist figures held in prison in India. Jihadism |
| 1979 | The Soviet government deployed troops in Afghanistan, starting the Soviet-Afghan War. Soviet-Afghan War |
| 1973 | The U.S. Congress granted home rule to Washington, D.C., allowing the residents to elect their own mayor and a city council. United States Congress |
| 1968 | Piloted by Jim Lovell, Apollo 8 became the first human spaceflight to reach and orbit the Moon (Earthrise pictured). Jim Lovell |
| 1964 | The Viet Cong bombed the Brinks Hotel in Saigon, killing two U.S. Army officers and raising fears of an escalation of the Vietnam War. Viet Cong |
| 1955 | According to legend, the NORAD Tracks Santa program began after children began calling the Continental Air Defense Command Center to inquire about Santa Claus's whereabouts due to a misprinted phone number in an advertisement. NORAD Tracks Santa |
| 1953 | A railway bridge at Tangiwai on New Zealand's North Island was damaged by a lahar and collapsed beneath a passenger train (wreckage pictured), killing 151 people. North Island |
| 1925 | Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by name in a children's story in the London Evening News. Winnie-the-Pooh |
| 1918 | Forces united in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes defeated Hungarian forces to end the occupation of Međimurje. Kingdom of Yugoslavia |
| 1914 | World War I: British and German soldiers interrupted fighting to celebrate Christmas, beginning the Christmas truce. World War I |
Births
| Year | Who |
|---|---|
| 1998 | Alexis Mac Allister, Argentine footballer Alexis Mac Allister |
| 1997 | Neeraj Chopra, Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra |
| 1997 | William Contreras, Venezuelan baseball player William Contreras |
| 1995 | Anett Kontaveit, Estonian tennis player Anett Kontaveit |
Deaths
| Year | Who |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Hudson Meek, American actor (born 2008) Hudson Meek |
| 2024 | Richard Perry, American record producer (born 1942) Richard Perry |
| 2023 | Cheri Barry, American politician and mayor of Meridian, Mississippi (born 1955) Cheri Barry |
| 2023 | Richard Bowes, American science fiction author (born 1944) Richard Bowes |
A single anniversary does not explain on its own why a day matters: one December 24 can hold a scientific milestone, a tragedy and the birth of an artist, centuries apart. That is why we date every row and link the source, so you can follow what interests you. The selection mixes 12 events, 4 births and 4 deaths; the full list, with every reference, lives on Wikipedia.
Source, license and method
This page curates the day's anniversaries for December 24 from Wikipedia, delivered through the Wikimedia "On this day" feed (the encyclopedia's own open dataset). It is not original research: the facts, years and wording come from Wikipedia and are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike (CC BY-SA 4.0), which requires crediting the source and keeping the same license. We pick each day's most relevant items, favouring the editors' own selection and the most prominent articles, and every row links back to the matching entry. For the full list and primary references, see the day's article on Wikipedia (December 24).
Continue in the dates cluster
Anniversaries are just a doorway. People who arrive asking about the date usually also want: What day is it today, in every calendar, Moon phase today and the Date and age calculators.
Last updated: · Methodology and sources