December 24
1524 - Portuguese navigator Vasco de Gama, who had discovered a sea route around Africa to India, died in Cochin, India.
1814 - The War of 1812 between American and Britain ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in Belgium.
1818 - "Silent Night" was composed by Franz Joseph Gruber.
1851 - Fire devastated the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroying more than 35,000 volumes.
1865 - The Ku Klux Klan was founded as a private social club by several Confederate Army veterans in Pulaski, Tennessee.
1906 - Canadian physicist Reginald A. Fessenden became the first person to broadcast a music program over radio, from Brant Rock, Massachusetts.
1913 - An estimated 73 people, most of them children, died in a crush of panic after a false cry of "Fire!" during a Christmas party for striking miners and their families at the Italian Hall in Calumet, Michigan.
1943 - Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed supreme commander of Allied Forces by President Franklin Roosevelt.
1968 - Apollo 8 astronauts, orbiting the moon, read passages from the Old Testament Book of Genesis during a Christmas Eve telecast.
1980 - Americans remembered the U.S. hostages in Iran by burning candles or shining lights for 417 seconds -- one second for each day of captivity.
1992 - President George H.W. Bush pardoned former defense secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others involved in the Iran-Contra scandal.
2002 - Laci Peterson was reported missing from her Modesto, Calif., home, by her husband, Scott, who was later convicted of murdering her and their unborn son.
2009 - The Senate passed health care legislation, 60-39, in the chamber's first Christmas Eve vote since 1895.
2009 - A woman jumped barriers in St. Peter's Basilica and knocked down Pope Benedict XVI as he was walking down the main aisle to begin Christmas Eve Mass; the pope was unhurt.
2013 - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II granted a posthumous pardon to code-breaker Alan Turing, who was convicted of homosexual behavior in the 1950s.
2016 - President-elect Donald Trump said he would dissolve his charitable foundation before taking office to avoid conflicts of interest; the Democratic Party said that wasn't enough and called for the businessman to put his assets in a blind trust.
2016 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused President Barack Obama of a "shameful ambush" at the United Nations and said he was looking forward to working with his "friend" Donald Trump; Netanyahu's comments came a day after the U.S. broke with past practice and allowed the Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
2020 - President Donald Trump completed a round of pardons for more than two dozen people, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, in the latest wave of clemency to benefit longtime associates and supporters.
Birthdays
29 - Davante Adams (football player)
30 - Louis Tomlinson (singer)
30 - Sofia Black-D'Elia (actress)
31 - Jordan Mills (football player)
35 - Ana Brenda Contreras (actress)
37 - Austin Stowell (actor)
44 - Michael Raymond-James (actor)
47 - Ryan Seacrest (radio/TV host)
48 - Stephenie Meyer (author)
50 - Ricky Martin (singer)
55 - Diedrich Bader (actor)
57 - Mark Valley (actor)
60 - Wade Williams (actor)
61 - Eva Tamargo (actress)
65 - Stephanie Hodge (actress)
66 - Clarence Gilyard (actor)
66 - Grand L. Bush (actor)
75 - Sharon Farrell (actress)
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Today in Sports History - December 24
1950 - The Cleveland Browns defeated the Los Angeles Rams 30-28 in the NFL Championship Game.
1961 - The Houston Oilers defeat the San Diego Chargers 10-3 in the AFL Championship Game.
1967 - Joe Namath of the New York Jets became the first player in NFL history to pass for 4,000 yards in a season.
1982 - Chaminade, with a student-body of just 850 students, upset #1-ranked Virginia 77-72 in a men's basketball holiday tournament, one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history.
2000 - The New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins were called back onto the field 36 minutes after their game had ended to replay the final three seconds of the game; the Dolphins won the game 27-24.
1524 - Portuguese navigator Vasco de Gama, who had discovered a sea route around Africa to India, died in Cochin, India.
1814 - The War of 1812 between American and Britain ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in Belgium.
1818 - "Silent Night" was composed by Franz Joseph Gruber.
1851 - Fire devastated the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroying more than 35,000 volumes.
1865 - The Ku Klux Klan was founded as a private social club by several Confederate Army veterans in Pulaski, Tennessee.
1906 - Canadian physicist Reginald A. Fessenden became the first person to broadcast a music program over radio, from Brant Rock, Massachusetts.
1913 - An estimated 73 people, most of them children, died in a crush of panic after a false cry of "Fire!" during a Christmas party for striking miners and their families at the Italian Hall in Calumet, Michigan.
1943 - Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed supreme commander of Allied Forces by President Franklin Roosevelt.
1968 - Apollo 8 astronauts, orbiting the moon, read passages from the Old Testament Book of Genesis during a Christmas Eve telecast.
1980 - Americans remembered the U.S. hostages in Iran by burning candles or shining lights for 417 seconds -- one second for each day of captivity.
1992 - President George H.W. Bush pardoned former defense secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others involved in the Iran-Contra scandal.
2002 - Laci Peterson was reported missing from her Modesto, Calif., home, by her husband, Scott, who was later convicted of murdering her and their unborn son.
2009 - The Senate passed health care legislation, 60-39, in the chamber's first Christmas Eve vote since 1895.
2009 - A woman jumped barriers in St. Peter's Basilica and knocked down Pope Benedict XVI as he was walking down the main aisle to begin Christmas Eve Mass; the pope was unhurt.
2013 - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II granted a posthumous pardon to code-breaker Alan Turing, who was convicted of homosexual behavior in the 1950s.
2016 - President-elect Donald Trump said he would dissolve his charitable foundation before taking office to avoid conflicts of interest; the Democratic Party said that wasn't enough and called for the businessman to put his assets in a blind trust.
2016 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused President Barack Obama of a "shameful ambush" at the United Nations and said he was looking forward to working with his "friend" Donald Trump; Netanyahu's comments came a day after the U.S. broke with past practice and allowed the Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
2020 - President Donald Trump completed a round of pardons for more than two dozen people, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, in the latest wave of clemency to benefit longtime associates and supporters.
Birthdays
29 - Davante Adams (football player)
30 - Louis Tomlinson (singer)
30 - Sofia Black-D'Elia (actress)
31 - Jordan Mills (football player)
35 - Ana Brenda Contreras (actress)
37 - Austin Stowell (actor)
44 - Michael Raymond-James (actor)
47 - Ryan Seacrest (radio/TV host)
48 - Stephenie Meyer (author)
50 - Ricky Martin (singer)
55 - Diedrich Bader (actor)
57 - Mark Valley (actor)
60 - Wade Williams (actor)
61 - Eva Tamargo (actress)
65 - Stephanie Hodge (actress)
66 - Clarence Gilyard (actor)
66 - Grand L. Bush (actor)
75 - Sharon Farrell (actress)
============================================
Today in Sports History - December 24
1950 - The Cleveland Browns defeated the Los Angeles Rams 30-28 in the NFL Championship Game.
1961 - The Houston Oilers defeat the San Diego Chargers 10-3 in the AFL Championship Game.
1967 - Joe Namath of the New York Jets became the first player in NFL history to pass for 4,000 yards in a season.
1982 - Chaminade, with a student-body of just 850 students, upset #1-ranked Virginia 77-72 in a men's basketball holiday tournament, one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history.
2000 - The New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins were called back onto the field 36 minutes after their game had ended to replay the final three seconds of the game; the Dolphins won the game 27-24.
