131 things happened on 24 December, from 3 BC to 2016. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1777 · 249 years ago
On his third voyage of exploration, Captain James Cook visited an island in the Pacific Ocean on Christmas Eve. The island is now called Kiritimati, which is the word 'Christmas' written in the Gilbertese language. It is one of the largest coral atolls in the…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
On his third voyage of exploration, Captain James Cook visited an island in the Pacific Ocean on Christmas Eve. The island is now called Kiritimati, which is the word 'Christmas' written in the Gilbertese language. It is one of the largest coral atolls in the world and part of the country of Kiribati. It is also one of the first inhabited places on Earth to see in each New Year.
UK story
The United Kingdom and the United States signed the Treaty of Ghent in the city of Ghent, in what is now Belgium. It ended the War of 1812, which had been fought mainly in North America and at sea. The treaty put the borders back to how they had been before the war. The war only officially ended in February 1815, when the US Senate approved the treaty.
UK story
During the First World War, British and German soldiers began unofficial ceasefires along parts of the Western Front to celebrate Christmas. Soldiers crossed into no man's land, the ground between the trenches, to talk, share food and sing carols. In some places they even played football. The Christmas truce is remembered as a moment of peace and humanity in the middle of the war.
UK story
Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by name in a children's story written for London's Evening News newspaper on Christmas Eve. The bear was created by the author A. A. Milne and the illustrator E. H. Shepard. Milne based him on a toy bear he had bought for his son, Christopher Robin, at Harrods. He was also inspired by a real bear called Winnie at London Zoo.
UK story
The Sultanate of Brunei ceded the island of Labuan to the British Empire.
UK story
The Greek Presidential Guard is established as the royal escort by King George I.
UK story
World War II: Benghazi is conquered by the British Eighth Army.
The Christmas carol 'Silent Night' was first performed in a church in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. Its words were written by Joseph Mohr and its music by Franz Xaver Gruber. It has become one of the most recorded Christmas songs, with more than 137,000 known recordings. In 2011 UNESCO declared it part of the world's 'intangible cultural heritage', a tradition worth protecting.
Aida, an opera by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, had its first performance at the Khedivial Opera House in Cairo, Egypt. Its story is set in ancient Egypt. It is now one of the most important operas and is performed around the world every year. At New York's Metropolitan Opera alone, it has been sung more than 1,100 times.
According to the story, the NORAD Tracks Santa programme began after an advert printed the wrong phone number. Children who rang it reached an American air defence centre and asked where Santa Claus was. The programme has been held every year since 1955. NORAD, a defence organisation run by Canada and the United States, now lets children follow Santa's journey on Christmas Eve.
Apollo 8 became the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon and go into orbit around it. Its crew, Jim Lovell, Frank Borman and William Anders, circled the Moon ten times. They were the first people to see the far side of the Moon. They also photographed Earth rising above the Moon's horizon, a view called Earthrise.
The first Ariane 1 rocket was launched from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana, South America. It was the first rocket in the Ariane family and was developed for the European Space Agency. It was the first launcher designed mainly to carry commercial satellites into space. It could send two satellites into orbit at once, which helped to keep costs down.
Chinese emperor Xiao Yan names Xiao Tong his heir designate.
The Tang-dynasty poet Du Fu departed for Chengdu, where he lived for the next five years and composed poems about life in his thatched cottage.
Battle of Ayn Shams: The Fatimids under Jawhar defeat the Qarmatians at the gates of Cairo, putting an end to the First Qarmatian invasion of Egypt.
The capital of the crusader County of Edessa falls to Imad ad-Din Zengi, the atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo.
Pope Boniface VIII is elected, replacing St. Celestine V, who had resigned.
A joint Venetian–Spanish fleet captures the Castle of St. George on the island of Cephalonia.
The Marathas defeat the combined forces of the Mughal Empire, Rajputs of Jaipur, Nizam of Hyderabad, Nawab of Awadh and Nawab of Bengal in the Battle of Bhopal.
Six Confederate veterans of the American Civil War founded a social club they named the Ku Klux Klan, which later became a white supremacist group.
Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio broadcast; consisting of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech.
Forces united in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes defeated Hungarian forces to end the occupation of Međimurje.
Gabriele D'Annunzio surrendered the Italian Regency of Carnaro in the city of Fiume to Italian Armed Forces.
Albania becomes a republic.
A four alarm fire breaks out in the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C.
World War II: Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas Eve appeal for peace.
World War II: Kuching is conquered by Japanese forces.
World War II: U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower is named Supreme Allied Commander for Operation Overlord.
Libya becomes independent. Idris I is proclaimed King of Libya.
Nigerian troops capture Umuahia, the Biafran capital.
The U.S. Congress granted home rule to Washington, D.C., allowing the residents to elect their own mayor and a city council.
District of Columbia Home Rule Act is passed, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to elect their own local government.
Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia.
The Soviet government deployed troops in Afghanistan, starting the Soviet–Afghan War.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Winnie-the-Pooh appears by name for the first time”?
C: 1925. 1925 — that’s 101 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “Soldiers stop fighting to celebrate in the Christmas truce”?
B: 1914. 1914 — that’s 112 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
B: Captain James Cook visits Christmas Island on Christmas Eve. 1914: Soldiers stop fighting to celebrate in the Christmas truce · 1777: Captain James Cook visits Christmas Island on Christmas Eve · 1925: Winnie-the-Pooh appears by name for the first time Find it on the page
“Captain James Cook visits Christmas Island on Christmas Eve” happened in 1777. How many years ago was that?
B: 249 years. 2026 − 1777 = 249. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 24 December.
UK story
James Prescott Joule was an English physicist who studied heat. He discovered how heat is linked to mechanical work, the energy used to make things move. His work led to the law of conservation of energy: energy is never lost, only changed into other forms. The joule, the unit scientists use to measure energy, is named after him.
Well-known people who died on 24 December.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 24 December somewhere in the world.
Christmas Eve is the evening, or the whole day, before Christmas Day, when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus. Many churches hold a service at midnight, because tradition says that Jesus was born at night. Families and friends often gather, sing carols, wrap presents and enjoy Christmas lights and trees. Father Christmas, also called Santa Claus, is said to set off on Christmas Eve to deliver presents to children.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “December 24” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.