TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON: DEC 24
1565 Compromise of the Nobles in Habsburg Netherlands closes against inquisition
1812 Joel Barlow, aged 58, American poet and lawyer, dies from exposure near Vilna, Poland, during Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow. Barlow was on a diplomatic mission to the emperor for President Madison.
1814 A treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain, ending the War of 1812, is signed at Ghent, Belgium. The news does not reach the United States until two weeks later (after the decisive American victory at New Orleans).
1818 “Silent Night” was composed by Franz Joseph Gruber.
1826 Eggnog riots begin at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York
1865 Ku Klux Klan created
1914 Over 577,000 Allied soldiers are to spend Christmas as prisoners in Germany.
1917 The Kaiser warns Russia that he will use “iron fist” and “shining sword” if peace is spurned.
1936 1st radioactive isotope medicine administered in Berkeley, California
1943 General Dwight D. Eisenhower is appointed the Allied Supreme Commander, even though almost everyone believed the position would go to American Chief of Staff George C. Marshall.
1946 US General MacNarney gives 800,000 “minor nazis” amnesty
1947 An estimated 20,000 communists, led by guerrilla General Markos Vafthiades proclaim the Free Greek Government in northern Greece. They issue a call to arms to establish the regime throughout the nation.
1948 For the first time ever, a midnight Mass was broadcast on television. It was held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.
1951 Libya gains independence from Italy
1955 NORAD’s Santa tracking service begins
1956 African Americans defy a city law in Tallahassee, Florida, and occupy front bus seats.
1964 The U.S. headquarters in Saigon is hit by a bomb killing two officers.
1966 A Soviet research vehicle soft-lands on the moon.
1968 The first pictures of an Earth-rise over the moon are seen as the crew of Apollo 8 orbits the moon.
1979 Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan in support of the country’s Marxist government.
1980 Americans remembered Iran hostages by shining lights for 417 seconds
1992 President Bush pardoned former defense secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others in the Iran-Contra scandal.
1999 Ivory Coast President Henri Konan Bédié was overthrown in a coup.
2000 The “Texas 7,” seven convicts that had escaped a Texas prison, robbed a sports store in Irving, TX. The suspects killed Officer Aubrey Hawkins, stole $70,000, 25 weapons and clothing. The men had escaped on December 13.
2005 Chad declares a state of war against Sudan in the wake of the Dec. 18 attack on the town of Adre, in which approximately 100 people were killed.
REFERENCES: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeoplehistory.com, timeandate.com, factmonster.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
