December 24

Scott Winters December 24, 2023 1 Comment

A quick look at Today in History, check out some Celebrity Birthdays, and find out what Days of the Year to celebrate.

TODAY IN HISTORY:

1814 – With the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, the War of 1812 (between the U.S. and England) came to a close.

1818 – Franz Gruber of Oberndorf, Germany composed the music for “Silent Night”. The words were written by Josef Mohr.

1851 – A fire devastated the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, destroying about 35,000 volumes.

1865 – Several veterans of the Confederate Army formed a private social club in Pulaski, TN, called the Ku Klux Klan.

1906 – Canadian physicist Reginald A. Fessenden became the first person to broadcast a music program over radio, from Brant Rock, MA.

1943 – President Franklin Roosevelt appointed Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower supreme commander of Allied forces as part of Operation Overlord.

1948 – For the first time ever, a midnight Mass was broadcast on television. It was held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, NY.

1948 – The first completely solar-heated house became occupied in Dover, MA.

1955 – NORAD tracked Santa for the first time in what would become an annual Christmas Eve tradition.

1966 – The unmanned craft Luna 13 landed on the moon.

1968 – Three astronauts, James A. Lovell, William Anders and Frank Borman, reached the moon. 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. Seven months later man first landed on the moon.

1992 – Mike Espy was nominated to be Secretary of Agriculture by President Bill Clinton. Upon confirmation, he became the first black person to hold the position.

2000 – 36 minutes after the end of a game, both the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins were called back to the playing field. The teams had to play the final 3 seconds of the game which the Dolphins had won 27-24. The end result did not change.

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.

BIRTHDAYS:

Sharon Farrell – 83 years old (1940) – Actress (“The Reivers”, “Marlowe”, “t’s Alive”, “The Stunt Man”, “Out of the Blue”, “Night of the Comet”, “Can’t Buy Me Love”, TV’s “The Young and the Restless”, “JAG”)

Nicholas Meyer – 78 years old (1945) – Director (“Time After Time”, two of the “Star Trek” films, TV’s “The Day After”)

Stephanie Hodge – 67 years old (1956) – Actress (TV’s “Unhappily Ever After”, “Sugar and Spice”, “My Talk Show”, “Nurses”, “Muddling Through”, “Reba”, “NCIS”, “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody”)

Ian Burden – 66 years old (1957) – Keyboardist, bass guitarist (The Human League)

Mary Ramsey – 60 years old (1963) – Lead singer, violinist (10,000 Maniacs)

Diedrich Bader – 57 years old (1966) – Actor (TV’s “The Drew Carey Show”, movies “Meet the Spartans”, “Napoleon Dynamite”, “Office Space”, “The Beverly Hillbillies”)

Ricky Martin – 52 years old (1971) – Singer

Ryan Seacrest – 49 years old (1974) – TV host, syndicated radio host (“American Idol”, “Live with Kelly and Ryan”)

Robert Schwartzman – 41 years old (1982) – Actor (“The Princess Diaries”)

Louis Tomlinson – 32 years old (1991) – Singer (One Direction)