On this day: 24 December

Selected events and births on 24 December, from Wikipedia’s “On this day”.

Events

• 759 – 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. Read more: Tang dynasty Du Fu Chengdu
• 1818 – The Christmas carol "Silent Night" (audio featured) by Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber was first performed in a church in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. Read more: Christmas carol Silent Night Joseph Mohr
• 1846 – The Sultanate of Brunei ceded the island of Labuan to the British Empire. Read more: Sultanate of Brunei (1368–1888) Crown Colony of Labuan Labuan
• 1871 – Aida, one of Giuseppe Verdi's most popular operas, made its debut in Cairo, Egypt. Read more: Aida Giuseppe Verdi Cairo
• 1925 – Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by name in a children's story in the London Evening News. Read more: Winnie-the-Pooh The Evening News (London newspaper)
• 1968 – Piloted by Jim Lovell, Apollo 8 became the first human spaceflight to reach and orbit the Moon (Earthrise pictured). Read more: Jim Lovell Apollo 8 Human spaceflight
• 1973 – The U.S. Congress granted home rule to Washington, D.C., allowing the residents to elect their own mayor and a city council. Read more: United States Congress District of Columbia home rule Washington, D.C.

Born on this day

• 1934 – Stjepan Mesić, Croatian lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Croatia Read more: Stjepan Mesić President of Croatia
• 1940 – Anthony Fauci, American physician, Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Read more: Anthony Fauci National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
• 1943 – Tarja Halonen, Finnish lawyer and politician, 11th President of Finland Read more: Tarja Halonen President of Finland
• 1944 – Mike Curb, American businessman and politician, 42nd Lieutenant Governor of California Read more: Mike Curb Lieutenant Governor of California
• 1944 – Daniel Johnson, Jr., Canadian lawyer and politician, 25th Premier of Quebec Read more: Daniel Johnson Jr. Premier of Quebec
• 1946 – Jeff Sessions, American lawyer and politician, 44th Attorney General of Alabama and 84th Attorney General of the United States Read more: Jeff Sessions Alabama Attorney General United States Attorney General
• 1954 – José María Figueres, Costa Rican businessman and politician, President of Costa Rica (1994–1998) Read more: José María Figueres President of Costa Rica
• 1957 – Hamid Karzai, Afghan politician, 12th President of Afghanistan Read more: Hamid Karzai President of Afghanistan
• 1961 – Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijani businessman and politician, 4th President of Azerbaijan Read more: Ilham Aliyev President of Azerbaijan
• 1969 – Ed Miliband, British politician, Foreign Secretary Read more: Ed Miliband Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)
• 2002 – Joshua Primo, Canadian basketball player Read more: Joshua Primo
• 2002 – Jeremiah Trotter Jr., American football player Read more: Jeremiah Trotter Jr.

Text from Wikipedia: Selected anniversaries / December 24 and the linked articles, via the Wikimedia “On this day” feed, under CC BY-SA 4.0. We leave out entries about wars, violence and disasters to keep this page family-friendly.