December 24

December 24: This Day in History

• 1800— Conspirators detonated a bomb in an assassination attempt on Napoleon Bonaparte as his carriage passed through a Paris street, but Napoleon survived.
• 1818— Silent Night (Stille Nacht) was performed for the first time at the St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria, by Franz Xaver Gruber and Joseph Mohr.
• 1871— Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida had its world premiere at the Khedivial Opera House in Cairo, Egypt.
• 1914— The Christmas Truce occurred along sections of the Western Front in World War I, with British and German soldiers briefly ceasing fire and meeting in no-man's land.
• 1968— Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders took the famous 'Earthrise' photograph, showing Earth rising above the lunar horizon.

Famous Birthdays on December 24

• Ava Gardner (1922) — actress
• Ricky Martin (1971) — singer
• Stephenie Meyer (1973) — author of the twilight series
• Howard Hughes (1905) — aviator and billionaire industrialist
• Ryan Seacrest (1974) — television host and producer

What Happens on December 24?

Did You Know? December 24 Fun Facts

• The 'Earthrise' photograph taken by Apollo 8 on Christmas Eve 1968 is credited with helping spark the modern environmental movement.
• Silent Night has been translated into over 300 languages and dialects, making it one of the most widely recognized songs in the world.

Count Down to Events on December 24

• How many days until Christmas Eve?
• How many days until Christmas Eve?
• How many days until Christmas Eve?