Independence
day
Libya
Events
of the day
563 – The Byzantine church Hagia
Sophia in Constantinople is dedicated for the
second time after being destroyed by earthquakes.
1294 – Pope Boniface VIII is elected Pope, replacing
St. Celestine V, who had resigned.
1777 – Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island,
is discovered by James Cook.
1814 – The Treaty of Ghent is signed ending the
War of 1812.
1818 – The first performance of "Silent Night"
takes place in the church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf,
Austria.
1826 – The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military
Academy begins that night, wrapping up the following
morning.
1851 – Library of Congress burns.
1865 – The Ku Klux Klan is formed.
1871 – Aida opens in Cairo.
1906 – Radio: Reginald Fessenden transmits the
first radio broadcast; consisting of a poetry
reading, a violin solo, and a speech.
1911 – Lackawanna Cut-Off railway line opens in
New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
1913 – The Italian Hall Disaster ("1913 Massacre")
in Calumet, Michigan, results in the death of
73 Christmas party goers held by striking mine
workers, including 59 children.
1914 – World War I: The "Christmas truce"
begins.
1924 – Albania becomes a republic.
1929 – Assassination attempt on Argentine President
Hipólito Yrigoyen.
1939 – World War II: Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas
Eve appeal for peace.
1941 – World War II: Kuching is conquered by Japanese
forces.
1942 – World War II: French monarchist, Fernand
Bonnier de La Chapelle, assassinates Vichy French
Admiral François Darlan in Algiers.
1943 – World War II: U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower
becomes the Supreme Allied Commander.
1951 – Libya becomes independent from Italy. Idris
I is proclaimed King of Libya.
1953 – Tangiwai disaster: A railway bridge is
destroyed by a lahar at Tangiwai, in the Central
North Island of New Zealand, sending a fully loaded
passenger train into the Whangaehu River, and
killing 153 people.
1955 – NORAD Tracks Santa for the first time in
what will become an annual Christmas Eve tradition.
1964 – Vietnam War: Viet Cong operatives bomb
the Brinks Hotel in Saigon to demonstrate they
can strike an American installation in the heavily
guarded capital.
1966 – A Canadair CL-44 chartered by the United
States military crashes into a small village in
South Vietnam, killing 129.
1968 – Apollo Program: The crew of Apollo 8 enters
into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first
humans to do so. 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.
1972 Japan Airlines Flight 472, operated Douglas
DC-8-53 landed at Juhu Aerodrome instead of Santacruz
Airport in Bombay.
1973 – District of Columbia Home Rule Act is passed,
allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to elect
their own local government.
1974 – Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia.
1979 – The first European Ariane rocket is launched.
1980 – Witnesses report the first of several sightings
of unexplained lights near RAF Woodbridge, in
Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England, an incident
called "Britain's Roswell".
1997 – The Sid El-Antri massacre (or Sidi Lamri)
in Algeria kills 50-100 people.
2000 – The Texas 7 hold up a sports store in Irving,
Texas. Police officer Aubrey Hawkins is murdered
during the robbery.
2003 – The Spanish police thwart an attempt by
ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m.
inside Madrid's busy ChamartÃn Station.
2005 – Chad–Sudan relations: Chad declares a state
of war against Sudan following a December 18 attack
on Adré, which left about 100 people dead.
2008 – Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel
group, begins a series of attacks on Democratic
Republic of the Congo, massacring more than 400.
Holidays
and observances
Christian
Feast Day:
Adela and Irmina
Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
Aðfangadagskvöld, the day when the 13th and the
last Yule Lad arrives to towns. (Iceland)
Feast of the Seven Fishes (Italy)
Jul (Denmark, Norway and Sweden)
Nochebuena (Spain and Spanish-speaking countries)
The Declaration of Christmas Peace (Old Great
Square of Turku, Finland's official Christmas
City)
For details, contact Datacentre
