What Happened On
Fell Two Miles From an Airplane - And then it got worse…
December 24, 1971
LANSA Flight 508 is struck by lightning, igniting the right wing fuel tank and causing the plane to plummet into the Amazon rainforest, breaking into pieces as it fell. Juliane Koepcke's mother and another passenger who was riding in their seat row were ejected from their seats, but Koepcke remained strapped into hers as she fell roughly two miles (3.2 km). She sustained a broken collar bone, an eye injury, a torn ACL, a strained neck vertebra, a fractured shin, and a concussion. The loss of her eyeglasses, along with one eye swollen shut, limited her vision. She spent a day looking for her mother, but to no avail. She did find a bag of candy which was her only food for the next 10 days. She came across a river and followed it downstream, during which time her wounds became infested with maggots. She eventually encountered a lumberman's camp and they brought her to safety. Fourteen others, including her mother, had survived the initial crash, but died while waiting to be rescued. Koepcke was the sole survivor of the crash.
The movie Miracles Still Happen (1974) and the documentary Wings of Hope (2000) are based on her story.
Coincidentally, a LANSA crash the previous year also had only one survivor.
First Earthrise photographed by humans
First Earthrise photographed by humans
First Men to Orbit the Moon
December 24, 1968
Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders aboard the Apollo 8. They were also the first humans to photograph the Earthrise.
NORAD's Tracking of Santa Started By a Wrong Number
December 24, 1955
A Colorado Springs, Colorado Sears store runs an ad asking children to call Santa. However, a misprint gave the CONAD (forerunner to NORAD) phone number. The CONAD soldiers answered the calls, starting a holiday tradition that is now carried on by NORAD.
Menotti's opera was inspired by The Adoration of the Magi, by Hieronymus Bosch
Menotti's opera was inspired by The Adoration of the Magi, by Hieronymus Bosch
First Opera Written for U.S. Television
December 24, 1951
Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti is broadcast live on NBC. The live broadcast was watched by an estimated five million people, the largest audience ever to see a televised opera. It is still one of the most-performed operas of all time.
Fred Rogers, later known as Mister Rogers, was working as floor manager for this show.
Ku Klux Klan
December 24, 1865
The first Ku Klux Klan (KKK) group is organized, in Pulaski, Tennessee by six former members of the Confederate Army. Its initial stated purpose was "ludicrous initiations, the baffling of public curiosity, and the amusement for members." However, it quickly turned into a white supremacist group that used assassinations and violence to achieve its goals. Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest became the first Grand Wizard, the Klan's national leader. However, Bedford's attitude towards blacks changed as he grew older, with him renouncing his involvement with the KKK and advocating for black's rights.
The original KKK disbanded in the early 1870s due to federal legislation targeting hate crime groups, only to reform again in 1915, and regain popularity in the 1950s.
Silent-Night-Chapel in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, where the song was first performed
Photo Credit: Gakuro
Silent-Night-Chapel in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, where the song was first performedPhoto Credit: Gakuro
Silent Night, Holy Night
December 24, 1818
The famous Christmas carol Silent Night, Holy Night is performed for the first time. The lyrics had been written by Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by organist Franz Xaver Gruber. Mohr asked Gruber to compose the melody and guitar accompaniment for the Christmas Eve Mass since a flood had destroyed their organ.
"Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace."
Columbus on Santa Maria, painting by Emanuel Leutze
Columbus on Santa Maria, painting by Emanuel Leutze
Columbus Sinks the Santa Maria
December 24, 1492
While Christopher Columbus was sleeping the steersman decided to take a nap, leaving only a cabin boy to steer the Santa Maria; a practice forbidden by Columbus. The ship struck a sandbank in Haiti sinking the next day.
Adoration of the Shepherds, by Gerard van Honthorst
Adoration of the Shepherds, by Gerard van Honthorst
First Recorded Celebration of Christmas
December 24, 336
Although Christmas celebrations started in the early 300s, the first celebration of Christmas that we have recorded evidence for occurred in Rome on December 24th in A.D. 336.
Nannygate
December 24, 1992
U.S. President Bill Clinton announces Zoë Baird as his choice for U.S. Attorney General (who is in charge of INS). Later she withdrew her nomination after it was revealed she had hired illegal aliens and not paid their social security taxes.
First Surface-to-Surface Guided Missile
December 24, 1942
Launched by German engineer Wernher von Braun.
First Long-Range Radio Transmission of Voice
December 24, 1906
Reginald Fessenden transmits from Brant Rock, Massachusetts to ships at sea.
War of 1812 Ends
December 24, 1814
Treaty of Ghent is signed ending the War of 1812 between the U.S. and Britain. This news did not arrive in time to prevent the Battle of New Orleans.
Birthdays
Photo Credit: Glenn Francis
Photo Credit: Glenn Francis
Ryan Seacrest
Born December 24, 1974
American Emmy-winning radio personality, television host, and producer. TV: American Idol (host), Wheel of Fortune (2024-, host).
Howard Hughes (Howard Robard Hughes, Jr.)
Born December 24, 1905 d. 1976
American billionaire, world-class aviator, motion picture executive. His eccentricity is described in the book I Caught Flies for Howard Hughes and the film The Aviator (2004).
Creator of Raggedy Ann
Johnny Gruelle (John Barton)
Born December 24, 1880 d. 1938
American children's author. Creator of Raggedy Ann (1915) and Raggedy Andy (1922). Gruelle named the doll after two of James Whitcomb Riley poems, "The Raggedy Man" and "Little Orphant Annie".
Ava Gardner (Ava Lavinia Gardner)
Born December 24, 1922 d. 1990
American actress. She was Hollywood's leading lady of the 1940s and '50s.
Irvin Charles Mollison
Born December 24, 1898 d. 1962
American judge. He was the first black U.S. Customs Court judge (1945).
Emanuel Lasker
Born December 24, 1868 d. 1941
German chess master, world chess champion (1894-1921).
James Prescott Joule
Born December 24, 1818 d. 1889
English physicist, for whom Joule's Law is named.
Eliza Cook
Born December 24, 1818 d. 1889
English author. Her poem The Old Armchair made her a household name in England and America.
Kit Carson (Christopher Carson)
Born December 24, 1809 d. 1868
American frontiersman.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Born December 24, 1491 d. 1556
Spanish ecclesiastic. In 1535 he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuit order).
Deaths
Richard Adams
Died December 24, 2016 b. 1920
English novelist. His book, Watership Down, about a group of rabbits, was turned down by seven publishers. It then went on to sell 50,000,000 copies and win numerous awards. Writings: Watership Down (1972).
William Guest
Died December 24, 2015 b. 1941
American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer. One of Gladys Knight's Pips. Music: Midnight Train to Georgia (1973, #1).
Jack Klugman
Died December 24, 2012 b. 1922
American Emmy-winning actor. TV: The Odd Couple (1970-75, Oscar Madison) and Quincy M.E. (1976-83). Film: 12 Angry Men (1957).
Charles Durning
Died December 24, 2012 b. 1923
American Tony-winning actor. TV: Evening Shade (Dr. Elldrige). He was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart for his service during WWII.
Rossano Brazzi
Died December 24, 1994 b. 1916
Italian actor, specializing in Continental lover roles. Film: The Barefoot Contessa (1954), Summertime (1955), and South Pacific (1958). TV: The Survivors (Riakos).
Norman Vincent Peale
Died December 24, 1993 b. 1898
American minister, author, and founder of Guideposts magazine (1945). Writings: The Power of Positive Thinking (1952). Radio: The Art of Living. His life was portrayed in the movie One Man's Way (1964).
Pierre "Peyo" Culliford
Died December 24, 1992 b. 1928
Belgian cartoonist. Creator of the Smurfs (1958).
Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith
Died December 24, 1985 b. 1904
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's great-grandson, and last of Lincoln's descendants.
Peter Lawford
Died December 24, 1984 b. 1923
British-born American actor. TV: The Thin Man (Nick Charles).
Norma Talmadge
Died December 24, 1957 b. 1894
American silent film actress. According to legend, she accidentally stepped into wet cement at Grauman's Chinese Theater (1927), starting a long tradition. She was one of the biggest stars during the silent film era.
Johns Hopkins
Died December 24, 1873 b. 1795
American businessman, philanthropist, contributed money for the Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Edwin McMasters Stanton
Died December 24, 1869 b. 1814
American lawyer, politician U.S. Secretary of War (1862-68). After the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln's assassination, he remained Secretary of War under President Andrew Johnson, but opposed Johnson's lenient policies towards the former Confederate States. Johnson's attempts to dismiss him led to Johnson's impeachment.
William Makepeace Thackeray
Died December 24, 1863 b. 1811
English novelist. Writings: Vanity Fair (1847-48) and Pendennis (1850). Quote: "I never knew whether to pity or congratulate a man on coming to his senses."