Today is Tuesday, December 24th, 2024, marking the 359th day of the year with only seven days remaining. It is a special day as it is Christmas Eve.
Historical Events on this Day:
In 1992, President George H.W. Bush granted pardons to former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others involved in the Iran-Contra scandal.
In 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was signed between the United States and Britain, officially ending the War of 1812.
On this date in 1851, a fire destroyed around 35,000 volumes of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
1865 saw the formation of a private social club in Pulaski, Tennessee, by Confederate Army veterans, which later evolved into the Ku Klux Klan.
In 1913, a tragic incident at the Italian Hall in Calumet, Michigan, resulted in the death of 73 people, mostly children, during a Christmas party for striking miners and their families.
During World War I in 1914, British and German soldiers initiated impromptu Christmas truces along parts of the Western Front.
In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower as the supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe.
In 2013, Queen Elizabeth II posthumously pardoned code-breaker Alan Turing for his criminal conviction related to homosexual behavior in the 1950s.
Notable Birthdays Today:
- Immunologist Dr. Anthony Fauci turns 84.
- Filmmaker Lee Daniels celebrates his 65th birthday.
- Basketball Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright is 63 today.
- Singer Ricky Martin turns 53.
- Author Stephenie Meyer celebrates her 51st birthday.
- TV host Ryan Seacrest marks his 50th birthday.
- Rock singer Louis Tomlinson (One Direction) turns 33.
- NFL wide receiver Davante Adams celebrates his 32nd birthday.
