Summary of the Day ✨ 24 December (24/12)
On this day, Burmese military forces killed at least 44 civilians in the Mo So massacre, Mexico’s first female Governor and her husband died in a helicopter crash, and Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance Army began massacring over 400 people in the DRC as Chad declared war on Sudan. Spanish police thwarted a major ETA terrorist plot targeting Madrid’s Chamartín Station with 50kg of explosives.
Historical Events 📜
- 2021: Burmese military forces commit the Mo So massacre, killing at least 44 civilians.
- 2018: A helicopter crash kills Martha Érika Alonso, first female Governor of Puebla, Mexico, and her husband Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, former governor.
- 2008: The Lord’s Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group, begins a series of attacks against civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, massacring more than 400.
- 2005: Chad–Sudan relations: Chad declares a state of belligerence against Sudan following a December 18 attack on Adré, which left about 100 people dead.
- 2003: The Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m. inside Madrid’s busy Chamartín Station.
- 1999: Indian Airlines Flight 814 is hijacked in Indian airspace between Kathmandu, Nepal, and Delhi, India. The aircraft landed at Kandahar in Afghanistan. The incident ended on December 31 with the release of 190 survivors (one passenger is killed).
- 1997: The Sid El-Antri massacre in Algeria kills between 50 and 100 people.
- 1996: A Learjet 35 crashes into Smarts Mountain near Dorchester, New Hampshire, killing both pilots on board.
- 1994: Air France Flight 8969 is hijacked on the ground at Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers, Algeria. Over the course of three days three passengers are killed, as are all four terrorists.
- 1983: Aeroflot Flight 601 crashes during takeoff from Leshukonskoye Airport, Russia, killing 44 of the 49 people on board.
- 1979: The first Ariane 1 rocket is launched from ELA-1 at the Guiana Space Centre.
- 1974: Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia.
- 1973: District of Columbia Home Rule Act is passed, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to elect their own local government.
- 1971: LANSA Flight 508 is struck by lightning and crashes in the Puerto Inca District in the Department of Huánuco in Peru, killing 91.
- 1969: Nigerian troops capture Umuahia, the Biafran capital.
Famous Births 👶
- 2002: Joshua Primo, Canadian basketball player
- 2002: Jeremiah Trotter Jr., American football player
- 2001: Choi Sung-beom, South Korean football player
- 1998: Alexis Mac Allister, Argentine footballer
- 1997: Neeraj Chopra, Indian javelin thrower
- 1997: William Contreras, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1995: Anett Kontaveit, Estonian tennis player
- 1994: Fa’amanu Brown, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1994: Miguel Castro, Dominican baseball player
- 1994: Matt Frawley, Australian rugby league player
- 1994: Han Seung-woo, South Korean singer
- 1992: Davante Adams, American football player
- 1992: Serge Aurier, Ivorian footballer
- 1992: P. J. Hairston, American basketball player
- 1991: Sofia Black-D’Elia, American actress
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2024: Hudson Meek, American actor (born 2008)
- 2024: Richard Perry, American record producer (born 1942)
- 2023: Cheri Barry, American politician and mayor of Meridian, Mississippi (born 1955)
- 2023: Richard Bowes, American science fiction author (born 1944)
- 2023: Troy Dargan, Cook Islands rugby league footballer (born 1997)
- 2018: Martha Érika Alonso, Governor of Puebla (born 1973)
- 2018: Rafael Moreno Valle Rosas, former governor of Puebla (born 1968)
- 2017: Jerry Kindall, American baseball player and coach (born 1935)
- 2017: Heather Menzies, Canadian-American model and actress (born 1949)
- 2016: Rick Parfitt, British musician (born 1948)
- 2016: Liz Smith, English actress (born 1921)
- 2016: Richard Adams, English author (born 1920)
- 2016: Ben Xi, Chinese singer (born 1994)
- 2015: Turid Birkeland, Norwegian businesswoman and politician, Norwegian Minister of Culture (born 1962)
- 2015: Letty Jimenez Magsanoc, Filipino journalist (born 1941)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Adela and Irmina - Christian feast day:
Paola Elisabetta Cerioli - Christian feast day:
Adam and Eve - Christian feast day:
December 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
Aðfangadagskvöld, the day when the 13th and the last Yule Lad arrives to towns. (Iceland) - Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
Feast of the Seven Fishes (Italian Americans) - Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
Juleaften (Denmark)/Julaften (Norway)/Julafton (Sweden) - Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
Nittel Nacht (certain Orthodox Jewish denominations) - Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
Nochebuena (Spain and Spanish-speaking countries) - Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
The Declaration of Christmas Peace (Old Great Square of Turku, Finland’s official Christmas City) - Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
Wigilia (Poland) - Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
Quviasukvik, the Inuit new year (Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Russia) - Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
Kūčios (Lithuania) - Independence Day (Libya)
- Day of Military Honour – Siege of Ismail (Russia)