Today in History: Libya Gains Independence

The following are some of the major notable events that occurred on December 24 throughout history:

1800 – Assassination Attempt on Napoleon (France). On Christmas Eve 1800, royalist conspirators staged the “Infernal Machine” bomb plot against First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte in Paris. A massive bomb exploded on the Rue Saint-Nicaise after Napoleon’s carriage had passed, killing dozens of bystanders. Napoleon survived and the incident led to a crackdown on his opponents.

1814 – Treaty of Ghent Ends War of 1812 (USA/UK). On Dec 24, 1814, American and British representatives signed the Treaty of Ghent, formally ending the War of 1812. The treaty restored the prewar borders and all captured territory, effectively re-establishing peace between the United States and Great Britain. (News of the peace took weeks to arrive; in the interim Andrew Jackson won the Battle of New Orleans.)

1818 – First Performance of “Silent Night” (Austria). On Dec 24, 1818, the now-famous Christmas carol “Silent Night” (Stille Nacht) was performed for the first time at St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, near Salzburg. The lyrics had been written by the priest Joseph Mohr two years earlier, and Franz Gruber composed the melody for guitar accompaniment. (The simple hymn has since become one of the world’s best-known Christmas songs.)

1865 – Ku Klux Klan Founded (USA). On Dec 24, 1865, a group of former Confederate soldiers established what became the first chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in Pulaski, Tennessee. The Klan was explicitly devoted to white supremacy and to opposing Reconstruction reforms after the U.S. Civil War. (This secret vigilante racist organisation went on to wage a campaign of terror and violence against Black Americans and their allies throughout the Reconstruction era.)

1877 – Edison Patents the Phonograph (USA). On Dec 24, 1877, inventor Thomas Edison filed U.S. patent papers for his new “phonograph or speaking machine”. Earlier that month he had demonstrated a working prototype in New York City. (The phonograph – the first device that could record and replay sound – was a milestone in audio technology and laid the groundwork for the modern recording industry.)

1914 – Christmas Truce in World War I (Western Front). On Dec 24–25, 1914, many soldiers on the Western Front in World War I observed an unofficial Christmas truce. In sectors held by British and German troops, the guns fell silent and men from opposing sides fraternized across the trenches, exchanging greetings, food, and even carol singing. (This spontaneous ceasefire – never officially sanctioned by commanders – remains a famous example of wartime humanity amid the brutality of the Great War.)

1951 – Libya Gains Independence (Africa). On Dec 24, 1951, the United Nations-sanctioned Kingdom of Libya formally declared independence, and Idris I became king. Formerly an Italian colony and then under Allied trusteeship, Libya became the first country to achieve independence through a UN process. (Dec 24 is now celebrated as Libya’s national Independence Day.)

1955 – NORAD Begins Tracking Santa (USA). On Dec 24, 1955, a misprinted newspaper advertisement for Santa Claus led a Colorado child to dial the wrong phone number – reaching the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) ops center instead of the North Pole. Colonel Harry Shoup answered and told the child Santa’s location, inventing a new tradition. (CONAD, later NORAD, has since “tracked” Santa’s Christmas Eve flight every year, making it a beloved annual programme.)

1968 – Apollo 8 Orbits the Moon (USA). On Dec 24, 1968, NASA’s Apollo 8 became the first crewed spacecraft to orbit the Moon. Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders broadcast a live Christmas Eve message from lunar orbit, famously reading the opening verses of Genesis and wishing “peace on Earth” as they showed the first photos of Earthrise. (The mission was a historic milestone in the Space Race and provided humanity’s first view of Earth from the Moon.)

1979 – Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan (Cold War). On the night of Dec 24, 1979, Soviet forces crossed into Afghanistan and quickly took Kabul, ousting the government of Hafizullah Amin. Approximately 30,000 Soviet troops entered to prop up a new Marxist regime under Babrak Karmal. (The invasion marked the start of a brutal decade-long war with Afghan insurgents and had major Cold War ramifications for global geopolitics.)