December 24

1144 – The capital of the crusader County of Edessa, in modern southeastern Turkey, falls to Imad ad-Din Zengi, the atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo.

1777 – Christmas Island in the Gilbert archipelago – Kiritimati, as pronounced by the native populace – is named such by James Cook during his 3rd voyage

1814 – Representatives of the United Kingdom and the United States sign the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812.

1818 – The first performance of “Silent Night” composed by Franz Xaver Gruber takes place in the church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria.

1877  – Thomas Edison files for a patent for the cylinder phonograph.

1914 – During the first winter of World War I, the “Christmas Truce” begins.

1942 –  The first V-1 ‘buzz bomb’, is launched at Peenemunde, Germany

1943 – U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower is named Supreme Allied Commander for the Invasion of Normandy.

1968 – Firing the Apollo 8 Service Module main engine, the crew becomes the first humans to reach the moon and enter into Lunar orbit.

1973 – The District of Columbia Home Rule Act is passed, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to elect their own local government.

1996 – A Learjet 35 crashes into Smarts Mountain near Dorchester, New Hampshire, killing both pilots on board and resulting in the longest missing aircraft search in the state’s history, lasting almost three years.