December 24 Historical Events

The following events took place on December 24. The list is arranged in chronological order.

Found 44 events. Showing 31 - 44.

• 1969
  Charles Manson is allowed to defend himself at the Tate–LaBianca murder trial.
• 1969
  The oil company Phillips Petroleum made the first oil discovery in the Norwegian sector of North Sea.
• 1969
  Nigerian troops capture Umuahia, the last Biafran capital before its dissolution became Owerri
• 1973
  District of Columbia Home Rule Act is passed, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to elect their own local government.
• 1974
  Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia.
• 1979
  The first European Ariane rocket is launched.
• 1980
  Witnesses report the first of several sightings of unexplained lights near RAF Woodbridge, in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom, an incident called “Britain’s Roswell”.
• 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.
• 1997
  The Sid El-Antri massacre (or Sidi Lamri) in Algeria kills 50–100 people.
• 1999
  Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijacked in Indian airspace between Kathmandu, Nepal, and Delhi, India; aircraft eventually landed at Kandahar, Afghanistan. Ordeal ended on December 31 with the release of 190 survivors (one passenger killed).
• 2000
  The Texas Seven hold up a sports store in Irving, Texas. Police officer Aubrey Hawkins is murdered during the robbery.
• 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.
• 2005
  Chad–Sudan relations: Chad declares a state of war against Sudan following a December 18 attack on Adré, which left about 100 people dead.
• 2008
  Lord’s Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group, begins a series of attacks on Democratic Republic of the Congo, massacring more than 400.