December 24th

President Bush pardoned former defense secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others in the Iran-Contra scandal.

NORAD's Santa tracking service begins. The event is now a Christmas tradition where the North American Aerospace Defense Command tracks Santa Claus as he travels around the world delivering presents to children. The event began after a printing error in a Sears catalog asking children to call Santa Claus. The number that was printed was the number of Colorado Springs' Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Center.

Libya gains independence from Italy. The North African country had been ruled by Italy since 1912. After independence, it became a constitutional monarchy under King Idris. King Idris was overthrown in a military coup led by Muammar Gaddafi in 1969.

Gen. Dwight Eisenhower was appointed supreme commander of Allied Forces by President Franklin Roosevelt.

1st radioactive isotope medicine administered in Berkeley, California.

Christmas Truce begins. A much-studied event in war and peace studies, the Christmas Truce was a brief unofficial ceasefire between British and German troops along the Western Front of World War I. During the truce, soldiers from both sides sang carols, shared food, exchanged gifts and played football (soccer). Subsequent attempts to hold similar ceasefires around Christmas time failed.

Daniel Stover & William Hance patent bicycle with back pedal brake.

Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida premiered in Cairo, Egypt, at the opening of the Suez Canal.

The Ku Klux Klan was formed in Pulaski, Tennessee.

Eggnog riots begin at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. Also known as the Grog Mutiny, these riots began on Christmas Eve after cadets consumed copious amounts of eggnog made with smuggled whiskey. The riots lasted until December 25.

'Silent Night' was composed by Franz Joseph Gruber.

The War of 1812 between America and Britain ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent.

Compromise of the Nobles in Habsburg Netherlands closes against inquisition.

Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama died in Cochin, India.