Anniversaries and commemorations come and go daily. Most of us, even the best historians, miss most occasions. If we think of history as events then we are faced with a continually showering in the grains of sand. Nevertheless, we do pick out certain patterns in the remembrance of historical dates. The blog here reminds us of some dates where the local, state, national, and global perspectives entwine.
On 24, Sunday December 1893, Ruth Chatterton born, American actress (d. 1961)
On 24, Friday December 1943, WWII: U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He establishes Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force in London.
On 24, Friday December 1943, Tarja Halonen born, 11th President of Finland
On 24, Friday December 1943, James A. Johnson born, American business leader and philanthropist
On 24, Wednesday December 1958, 1958 BOAC Bristol Britannia crash: A BOAC Bristol Britannia (312 G-AOVD) crashes near Winkton, England during a test flight.
On 24, Tuesday December 1968, Apollo program: The manned U.S. spacecraft Apollo 8 enters orbit around the Moon. Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William A. Anders become the first humans to see the far side of the Moon and planet Earth as a whole, as well as having traveled further away from Earth than any people in history. Anders photographs Earthrise. The crew also reads from Genesis.
On 24, Tuesday December 1968, Choi Jin-sil born, South Korean actress and model
On 24, Sunday December 1978, Yıldıray Baştürk born, Turkish footballer
On 24, Saturday December 1988, Arbitration Commission President Barry Maddern finds that the Remuneration Tribunal’s November recommendations for a 29% increase in MP’s salaries and allowances are justified.
On 24, Friday December 1993, Norman Vincent Peale died, American preacher and writer (b. 1898)
On 24, Friday December 1993, Yen Chia-kan died, Taiwanese politician and 2nd President of the Republic of China (b. 1905)
On 24, Friday December 1993, Pierre Victor Auger died, French physicist (b. 1899)
On 24, Thursday December 1998, Nikita Howarth born, New Zealand paralympic swimmer
On 24, Wednesday December 2008, Samuel P. Huntington, American political scientist (b. 1927), died.
On 24, Wednesday December 2008, Harold Pinter, English playwright (b. 1930), died.
Other On This Day days in history
Neville Buch
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