TUESDAY, Dec. 24, 2024

1818-Christmas carol "Silent Night" composed by Franz Xaver Gruber is first sung at St. Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, Austria

1865-Several Confederate veterans form Ku Klux Klan in Pulaski, Tennessee

1936-First radioactive isotope medicine administered in Berkeley, California

1954-Laos gains its independence from France

1980-Americans remembered Iran hostages by shining lights for 417 seconds

1989-Charles Taylor starts First Liberian Civil War when he enters country at the head of guerilla group the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, to overthrow President Samuel Doe

1990-Saddam Hussein says Israel will be Iraq's first target

2001-"Time Magazine" names New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani 'Person of the Year', for leadership after 9/11 attacks