This Day in History on 24 December

The historical events hold a lot of value for aspirants who are sitting for UPSC competitive exams including the IAS Exam.

On this page, we will list all historical events that occurred on 24 December. The students can refer to them while preparing for all competitive exams and banking exams.

Important Days

Important Events

1762: Gopalrao defeated in the battle of Jamkhindi.

1777: Capt. James Cook discovered the Kiritimati Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

1894: First Medical Conference organized in Calcutta.

1902: Shashi Mukhi of Classic Theatre, Calcutta, was the first Indian to record on gramophone. This song was on 25 cms. one sided disc and the lyrics were “Kanha Jeevan Dhan” from the play Shri Krishna. The song was recorded by Gramophome and Typewriter Company.

1906: Reginald Fessenden broadcasted for the first time a radio reading of a poem, a violinist, and a speech.

1910: Swatantryaveer Savarkar was sentenced to life imprisonment and Kala Pani.

1921: Rabindranath Tagore established “Visva Bharati” at Santiniketan with Brojendra Nath Seal as the chief guest.

1924: Albania gained independence.

1989: The country’s first amusement park, Essel World, opened in Mumbai.

1999: Indian Airlines Flight from Kathmandu to New Delhi was hijacked by Taliban militants and flown to Kandahar, Afghanistan.

2000: Famous chess player Vishwanathan Anand became world champion.

2016: Jal Pujan and Bhumi Pujan of Chhatrapati Shivaji Memorial to be erected in the Arabian Sea by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mohammed Rafi

Birth/Birth Anniversary

1166: John, the King of England.

1809: Christopher “Kit” Carson, KY, union brig-general and Indian fighter, was born.

1818: James Prescott Joule, an English physicist, mathematician, and brewer.

1880: Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya, an Indian independence activist, and political leader.

Colin Cowdrey

1899: Pandurang Sadashiv Sane, Sane Guruji, a Marathi author, teacher, social activist, and freedom fighter.

1905: Howard Robard Hughes Jr., an American business magnate, investor, record-setting pilot, engineer, film director, and philanthropist.

1905: Sen Triguna, educationist and technologist, was born.

1910: Max Miedinger, a Swiss typeface designer.

Indra Bania

1922: Ava Gardner, an American actress, and singer.

1924: Mohammed Rafi, an Indian playback singer.

1924: Narayan Desai, an Indian Gandhian, and author.

1924: Rama Kant Shukla, an Indian scholar of Sanskrit and Hindi languages.

Anil Kapoor
Oswald Gracias

1932: Colin Cowdrey, Indian-English cricketer (d. 2000)

1942: Indra Bania, Indian actor, director, and playwright (d. 2015)

1944: Oswald Gracias, Indian cardinal

1956: Anil Kapoor, an Indian actor, and producer.

1891: Chandra Singh Garhwali, freedom fighter and revolutionary, was born in Masson, Patti Chauthan, Tehsil Thalisain, District Garhwal.

Death/ Death Anniversary

1524: Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese explorer, and the first European to reach India by sea.

M. G. Ramachandran

1863: William Makepeace Thackeray, an English novelist, author, and illustrator.

1973: Periyar Ramasamy, an Indian social activist, and politician.

1977: Nalini Bala Devi, a noted Indian writer, and poet of Assamese literature.

1987: M. G. Ramachandran, an Indian politician, film actor, and the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Jainendra Kumar

1988: Jainendra Kumar, a Hindi writer.

1999: William Bill Bowerman, an American track and field coach and co-founder of Nike, Inc.

2000: John Newton Cooper, a co-founder of the Cooper Car Company.

2005: P. Bhanumathi Ramakrishna, an Indian film actress, director, music director, singer, producer, novelist, and lyricist.

2008: Harold Pinter, a British playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor.

Further Reading

Month-wise This Day in History