Britannica On This Day December 24 2023 * Treaty of Ghent, John is featured, and more *

This Day in History: December 24

Featured Event

1814





Treaty of Ghent
On this day in 1814, the United States and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Ghent in Belgium, ending the War of 1812, marking a decline of American dependence on Europe, and stimulating a sense of U.S. nationalism.

More Events On This Day

English playwright Harold Pinter, who achieved international renown—and was awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature—as one of the most complex and challenging post-World War II dramatists, died at age 78.How well do you know famous authors?
1997

Japanese actor Mifune Toshirō, known internationally for his energetic, flamboyant portrayals of samurai characters, especially in films directed by Kurosawa Akira, died near Tokyo.Take our actors and acting quiz
Copyright :copyright: Toho Pictures
1979

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to aid the Afghan communist government in its conflict with anticommunist Muslim guerrillas during the Afghan War.Take our history of war quiz
U.S. Department of Defense
1973

American writer Stephenie Meyer—author of the popular Twilight Saga, a series of vampire-themed novels for teenagers—was born.Test your knowledge of famous vampires
Karen Shell
1951

Idris I, head of the Sanūsiyyah (a Sufi Muslim brotherhood), was proclaimed king of an independent United Kingdom of Libya.Take our quiz about African leaders
Central Press/Pictorial Parade
1943

General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force during World War II.Sort fact from fiction in our World War II quiz
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC-USZ62-25600)
1942

Admiral François Darlan, a leading figure in Marshal Philippe Pétain's Vichy government, was assassinated in Algiers.How much do you know about French history?
Harlinque/H. Roger-Viollet
1905

American manufacturer, aviator, and film producer Howard Hughes, who was known for his reclusiveness and for the uses to which he put his vast wealth, was born.Take our quiz about American personalities
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
1822

English Victorian poet Matthew Arnold, a literary and social critic noted especially for his Classical attacks on the contemporary tastes and manners of the “Barbarians” (the aristocracy), the “Philistines” (the commercial middle class), and the “Populace,” was born.Test your knowledge of the opening lines of famous poems and the poets who penned them
Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London

Featured Biography

John
king of England

Bornc. 1166
Oxford, England
DiedOctober 18, 1216 or October 19, 1216
England




Stephenie Meyer
American author



Muhammed Rafi
Indian singer



Ava Gardner
American actress



Howard Hughes
American manufacturer, aviator, and motion-picture producer



Elisabeth
empress consort of Austria