On Dec. 24, 1992, President Bush pardoned former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others in the Iran-Contra scandal.
On Dec. 24, 1907, I. F. Stone, the American journalist famous for his witty commentary in his newsletter, "I.F. Stone's Weekly", was born. Following his death on June 18, 1989, his obituary appeared in The Times.
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On This Date
| 1814 | The War of 1812 officially ended as the United States and Britain signed the Treaty of Ghent in Belgium. |
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| 1851 | Fire devastated the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroying about 35,000 volumes. |
| 1865 | The Ku Klux Klan was founded as a private social club by several Confederate Army veterans in Pulaski, Tenn. |
| 1871 | Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Aida" had its world premiere in Cairo, Egypt, to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal. |
| 1906 | Canadian physicist Reginald A. Fessenden became the first person to broadcast a music program over radio, from Brant Rock, Mass. |
| 1920 | Enrico Caruso gave his last public performance, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. |
| 1943 | President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower supreme commander of Allied forces during World War II. |
| 1992 | President George H.W. Bush pardoned former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others in the Iran-Contra scandal. |
| 2002 | Laci Peterson was reported missing from her Modesto, Calif., home, by her husband, Scott, who was later convicted of murdering her and their unborn son. |
| 2009 | The Senate passed health care legislation, 60-39, in the chamber's first Christmas Eve vote since 1895. |
| 2009 | A woman jumped barriers in St. Peter's Basilica and knocked down Pope Benedict XVI as he was walking down the main aisle to begin Christmas Eve Mass; the pope was unhurt. |
Historic Birthdays
I. F. Stone
12/24/1907 - 6/18/1989
American journalist.
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William Paterson 12/24/1745 - 9/9/1806 Irish-born American governor of New Jersey |
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