24th December: Today In History

Today is 24th December,  the 358 day of 2015. There are 07 days left in the year. Today's Highlight In History; Birthdays:   1167 King John, King of England, responisble for signing the Magna Carta   1754 George Crabbe, English poet   1822 Matthew Arnold, English poet and critic   1888 Michael Curtiz, US film director; 'White Christmas' & 'Casablanca'   1905 Howard Hughes, American tycoon, film director, pilot & aircraft builder   1932 Colin Cowdrey, MCC President and former England test captain   1945 Lemmy, Member of the pop group 'Motorhead' Events:   1524 Vasco da Gama, the Portugese navigator and explorer, died   1814 The war between America & Britain ended with the signing of a peace treaty, in Ghent   1863 The author of 'Vanity Fair', W.M.Thackery, died in London   1871 Verdi's 'Aida' was performed for the first time, in Cairo   1904 The London Coliseum opened, with Britains first revolving stage   1914 The first air-raid on British soil took place at Dover, when a single bomb was dropped   1965 In Leicestershire a meteorite weighing about 100lbs hit the ground   1990 The Queensland coast, in Australia, was hit by winds of up to 150mph