1823 – A Visit from St. Nicholas aka The Night Before Christmas was published anonymously on the 23rd December 1823.

1893 – The Hansel and Gretel opera by Engelbert Humperdinck was first performed on the 23rd December 1893.

1938 – The first modern coelacanth was discovered on the 23rd December 1938, in South Africa.

1947 – The transistor was first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories on the 23rd December 1947.

1954 – The 1st successful kidney transplant was performed on the 23rd December 1954, by J. Hartwell Harrison and Joseph Murray.

1958 – Tokyo Tower was became the world’s highest self-supporting iron tower on the 23rd December 1958.

1970 – The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York, New York was topped out at 417 m (1,368 feet ), making it the tallest building in the world on the 23rd December 1970.

1972 – A 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Nicaraguan capital of Managua on the 23rd December 1972, killing more than 10,000.

1972 – The 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster were rescued after 73 days on the 23rd December 1972, having survived by cannibalism.

1986 – Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California on the 23rd December 1986, becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling.

2002 – A MQ-1 Predator was shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25 on the 23rd December 2002, making it the first time in history that an aircraft and an unmanned drone had engaged in combat.

2013 ~ The Melbourne Star (originally the Southern Star) giant Ferris wheel re-opened at the Waterfront City precinct of the Docklands, Melbourne, Australia, on the 23rd December 2013. Official website: www.MelbourneStar.com | Melbourne Star YouTube video…