Today in History - Dec. 24

Today is Monday, Dec. 24, the 358th day of 2007. There are seven days left in the year. This is Christmas Eve.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Dec. 24, 1814, the War of 1812 officially ended as the United States and Britain signed the Treaty of Ghent in Belgium.

On this date:

In 1871, Giuseppe Verdi's opera ''Aida'' had its world premiere in Cairo, Egypt.

In 1907, investigative reporter I.F. Stone was born in Philadelphia.

In 1920, Enrico Caruso gave his last public performance, singing Jacques Halevy's ''La Juive'' at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

In 1943, President Roosevelt appointed General Dwight D. Eisenhower supreme commander of Allied forces as part of Operation Overlord.

In 1951, Gian Carlo Menotti's ''Amahl and the Night Visitors,'' the first opera written specifically for television, was first broadcast by NBC-TV.

In 1968, the Apollo 8 astronauts, orbiting the moon, read passages from the Old Testament Book of Genesis during a Christmas Eve television broadcast.

Five years ago: Chinese pro-democracy activist Xu Wenli was released from a prison in Beijing and flown to the United States.

Today's Birthdays: Songwriter-bandleader Dave Bartholomew is 87. Author Mary Higgins Clark is 80. Federal health administrator Anthony S. Fauci is 67. Recording company executive Mike Curb is 63. Rock singer-musician Lemmy (Motorhead) is 62. Actor Grand L. Bush is 52. Actor Clarence Gilyard is 52. Actress Stephanie Hodge is 51. The president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, is 50. Rock musician Ian Burden (The Human League) is 50. Designer Kate Spade is 45. Rock singer Mary Ramsey (10,000 Maniacs) is 44. Actor Mark Valley is 43. Actor Diedrich Bader is 41. Singer Ricky Martin is 36. ''American Idol'' host Ryan Seacrest is 33.

Thought for Today: ''Christmas comes, but once a year is enough.'' — American proverb.