ALMANAC On this day, Dec. 24

1809 Legendary American frontiersman Christopher “Kit” Carson was born in Madison County, Ky.

1865 Several veterans of the Confederate Army formed a private social club in Pulaski, Tenn., that was the original version of the Ku Klux Klan.

1915 Henry Clay Frick repaid schoolchildren the savings ($169,000) they lost when the Pittsburgh Bank for Savings closed its doors.

1954 Pittsburgh Mayor David L. Lawrence signed a $48 million budget for 1955, the eighth record-high appropriation ordinance in eight consecutive years.

1995 The Downtown Lazarus department store closed, marking the end of the 102year-old store that was previously a Horne’s. 2016 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused President Barack Obama of a “shameful ambush” at the United Nations and said he was looking forward to working with his “friend” Donald Trump; Mr. Netanyahu’s comments came a day after the U.S. broke with past practice and allowed the Security Council to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Some items are from Stefan Lorant’s “Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City” (digital.library.pitt.edu/chronology).

— Compiled by Rick Nowlin Today’s birthdays: Dr. Anthony Fauci, 81. Recording company executive Mike Curb, 77. Actor Sharon Farrell, 75. Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, 75. Actor Grand L. Bush, 66. Actor Clarence Gilyard, 66. Actor Stephanie Hodge, 65. Former president of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, 64. Rock musician Ian Burden (The Human League), 64. Actor Anil Kapoor, 62. Actor Eva Tamargo, 61. Actor Wade Williams, 60. Rock singer Mary Ramsey (10,000 Maniacs), 58. Actor Mark Valley, 57. Actor Diedrich Bader, 55. Actor Amaury Nolasco, 51. Singer Ricky Martin, 50. Author Stephenie Meyer, 48. TV personality Ryan Seacrest, 47. Actor Michael Raymond-James, 44. Actor Austin Stowell, 37. Actor Sofia BlackD’Elia, 30. Pop singer Louis Tomlinson (One Direction), 30.

Thought for today: “To perceive Christmas through its wrapping becomes more difficult with every year.”

— E.B. White, American author and

journalist (1899-1985)