December 24

This Day in History

Also on This Day

Lead Story
Soviet tanks roll into Afghanistan, 1979
American Revolution
Benjamin Rush is born, 1745
Automotive
Richard Trevithick introduces his "Puffing Devil", 1801
Civil War
Bombardment of Fort Fisher begins, 1864
Cold War
McCarren-Walter Act goes into effect, 1952
Crime
Islamic terrorists hijack a French plane, 1994
Disaster
Volcanic eruption sweeps away train, 1953
General Interest
War of 1812 ends, 1814
Fire ravages Library of Congress, 1851
KKK founded, 1865
Hollywood
Woody Allen marries Soon-Yi Previn, 1997
Literary
Stephenie Meyer, best-selling author of vampire novels, is born, 1973
Music
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" puts Poison atop the charts, 1988
Old West
Kit Carson born in Kentucky, 1809
Presidential
Fire destroys Jefferson library, 1851
Coolidge lights first national Christmas tree, 1923
Sports
Curt Flood challenges MLB reserve clause, 1969
Vietnam War
Viet Cong bomb Brinks Hotel, 1964
Bob Hope gives his last show in Vietnam, 1972
World War I
American soldier John Douglas writes home from post-armistice France, 1918
World War II
French Admiral Jean Darlan is assassinated, 1942

Literary

Dec 24, 1973:

Stephenie Meyer, best-selling author of vampire novels, is born

Previous Day December 24 Calendar Next Day

On this day in 1973, Stephenie Meyer, author of the “Twilight” novels, a vampire romance series for young adults that became a literary phenomenon, is born in Hartford, Connecticut.

Meyer, born Stephenie Morgan, was raised in Phoenix, Arizona, the second of six siblings. She married at 21 and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English in 1997. Meyer was a stay-at-home mother of three boys in 2003 when the idea for “Twilight”—the story of teenager Bella Swann and her handsome vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen—came to her in a dream. Three months later, Meyer, who had never written seriously before, finished the manuscript for “Twilight.” After a string of rejections from literary agencies, she landed an agent and a $750,000, three-book deal. “Twilight,” released in 2005, went on to become a huge best-seller. Three more books in the series, which developed a massive following among young girls as well as grown women, followed: “New Moon” (2006), “Eclipse” (2007) and “Breaking Dawn” (2008). The books have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide and been translated into dozens of languages. Meyer’s Mormon faith has influenced her writing: While her “Twilight” characters aren’t Mormons, they don’t drink or smoke and there are no graphic sex scenes in her books.

In the summer of 2008, Meyer released a science-fiction novel marketed to adults, titled “The Host,” which like her earlier books became a best-seller. In November of that year, legions of “Twilight” fans, known as “Twihards,” flocked to movie theaters for the Hollywood adaptation of Meyer’s first novel. The film, starring Kristen Stewart as Bella and Robert Pattinson as Edward, was a box-office hit, and the other three novels in the series later received big-screen adaptations.

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Previous Day December 24 Calendar Next Day

This Week in History, Dec 24 - Dec 30

Dec 24, 1973
Stephenie Meyer, best-selling author of vampire novels, is born
Dec 25, 1996
Jimmy Buffett departs on a cruise that inspires A Pirate Looks at Fifty
Dec 26, 1606
King Lear performed at Court
Dec 27, 1904
Peter Pan, by James Barrie, opens in London
Dec 28, 1932
Argentine novelist Manuel Puig is born
Dec 29, 1916
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is published
Dec 30, 1816
Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin wed

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