Hanover. December 20 – In Germany, Adolf Hitler is released from Landsberg Prison after serving nine months for his crucial role in the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. December 24 1924 Imperial Airways de Havilland DH.34 crash: An airliner crashes soon after takeoff from London's Croydon Airport killing all eight people aboard. This leads to the first public inquiry into a civil aviation accident ever held in the United Kingdom. Albania becomes a republic. Babbs Switch fire: A flash fire at a Christmas celebration in a one-room schoolhouse in Babbs, Oklahoma, United States, kills 36 people, mostly small children. December 30 – American astronomer Edwin Hubble announces that Andromeda, previously believed to be a nebula, is actually another galaxy, and that the Milky Way is only one of many such galaxies in the universe. Date unknown Spring – Francophone explorer, spiritualist and former operatic soprano Alexandra David-Néel, disguised as a male pilgrim, makes a 2-month stay in the forbidden city of Lhasa, Tibet. Autumn – In the United States, the final raid of the Renegade period of the Apache Wars takes place, bringing the American Indian Wars to a close, after 315 years. The International Union of Official Organizations for Tourist Propaganda is established. Earl W. Bascom, rodeo cowboy and artist, designs and makes rodeo's first one-hand bareback rigging at Stirling, Alberta, Canada. Alice Vanderbilt Morris, a wealthy heiress, founds the International Auxiliary Language Association in New York. Births January January 1 Jacques Le Goff, French historian and author (d. 2014) Francisco Macías Nguema, 1st President of Equatorial Guinea (d. 1979) Charlie Munger, American businessman and philanthropist January 3 – André Franquin, Belgian comics artist (d. 1997) January 4 Walter Ris, American freestyle swimmer (d. 1989) Marianne Werner, German shot putter January 5 – Hamzah Abu Samah, Malaysian politician and athlete (d. 2012) January 6 Kim Dae-jung, 15th President of South Korea, recipient of Nobel Peace Prize (d. 2009) Earl Scruggs, American musician (d. 2012) January 8 – Ron Moody, English actor (d. 2015) January 9 – Sergei Parajanov, Georgian-Armenian film director (d. 1990) January 10 Earl Bakken, American engineer and businessman, inventor of the modern Artificial pacemaker (d. 2018) Max Roach, American percussionist, drummer and composer (d. 2007) January 11 Roger Guillemin, French neuroendocrinologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Slim Harpo, American musician (d. 1970) January 12 – Olivier Gendebien, Belgian racing driver (d. 1998)