December 25
is the 359th day of the year (360th in
leap years) in the
Gregorian Calendar, with 6 days remaining for the year.
This date is also known as
Christmas Day to Christians and others who celebrate the holiday.
*
274 -
Roman Emperor Aurelian has a temple dedicated to
Sol Invictus on the supposed day of the
solstice and day of rebirth of the
Sun.
*
800 - Coronation of
Charlemagne as
Holy Roman Emperor, in
Rome.
*
1066 - Coronation of
William the Conqueror as king of
England, at
Westminster Abbey,
London.
*
1223 - St.
Francis of Assisi assembles the first
Nativity scene.
*
1261 -
John IV Lascaris of the restored
Eastern Roman Empire is deposed and blinded by orders of his co-ruler
Michael VIII Palaeologus.
*
1599 - The
city of
Natal, Brazil is founded.
*
1776 -
George Washington and his
army cross the
Delaware River to attack the
Kingdom of Great Britain's
Hessian mercenaries in
Trenton, New Jersey.
*
1818 - The first performance of "
Silent Night" takes place in the Church of St. Nikolaus in
Oberndorf,
Austria.
*
1837 -
Battle of Okeechobee:
United States forces defeat
Seminole Indians.
*
1868 -
U.S. President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all
Civil War Confederate soldiers.
* 1868 -
Shogunate rebels found
Ezo Republic in
Hokkaido.
*
1914 -
World War I: Known as the
Christmas truce,
German and
British troops on the
Western Front temporarily cease fire.
*
1917 -
Why Marry?, first dramatic play to win a
Pulitzer Prize, opens at the
Astor Theatre in
New York City.
*
1926 -
Hirohito becomes
Emperor of Japan, succeeding the
Taisho Emperor.
*
1932 - A magnitude 7.6
earthquake in
Gansu,
China kills ~70,000 people.
*
1939 -
Charles Dickens'
A Christmas Carol is read on the
radio for the first time (
CBS radio).
* 1939 -
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is introduced by
Montgomery Ward stores.
*
1941 -
World War II:
Battle of Hong Kong ends, beginning the
Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong.
*
1947 - The
Constitution of the Republic of China goes into effect.
*
1971 - In the longest game in
NFL history (82m40s), the
Miami Dolphins defeat the
Kansas City Chiefs.
*
1973 - The
ARPANET crashes when a
programming bug causes all ARPANET traffic to be routed through the
server at
Harvard University, causing the server to freeze.
*
1974 -
Cyclone Tracy devastates
Darwin, Northern Territory Australia.
* 1974 -
Marshall Fields drives a vehicle through the gates of the
White House, resulting in a four-hour standoff.
*
1977 -
Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin meets in
Egypt with
President of Egypt Anwar Sadat.
*
1987 - In one of the highest-rated episodes in
Coronation Street history,
Hilda Ogden leaves her home of 23 years to be a
char to her doctor in the country.
*
1989 -
Nicolae Ceauşescu, former
communist dictator of
Romania, and his wife
Elena are condemned to death and executed under a wide range of charges.
*
1991 -
Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the
Soviet Union (the union itself is dissolved the next day).
*
2003 - The ill-fated
Beagle 2 probe which was released from the
Mars Express Spacecraft on
December 19, disappears shortly before its scheduled landing.
*
2004 - Cassini orbiter releases
Huygens probe which successfully landed on
Saturn's moon,
Titan on
January 14,
2005.
For the birth of Jesus, see below.*
1250 -
John IV Lascaris,
Eastern Roman Emperor (d. circa
1305)
*
1583 -
Orlando Gibbons, English composer (d.
1625)
*
1628 -
Noël Coypel, French painter (d.
1707)
*
1642 (O.S.) -
Sir Isaac Newton, English physicist and mathematician (d.
1727)
*
1652 -
Archibald Pitcairne, Scottish physician (d.
1713)
*
1665 -
Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish songwriter (d.
1746)
*
1667 -
Ehrengard Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal and Munster, English royal mistress (d.
1743)
*
1674 -
Thomas Halyburton, Scottish theologian (d.
1712)
*
1700 -
Leopold II of Anhalt-Dessau, Prussian general (d.
1758)
*
1711 -
Jean Joseph de Mondonville, French composer (d.
1772)
*
1716 -
Johann Jakob Reiske, German scholar and physician (d.
1774)
*
1742 -
Charlotte von Stein, German friend of
Goethe (d.
1827)
*
1757 -
Benjamin Pierce, U.S. politician (d
1839)
*
1763 -
Claude Chappe, French telecommunications pioneer (d.
1805)
*
1771 -
Dorothy Wordsworth, English diarist and sister of
William Wordsworth (d.
1855)
*
1821 -
Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross (d.
1912)
*
1856 -
Hans von Bartels, German painter (d.
1913)
*
1861 -
Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Indian founder of Banaras Hindu University (d.
1946)
*
1865 -
Evangeline Booth, the 4th General of
The Salvation Army (d.
1950)
*
1875 -
Theodor Cardinal Innitzer, Austrian Catholic archbishop (d.
1955)
*
1876 -
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of
Pakistan (d.
1948)
* 1876 -
Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, German chemist,
Nobel laureate (d.
1959)
*
1878 -
Louis Chevrolet, Swiss-born race car driver and automotive pioneer (d.
1941)
*
1883 -
Maurice Utrillo, French artist (d.
1955)
*
1884 -
Evelyn Nesbit, American actress (d.
1967)
*
1886 -
Kid Ory, American musician (d.
1973)
*
1887 -
Conrad Nicholson Hilton, American hotelier (d.
1979)
*
1890 -
Robert Ripley, world traveler and collector of odd facts and artifacts (d.
1949)
*
1899 -
Humphrey Bogart, American actor (d.
1957)
*
1901 -
Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (d.
2004)
*
1904 -
Gerhard Herzberg, German-born chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (d.
1999)
*
1906 - Sir
Lew Grade, Ukrainian-born film producer (d.
1998)
* 1906 -
Ernst Ruska, German physicist,
Nobel laureate (d.
1988)
*
1907 -
Cab Calloway, American bandleader (d.
1994)
*
1908 -
Quentin Crisp, English author and activist (d.
1999)
* 1908 -
Jo-Jo Moore, baseball player (d.
2001)
*
1912 -
Tony Martin, American singer and actor
* 1912 -
Natalino Otto, Italian singer (d.
1969)
*
1913 -
Henri Nannen, German journalist (d.
1966)
*
1915 -
Pete Rugolo, Italian-born composer
*
1918 -
Anwar Sadat,
President of Egypt,
Nobel laureate (d.
1981)
*
1921 -
Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah, Pakistani journalist (d.
2000)
*
1924 -
Rod Serling, American television scriptwriter (d.
1975)
* 1924 -
Atal Behari Vajpayee,
Prime Minister of India*
1925 -
Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian-born author (d.
1998)
*
1927 -
Nellie Fox, baseball player (d.
1975)
*
1928 -
Dick Miller, American actor
*
1932 -
Mabel King, American actress (d.
1999)
*
1935 -
Al Jackson, baseball player
*
1936 -
Princess Alexandra of Kent* 1936 -
Ismail Merchant, Indian-born film producer (d.
2005)
*
1940 -
Pete Brown, English poet and lyricist
*
1943 -
Hanna Schygulla, German actress
*
1944 -
Jairzinho, Brazilian footballer
* 1944 -
Kenny Everett, British entertainer (d.
1995)
*
1945 -
Noel Redding, English musician (
The Jimi Hendrix Experience) (d.
2003)
* 1945 -
Gary Sandy, American actor
*
1946 -
Jimmy Buffett, American singer and songwriter
* 1946 -
Larry Csonka, American football player
* 1946 -
Gene Lamont, American baseball player and manager
*
1948 -
Barbara Mandrell, American singer and actress
*
1949 -
Nawaz Sharif,
Prime Minister of Pakistan* 1949 -
Sissy Spacek, American actress
* 1949 -
Joe Louis Walker, American musician
*
1950 -
Manny Trillo, baseball player
* 1950 -
Karl Rove, American presidential advisor
*
1952 -
CCH Pounder, Guyana-born actress
*
1954 -
Annie Lennox, Scottish singer (
Eurythmics)
*
1957 -
Chris Kamara, English footballer and commentator
*
1957 -
Shane MacGowan, Irish musician
*
1958 -
Hanford Dixon, American football player
* 1958 -
Rickey Henderson, baseball player
*
1959 -
Michael P. Anderson, astronaut (d.
2003)
*
1961 -
Ingrid Betancourt, Colombian senator
*
1962 -
Dean Cameron, American actor
*
1964 -
Gary McAllister, Scottish footballer
*
1967 -
Jason Thirsk, American bass player (
Pennywise)
*
1968 -
Helena Christensen, Danish model & actress
*
1971 -
Dido, English singer
* 1971 -
Justin Trudeau, Canadian media personality
* 1971 -
Noel Hogan, Irish musician
The Cranberries*
1972 -
Josh Freese, American drummer
*
1973 -
Alexandre (Sacha) Trudeau, Canadian journalist
* 1973 -
Robbie Elliott, English footballer
*
1975 -
Marcus Trescothick, English cricketer
*
1976 -
Tuomas Holopainen, Finnish keyboardist (
Nightwish)
* 1976 -
Armin van Buuren, Dutch keyboardist
*
1978 -
Joel Porter, Australian footballer
*
1979 -
Jim Greco, American skateboarder
*
1980 -
Marcus Trufant, American football player
* 1980 -
Reika Hashimoto, Japanese actress
*1980 -
Locó, Angolan footballer
*
1981 -
Katie Wright, American actress
*
1981 -
Willy Taveras, Baseball player
*
1982 -
Eliza Orlins, American reality TV contestant
*
1984 -
Jessica and Lisa Origliasso, Australian pop singers (
The Veronicas)
* 1984 -
Alastair Cook, English cricketer
*
1984 -
Georgia Moffett, British actress
*
1995 -
Hailie Jade Scott, daughter of rapper
Eminem*
795 -
Pope Adrian I Served as
Pope from
772 A.D. to
795 A.D..
*
1156 -
Peter the Venerable, Benedictine abbot of Cluny (b. c.
1092)
*
1635 -
Samuel de Champlain, French explorer and founder of Quebec City (b.
1567)
*
1676 -
Matthew Hale, Lord Chief Justice of England (b.
1609)
* 1676 -
William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English soldier (b.
1592)
*
1683 -
Kara Mustafa, Ottoman general (b.
1634)
*
1758 -
James Hervey, English clergyman (b.
1714)
*
1784 -
Yosa Buson, Japanese painter (b.
1716)
*
1824 -
Barbara Juliana, Baroness von Krüdener, Russian writer (b.
1764)
*
1880 -
Fridolin Anderwert, Swiss Federal Councilor (b.
1828)
*
1916 -
St. Albert Chmielowski, Polish Catholic Saint (b.
1845)
*
1921 -
Vladimir Korolenko, Russian writer (b.
1853)
*
1925 -
Karl Abraham, German psychoanalyst (b.
1877)
*
1926 -
Taisho Emperor, Japanese emperor (b.
1879)
*
1933 -
Francesc Macià, Catalonian statesman (b.
1859)
*
1938 -
Karel Capek, Czech author (b.
1890)
*
1940 -
Agnes Ayres, American actress (b.
1898)
*
1946 -
W. C. Fields, American comedian (b.
1880)
*
1953 -
Patsy Donovan, Irish-born American baseball player (b.
1865)
*
1961 -
Otto Loewi, German-born pharmacologist,
Nobel laureate (b.
1873)
*
1963 -
Tristan Tzara, Romanian-born writer (b.
1896)
*
1973 -
Ismet Inonu, Turkish statesman (b.
1884)
* 1973 -
Gabriel Voisin, French aviation pioneer (b.
1880)
*
1977 -
Charlie Chaplin, English actor (b.
1889)
*
1979 -
Joan Blondell, American actress (b.
1906)
*
1983 -
Joan Miró, Catalan painter (b.
1893)
*
1988 -
Ooka Shohei, Japanese novelist (b.
1909)
*
1989 -
Nicolae Ceauşescu, Romanian dictator (executed) (b.
1918)
* 1989 -
Billy Martin, American baseball manager (b.
1928)
*
1993 -
Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist (b.
1899)
*
1994 -
Zail Singh,
President of India (b.
1916)
*
1995 -
Dean Martin, American singer (b.
1917)
*
1996 -
JonBenét Ramsey, American murder victim (b.
1990)
*
1997 -
Denver Pyle, American actor (b.
1920)
*
1998 -
John Pulman, English snooker player (b.
1926)
*
2000 -
Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher (b.
1908)
*
2003 -
Nicholas Mavroules, American politician (b.
1929)
*
2005 -
Birgit Nilsson, Swedish singer (b.
1918)
*
Christmas Day is a
Christian holiday on this day celebrating the
Nativity of Jesus. It is a public holiday in many countries, including almost everywhere in the
Americas, most
European nations, the
Philippines and most of
Oceania, some
African countries, the
Commonwealth of Nations, and various other places. Many non-Christians, including non-theists, celebrate secular aspects of the holiday, such as decorating
Christmas trees and exchanging gifts with family and friends. Some Christians celebrate Christmas on
January 6,
January 7,
January 18, or even not at all.
*
British Isles - a
quarter day in
England,
Wales,
Northern Ireland, and the
Republic of Ireland. (but not in
Scotland)
*
Roman festivals - (re)birth of
Sol Invictus, the winter
solstice feast in the
Roman Empire since
274.
*
Pakistan -
Quaid's Day is celebrated as a national holiday in
Pakistan in honour of the birth of
Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
*
BBC: On This Day*
Today in History: December 25December 24 -
December 26 -
November 25 -
January 25 --
listing of all days
