December 25
December 25 is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years ) in the Gregorian Calendar , with 6 days remaining.
It is the 300th day counting from March 1 , every year.
Events
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 - Saint Francis of Assisi assembles the first Nativity scene.
1599 - The city of Natal, Brazil is founded.
1776 - George Washington and his army cross the Delaware River to attack the monarchy's Hessian mercenaries in Trenton , New Jersey .
1818 - The first performance of "Silent Night " (Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf , Austria ).
1837 - Battle of Okeechobee - United States forces defeat Seminole Indians.
1868 - US President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all Civil War rebels.
1868 - Ezo Republic founded in Hokkaido by Shogunate rebels.
1914 - Just after midnight on Christmas morning, German troops on the Western Front cease firing their guns and artillery and start singing Christmas carols. Crossing the No man's land , they trade gifts with the enemy forces that face them. The Christmas truce lasts for several days, depending on the location.
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 radio for the first time (CBS radio)
1939 - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Montgomery Ward stores
1941 - Hong Kong surrenders to the Japanese .
1947 - The Constitution of the Republic of China goes into effect.
1953 - A fire broke out in Shek Kip Mei , Hong Kong .
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
1977 - Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with President of Egypt Anwar Sadat
1989 - Nicolae Ceausescu , former communist dictator of Romania , and his wife Elena were condemned to death and executed under a wide range of charges by a court perceived by many as illegitimate.
1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the Soviet Union (the union itself is dissolved the next day).
2002 - New Delhi Metro was introduced.
2004 - Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which will land on Saturn 's moon, Titan on January 14 , 2005 .
Births
Sometime between 7 BC to 4 BC , the conventional birthday of Jesus , established in the 4th century. His birth took place in Bethlehem, considered by Christians to be the son of God , and by Muslims to be an ascetic prophet . The date of Jesus' birth is celebrated on several different days worldwide. The actual date is unknown. Dec. 25 was formerly Natalis Solis Invicti , the Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun -- see Christmas .
1642 - Sir Isaac Newton , physicist and mathematician (d. 1727 )
1742 - Charlotte von Stein , girlfriend of Goethe (d. 1827 )
1757 - Benjamin Pierce , U.S. politician (d 1839 )
1763 - Claude Chappe , telecommunications pioneer semaphore lines (d. 1805 )
1771 - Dorothy Wordsworth , 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 )
1863 - Charles Pathé , movie producer
1865 - Fay Templeton , actress & singer , (d. 1939 )
1875 - Theodor Cardinal Innitzer , Archbishop of Vienna from 1932 -1955
1876 - Quaid-i-Azam (The Great Leader) Muhammad Ali Jinnah , the Founder of Pakistan
1878 - Louis Chevrolet , race car driver, automotive pioneer (d. 1941 )
1883 - Maurice Utrillo , a "Montmartre " artist (d. 1955 )
1884 - Evelyn Nesbit , actress (d. 1967 )
1886 - Kid Ory , jazz musician (d. 1973 )
1887 - Conrad Nicholson Hilton , hotelier (d. 1979 )
1893 - Belle Baker American singer from 1920s & 30s, and an actress, big hit "If I Had A Talking Picture of You", (d. 1957 )
1899 - Humphrey Bogart , actor (d. 1957 )
1901 - Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (d. 2004 )
1906 - Sir Lew Grade , film producer (d. 1998 )
1907 - Cab Calloway , bandleader (d. 1994 )
1908 - Quentin Crisp , author, activist for homosexuals 1999 )
1908 - Helen Twelvetrees , actress (d. 1958 )
1912 - Tony Martin , singer
1912 - Natalino Otto , Italian singer
1913 - Henri Nannen , journalist and publisher (d. 1966 )
1915 - Pete Rugolo , bandleader
1918 - Anwar Sadat , Egyptian president (d. 1981 )
1924 - Rod Serling , scriptwriter, host of The Twilight Zone 1975 )
1924 - Atal Behari Vajpayee , Prime Minister of India
1925 - Carlos Castaneda , author (d. 1998 )
1927 - Nellie Fox , Baseball Hall of Famer (d. 1975 )
1928 - Dick Miller , actor
1936 - Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra of Kent
1936 - Ismail Merchant , movie producer
1943 - Hanna Schygulla , actress
1944 - Jairzinho , football player
1945 - Noel Redding , bassist: The Jimi Hendrix Experience (d. 2003 )
1945 - Gary Sandy , actor
1945 - Kenny Stabler , American football player
1946 - Jimmy Buffett , singer, songwriter
1946 - Larry Csonka , American football player
1948 - Barbara Mandrell , singer, actress
1949 - Sissy Spacek , actress
1949 - Joe Louis Walker , blues musician
1954 - Robin Campbell , guitarist and singer of UB40
1954 - Annie Lennox , singer of Eurythmics
1957 - Shane MacGowan , musician
1958 - Hanford Dixon , American football player
1958 - Rickey Henderson , baseball player
1961 - Ingrid Betancourt , Colombian senator
1971 - Dido , singer
1980 - Reika Hashimoto , actress, model
Deaths
795 - Pope Adrian I
1635 - Samuel de Champlain - French explorer, founder of Quebec City . (b. 1567 )
1683 - Kara Mustafa , Ottoman pasha and general who lost the Battle of Vienna . (b. 1634 )
1880 - Fridolin Anderwert , Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1828 )
1933 - Francesc Macià , President of Generalitat, Autonomous government of Catalonia (b. 1859 )
1938 - Karel Čapek , Czech author, inventor of the word robot 1890 )
1940 - Agnes Ayres , silent film actress (b. 1898 )
1946 - W. C. Fields , actor, comedian (b. 1880 )
1951 - Harry T. Moore , civil rights activist: assassinated
1954 - Johnny Ace , after losing Russian roulette on the previous day.
1957 - Charles Pathé , movie producer
1963 - Tristan Tzara , poet and essayist (b. 1896 )
1973 - Ismet Inonu , statesman (b. 1884 )
1973 - Gabriel Voisin , French aviation pioneer (b. 1880 )
1977 - Charlie Chaplin , actor (b. 1889 )
1983 - Joan Miró , painter (b. 1893 )
1989 - Nicolae Ceauşescu , Romanian dictator (executed ) (b. 1918 )
1989 - Billy Martin , baseball player, manager (b. 1928 )
1995 - Dean Martin , singer, actor (b. 1917 )
1996 - JonBenét Ramsey , murder victim (b. 1990 )
1998 - John Pulman , English snooker player
2002 - Iñigo Cavero , Spanish politician
2003 - Phil Goldman , co-founder of WebTV Networks, Inc. (now MSN TV )
2004 - Jane Muskie , widow of political figure Edmund Muskie
Holidays and observances
External links
December 24 - December 26 - November 25 - January 25 -- listing of all days
