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Today December 25th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
274 – Roman Emperor Aurelian dedicates a temple to Sol Invictus on the supposed day of the winter solstice and day of rebirth of the Sun.
800 – Coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome.
1000 – The foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary: Hungary is established as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary.
1066 – Coronation of William the Conqueror as king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.
1100 – Baldwin of Boulogne is crowned as the first King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity
1130 – Roger II of Sicily is crowned as the first King of Sicily
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.
1553 – Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeats the Spanish conquistadors and executes the governor of Chile, Pedro de Valdivia.
1599 – The city of Natal, Brazil is founded.
1643 – Christmas Island founded and named by Captain William Mynors of the East India Ship Company vessel, the Royal Mary.
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 Lake Okeechobee: United States forces defeat Seminole Native Americans.
1868 – U.S. President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all Civil War Confederate soldiers.
1914 – World War I: Known as the Christmas truce, German and British troops on the Western Front temporarily cease fire.
1926 – Emperor Taisho of Japan dies. His son, Prince Hirohito succeeds him as Emperor Showa.
1932 – A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in Gansu, China kills ~70,000 people.
1941 – Admiral Chester W Nimitz arrives at Pearl Harbor to assume command of the U.S. Pacific Fleet
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.
1950 – The Stone of Scone, traditional coronation stone of British monarchs, is taken from Westminster Abbey by Scottish nationalist students. It later turns up in Scotland on April 11, 1951.
1963 – Turkish Cypriot Bayrak Radio begins transmitting in Cyprus after Turkish Cypriots were forcibly excluded from Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation.
1965 – The Yemeni Nasserite Unionist People s Organisation is founded in Taiz
1968 – Apollo program: Apollo 8 performs the very first successful Trans Earth Injection (TEI) maneouver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit.
1968 – 42 Dalits are burned alive in Kilavenmani village, Tamil Nadu, India, a retaliation for a campaign for higher wages by Dalit labourers.
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.
1989 – Nicolae Ceausescu, former communist dictator of Romania and his wife Elena are condemned to death and executed under a wide range of charges.
1990 – The first successful trial run of the system which would become the World Wide Web.
1991 – Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the Soviet Union (the union itself is dissolved the next day). Ukraine s referendum is finalized and Ukraine officially leaves the Soviet Union.
2003 – The ill-fated Beagle 2 probe, 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.
Births
1250 – John IV Laskaris, Byzantine Emperor (d. c. 1305)
1461 – Christina of Saxony, queen of Denmark and Norway (d. 1521)
1583 – Orlando Gibbons, English composer (d. 1625)
1587 – Margarita of Austria, queen of Philip III of Spain (d. 1611)
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 von der Schulenburg, 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)
1730 – Philip Mazzei, Italian physician and friend of Thomas Jefferson (d. 1816)
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)
1810 – Alexandros Rhizos Rhankaves, Greek poet and statesman (d. 1892)
1821 – Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross (d. 1912)
1856 – Hans von Bartels, German painter (d. 1913)
1856 – Pud Galvin, American professional baseball pitcher (d. 1902)
1860 – Manuel Dimech, Maltese philosopher and social reformer (d. 1921)
1861 – Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Indian founder of Banaras Hindu University (d. 1946)
1863 – Charles Pathé, French pioneer of film and record industries (d. 1957)
1864 – Thomas Cahill, American soccer coach (d. 1951)
1865 – Evangeline Booth, the 4th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1950)
1870 – Helena Rubinstein, Polish-born American cosmetics industrialist (d. 1965)
1873 – Otto Frederick Hunziker, Swiss-born American dairy educator (d. 1959)
1874 – Lina Cavalieri, Italian soprano (d. 1944)
1875 – Theodor Cardinal Innitzer, Austrian archbishop (d. 1955)
1876 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan (d. 1948)
1876 – Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, Nobel laureate (d. 1959)
1878 – Louis Chevrolet, Swiss-born race car driver (d. 1941)
1884 – Evelyn Nesbit, American actress (d. 1967)
1886 – Kid Ory, American musician (d. 1973)
1887 – Conrad Hilton, American hotelier (d. 1979)
1889 – Lila Bell Wallace, American magazine publisher (Reader s Digest) (d. 1984)
1890 – Noel Odell, British mountaineer (d. 1987)
1890 – Robert Ripley, collector of odd facts (d. 1949)
1891 – Clarrie Grimmett, Australian cricketer (d. 1980)
1899 – Humphrey Bogart, American actor (d. 1957)
1901 – Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (d. 2004)
1902 – Barton MacLane, American actor (d. 1969)
1904 – Gerhard Herzberg, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
1906 – Lew Grade, Ukrainian-born film producer (d. 1998)
1906 – Ernst Ruska, Nobel laureate (d. 1988)
1907 – Cab Calloway, American bandleader (d. 1994)
1907 – Glenn McCarthy, American oil tycoon and businessman (d. 1988)
1907 – Mike Mazurki, Ukrainian-born actor (d. 1990)
1908 – Quentin Crisp, English author (d. 1999)
1908 – Jo-Jo Moore, baseball player (d. 2001)
1908 – Zora Arkus-Duntov, Belgian-American automotive engineer (d. 1996)
1908 – Ernest L. Massad, U.S. Army general (d. 1993)
1911 – Louise Bourgeois, sculptor
1912 – Tony Martin, American singer and actor
1912 – Natalino Otto, Italian singer (d. 1969)
1913 – Henri Nannen, German journalist (d. 1966)
1914 – James Muir Cameron Fletcher, New Zealand industrialist (d. 2007)
1915 – Pete Rugolo, Italian-born composer
1918 – Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, Nobel laureate (d. 1981)
1918 – Ahmed Ben Bella, politician, first President of Algeria
1919 – Naushad Ali, Indian music director (d. 2006)
1919 – Paul David, French Canadian cardiologist, founder of the Montreal Heart Institute (d. 1999)
1919 – Noele Gordon, English actress (d. 1985)
1921 – Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah, Pakistani journalist (d. 2000)
1923 – Rene Girard, French historian, literary critic and philosopher
1924 – Rod Serling, American television writer (d. 1975)
1924 – Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former Prime Minister of India
1925 – Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian-born author (d. 1998)
1926 – Enrique Jorrín, Cuban composer and musician (d. 1987)
1927 – Nellie Fox, baseball player (d. 1975)
1928 – Dick Miller, American actor
1929 – Stuart Hall, British radio and television presenter
1929 – Chris Kenner, American singer and songwriter (d. 1976)
1930 – Emmanuel Agassi, Iranian boxer and father of Andre Agassi
1930 – Salah Jaheen, Egyptian poet and cartoonist (d. 1986)
1932 – Mabel King, American actress (d. 1999)
1935 – Al Jackson, baseball player
1936 – HRH Princess Alexandra of Kent
1936 – Ismail Merchant, Indian-born film producer (d. 2005)
1937 – O Kelly Isley, Jr., American singer (The Isley Brothers) (d. 1986)
1938 – Noel Picard, Quebec ice hockey player
1938 – Duane Armstrong, American painter
1940 – Pete Brown, English poet and lyricist
1943 – Hanna Schygulla, German actress
1943 – Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior, Brazilian racing driver
1944 – Jairzinho, Brazilian footballer
1944 – Kenny Everett, British entertainer (d. 1995)
1944 – Henry Vestine, American musician (d. 1997)
1944 – Nigel Starmer-Smith, English Rugby Union commentator.
1945 – Noel Redding, English musician (d. 2003)
1945 – Rick Berman, Star Trek producer
1945 – Gary Sandy, American actor
1945 – Mike Pringle, Scottish politician
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
1948 – Alia al Hussein, of Jordan (d. 1977)
1948 – Joel Natalino Santana, Brazilian soccer coach
1949 – Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan
1949 – Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira, Singer and icon of the Brazilian music
1949 – Sissy Spacek, American actress
1949 – Joe Louis Walker, American musician
1950 – Peter Boardman, British mountaineer (d. 1982)
1950 – Manny Trillo, baseball player
1950 – Yehuda Poliker, Israeli singer-songwriter
1950 – Karl Rove, former American presidential advisor
1952 – CCH Pounder, Guyana-born actress
1952 – Desireless, French singer
1954 – Annie Lennox, Scottish singer
1954 – Steve Wariner, American country music singer
1955 – Alannah Myles, Canadian singer
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)
1960 – Ron Bottitta, British actor
1961 – Ingrid Betancourt, Colombian senator
1962 – Dean Cameron, American actor
1962 – Darren Wharton, British Keyboardist (Thin Lizzy and Dare)
1964 – Gary McAllister, Scottish footballer
1964 – Tim Royes – Music Video Director and Editor
1964 – Bob Stanley, English musician (Saint Etienne), filmmaker and journalist
1967 – Jason Thirsk, American bass player (d. 1996)
1968 – Helena Christensen, Danish model
1968 – Jim Dowd, American ice hockey player
1971 – Dido, English singer
1971 – Justin Trudeau, Canadian media personality
1971 – Noel Hogan, Irish musician
1972 – Josh Freese, American drummer
1972 – Mac Powell, American musician, singer/songwriter (lead singer of Third Day)
1973 – Robbie Elliott, English footballer
1973 – Chris Harris, American professional wrestler
1973 – Alexandre Trudeau, Canadian journalist
1974 – Nagma, Indian actress
1975 – Marcus Trescothick, English cricketer
1975 – Hideki Okajima, Japanese baseball player
1975 – Rob Mariano, American reality show contestant
1976 – Tuomas Holopainen, Finnish keyboardist and songwriter
1976 – Armin van Buuren, Dutch DJ & Producer
1977 – Jim Greco, American skateboarder
1977 – Uhm Ji-won, South Korean actress
1977 – Israel Vasquez, Current WBC Super bantamweight champion
1978 – Joel Porter, Australian footballer
1978 – Simon Jones, English cricketer
1980 – Marcus Trufant, American football player (Seattle Seahawks)
1980 – Reika Hashimoto, Japanese actress
1980 – Locó, Angolan footballer
1980 – Laura Sadler, British actress (d. 2003)
1981 – Katie Wright, American actress
1981 – Willy Taveras, baseball player
1982 – Shawn Andrews, American football player
1982 – Rob Edwards, Welsh footballer
1982 – Shystie, British rapper-songwriter
1982 – Trenesha Biggers, American professional wrestler
1984 – Chris Cahill, Samoan footballer
1984 – Alastair Cook, English cricketer
1984 – Georgia Moffett, British actress
1984 – The Veronicas, Australian singers (twin sisters)
1985 – Leon Pisani, Welsh singer
1985 – Perdita Weeks, British actress
1986 – Doug Loft, English footballer
1987 – Justin Sweeney, Australian rules footballer
1988 – Eric Gordon, American basketball player
Deaths
795 – Pope Adrian I
820 – Leo V, Byzantine Emperor (b. 775)
1156 – Peter the Venerable, French Benedictine abbot of Cluny (b. c.1092)
1635 – Samuel de Champlain, French explorer (b. 1567)
1676 – Matthew Hale, English jurist (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)
1763 – Suraj Mal, Sinsiwar Jat ruler of Bharatpur (b. 1707)
1765 – Václav Prokop Diviš, Czech theologian and natural scientist (b. 1698)
1784 – Yosa Buson, Japanese painter (b. 1716)
1824 – Barbara Juliana, Baroness von Krüdener, Russian writer (b. 1764)
1868 – Linus Yale, Jr., American mechanical engineer and inventor (b. 1821)
1875 – Young Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (b. 1851)
1880 – Fridolin Anderwert, Swiss jurist (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 – Emperor Taisho of Japan (b. 1879)
1933 – Francesc Macià, Catalonian statesman (b. 1859)
1935 – Paul Bourget, French novelist and critic (b. 1852)
1938 – Karel Capek, Czech author (b. 1890)
1940 – Agnes Ayres, American actress (b. 1898)
1944 – George Steer, British journalist (b. 1909)
1946 – W. C. Fields, American comedian (b. 1880)
1947 – Gaspar G. Bacon, American politician (b. 1886)
1950 – Neil Francis Hawkins, British fascist (b. 1903)
1953 – Patsy Donovan, Irish-born American baseball player (b. 1865)
1954 – Johnny Ace, American singer (b. 1929)
1961 – Otto Loewi, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1873)
1961 – Owen Brewster, American politician (b. 1888)
1963 – Tristan Tzara, Romanian writer (b. 1896)
1973 – Ismet Inönü, Turkish statesman (b. 1884)
1973 – Gabriel Voisin, French aviator (b. 1880)
1975 – Gaston Gallimard, French publisher (b. 1881)
1977 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor and film director (b. 1889)
1979 – Joan Blondell, American actress (b. 1906)
1979 – Jordi Bonet, Quebec muralist and sculptor (b. 1932)
1983 – Joan Miró, Catalan painter (b. 1893)
1988 – Ooka Shohei, Japanese novelist (b. 1909)
1988 – Edward Pelham-Clinton, 10th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne (b. 1920)
1989 – Nicolae Ceausescu, Romanian dictator (b. 1918)
1989 – Elena Ceausescu, Romanian politician (b. 1916)
1989 – Billy Martin, American baseball manager (b. 1928)
1992 – Monica Dickens, British writer (b. 1915)
1993 – Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist (b. 1899)
1994 – Zail Singh, President of India (b. 1916)
1995 – Dean Martin, American singer (b. 1917)
1995 – Emmanuel Levinas, French Philosopher (b. 1906)
1996 – JonBenet Ramsey, American beauty queen and murder victim (b. 1990)
1997 – Anatoli Boukreev, Kazakh mountaineer (b. 1958)
1997 – Denver Pyle, American actor (b. 1920)
1998 – Bryan MacLean, American musician and songwriter (Love) (b. 1946)
1998 – John Pulman, English snooker player (b. 1926)
1999 – Peter Jeffrey, English actor (b. 1929)
2000 – Neil Hawke, Australian cricketer and footballer (b. 1939)
2000 – Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher (b. 1908)
2002 – William T. Orr, American television producer (b. 1917)
2003 – Nicholas Mavroules, American politician (b. 1929)
2004 – Gennady Strekalov, Russian cosmonaut (b. 1940)
2005 – Derek Bailey, English guitar virtuoso (b. 1930)
2005 – Birgit Nilsson, Swedish opera singer (b. 1918)
2005 – Robert Barbers, Philippine senator (b. 1944)
2006 – James Brown, American singer (b. 1933)
2006 – Hiroaki Hidaka, Japanese serial killer (b. 1962)
2007 – Desmond Barrick, English Cricketer (b. 1927)
2007 – Mighty King Kong, Kenyan reggae musician. (b. 1973)
2007 – Jim Beauchamp, American baseball player (b. 1939)
2008 – Eartha Kitt, American actress and singer (b.1927)
Holidays and observances
Christmas Day Christian Feast Day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
(Re) birth of Sol Invictus. The winter solstice feast in the Roman Empire from 274 to 391
Quaid-e-Azam s Day – Pakistan
Constitution Day – Republic of China now based in Taiwan
The feast day of Anastasia of Sirmium
Yule
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