December 25: Encyclopedia - December 25

December 25

December 25 is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 6 days remaining.

December 25 - Events

• 274 - Roman emperor Aurelianus 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.
• 1000 - Coronation of St. Stephen at Esztergom, held to be the founding day of the Hungarian Nation.
• 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" takes place in the 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 Confederate soldiers.
• 1868 - Ezo Republic founded in Hokkaido by Shogunate rebels.
• 1914 - World War I: The Christmas truce: Just after midnight on Christmas morning, German and British troops on the Western Front cease firing their guns and artillery and sing Christmas carols. Crossing the No man's land, they trade gifts with the enemy forces that face them. They also played a game of football with a makeshift ball (fashioned by the Germans) This 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 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. British colonial officials headed by Governor Mark Aitchison Young of Hong Kong surrenders to the Japanese. Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong begins.
• 1947 - The Constitution of the Republic of China goes into effect.
• 1953 - A fire breaks out in Shek Kip Mei, Hong Kong.
• 1971 - In the longest game in NFL history, the Miami Dolphins defeat the Kansas City Chiefs by a field goal in double overtime. This is also the last football game at Kansas City's Municipal Stadium.
• 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 drove 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.
• 1977 - Silent film actor Charlie Chaplin died in his home in Switzerland, in the early hours of the morning.
• 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).
• 2002 - The New Delhi Metro opens.
• 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 landed on Saturn's moon, Titan on January 14, 2005.

December 25 - Births

• BCE 1 - Jesus (observed date and year; see Chronology of Jesus) (d. circa 33)
• 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)
• 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 Prize 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 Prize laureate (d. 1988)
• 1907 - Cab Calloway, American bandleader (d. 1994)
• 1908 - Quentin Crisp, English author and activist (d. 1999)
• 1912 - Tony Martin, American singer
• 1912 - Natalino Otto, Italian singer
• 1913 - Henri Nannen, German journalist and publisher (d. 1966)
• 1915 - Pete Rugolo, Italian-born composer and arranger
• 1918 - Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1981)
• 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)
• 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
• 1945 - Noel Redding, English bassist (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
• 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, Son of former Canadian Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Pierre Elliott Trudeau
• 1971 - Noel Hogan, Irish guitarist and songwriter The Cranberries
• 1973 - Alexandre (Sacha) Trudeau Son of former Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Honourable Pierre Elliott Trudeau
• 1975 - Marcus Trescothick, English cricketer
• 1976 - Tuomas Holopainen, Finnish keyboardist and composer (Nightwish)
• 1976 - Armin van Buuren, Dutch keyboardist
• 1980 - Reika Hashimoto, Japanese actress and model
• 1982 - Tapash Baisya, Bangladeshi cricketer

December 25 - Deaths

• 795 - Pope Adrian I
• 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, politician, and writer (b. 1592)
• 1683 - Kara Mustafa, Ottoman general (b. 1634)
• 1758 - James Hervey, English clergyman and writer (b. 1714)
• 1784 - Yosa Buson, Japanese poet and painter (b. 1716)
• 1824 - Barbara Juliana, Baroness von Krüdener, Russian writer (b. 1764)
• 1880 - Fridolin Anderwert, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1828)
• 1921 - Vladimir Korolenko, Russian writer (b. 1853)
• 1925 - Karl Abraham, German psychoanalyst (b. 1877)
• 1926 - Taisho Emperor, Japanese emperor (b. 1879)
• 1933 - Francesc Macià, President of Generalitat, Autonomous government of Catalonia (b. 1859)
• 1938 - Karel Capek, Czech author (b. 1890)
• 1940 - Agnes Ayres, American actress (b. 1898)
• 1946 - W. C. Fields, American actor and comedian (b. 1880)
• 1961 - Otto Loewi, German-born pharmacologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (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)
• 1983 - Joan Miró, Catalan painter (b. 1893)
• 1989 - Nicolae Ceauşescu, Romanian dictator (executed) (b. 1918)
• 1989 - Billy Martin, baseball player and manager (b. 1928)
• 1993 - Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist (b. 1899)
• 1994 - Zail Singh, President of India (b. 1916)
• 1995 - Dean Martin, American singer and actor (b. 1917)
• 1996 - JonBenét Ramsey, American beauty queen and murder victim (b. 1990)
• 1998 - John Pulman, English snooker player (b. 1926)
• 2000 - Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher (b. 1908)
• 2003 - Nicholas Mavroules, Greek U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts (b. 1929)

December 25 - Holidays and observances

• Christmas Day is celebrated on this day. It is a public holiday in many countries including most European nations, Canada, the United States, Mexico, all Central American and South American countries, The Philippines, some African countries, the Commonwealth of Nations, and various other countries. It celebrates the Nativity of Jesus. There are also secular aspects of Christmas which include the decoration of Christmas trees, and the exchanging of gifts. It is celebrated by many non-Christians (including non-theists) that celebrate the holiday focusing only on secular aspects.
• R.C. Saints - Nativity of the Lord (Christmas).
• Britain - a quarter day in England, Wales and Ireland (but not in Scotland)
• Roman festivals - (re)birth of Sol Invictus, the winter solstice feast in the Roman Empire since 274 A.D.
• Pakistan - Quaid's Day is celebrated as a national holiday in Pakistan in honour of the birth of Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "December 25", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki