December 25

Events

Pre-1600

* 36 – Forces of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han, under the command of Wu Han, conquer the separatist Chengjia empire, reuniting China.
* 274 – A temple to Sol Invictus is dedicated in Rome by Emperor Aurelian.
* 333 – Roman Emperor Constantine the Great elevates his youngest son Constans to the rank of ''Caesar''.
* 336 – First documentary sign of Christmas celebration in Rome.
* 350 – Vetranio meets Constantius II at Naissus (Serbia) and is forced to abdicate his imperial title. Constantius allows him to live as a private citizen on a state pension.
* 508 – Clovis I, king of the Franks, is baptized into the Catholic faith at Reims, by Saint Remigius.
* 597 – Augustine of Canterbury and his fellow-labourers baptise in Kent more than 10,000 Anglo-Saxons.
* 800 – The coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome.
* 820 – Eastern Emperor Leo V is murdered in a church of the Great Palace of Constantinople by followers of Michael II.
* 1000 – The foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary: Hungary is established as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary.
*1013 – Sweyn Forkbeard takes control of the Danelaw and is proclaimed king of England.
*1025 – Coronation of Mieszko II Lambert as king of Poland.
* 1046 – Henry III is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement II.
*1066 – William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy is crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.
*1076 – Coronation of Bolesław II the Generous as king of Poland.
* 1100 – Baldwin of Boulogne is crowned the first King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
* 1130 – Count Roger II of Sicily is crowned the first king of Sicily.
* 1261 – Eleven-year-old John IV Laskaris of the restored Eastern Roman Empire is deposed and blinded by orders of his co-ruler Michael VIII Palaiologos.
*1492 – The carrack '' Santa María'', commanded by Christopher Columbus, runs onto a reef off Haiti due to an improper watch.
* 1553 – Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeat the Spanish conquistadors and executes the governor of Chile, Pedro de Valdivia.
*1559 – Pope Pius IV is elected, four months after his predecessor's death.

1601–1900

*1758 – Halley's Comet is sighted by Johann Georg Palitzsch, confirming Edmund Halley's prediction of its passage. This was the first passage of a comet predicted ahead of time.
*1766 – Mapuches in Chile launch a series of surprise attacks against the Spanish starting the Mapuche uprising of 1766.
*1776 – George Washington and the Continental Army cross the Delaware River at night to attack Hessian forces serving Great Britain at Trenton, New Jersey – General "Mad Anthony" Wayne and a 300 man detachment identify the site of St. Clair's 1791 defeat by the large number of unburied human remains at modern Fort Recovery, Ohio.
*1809 – Dr. Ephraim McDowell performs the first ovariotomy, removing a 22-pound tumor.
*1814 – Rev. Samuel Marsden holds the first Christian service on land in New Zealand at Rangihoua Bay.
*1815 – The Handel and Haydn Society, oldest continually performing arts organization in the United States, gives its first performance.
*1826 – The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy concludes after beginning the previous evening.
* 1831 – The Great Jamaican Slave Revolt begins; up to 20% of Jamaica's slaves mobilize in an ultimately unsuccessful fight for freedom.
*1837 – Second Seminole War: American general Zachary Taylor leads 1,100 troops against the Seminoles at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee.
*1868 – Pardons for ex-Confederates: United States President Andrew Johnson grants an unconditional pardon to all Confederate veterans.

1901–present

*1914 – A series of unofficial truces occur across the Western Front to celebrate Christmas.
*1915 – The National Protection War breaks out against the Empire of China, as military leaders Cai E and Tang Jiyao proclaim the independence of Yunnan and begin a campaign to restore the Republic.
* 1927 – B. R. Ambedkar and his followers burn copies of the Manusmriti in Mahad, Maharashtra, to protest its treatment of Dalit people.
*1932 – A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in Gansu, China kills 275 people.
*1941 – Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, appointed commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet on December 17, arrives at Pearl Harbor.
* 1941 – World War II: Battle of Hong Kong ends, beginning the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong.
* 1941 – Admiral Émile Muselier seizes the archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, which become the first part of France to be liberated by the Free French Forces.
*1946 – The first European self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction is initiated within the Soviet Union's F-1 nuclear reactor.
*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.
*1951 – A bomb explodes at the home of Harry T. Moore and Harriette V. S. Moore, early leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, killing Harry instantly and fatally wounding Harriette.
*1962 – The Soviet Union conducts its final above-ground nuclear weapon test, in anticipation of the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
*1963 – Turkish Cypriot Bayrak Radio begins transmitting in Cyprus after Turkish Cypriots are forcibly excluded from Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation.
*1968 – Apollo program: ''Apollo 8'' performs the first successful Trans-Earth injection (TEI) maneuver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit.
* 1968 – Kilvenmani massacre: Forty-four Dalits (untouchables) are burnt to death in Kizhavenmani village, Tamil Nadu, a retaliation for a campaign for higher wages by Dalit laborers.
*1976 – EgyptAir Flight 664, a Boeing 707-366C, crashes on approach to Don Mueang International Airport, killing 71 people.
*1977 – Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with its president Anwar Sadat.
*1986 – Iraqi Airways Flight 163, a Boeing 737-270C, is hijacked and crashes in Arar, Saudi Arabia, killing 63 people.
*1989 – Romanian Revolution: Deposed President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife, Elena, are condemned to death and executed after a summary trial.
*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.
*1999 – Cubana de Aviación Flight 310, a Yakovlev Yak-42, crashes near Bejuma, Carabobo State, Venezuela, killing 22 people.
*2003 – UTA Flight 141, a Boeing 727-223, crashes at the Cotonou Airport in Benin, killing 141 people.
* 2003 – The ill-fated ''Beagle 2'' probe, released from the Mars Express spacecraft on December 19, stops transmitting shortly before its scheduled landing.
*2004 – The ''Cassini'' orbiter releases ''Huygens'' probe which successfully landed on Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005.
*2012 – An Antonov An-72 plane crashes close to the city of Shymkent, killing 27 people.
* 2012 – Air Bagan Flight 011, a Fokker 100, crashes on approach to Heho Airport in Heho, Myanmar, killing two people.
*2016 – A Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 carrying members of the Alexandrov Ensemble crashes into the Black Sea shortly after takeoff, killing all 92 people on board.
*2019 – Twenty people are killed and thousands are left homeless by Typhoon Phanfone in the Philippines.
*2020 – An explosion in Nashville, Tennessee occurs, leaving three civilians in the hospital.
*2021 – The James Webb Space Telescope is launched.

Births

Pre-1600

*1250 – John IV Laskaris, Byzantine emperor (d. 1305)
* 1281 – Alice de Lacy, 4th Countess of Lincoln (d. 1348)
*1400 – John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1487)
* 1424 – Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France (d. 1445)
* 1461 – Christina of Saxony, Queen consort of Denmark (d. 1521)
* 1490 – Francesco Marinoni, Italian Roman Catholic priest (d. 1562)
*1493 – Antoinette de Bourbon, French noblewoman (d. 1583)
* 1505 – Christine of Saxony, German noblewoman (d. 1549)
*1564 – Johannes Buxtorf, German Calvinist theologian (d. 1629)
*1583 – Orlando Gibbons, English organist and composer (d. 1625)
*1584 – Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain (d. 1611)

1601–1900

*1601 – Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha (d. 1675)
*1628 – Noël Coypel, French painter and educator (d. 1707)
*1642 (Julian calendar, OS) – Isaac Newton, English physicist and mathematician (d. 1726/1727)
*1652 – Archibald Pitcairne, Scottish physician, anatomist, and scholar (d. 1713)
*1665 – Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish-English poet and songwriter (d. 1746)
*1674 – Thomas Halyburton, Scottish minister and theologian (d. 1712)
*1686 – Giovanni Battista Somis, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1763)
*1700 – Leopold II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (d. 1758)
*1711 – Jean-Joseph de Mondonville, French violinist and composer (d. 1772)
*1716 – Johann Jakob Reiske, German physician and scholar (d. 1774)
*1717 – Pope Pius VI (d. 1799)
*1728 – Johann Adam Hiller, German composer and conductor (d. 1804)
*1730 – Philip Mazzei, Italian-American physician and philosopher (d. 1816)
*1745 – Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Caribbean-French violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1799)
*1757 – Benjamin Pierce (governor), Benjamin Pierce, American general and politician, 17th Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1839)
*1766 – Christmas Evans, Welsh Nonconformist preacher (d. 1838)
*1771 – Dorothy Wordsworth, English diarist and poet (d. 1855)
*1776 – Sydney, Lady Morgan, Irish author and poet (d. 1859)
*1810 – L. L. Langstroth, American apiarist, clergyman and teacher (d. 1895)
*1821 – Clara Barton, American nurse and humanitarian, founder of the American Red Cross (d. 1912)
*1825 – Stephen F. Chadwick, American lawyer and politician, 5th Governor of Oregon (d. 1895)
*1829 – Patrick Gilmore, Irish-American composer and bandleader (d. 1892)
*1856 – Pud Galvin, American baseball player and manager (d. 1902)
*1861 – Madan Mohan Malaviya, Indian educator, lawyer, and politician, President of the Indian National Congress (d. 1946)
*1865 – Evangeline Booth, English 4th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1950)
*1869 – Charles Finger, English-American journalist and author (d. 1941)
*1872 – Helena Rubinstein, Polish-American businesswoman and philanthropist (d. 1965)
*1873 – Otto Frederick Hunziker, Swiss-American agriculturalist and educator (d. 1959)
*1874 – Lina Cavalieri, Italian soprano and actress (d. 1944)
*1875 – Francis Aveling, Canadian psychologist and priest (d. 1941)
* 1875 – Theodor Innitzer, Austrian cardinal (d. 1955)
*1876 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Indian-Pakistani lawyer and politician, 1st Governor-General of Pakistan (d. 1948)
* 1876 – Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)
*1878 – Louis Chevrolet, Swiss-American race car driver and businessman, co-founded Chevrolet (d. 1941)
* 1878 – Noël, Countess of Rothes, philanthropist, social leader and heroine of Titanic disaster (d. 1956)
* 1878 – Joseph M. Schenck, Russian-American film producer (d. 1961)
*1883 – Hugo Bergmann, Czech-Israeli philosopher and academic (d. 1975)
* 1883 – Hana Meisel, Belarusian-Israeli agronomist and politician (d. 1972)
*1884 – Samuel Berger (boxer), Samuel Berger, American boxer (d. 1925)
* 1884 – Evelyn Nesbit, American model and actress (d. 1967)
*1886 – Malak Hifni Nasif, Egyptian poet and activist (d. 1918)
* 1886 – Kid Ory, American trombonist and bandleader (d. 1973)
*1887 – Conrad Hilton, American entrepreneur (d. 1979)
*1889 – Lila Bell Wallace, American publisher and philanthropist, co-founded ''Reader's Digest'' (d. 1984)
*1890 – Noel Odell, English geologist and mountaineer (d. 1987)
*1891 – Kenneth Anderson (British Army officer), Kenneth Anderson, Indian-English general and politician, Governor of Gibraltar (d. 1959)
* 1891 – Clarrie Grimmett, New Zealand-Australian cricketer (d. 1980)
*1899 – Humphrey Bogart, American actor (d. 1957)

1901–present

*1901 – Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (d. 2004)
*1902 – Barton MacLane, American actor, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1969)
* 1902 – William Bell (tuba player), William Bell, American tuba player and educator (d. 1971)
*1903 – Antiochos Evangelatos, Greek composer and conductor (d. 1981)
*1904 – Gerhard Herzberg, German-Canadian physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
*1906 – Lew Grade, Baron Grade, Ukrainian-English film producer (d. 1998)
* 1906 – Ernst Ruska, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
*1907 – Cab Calloway, American singer-songwriter and bandleader (d. 1994)
* 1907 – Mike Mazurki, Ukrainian-American wrestler and actor (d. 1990)
* 1907 – Glenn McCarthy, American businessman, founded the Shamrock Hotel (d. 1988)
*1908 – Quentin Crisp, English author and illustrator (d. 1999)
* 1908 – Ernest L. Massad, American general (d. 1993)
* 1908 – Jo-Jo Moore, American baseball player (d. 2001)
*1909 – Zora Arkus-Duntov, Belgian-American engineer (d. 1996)
*1911 – Louise Bourgeois, French-American sculptor and painter (d. 2010)
*1913 – Candy Candido, American singer, bass player, and voice actor (d. 1999)
* 1913 – Tony Martin (American singer), Tony Martin, American singer (d. 2012)
*1914 – James Fletcher Jnr, New Zealand businessman (d. 2007)
* 1914 – Oscar Lewis, American anthropologist of Latin America (d. 1970)
*1915 – Pete Rugolo, Italian-American composer and producer (d. 2011)
*1916 – Ahmed Ben Bella, Algerian soldier and politician, 1st President of Algeria (d. 2012)
*1917 – Arseny Mironov, Russian scientist, engineer, pilot, oldest active researcher in aircraft aerodynamics and flight testing (d. 2019)
* 1917 – Lincoln Verduga Loor, Ecuadorian journalist and politician (d. 2009)
*1918 – Anwar Sadat, Egyptian lieutenant and politician, 3rd President of Egypt, Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
*1919 – Naushad Ali, Indian composer and director (d. 2006)
* 1919 – Paul David, Canadian cardiologist and politician, founded the Montreal Heart Institute (d. 1999)
*1921 – Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah, Indian-Pakistani journalist and author (d. 2000)
* 1921 – Steve Otto, Polish-Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1989)
*1922 – William Demby, American author (d. 2013)
*1923 – René Girard, French-American historian, philosopher, and critic (d. 2015)
* 1923 – Louis Lane, American conductor and educator (d. 2016)
*1924 – Rod Serling, American screenwriter and producer, created ''The Twilight Zone'' (d. 1975)
* 1924 – Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Indian poet and politician, 10th Prime Minister of India (d. 2018)
*1925 – Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian-American anthropologist and author (d. 1998)
* 1925 – Ned Garver, American baseball player (d. 2017)
* 1925 – Sam Pollock, Canadian businessman (d. 2007)
*1926 – Enrique Jorrín, Cuban violinist and composer (d. 1987)
* 1927 – Nellie Fox, American baseball player and coach (d. 1975)
* 1927 – Leo Kubiak, American basketball and baseball player
* 1927 – Ram Narayan, Indian sarangi player
*1928 – Irish McCalla, American actress and model (d. 2002)
* 1928 – Dick Miller, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2019)
*1929 – Christine M. Jones, American educator and politician (d. 2013)
* 1929 – China Machado, Chinese-born Portuguese-American fashion model, editor and television producer (d. 2016)
*1930 – Emmanuel Agassi, Iranian-American boxer and coach
* 1930 – Armenak Alachachian, Armenian basketball player and coach (d. 2017)
* 1930 – Mary Rose Tuitt, Montserrat politician (d. 2005)
*1932 – Mabel King, American actress and singer (d. 1999)
*1933 – Basil Heatley, English runner (d. 2019)
*1935 – Sadiq al-Mahdi, Sudanese politician, List of heads of government of Sudan, Prime Minister of Sudan (d. 2020)
* 1935 – Stephen Barnett, American scholar and academic (d. 2009)
* 1935 – Jeanne Hopkins Lucas, American educator and politician (d. 2007)
*1936 – Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy
* 1936 – Ismail Merchant, Indian-English director and producer (d. 2005)
*1937 – Maung Aye, Burmese military officer
*1937 – O'Kelly Isley Jr., American R&B/soul singer-songwriter (d. 1986)
*1938 – Duane Armstrong, American painter
* 1938 – Noel Picard, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2017)
*1939 – Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Pakistani businessman and politician
* 1939 – Bob James (musician), Bob James, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
* 1939 – Akong Rinpoche, Tibetan-Chinese spiritual leader (d. 2013)
*1940 – Hilary Spurling, English journalist and author
*1941 – Kenneth Calman, Scottish physician and academic
*1942 – Françoise Dürr, French tennis player and coach
* 1942 – Barbara Follett (politician), Barbara Follett, English politician
* 1942 – Barry Goldberg, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
* 1942 – Enrique Morente, Spanish singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
*1943 – Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior, Brazilian race car driver and businessman
* 1943 – Hanna Schygulla, German actress
*1944 – Kenny Everett, British comedian and broadcaster (d. 1995)
* 1944 – Jairzinho, Brazilian footballer
* 1944 – Sam Strahan, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2019)
*1945 – Rick Berman, American screenwriter and producer
* 1945 – Eve Pollard, English journalist and author
* 1945 – Mike Pringle (politician), Mike Pringle, Zambian-Scottish lawyer and politician
* 1945 – Noel Redding, English singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2003)
* 1945 – Ken Stabler, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
*1946 – Jimmy Buffett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
* 1946 – Larry Csonka, American football player and sportscaster
* 1946 – Christopher Frayling, English author and academic
* 1946 – Gene Lamont, American baseball player and manager
*1948 – Merry Clayton, American singer and actress
* 1948 – Kay Hymowitz, American sociologist and writer
* 1948 – Barbara Mandrell, American singer-songwriter and actress
* 1948 – Joel Santana, Brazilian footballer and manager
*1949 – Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira, Brazilian singer
* 1949 – Nawaz Sharif, Pakistani politician, 12th List of Prime Ministers of Pakistan, Prime Minister of Pakistan
* 1949 – Sissy Spacek, American actress
*1950 – Peter Boardman, English mountaineer and author (d. 1982)
* 1950 – Karl Rove, American political strategist and activist
* 1950 – Manny Trillo, Venezuelan baseball player and manager
*1952 – Tolossa Kotu, Ethiopian runner and coach
* 1952 – CCH Pounder, Guyanese-American actress
*1953 – Kaarlo Maaninka, Finnish runner
*1954 – Annie Lennox, Scottish singer-songwriter and pianist
*1957 – Mansoor Akhtar, Pakistani cricketer
* 1957 – Chris Kamara, English footballer and sportscaster
* 1957 – Shane MacGowan, English-Irish singer-songwriter
*1958 – Cheryl Chase (actress), Cheryl Chase, American voice actress and singer
* 1958 – Hanford Dixon, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
* 1958 – Rickey Henderson, American baseball player and coach
* 1958 – Konstantin Kinchev, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1958 – Alannah Myles, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress
*1959 – Michael P. Anderson, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2003)
* 1959 – Ramdas Athawale, Indian poet and politician
*1961 – Íngrid Betancourt, Colombian political scientist and politician
*1962 – Francis Dunnery, English musician
*1964 – Ian Bostridge, English tenor
* 1964 – Gary McAllister, Scottish footballer and manager
* 1964 – Kevin Simms, English rugby player
* 1964 – Bob Stanley (musician), Bob Stanley, English keyboard player, songwriter, producer, and journalist
*1965 – Ed Davey, English politician, Leader of the Liberal Democrats
* 1965 – David Rath, Czech physician and politician
*1966 – Toshi Arai, Japanese race car driver
*1967 – Jason Thirsk, American bass player (d. 1996)
*1968 – Helena Christensen, Danish model and actress
* 1968 – Jim Dowd (ice hockey), Jim Dowd, American ice hockey player
*1969 – Nicolas Godin, French musician
* 1969 – Noel Goldthorpe, Australian rugby league player
* 1969 – Frederick Onyancha, Kenyan runner
*1970 – Emmanuel Amunike, Nigerian footballer and manager
* 1970 – Rodney Dent, American basketball player
*1971 – Dido (singer), Dido, English singer-songwriter
* 1971 – Justin Trudeau, Canadian educator and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Canada
*1972 – Mac Powell, American singer-songwriter and producer
* 1972 – Qu Yunxia, Chinese runner
*1973 – Robbie Elliott, English footballer and coach
* 1973 – Chris Harris (wrestler), Chris Harris, American wrestler
* 1973 – Daisuke Miura, Japanese baseball player and coach
* 1973 – Alexandre Trudeau, Canadian journalist and director
*1975 – Daniel Mustard, American singer-songwriter
* 1975 – Hideki Okajima, Japanese baseball player
* 1975 – Choi Sung-yong, South Korean footballer and manager
* 1975 – Marcus Trescothick, English cricketer
*1976 – Tuomas Holopainen, Finnish keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
* 1976 – Tim James (basketball), Tim James, American basketball player and coach
* 1976 – Atko Väikmeri, Estonian footballer
* 1976 – Armin van Buuren, Dutch DJ and record producer
*1977 – Israel Vázquez, Mexican boxer
* 1977 – Ali Tandoğan, Turkish footballer
*1978 – Simon Jones (cricketer), Simon Jones, Welsh cricketer
* 1978 – Joel Porter, Australian footballer and manager
* 1978 – Jeremy Strong (actor), Jeremy Strong, American actor
*1979 – Ferman Akgül, Turkish singer-songwriter
* 1979 – Laurent Bonnart, French footballer
* 1979 – Robert Huff, English race car driver
* 1979 – Hyun Young-min, South Korean footballer
*1980 – Marcus Trufant, American football player
* 1980 – Laura Sadler, English actress (d. 2003)
*1981 – Trenesha Biggers, American wrestler and model
* 1981 – Christian Holst, Danish-Faroese footballer
* 1981 – Willy Taveras, Dominican baseball player
*1982 – Shawn Andrews, American football player
* 1982 – Rob Edwards (footballer, born 1982), Rob Edwards, Welsh footballer
* 1982 – Ethan Kath, Canadian keyboard player, songwriter and producer
* 1982 – Chris Rene, American singer-songwriter and producer
*1984 – Chris Cahill, Samoan footballer
* 1984 – Alastair Cook, English cricketer
* 1984 – Jessica Origliasso, Australian singer, actress, and fashion designer
* 1984 – Lisa Origliasso, Australian singer, actress, and fashion designer
* 1984 – Chris Richard (basketball), Chris Richard, American basketball player
*1985 – Martin Mathathi, Kenyan runner
* 1985 – Rusev (wrestler), Rusev, Bulgarian-American professional wrestler
*1987 – Ceyhun Gülselam, Turkish footballer
* 1987 – Demaryius Thomas, American football player (d. 2021)
*1988 – Joãozinho (footballer, born 1988), Joãozinho, Brazilian footballer
* 1988 – Eric Gordon, American basketball player
* 1988 – Lukas Hinds-Johnson, German rugby player
*1992 – Mitakeumi Hisashi, Japanese sumo wrestler
*1993 – Emi Takei, Japanese actress, fashion model and singer

Deaths

Pre-1600

* 304 – Anastasia of Sirmium, Saint Anastasia
* 795 – Pope Adrian I
* 820 – Emperor Leo V
* 936 – Zhang Jingda, general of Later Tang
* 940 – Makan ibn Kaki, Iranian general
*1147 – Guy II of Ponthieu, Guy II, Count of Ponthieu (b. c. 1120)
*1156 – Peter the Venerable, French abbot and saint (b. 1092)
* 1156 – Sverker I of Sweden, Sverker the Elder, king of Sweden
*1294 – Mestwin II, Duke of Pomerania
*1395 – Elisabeth, Countess of Neuchâtel, Swiss ruler
*1406 – Henry III of Castile (b. 1379)
* 1505 – George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent, English politician (b. 1454)
* 1553 – Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish explorer and politician, 1st Royal Governor of Chile (b. 1500)

1601–1900

*1634 – Lettice Knollys, English noblewoman (b. 1540)
*1635 – Samuel de Champlain, French soldier, geographer, and explorer (b. 1567)
*1676 – William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire (b. 1592)
* 1676 – Matthew Hale (jurist), Matthew Hale, English lawyer and jurist, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (b. 1609)
*1683 – Kara Mustafa Pasha, Ottoman general and politician, 111th List of Ottoman Grand Viziers, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1634)
*1730 – Henry Scott, 1st Earl of Deloraine, Scottish peer and general (b. 1676)
*1758 – James Hervey, English priest and author (b. 1714)
*1784 – Yosa Buson, Japanese poet and painter (b. 1716)
*1796 – Velu Nachiyar, Queen of Sivagangai (b. 1730)
*1824 – Barbara von Krüdener, German mystic and author (b. 1764)
* 1824 – William Lawless, Irish revolutionary, later French Army general (b. 1772)
*1868 – Linus Yale, Jr., American engineer and businessman (b. 1821)
*1875 – Young Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (b. 1851)
*1880 – Fridolin Anderwert, Swiss lawyer and politician, List of Presidents of the National Council of Switzerland, President of the Swiss National Council (b. 1828)

1901–present

*1916 – Albert Chmielowski, Polish saint, founded the Albertine Brothers (b. 1845)
*1921 – Vladimir Korolenko, Russian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1853)
*1925 – Karl Abraham, German psychoanalyst and author (b. 1877)
*1926 – Emperor Taishō of Japan (b. 1879)
*1928 – Miles Burke, American boxer (b. 1885)
*1930 – Jakob Mändmets, Estonian journalist and author (b. 1871)
*1933 – Francesc Macià, Catalan colonel and politician, 122nd President of Catalonia (b. 1859)
*1935 – Paul Bourget, French author and critic (b. 1852)
*1938 – Karel Čapek, Czech author and playwright (b. 1890)
*1940 – Agnes Ayres, American actress (b. 1898)
*1941 – Richard S. Aldrich, American lawyer and politician (b. 1884)
*1944 – George Steer, South African-English journalist and author (b. 1909)
*1946 – W. C. Fields, American actor, comedian, juggler, and screenwriter (b. 1880)
*1947 – Gaspar G. Bacon, American lawyer and politician, 51st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1886)
*1949 – Leon Schlesinger, American animator and producer, founded Warner Bros. Cartoons (b. 1884)
*1950 – Neil Francis Hawkins, English politician (b. 1903)
*1952 – Margrethe Mather, American photographer (b. 1886)
*1953 – Patsy Donovan, Irish-American baseball player and manager (b. 1865)
* 1953 – William Haselden, British cartoonist (b. 1872)
*1956 – Robert Walser (writer), Robert Walser, Swiss author and playwright (b. 1878)
*1957 – Charles Pathé, French record producer, founded Pathé Records (b. 1863)
*1961 – Owen Brewster, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 54th Governor of Maine (b. 1888)
* 1961 – Otto Loewi, German-American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1873)
*1963 – Tristan Tzara, Romanian-French poet, playwright, painter, and critic (b. 1896)
*1970 – Michael Peto, Hungarian-English photographer and journalist (b. 1908)
*1973 – İsmet İnönü, Turkish general and politician, 2nd President of Turkey (b. 1884)
* 1973 – Gabriel Voisin, French pilot and engineer (b. 1880)
*1975 – Gaston Gallimard, French publisher, founded Éditions Gallimard (b. 1881)
* 1975 – Gunnar Kangro, Estonian mathematician and author (b. 1913)
*1977 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor and director (b. 1889)
*1979 – Joan Blondell, American actress and singer (b. 1906)
* 1979 – Jordi Bonet, Canadian painter and sculptor (b. 1932)
*1980 – Fred Emney, English actor and comedian (b. 1900)
*1983 – Joan Miró, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1893)
*1988 – Shōhei Ōoka, Japanese author and critic (b. 1909)
* 1988 – Edward Pelham-Clinton, 10th Duke of Newcastle, English entomologist and lepidopterist (b. 1920)
*1989 – Benny Binion, American poker player and businessman (b. 1904)
* 1989 – Elena Ceaușescu, Romanian politician, First Lady of Romania (b. 1916)
* 1989 – Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romanian general and politician, 1st President of Romania (b. 1918)
* 1989 – Betty Garde, American actress (b. 1905)
* 1989 – Frederick F. Houser, American judge and politician, 34th Lieutenant Governor of California (b. 1905)
* 1989 – Billy Martin, American baseball player and manager (b. 1928)
* 1989 – Robert Pirosh, American director and screenwriter (b. 1910)
*1991 – Wilbur Snyder, American football player and wrestler (b. 1929)
*1992 – Monica Dickens, British-American nurse and author (b. 1915)
*1993 – Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist and academic (b. 1899)
*1994 – Zail Singh, Indian politician, 7th President of India (b. 1916)
*1995 – Emmanuel Levinas, Lithuanian-French philosopher and academic (b. 1906)
* 1995 – Dean Martin, American singer and actor (b. 1917)
* 1995 – Chang Kee-ryo, Korean surgeon (b. 1914)
*1996 – Bill Hewitt (sportscaster), Bill Hewitt, Canadian sportscaster (b. 1928)
*1997 – Anatoli Boukreev, Kazakh mountaineer and explorer (b. 1958)
* 1997 – Denver Pyle, American actor (b. 1920)
* 1998 – John Pulman, English snooker player (b. 1923)
*2000 – Neil Hawke, Australian cricketer and footballer (b. 1939)
* 2000 – Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher and academic (b. 1908)
*2001 – Alfred A. Tomatis, French otolaryngologist and academic (b. 1920)
*2003 – Nicholas Mavroules, American politician (b. 1929)
*2004 – Gennadi Strekalov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1940)
*2005 – Derek Bailey (guitarist), Derek Bailey, English guitarist (b. 1930)
* 2005 – Robert Barbers, Filipino police officer, lawyer, and politician, 15th Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (b. 1944)
* 2005 – Birgit Nilsson, Swedish operatic soprano (b. 1918)
* 2005 – Joseph Pararajasingham, Sri Lankan journalist, businessman, and politician (b. 1934)
*2006 – James Brown, American singer-songwriter (b. 1933)
*2007 – Des Barrick, English cricketer (b. 1927)
* 2007 – Jim Beauchamp, American baseball player and coach (b. 1939)
*2008 – Eartha Kitt, American singer and actress (b. 1927)
*2009 – Vic Chesnutt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1964)
*2010 – Carlos Andrés Pérez, Venezuelan politician, 66th List of Presidents of Venezuela, President of Venezuela (b. 1922)
*2011 – Giorgio Bocca, Italian journalist (b. 1920)
* 2011 – Jim Sherwood, American saxophonist (b. 1942)
* 2011 – Simms Taback, American author and illustrator (b. 1932)
*2012 – Erico Aumentado, Filipino journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1940)
* 2012 – Halfdan Hegtun, Norwegian radio host and politician (b. 1918)
* 2012 – Joe Krivak, American football player and coach (b. 1935)
* 2012 – Turki bin Sultan, Saudi Arabian politician (b. 1959)
* 2012 – Şerafettin Elçi, Turkish lawyer, politician, government minister (b. 1938)
*2013 – Anthony J. Bryant, American historian and author (b. 1961)
* 2013 – David R. Harris (geographer), David R. Harris, English geographer, anthropologist, archaeologist and academic (b. 1930)
* 2013 – Wayne Harrison (footballer, born 1967), Wayne Harrison, English footballer (b. 1967)
* 2013 – Mike Hegan, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1942)
* 2013 – Lola Lange, Canadian rural feminist and appointee to the Royal Commission on the Status of Women (b. 1922)
* 2013 – Mel Mathay, Filipino politician, 8th Mayor of Quezon City (b. 1932)
*2014 – Ricardo Porro, Cuban-French architect (b. 1925)
* 2014 – Geoff Pullar, English cricketer (b. 1935)
* 2014 – David Ryall, English actor (b. 1935)
*2015 – George Clayton Johnson, American author and screenwriter (b. 1929)
* 2015 – Acharya S, Dorothy M. Murdock, American author and historian (b. 1961)
*2016 – Valery Khalilov, Russian military musician and composer (b. 1952)
* 2016 – George Michael, British singer and songwriter (b. 1963)
* 2016 – Vera Rubin, American astronomer (b. 1928)
*2017 – D. Herbert Lipson, American magazine publisher (''Philadelphia (magazine), Philadelphia'', ''Boston (magazine), Boston'')(b. 1929)
*2018 – Sulagitti Narasamma, Indian midwife (b. 1920)
*2019 – Ari Behn, Norwegian writer (b. 1972)
*2020 – K. C. Jones, American basketball player and coach (b. 1932)
*2021 – Wayne Thiebaud, American artist (b. 1920)

Holidays and observances

*Children's Day (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Republic of Congo)
*Christian Calendar of saints, feast day:
**Anastasia of Sirmium (Catholic Church)
**Saint Stephen, Stephen (Armenian Apostolic Church)
**December 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
*Christmas Day, Christian festival commemorating the Nativity of Jesus, birth of Jesus. (Observance of Christmas by country, Internationally observed)
*Tulsi Pujan Diwas (India)
*Constitution Day (Taiwan)
*Good Governance Day (India)
*Malkh-Festival (Nakh peoples of Chechnya and Ingushetia)
*Quaid-e-Azam's Day (Pakistan)
*Takanakuy (Chumbivilcas Province, Peru)

References

External links

BBC: On This Day
*

Historical Events on December 25

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Days of the year
December