December 25

December 25 is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are six days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 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 title (Caesar). Constantius allows him to live as a private citizen on a state pension.
• 496 – 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.
• 1000 – The foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary: Hungary is established as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary.
• 1025 – Coronation of Mieszko II Lambert as king of Poland.
• 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.
• 1130 – Count Roger II of Sicily is crowned the first king of Sicily.
• 1261 – John IV Laskaris of the restored Eastern Roman Empire is deposed and blinded by orders of his co-ruler Michael VIII Palaiologos.
• 1492 – Carrack Santa María captained by Christopher Columbus runs onto reefs off Haiti due to a proper watch not being kept. Local natives help to save food, armory and ammunition but not the ship.
• 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.
• 1643 – Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean found and named by Captain William Mynors of the English East India Company vessel, the Royal Mary.
• 1776 – George Washington and the Continental Army cross the Delaware River at night to attack Hessian forces serving Great Britain at Trenton, New Jersey, the next day.
• 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 continuously 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.
• 1837 – Second Seminole War: American general Zachary Taylor leads 1100 troops against the Seminoles at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee.
• 1868 – United States President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all Civil War Confederate soldiers.
• 1914 – A series of unofficial truces occur across the Western Front to celebrate Christmas.
• 1926 – Emperor Taishō of Japan dies. His son, Prince Hirohito, succeeds him as Emperor Shōwa.
• 1927 – The Vietnamese Nationalist Party is founded.
• 1932 – A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in Gansu, China kills 275 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.
• 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 in Europe artificial, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction is initiated within Soviet F-1 nuclear reactor.
• 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 are forcibly excluded from Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation.
• 1965 – The Yemeni Nasserist Unionist People's Organisation is founded in Ta'izz
• 1968 – Apollo program: Apollo 8 performs the very first successful Trans-Earth injection (TEI) maneuver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit.
• 1968 – Kilvenmani massacre, 44 Dalits (untouchables) burnt to death in Kizhavenmani village, Tamil Nadu, a retaliation for a campaign for higher wages by Dalit laborers.
• 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 – Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with its president Anwar Sadat.
• 1989 – Deposed President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife, First-Deputy Prime-Minister Elena Ceaușescu are condemned to death and executed after a summary trial.
• 1991 – Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as General Secretary of the Soviet Union (the union itself is dissolved the next day). Ukraine's referendum is finalized and Ukraine officially leaves the Soviet Union.
• 2000 – Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a bill into law that officially establishes a new National Anthem of Russia, with music adopted from the anthem of the Soviet Union that was composed by Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov.
• 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.
• 2009 – Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab unsuccessfully attempts a terrorist attack against the US while on board a flight to Detroit Metro Airport Northwest Airlines Flight 253
• 2012 – An Antonov An-72 plane crashes close to the city of Shymkent, killing 27 people.

Births

• 1250 – John IV Laskaris, Byzantine emperor (d. 1305)
• 1461 – Christina of Saxony (d. 1521)
• 1505 – Christine of Saxony (d. 1549)
• 1583 – Orlando Gibbons, English organist and composer (d. 1625)
• 1584 – Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain (d. 1611)
• 1628 – Noël Coypel, French painter (d. 1707)
• 1642 – Isaac Newton, English physicist and mathematician (d. 1726/7)
• 1652 – Archibald Pitcairne, Scottish physician, anatomist, and scholar (d. 1713)
• 1665 – Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish-English poet and songwriter (d. 1746)
• 1667 – Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal (d. 1743)
• 1674 – Thomas Halyburton, Scottish minister and theologian (d. 1712)
• 1686 – Giovanni Battista Somis, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1763)
• 1696 – Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar (d. 1715)
• 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)
• 1742 – Charlotte von Stein, German assistant of Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (d. 1827)
• 1745 – Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Caribbean-French violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1799)
• 1757 – Benjamin Pierce, American general and politician, 17th Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1839)
• 1763 – Claude Chappe, French engineer (d. 1805)
• 1771 – Dorothy Wordsworth, English author and poet (d. 1855)
• 1776 – Sydney, Lady Morgan, Irish-English author (d. 1859)
• 1817 – John Hewitt Jellett, Irish priest and academic (d. 1888)
• 1821 – Clara Barton, American nurse and humanitarian, founded 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)
• 1856 – Hans von Bartels, German painter (d. 1913)
• 1860 – Manwel Dimech, Maltese journalist, author, and philosopher (d. 1921)
• 1861 – Madan Mohan Malaviya, Indian educator, lawyer, and politician, President of the Indian National Congress (d. 1946)
• 1864 – Thomas Cahill, American soccer player and coach (d. 1951)
• 1865 – Evangeline Booth, English 4th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1950)
• 1869 – Charles Finger, English-American journalist and author (d. 1941)
• 1870 – Lloyd Hildebrand, English cyclist (d. 1924)
• 1870 – Helena Rubinstein, Polish-American businesswoman (d. 1965)
• 1871 – Katherine McKinley, American daughter of William McKinley (d. 1875)
• 1873 – Otto Frederick Hunziker, Swiss-American agriculturalist and educator (d. 1959)
• 1874 – Lina Cavalieri, Italian soprano and actress (d. 1944)
• 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 laureate (d. 1959)
• 1877 – Noël Bas, French gymnast (d. 1960)
• 1878 – Louis Chevrolet, Swiss-American race car driver (d. 1941)
• 1878 – Noëlle, Countess of Rothes (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, Jewish agronomist, feminist and Zionist (d. 1972)
• 1884 – Samuel Berger, American boxer (d. 1925)
• 1884 – Evelyn Nesbit, American actress (d. 1967)
• 1886 – Kid Ory, American trombonist and bandleader (d. 1973)
• 1887 – Conrad Hilton, American businessman, founded the Hilton Hotels & Resorts (d. 1979)
• 1889 – Octave Garnier, French anarchist (d. 1912)
• 1889 – Lila Bell Wallace, American publisher, co-founded Reader's Digest (d. 1984)
• 1890 – Noel Odell, English geologist and mountaineer (d. 1987)
• 1890 – Robert Ripley, American anthropologist and publisher; founded Ripley's Believe It or Not! (d. 1949)
• 1891 – Clarrie Grimmett, New Zealand-Australian cricketer (d. 1980)
• 1899 – Humphrey Bogart, American actor and singer (d. 1957)
• 1901 – Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (d. 2004)
• 1902 – Barton MacLane, American actor, singer, and playwright (d. 1969)
• 1902 – 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 laureate (d. 1999)
• 1906 – Lew Grade, Ukrainian-English film producer (d. 1998)
• 1906 – Ernst Ruska, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
• 1907 – Cab Calloway, American singer-songwriter and bandleader (The Cab Calloway Orchestra) (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 actor, 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 and actor (d. 2012)
• 1913 – Henri Nannen, German journalist (d. 1966)
• 1914 – James Muir Cameron Fletcher, New Zealand businessman (d. 2007)
• 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 – Lincoln Verduga Loor, Ecuadorian journalist and politician (d. 2009)
• 1918 – Anwar Sadat, Egyptian lieutenant and politician, 3rd President of Egypt, 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)
• 1919 – Noele Gordon, English actress (d. 1985)
• 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
• 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
• 1925 – Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian-American anthropologist and author (d. 1998)
• 1925 – Ned Garver, American baseball player
• 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 – Dick Miller, American actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1929 – Stuart Hall, English radio and television host
• 1929 – Christine M. Jones, American educator and politician (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Chris Kenner, American singer-songwriter (d. 1976)
• 1930 – Emmanuel Agassi, Iranian-American boxer and coach
• 1930 – Armenak Alachachian, Armenian basketball player and coach
• 1930 – Salah Jahin, Egyptian poet and illustrator (d. 1986)
• 1932 – Mabel King, American actress and singer (d. 1999)
• 1933 – Basil Heatley, English runner
• 1935 – Sadiq al-Mahdi, Sudanese politician, Prime Minister of Sudan
• 1935 – Stephen Barnett, American scholar and academic (d. 2009)
• 1935 – Jeanne Hopkins Lucas, American politician (d. 2007)
• 1935 – Anne Roiphe, American author and activist
• 1936 – Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy
• 1936 – Ismail Merchant, Indian-English director and producer (d. 2005)
• 1937 – O'Kelly Isley, Jr., American singer-songwriter (The Isley Brothers) (d. 1986)
• 1938 – Duane Armstrong, American painter
• 1938 – David Borden, American composer and academic
• 1938 – Noel Picard, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1939 – Royce D. Applegate, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2003)
• 1939 – Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Pakistani businessman
• 1939 – Bob James, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (Fourplay)
• 1939 – Akong Rinpoche, Tibetan-Chinese spiritual leader (d. 2013)
• 1940 – Pete Brown, English singer-songwriter
• 1940 – Hilary Spurling, English journalist and author
• 1941 – Kenneth Calman, Scottish physician and academic
• 1942 – Françoise Dürr, Algerian-French tennis player
• 1942 – Barbara Follett, Jamaican-English politician
• 1942 – Barry Goldberg, American musician, songwriter, and producer (The Electric Flag, Steve Miller Band, and The Rides)
• 1942 – Enrique Morente, Spanish singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
• 1943 – Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior, Brazilian race car driver
• 1943 – Hanna Schygulla, German actress and singer
• 1944 – Jairzinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
• 1944 – Kenny Everett, English comedian, actor, and radio host (d. 1995)
• 1944 – Nigel Starmer-Smith, English rugby player and journalist
• 1944 – Henry Vestine, American guitarist (Canned Heat and The Mothers of Invention) (d. 1997)
• 1945 – Rick Berman, American screenwriter and producer
• 1945 – Eve Pollard, English journalist and author
• 1945 – Mike Pringle, Scottish politician
• 1945 – Noel Redding, English singer-songwriter and bass player (The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Fat Mattress, Road, and The Noel Redding Band) (d. 2003)
• 1945 – Gary Sandy, American actor
• 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 academic and author
• 1946 – Gene Lamont, American baseball player and manager
• 1946 – Stuart Wilson, English actor
• 1947 – Twink Caplan, American actress and producer
• 1948 – Alia al-Hussein, Egyptian wife of Hussein of Jordan (d. 1977)
• 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 lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan
• 1949 – Sissy Spacek, American actress and singer
• 1949 – Joe Louis Walker, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
• 1950 – Peter Boardman, English mountaineer and author (d. 1982)
• 1950 – Yehuda Poliker, Israeli singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1950 – Karl Rove, American journalist and diplomat, White House Deputy Chief of Staff
• 1950 – Manny Trillo, Venezuelan baseball player and manager
• 1952 – Desireless, French singer
• 1952 – Tolossa Kotu, Ethiopian runner and coach
• 1952 – C. C. H. Pounder, Guyanese-American actress
• 1953 – Kaarlo Maaninka, Finnish runner
• 1954 – Annie Lennox, Scottish singer-songwriter and pianist (The Tourists and Eurythmics)
• 1954 – Steve Wariner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1955 – Brett Vroman, American basketball player
• 1957 – Chris Kamara, English footballer and sportscaster
• 1957 – Shane MacGowan, English-Irish singer-songwriter (The Pogues, The Nips, and Shane MacGowan and The Popes)
• 1958 – 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 (Alisa)
• 1958 – Alannah Myles, Canadian singer-songwriter
• 1959 – Michael P. Anderson, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2003)
• 1960 – Ron Bottitta, English actor
• 1961 – Íngrid Betancourt, Colombian political scientist and politician
• 1962 – Dean Cameron, American actor
• 1964 – Ian Bostridge, English tenor
• 1964 – Gary McAllister, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1964 – Tim Royes, American director (d. 2007)
• 1964 – Bob Stanley, English keyboard player, songwriter, producer, and journalist (Saint Etienne)
• 1965 – Edward Davey, English politician, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
• 1965 – David Rath, Czech physician and politician
• 1966 – Toshi Arai, Japanese race car driver
• 1967 – Jason Thirsk, American bass player (Pennywise and Humble Gods) (d. 1996)
• 1968 – Helena Christensen, Danish model and actress
• 1968 – Jim Dowd, American ice hockey player
• 1969 – Frederick Onyancha, Kenyan runner
• 1970 – Nagma, Indian actress
• 1970 – Emmanuel Amuneke, Nigerian footballer and manager
• 1970 – Rodney Dent, American basketball player
• 1971 – Dido, English singer-songwriter
• 1971 – Noel Hogan, Irish guitarist and producer (The Cranberries, Mono Band, and Arkitekt)
• 1971 – Justin Trudeau, Canadian educator and politician
• 1972 – Josh Freese, American drummer and songwriter (The Vandals and Devo)
• 1972 – Mac Powell, American singer-songwriter and producer (Third Day)
• 1972 – Qu Yunxia, Chinese runner
• 1973 – Robbie Elliott, English footballer and coach
• 1973 – Chris Harris, American wrestler
• 1973 – Alexandre Trudeau, Canadian journalist and director
• 1974 – Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, Mexican drug lord (d. 2012)
• 1975 – Rob Mariano, American reality show contestant, winner of Survivor: Redemption Island
• 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 (Nightwish and For My Pain...)
• 1976 – Tim James, American basketball player and coach
• 1976 – Atko Väikmeri, Estonian footballer
• 1976 – Armin van Buuren, Dutch DJ and producer
• 1977 – Uhm Ji-won, South Korean actress
• 1977 – Priya Anjali Rai, Indian-American porn actress and model
• 1977 – Israel Vázquez, Mexican boxer
• 1977 – Ali Tandoğan, Turkish footballer
• 1978 – Simon Jones, Welsh cricketer
• 1978 – Joel Porter, Australian footballer and manager
• 1978 – Bridgetta Tomarchio, American actress and model
• 1979 – Laurent Bonnart, French footballer
• 1979 – Robert Huff, English race car driver
• 1979 – Hyun Young-min, South Korean footballer
• 1980 – Kahi, South Korean singer, dancer, and actress (After School)
• 1980 – Locó, Angolan footballer
• 1980 – Joanna Angel, American porn actress, director, and producer
• 1980 – Reika Hashimoto, Japanese model and actress
• 1980 – Laura Sadler, English actress (d. 2003)
• 1980 – Marcus Trufant, American football player
• 1981 – Trenesha Biggers, American wrestler and model
• 1981 – Christian Holst, Danish-Faroese footballer
• 1981 – Willy Taveras, Dominican baseball player
• 1981 – Katie Wright, American actress
• 1982 – Dev, Indian actor and singer
• 1982 – Shawn Andrews, American football player
• 1982 – Rob Edwards, Welsh footballer
• 1982 – Ethan Kath, Canadian keyboard player, songwriter and producer (Crystal Castles and Kïll Cheerleadër)
• 1982 – Chris Rene, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1984 – Chris Cahill, Samoan footballer
• 1984 – Alastair Cook, English cricketer
• 1984 – Georgia Moffett, English actress
• 1984 – Jessica Origliasso, Australian singer-songwriter and actress (The Veronicas)
• 1984 – Lisa Origliasso, Australian singer-songwriter and actress (The Veronicas)
• 1984 – Chris Richard, American basketball player
• 1985 – Martin Mathathi, Kenyan runner
• 1985 – Leon Pisani, Welsh singer-songwriter (V)
• 1985 – Alexander Rusev, Bulgarian-American wrestler
• 1985 – Perdita Weeks, Welsh actress
• 1986 – Aya Suzaki, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1987 – Ceyhun Gülselam, Turkish footballer
• 1987 – Julian Lage, American guitarist and composer
• 1987 – Jorgie Porter, English actress
• 1987 – Ma Qinghua, Chinese race car driver
• 1987 – LJ Reyes, Filipino actress and dancer
• 1987 – Justin Sweeney, Australian footballer
• 1988 – Joãozinho, Brazilian footballer
• 1988 – Heather Cooke, American soccer player
• 1988 – Eric Gordon, American basketball player
• 1988 – Lukas Hinds-Johnson, German rugby player
• 1989 – Djameleddine Benlamri, Algerian footballer
• 1989 – Michael Green, American soccer player
• 1989 – Shahzaib Hasan, Pakistani cricketer
• 1989 – Keri Wong, American tennis player
• 1990 – Conny Perrin, Swiss tennis player
• 1993 – Emi Takei, Japanese model, actress, and singer
• 1995 – Mimmi Sandén, Swedish singer and actress

Deaths

• 795 – Pope Adrian I (b. 700)
• 820 – Leo V the Armenian, Byzantine emperor (b. 775)
• 940 – Makan ibn Kaki, Iranian general
• 1156 – Peter the Venerable, French saint (b. 1092)
• 1553 – Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish-Chilean explorer and politician, 1st Royal Governor of Chile (b. 1500)
• 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, English lawyer and jurist, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (b. 1609)
• 1683 – Kara Mustafa Pasha, Ottoman general (b. 1634)
• 1758 – James Hervey, English priest and author (b. 1714)
• 1763 – Suraj Mal, Indian ruler (b. 1707)
• 1784 – Yosa Buson, Japanese poet and painter (b. 1716)
• 1824 – Barbara von Krüdener, German mystic and author (b. 1764)
• 1868 – Linus Yale, Jr., American engineer and businessman (b. 1821)
• 1875 – Young Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (b. 1851)
• 1880 – Fridolin Anderwert, Swiss politician, President of the Swiss National Council (b. 1828)
• 1916 – Albert Chmielowski, Polish saint, founded the Albertine Brothers (b. 1845)
• 1916 – Solko van den Bergh, Dutch target shooter (b. 1854)
• 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)
• 1933 – Francesc Macià i Llussà, 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)
• 1945 – Franz Kröwerath, German rower (b. 1880)
• 1946 – W. C. Fields, American comedian, actor, juggler and writer (b. 1880)
• 1947 – Gaspar G. Bacon, American 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, Spanish-English cartoonist (b. 1872)
• 1954 – Johnny Ace, American singer (b. 1929)
• 1956 – Robert Walser, Swiss author (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 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)
• 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 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 – Florică Murariu, Romanian rugby player and soldier (b. 1955)
• 1989 – Robert Pirosh, American director and screenwriter (b. 1910)
• 1989 – Wally Ris, American swimmer (b. 1924)
• 1992 – Monica Dickens, English-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)
• 1996 – Bill Hewitt, Canadian sportscaster (b. 1928)
• 1997 – Anatoli Boukreev, Kazakh mountaineer and explorer (b. 1958)
• 1997 – Denver Pyle, American actor, singer, and director (b. 1920)
• 1998 – Bryan MacLean, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Love) (b. 1946)
• 1998 – John Pulman, English snooker player and sportscaster (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 and academic (b. 1908)
• 2001 – Alfred A. Tomatis, French otolaryngologist and academic (b. 1920)
• 2002 – William T. Orr, American actor and producer (b. 1917)
• 2003 – Nicholas Mavroules, American politician (b. 1929)
• 2004 – Robert Elliott, American actor (b. 1944)
• 2004 – Gennadi Strekalov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1940)
• 2005 – Derek Bailey, English guitarist (b. 1930)
• 2005 – Robert Barbers, Filipino police officer, lawyer, and politician (b. 1944)
• 2005 – Birgit Nilsson, Swedish soprano (b. 1918)
• 2006 – James Brown, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (The Famous Flames) (b. 1933)
• 2006 – Hiroaki Hidaka, Japanese serial killer (b. 1962)
• 2007 – Des Barrick, English cricketer (b. 1927)
• 2007 – Jim Beauchamp, American baseball player and coach (b. 1939)
• 2007 – Mighty King Kong, Kenyan singer (b. 1973)
• 2008 – Eartha Kitt, American singer and actress (b. 1927)
• 2009 – Vic Chesnutt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Brute and The Undertow Orchestra) (b. 1964)
• 2010 – Carlos Andrés Pérez, Venezuelan politician, 66th President of Venezuela (b. 1922)
• 2011 – Giorgio Bocca, Italian journalist (b. 1920)
• 2011 – Jim Sherwood, American saxophonist (The Mothers of Invention) (b. 1942)
• 2011 – Simms Taback, American author and illustrator (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Sita bint Fahd Al Damir, Saudi Arabian wife of Khalid of Saudi Arabia (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Erico Aumentado, Filipino journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1940)
• 2012 – Turki bin Sultan, Saudi Arabian politician (b. 1959)
• 2012 – Frank Calabrese, Sr., American mobster (b. 1937)
• 2012 – Halfdan Hegtun, Norwegian radio host and politician (b. 1918)
• 2012 – Joe Krivak, American football player and coach (b. 1935)
• 2013 – Anthony J. Bryant, American historian and author (b. 1961)
• 2013 – David R. Harris, English geographer, anthropologist, archaeologist and academic (b. 1930)
• 2013 – Wayne Harrison, English footballer (b. 1967)
• 2013 – Mike Hegan, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Mel Mathay, Filipino politician, 8th Mayor of Quezon City (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Adnan Şenses, Turkish singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1935)
• 2014 – Alberta Adams, American singer (b. 1917)
• 2014 – N. L. Balakrishnan, Indian actor and photographer (b. 1943)
• 2014 – Ricardo Porro, Cuban-French architect (b. 1925)
• 2014 – David Ryall, English actor (b. 1935)
• 2014 – Gleb Yakunin, Russian priest and activist (b. 1934)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Anastasia of Sirmium (Catholic Church)
  • December 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Christmas Day, Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus. (International)
• Constitution Day (Taiwan)
• Malkh-Festival (Nakh peoples of Chechnya and Ingushetia)
• Quaid-e-Azam's Day (Pakistan)
• Takanakuy (Chumbivilcas Province, Peru)
• Good Governance Day (India)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada