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. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Friday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Wednesday or Thursday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Saturday (56).

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.
• 820 – Emperor Leo V is assassinated in the Hagia Sophia at Constantinople and is succeeded by Michael II.
• 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 in Bethlehem.
• 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 – 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.
• 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 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 the island's slaves mobilize in an ultimately unsuccessful fight for freedom.
• 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 an unconditional pardon to all Confederate veterans.
• 1914 – A series of unofficial truces occur across the Western Front to celebrate Christmas.
• 1927 – The Vietnamese Nationalist Party is founded.
• 1932 – A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in Gansu, China kills 275 people.
• 1935 – Regina Jonas is ordained as the first female rabbi in the history of Judaism.
• 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 European self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction is initiated within the Soviet Union's 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.
• 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.
• 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: Forty-four Dalits (untouchables) are burnt to death in Kizhavenmani village, Tamil Nadu, a retaliation for a campaign for higher wages by Dalit laborers.
• 1977 – Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with its president Anwar Sadat.
• 1989 – 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.
• 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 – UTAGE Flight 141, a Boeing 727-223, crashes at the Cotonou Airport in Benin, killing 151 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.
• 2015 – Mohammed Zahran Alloush, commander of Jaysh al-Islam (Army of Islam), one of the Syrian opposition factions, is killed by an airstrike.

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 and educator (d. 1707)
• 1642 (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, American general and politician, 17th Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1839)
• 1771 – Dorothy Wordsworth, English author 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)
• 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 and academic (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)
• 1865 – Evangeline Booth, English 4th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1950)
• 1869 – Charles Finger, English-American journalist and author (d. 1941)
• 1870 – 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 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, 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 businessman, founded the Hilton Hotels & Resorts (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)
• 1890 – Robert Ripley, American anthropologist and publisher, founded Ripley's Believe It or Not! (d. 1949)
• 1891 – Kenneth Arthur Noel 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 – Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (d. 2004)
• 1902 – Barton MacLane, American actor, playwright, and screenwriter (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, Baron 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 (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 (d. 2012)
• 1913 – Henri Nannen, German journalist and publisher (d. 1966)
• 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 – 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)
• 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
• 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
• 1928 – Dick Miller, American actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1929 – Christine M. Jones, American educator and politician (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Chris Kenner, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 1976)
• 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
• 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 educator and politician (d. 2007)
• 1936 – Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy
• 1936 – Ismail Merchant, Indian-English director and producer (d. 2005)
• 1937 – O'Kelly Isley Jr., American R&B/soul singer-songwriter (d. 1986)
• 1938 – Duane Armstrong, American painter
• 1938 – David Borden, American composer and academic
• 1938 – Noel Picard, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1939 – Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Pakistani businessman and politician
• 1939 – Bob James, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
• 1939 – Akong Rinpoche, Tibetan-Chinese spiritual leader (d. 2013)
• 1940 – Pete Brown, English singer-songwriter and poet
• 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, 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 radio and television host (d. 1995)
• 1944 – Jairzinho, Brazilian footballer
• 1944 – Sam Strahan, New Zealand rugby player
• 1945 – Rick Berman, American screenwriter and producer
• 1945 – Eve Pollard, English journalist and author
• 1945 – 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 – 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 lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan
• 1949 – Sissy Spacek, American actress
• 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 – 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
• 1954 – Steve Wariner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1955 – Brett Vroman, American basketball player
• 1957 – Mansoor Akhtar, Pakistani cricketer
• 1957 – Chris Kamara, English footballer and sportscaster
• 1957 – Shane MacGowan, English-Irish singer-songwriter
• 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
• 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
• 1964 – Ian Bostridge, English tenor
• 1964 – Gary McAllister, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1964 – Kevin Simms, English rugby player
• 1964 – Bob Stanley, English keyboard player, songwriter, producer, and journalist
• 1965 – Ed 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 (d. 1996)
• 1968 – Helena Christensen, Danish model and actress
• 1968 – Jim Dowd, American ice hockey player
• 1969 – Nicolas Godin, French musician (Air)
• 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, English singer-songwriter
• 1971 – Noel Hogan, Irish guitarist and producer
• 1971 – Justin Trudeau, Canadian educator and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Canada
• 1972 – Josh Freese, American drummer and songwriter
• 1972 – Mac Powell, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1972 – Qu Yunxia, Chinese runner
• 1973 – Robbie Elliott, English footballer and coach
• 1973 – 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, 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, Welsh cricketer
• 1978 – Joel Porter, Australian footballer and manager
• 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
• 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, 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 – Locó, Angolan footballer
• 1984 – Jessica Origliasso, Australian singer-songwriter
• 1984 – Lisa Origliasso, Australian singer-songwriter
• 1984 – Chris Richard, American basketball player
• 1985 – Martin Mathathi, Kenyan runner
• 1985 – Rusev, Bulgarian professional wrestler
• 1986 – Aleksei Anatolyevich Kozlov, Russian footballer
• 1987 – Ceyhun Gülselam, Turkish footballer
• 1987 – Julian Lage, American guitarist and composer
• 1987 – Ma Qinghua, Chinese race car driver
• 1987 – Justin Sweeney, Australian footballer
• 1987 – Demaryius Thomas, American football player
• 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 – Shahzaib Hasan, Pakistani cricketer
• 1989 – Keri Wong, American tennis player
• 1989 – Adrian von Ziegler, Swiss composer and producer
• 1990 – Conny Perrin, Swiss tennis player

Deaths

• 304 – Saint Anastasia
• 795 – Pope Adrian I (b. 700)
• 820 – Leo V the Armenian, Byzantine emperor (b. 775)
• 940 – Makan ibn Kaki, Iranian general
• 1147 – Guy II, Count of Ponthieu (b. c. 1120)
• 1156 – Peter the Venerable, French abbot and saint (b. 1092)
• 1156 – Sverker the Elder, king of Sweden
• 1294 – Mestwin II, Duke of Pomerania
• 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)
• 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 and politician, 111th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1634)
• 1758 – James Hervey, English priest and author (b. 1714)
• 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 lawyer and politician, President of the Swiss National Council (b. 1828)
• 1824 – William Lawless, Irish revolutionary, later French Army general (b. 1772)
• 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, 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 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 – Florică Murariu, Romanian rugby player and soldier (b. 1955)
• 1989 – Robert Pirosh, American director and screenwriter (b. 1910)
• 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)
• 1996 – Bill Hewitt, Canadian sportscaster (b. 1928)
• 1997 – Anatoli Boukreev, Kazakh mountaineer and explorer (b. 1958)
• 1997 – Denver Pyle, American actor (b. 1920)
• 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, English guitarist (b. 1930)
• 2005 – Robert Barbers, Filipino police officer, lawyer, and politician, 15th Filipino Secretary of the Interior (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 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, 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)
• 2014 – Ricardo Porro, Cuban-French architect (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Geoff Pullar, English cricketer (b. 1935)
• 2015 – George Clayton Johnson, American author and screenwriter (b. 1929)
• 2015 – 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)

Holidays and observances

• Children's Day (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Republic of Congo)
• 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)
• Good Governance Day (India)
• Malkh-Festival (Nakh peoples of Chechnya and Ingushetia)
• Quaid-e-Azam's Day (Pakistan)
• Takanakuy (Chumbivilcas Province, Peru)

External links

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