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What happened in history on this day: December 25?
On December 25 in ...
- 337 - Earliest possible date that Christmas is celebrated on December 25th.
- 352 - First definite date Christmas is celebrated on December 25th.
- 390 - Roman emperor Theodosius admits debt on mass murder in Thessalonica.
- 498 - French king Clovis baptises himself.
- 597 - England adopts Julian calendar.
- 604 - Battle at Etampes (Stampae): Burgundy beat Neustriers.
- 795 - Adrian I Italian Pope (772-95), dies.
- 800 - Pope Leo III crowns Charles the Great (Charlemagne), Roman emperor.
- 820 - Leo V the Armenian, Byzantine general/Emperor (813-20), murdered.
- 875 - Charles, the Bare, crowned emperor of Rome.
- 967 - John XIII crowned Otto II the Red German compassionate emperor.
- 969 - Johannes I Tzimisces, crowned emperor of Byzantium.
- 979 - Rotardus appointed as bishop of the kingdom.
- 999 - Heribertus becomes bishop of Cologne.
- 1000 - Monarch István crowned king of Hungary.
- 1046 - German king Heinrich III installs Suidiger, bishop of Bamberg, as Pope Clement II.
- 1048 - Parliament of Worms: Emperor Henry III names his cousin count Bruno van Egisheim/Dagsburg as Pope Leo IX.
- 1066 - William the Conqueror, crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey.
- 1100 - Boudouin I of Boulogne crowned king of Jerusalem.
- 1101 - Henry I of Limburg becomes duke of Netherlands-Lutherans.
- 1121 - Norbertus van Xanten finds order of the Norbertijnen.
- 1130 - Anti-pope Anacletus II crowns Roger II the Norman, king of Sicily.
- 1156 - Peter Venerabilis French theologist/9th abbot of Cluny, dies at about age 61.
- 1223 - Saint Francis of Assisi assembles first Nativity scene (Greccio, Italy).
- 1249 - Peter Nolascus, Spanish monastery founder/Saint, dies.
- 1513 - Johannes Amerbach Swiss publisher/printer, dies at about age 70.
- 1522 - Turkish troops occupy Rhodos.
- 1530 - Babur emperor of Delhi, dies.
- 1582 - Zealand/Brabant adopts Gregorian calendar, yesterday was December 14th.
- 1583 - Birth of Orlando Gibbons English composer (O Clap Your Hands), baptized.
- 1601 - Birth of Jose Ximenez composer.
- 1613 - Johan Sigismund of Brandenburg becomes protestant.
- 1621 - Governor William Bradford of Plymouth forbids game playing on Christmas day.
- 1624 - Birth of Angelus Silesius [Johann Scheffler] German mystic (Saint Seelenlust).
- 1628 - Birth of Noel Coypel French painter.
- 1640 - Pierre de Fermat writes to Marin Mersenne about Fermat's church thesis.
- 1641 - Emperor Ferdinand III makes appointments with Sweden and France.
- 1643 - Captain William Mynors founds and names Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean.
- 1646 - Birth of Harald Vallerius composer.
- 1651 - Massachusetts General Court ordered a fine (five shillings) for "observing any such day as Christmas".
- 1683 - English Whig-leader duke of Monmouth flees to Holland.
- 1683 - Kara Mustapha Turkish grand-vizier (1676-83), executed.
- 1688 - English king James II lands in Ambleteuse, France.
- 1688 - Lord Delamere sides with King James II.
- 1698 - Birth of Jacobus Houbraken Dutch engraver/illustrator.
- 1717 - Birth of Pius VI [Giovanni A Braschi] Italy, Pope (1775-99).
- 1717 - Floods ravage Dutch coast provinces, 1000s killed.
- 1721 - Birth of William Collins Chichester England, (Mayor-Chichester)/poet.
- 1730 - Birth of Filippo Mazzei in Poggio a Caiano, Tuscany; freedom fighter, militia member in Virginia 1776, co-founded Constitution Society 1784, published four-volume history of US and North America.
- 1741 - Astronomer Anders Celcius introduces Centigrade temperature scale.
- 1745 - Prussia/Austria sign Treaty of Dresden; gives much of Silesia to the Prussians.
- 1758 - Halley's comet first sighted by Johann Georg Palitzsch during return.
- 1760 - Jupter Hammon, New York slave, publishes poetry in "An Evening Thought".
- 1763 - Birth of Claude Chappe French engineer (optical telegraph).
- 1775 - Pope Pius VI encyclical on the problems of the pontificate.
- 1788 - Death of John Logan at about age 40; Scottish conductor (Ode to the Cuckoo).
- 1808 - Birth of Stephen Cleeg Rowan; Commander (Union Navy) (dies 1890).
- 1811 - Birth of Wilhelm E Freiherr von Ketteler; German politician/bishop of Mainz.
- 1814 - Birth of Jan de Liefde II; Dutch vicar/founder (Co-op of Welfare of the People).
- 1818 - First known Christmas carol ("Silent Night, Holy Night" by Franz Joseph Gruber and Joseph Mohr) sung (Austria).
- 1821 - Birth of Clara Harlowe Barton in Oxford, Massachusetts, USA; nurse (founder-American Red Cross).
- 1823 - Birth of Preston Smith; Brigadier-General (Confederate Army) (dies 1863).
- 1824 - Barbara Krudener, mystic visionary who renounced nobility, dies at age 60.
- 1831 - Louisiana and Arkansas are first US states to observe Christmas as holiday.
- 1832 - Birth of Thomas Alfred Smyth; US Major General (Union volunteers) (dies 1865).
- 1837 - Battle of Okeechobee: US forces defeat Seminole Indians.
- 1848 - New Haven Railroad opens.
- 1855 - Birth of James Galvin; pitcher, shut-out every opposing team in 1884.
- 1865 - Birth of Evangeline Cory Booth; Salvation Army general (1904-34).
- 1868 - Birth of Eugenie Besserer in Watertown, New York, USA; actress (Jazz Singer).
- 1868 - Despite bitter opposition, US President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all persons involved in the Southern rebellion (the Civil War).
- 1875 - Birth of Theodor Innitzer; cardinal/archbishop Vienna.
- 1875 - Birth of Walter Lees; cricket player (Surrey pace bowler toured for England 1905-06).
- 1876 - Birth of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah in Karachi; founded Pakistan (1947)/Governor (1947-58).
- 1878 - Birth of W Starling Burgess; yacht designer (America Cup's Enterprise).
- 1881 - Birth of Joseph V McCarthy; baseball manager (New York Yankees).
- 1883 - Birth of Maurice Utrillo in France; painter (Port Saint Martin, Montmartre).
- 1887 - Birth of Conrad Hilton; hotel mogul (Hilton Hotels).
- 1887 - Birth of Jacobus W G Balfoort; Dutch actor (Bulldog Drummond).
- 1887 - Birth of John Davidson in New York City, New York, USA; actor (Charlie Chan - Chinese Cat).
- 1888 - First indoor baseball game played at fairgrounds in Philadelphia.
- 1891 - Birth of Clarrie Grimmett; cricket player (in Dunedin Great Australian leg-spinner).
- 1891 - Birth of Earle Foxe in Oxford, Ohio, USA; actor (Dance Fools Dance).
- 1891 - Birth of Kenneth A N Anderson; British general (Dunkerk, North Africa).
- 1893 - Birth of Bert Bertram; actor (How to Steal a Million).
- 1893 - Birth of Fred Hillebrand in Brooklyn, New York, USA; actor (Martin Kane).
- 1893 - Birth of Ropert L Ripley in Santa Rosa, California, USA; cartoonist (Ripley's Believe It or Not).
- 1895 - Raul d'Avila Pompeia, Brazilian writer (Boarding-school), dies at age 32.
- 1898 - The British Post Office introduces Imperial Penny Postage, 1 pence postage per half ounce to most parts of the British Empire.
- 1899 - Birth of Frank Fergusson; actor (My Friend Flicka, Peyton Place).
- 1899 - Birth of Humphrey Bogart in New York, New York, USA; actor (Casablanca) (dies 1957).
- 1899 - Birth of Raphael Soyer; artist (Arts and Letters 1945, Depression Scenes in New York City).
- 1899 - In Hemet-San Jacinto, California, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurs.
- 1900 - Birth of Gladys Swarthout in Deepwater, Missouri, USA; mezzo-soprano ("La Gioconda").
- 1900 - Birth of W L "Tich" Cornford; cricket player (Sussex keeper played for England 1930).
- 1900 - Birth of Barton Maclane in Columbia, South Carolina, USA; actor (Outlaws, Perry Mason, Laramie, Disneyland).
- 1901 - Battle at Tweefontein Orange-Free state: Boers surprise-attack British.
- 1901 - Birth of Alice Christobel Montagu Douglas Scott in London, England; English duchess of Gloucester/aunt of Elizabeth II (dies 2004).
- 1902 - Birth of Barton MacLane in Columbia, South Carolina, USA; actor (The Geisha Boy, General Peterson - I Dream of Jeannie).
- 1903 - Birth of Corry Lievens [Isabella MJ Adriaens]; Flemish actress (Blue Bird).
- 1903 - Birth of J Edward in Bromberg, Hungary; actor (Mark of Zorro, Under two Flags).
- 1904 - Birth of Gerhard Herzberg in Canada; physicist (molecular structure-Nobel Prize 1971).
- 1906 - Birth of Clark M Clifford; US Secretary of Defense (1968-69).
- 1906 - Birth of Lord Lew Grade; British TV mogul (ATV)/movie producer (The Boys from Brazil).
- 1906 - Birth of William McChesney Martin; Chairman of Federal Reserve Bank (1951-70).
- 1907 - Birth of Cabell Calloway III in Rochester, New York, USA; bandleader (Minnie the Moocher, Jazzball, Blues Brothers).
- 1908 - Birth of Frank Ferguson in California, USA; actor (Wagons West, Dynamite, My Gal Sal).
- 1908 - Birth of Helen [Marie Jurgens] Twelvetrees in Brooklyn, New York, USA; actress (State's Attorney, Painted Desert).
- 1909 - Birth of Marguerite Churchill in Kansas City, Missouri, USA; actress (Dracula's Daughter, Big Trail).
- 1909 - Birth of Mike Mazurki in Tarnopal, Austria; actor/wrestler (Centerfold Girls).
- 1910 - Birth of David Lichine [Lichtenstein]; Russian/US dancer (Make Mine Music).
- 1912 - Birth of Donald McRae; cricket player (Test for New Zealand, the 1946 debacle versus Australia).
- 1913 - Birth of Alvin Morris AKA Tony Martin in San Francisco, California, USA; singer ("It's a Blue World", "To Each").
- 1914 - Germans and Allies across the trenches cease firing and participate in an informal Christmas Truce.
- 1915 - Birth of Noelle de Mosa; Netherlands/British dancer/teacher (Brigadoon).
- 1915 - Birth of Nora Dunfee in Belmont, Ohio, USA; actress (Forrest Gump, Lorenzo's Oil).
- 1915 - Birth of Pete Rugolo in San Piero Patti, Sicily; bandleader/arranger (The Fugitive).
- 1918 - Birth of Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat AKA Anwar el-Sadat; Egyptian President (1970-81, Nobel Prize 1978).
- 1918 - Birth of Eddie Safranski in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; orchestra leader (Jonathan Winters Show).
- 1920 - Birth of Artur Agostinho in Lisbon, Portugal; actor (Capas Negras, Leao da Estrela).
- 1922 - Birth of Kitty Kallen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; singer ("Judge For Yourself").
- 1922 - Vladimir Lenin dictates his "Political testament".
- 1923 - Birth of Louis Lane in Eagle Pass, Texas, USA; conductor (Oere Orchestra 1968-73).
- 1923 - Birth of Nöel Vandernotte in France; cox (Olympics-bronze-1936).
- 1925 - Birth of Christmas F Tinto in South Africa; African National Congress member, UDF leader.
- 1925 - Birth of Ossi Reichert; German giant slalom (Olympics-gold-1956).
- 1926 - Yoshihito, 123rd Emperor of Japan (1912-26), dies at age 47.
- 1926 - Prince-regent Hirohito becomes 124th Emperor of Japan (1926-1989).
- 1927 - Birth of Nellie Fox; Chicago White Sox infielder (American League Most Valuable Player 1959).
- 1927 - Sergei D Sazonov, Russian Foreign minister (1910-16), dies at age 66.
- 1928 - Birth of Earl Brown in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; actor (Stovall - Operation Petticoat).
- 1928 - Christmas Day attendance at cricket Melbourne Cricket Ground (Victoria versus New South Wales) 14,887.
- 1928 - New South Wales (versus Victoria) go from 8-74 to 9-113 to be 9-367 at stumps.
- 1929 - Birth of Billy Horton; rocker (The Silhouettes - "Get a Job").
- 1929 - Birth of Irish McCalla in Pawnee City, Nebraska, USA; actress (Sheena Queen of Jungle).
- 1929 - Clarrie Grimmett takes 6-146 in cricket for South Africa, Queensland all out 380; Crowd 5,390.
- 1930 - First US bobsled run open to the public (Mount Van Hoevenberg bobsled run at Lake Placid, New York).
- 1930 - Slinger Nitschke scores 142 South Africa versus Queensland at Adelaide before 5,422.
- 1930 - Tasmania all out 280, West Indies 2-139 at Hobart Crowd 2,500.
- 1931 - Albert Lonergan scores 137 South Africa versus Queensland at Adelaide before 5,697.
- 1931 - Birth of Carlos Castaneda; American writer/mystic (Eagle's Gift, Fire From Within).
- 1931 - Leslie Fleetwood-Smith takes 5-69 Victoria versus Tasmania at Hobart.
- 1931 - New York's Metropolitan Opera broadcasts an entire opera over radio.
- 1932 - Birth of Mabel King in Charleston, South Carolina, USA; actress (Mama - What's Happening?).
- 1932 - Birth of Peter John Swales; football club chairman.
- 1932 - During King George V Christmas dinner speech, his chair collapes.
- 1933 - Another Christmas Day five-wicket haul by Clarrie Grimmett.
- 1933 - Stan Smith takes 8-33 for Victoria versus Tasmania at Hobart.
- 1934 - Birth of Bob Martinez; American politician (Governor-Florida).
- 1934 - Birth of John Ashley in Kansas City, Missouri, USA; actor (Clipper - Straightaway).
- 1934 - Birth of McKinley Mitchell; American gospel/singer ("The Town I Live In").
- 1934 - Four centuries for South Africa as they make 7-644 versus Queensland before 6,180.
- 1936 - Belgian bishops condemn fascism and communism.
- 1936 - Birth of Alexandra, English princess/daughter of Sir Angus Ogilvy.
- 1936 - Birth of Ismail Merchant in Bombay, India; producer (Householder).
- 1936 - Ron Hamence scores 104 for South Africa versus Queensland before 4,865.
- 1937 - Birth of O'Kelly Isley in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; singer (Isley Brothers - "Twist and Shout").
- 1937 - Queensland all out for 93 versus South Africa in front of 10,436.
- 1938 - Birth of Wibo van de Linde; Dutch TV host/director (Avro).
- 1938 - Karel Capek, Czechoslovakian author/antifascist (Bílá Nemoc), dies at age 48.
- 1939 - Birth of Christopher Wates; English real estate developer/multi-millionaire.
- 1939 - Clarrie Grimmett and Ward rip through Queensland in cricket except Bill Brown (156).
- 1939 - Montgomery Ward introduces Rudolph the 9th reindeer.
- 1940 - Agnes Ayres, actress (Johnny Belinda, Sheik), dies at age 42.
- 1940 - Birth of Frans Moor; Dutch Member of Parliament (PvdA).
- 1940 - Donald Bradman out first ball for South Africa versus Victoria before 6213.
- 1941 - (1515 hours Hong Kong) Hong Kong, with Canadian and British troops, surrenders to Japan. Nearly 2000 died in the fight.
- 1942 - Birth of François Durr in France; tennis player (1976 US indoor Doubles).
- 1942 - Birth of Mani Kaul; director (Idiot, Nazar, Dhrupad, Duvidha).
- 1942 - Russian artillery/tank battle on German armies at Stalingrad.
- 1943 - Birth of Hanna Schygulla in Katowice, Silesia; actress (Love is Colder than Death).
- 1943 - Birth of Hedley Howarth; cricket player (brother of Geoff, New Zealand lefty spinner 1969-77).
- 1943 - Birth of Ravish Malhotra in India; cosmonaut (Soyuz T-11 backup).
- 1943 - Birth of Trevor Lucas; rocker (Fairport Convention).
- 1944 - Birth of Henry Vestine; rock guitarist (Canned Heat - "On the Road Again").
- 1944 - Birth of Kenny Everett [Maurice James Cole]; British TV personality (Kenny Everett Show).
- 1944 - Birth of Rick Berman [Richard]; producer (Star Trek Generations).
- 1945 - Birth of Gary Sandy in Dayton, Ohio, USA; actor (Andy - WKRP in Cincinnati).
- 1945 - Birth of Ken "The Snake" Stabler; NFL quarterback (Oakland Raiders, Super Bowl XI).
- 1945 - Birth of Kenny Everett; British TV personality (Kenny Everett Show).
- 1945 - Birth of Noel Redding; rocker (The Jimi Hendrix Experience - "Purple Haze").
- 1945 - Birth of Steve Mancha [Clyde Wilson]; American singer/songwriter ("Too Many Cooks").
- 1945 - The Change Franc Pacifique is created to allow a united monetary circulation in the French territories of the Pacific.
- 1946 - Birth of Jimmy Buffett in Mobile, Alabama, USA; singer/songwriter ("Margaritaville", "Volcano").
- 1946 - Birth of Larry Csonka; NFL running back (Miami Dolphins, New York Giants).
- 1946 - Constitution accepted in Taiwan.
- 1946 - Death of W. C. Fields AKA William Claude Dukenfield at age 66 of a stomach hemmorhage; comedic star of film and radio (The Bank Dick, It's A Gift).
- 1947 - Birth of Connie Petracek in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, USA; swimmer (Olympics-1992, 1996).
- 1947 - Taiwan passes Human Rights laws (Day of Earth Law).
- 1948 - Birth of Barbara Mandrell in Houston, Texas, USA; singer/TV host (Mandrell Sisters).
- 1949 - Birth of Sissy Spacek in Quitman, Texas, USA; actress (Carrie, Badlands, Coal Miner's Daughter).
- 1950 - Birth of Manny Trillo; baseball infielder (Philadelphia Phillies).
- 1950 - Cleveland Browns beat Los Angeles Rams 30-28 in NFL championship game.
- 1950 - The Coronation Stone, taken from Scone in Scotland by Edward I in 1296, is stolen from Westminster Abbey and smuggled back to Scotland.
- 1950 - The first Disney TV special, One Hour in Wonderland airs on NBC, sponsored by the Coca-Cola Company (cost US$100,000). Walt Disney and several Disney cartoon characters make their TV debut. Walt's daughter Sharon also appears. The show previews portions of the film Alice in Wonderland. About 20 million viewers watch the show.
- 1950 - Xavier Villaurrutia, Mexican poet (Nostalgia de la muerte), dies at age 47.
- 1951 - Birth of Ria Thielsch; Dutch singer (Luv).
- 1951 - Harry T Moore, Florida NAACP official, is killed by a bomb.
- 1951 - West Indies defeat Australia by six wickets on third day of third Test Cricket.
- 1952 - German former army commander Wilhelm List is pardoned and freed from captivity.
- 1953 - Avalanche of lava kills 150 (Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand).
- 1953 - The United States returns control of the Amami Islands, north of Okinawa, to Japan.
- 1954 - Birth of Annie Lennox in Aberdeen, Scotland; singer (Eurythmics - "Sweet Dreams", "Here Comes The Rain Again").
- 1954 - Birth of Robin Campbell; British reggae vocalist/guitarist (UB40 - "Red Red Wine").
- 1954 - Birth of Steve Wariner in Noblesville, Indiana, USA; country singer ("Small Town Girl").
- 1954 - Rhythm and blues recording star Johnny Ace dies offstage during a show in Houston, Texas, by playing and losing at Russian Roulette.
- 1954 - Liberty Hyde Bailey, US botanist (Plantbreeding), dies at age 96.
- 1955 - Birth of Claus Strigel; director (Obituary for the Automobile, Act of God).
- 1955 - Birth of William Andrews; actor (Sealed Cargo).
- 1955 - NBC airs the last The Colgate Comedy Hour TV show.
- 1955 - Pope Pius XII encyclical on sacred music and popular music.
- 1956 - Birth of Mansoor Akhtar; cricket player (Pakistani batsman early 1980s).
- 1957 - Birth of Jan Rot; Dutch composer/writer (Wrong Nights).
- 1957 - Birth of Jillie Mack; actress (Magnum P.I.).
- 1957 - Birth of Shane McGowan; rock vocalist (The Pogues - Red Roses For Me).
- 1957 - Frederick Law Olmsted, US architect (Central Park), dies at age 87.
- 1957 - Buena Vista releases Disney's live-action film Old Yeller to theaters. The film is based on the book by Fred Gipson.
- 1958 - Alan Freed's Christmas Rock and Roll Spectacular opens.
- 1958 - Birth of Joop Hiele; soccer player (Dordrecht 1990, Go Ahead Eagles).
- 1958 - Birth of Rickey Henderson in Chicago, Illinois, USA; baseball player (stolen base king, Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees).
- 1959 - Birth of Chris Spice; Australian field hockey coach (Olympics-1996).
- 1959 - Birth of Michael P Anderson in Plattsburgh, New York, USA; major US Air Force/astronaut (STS 89).
- 1959 - Birth of Ton Lokhoff; Dutch soccer player (NAC).
- 1959 - Sony brings transistor TV 8-301 to the market.
- 1961 - Dr Rheinhold Rudenberg, inventor of the electron microscope, dies.
- 1962 - Birth of Dean Cameron in Morrison, Illinois, USA; actor (Herbie - Spencer).
- 1962 - Birth of Mary Ellen Clark in Abington, Pennsylvania, USA; diver (Olympics-2 bronze-1992, 1996).
- 1962 - USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya.
- 1963 - Birth of Joop Gall; Dutch soccer player (FC Groningen).
- 1963 - Disney releases the animated feature film The Sword in the Stone to theaters in the USA. The film is based on the book by T.H. White.
- 1964 - James Bond film Goldfinger premieres in movie theaters in the US.
- 1964 - Birth of Anil Kaul in Amritsar, India; Canadian badminton player (Olympics-1996).
- 1964 - Birth of Janet Soulsby in Corbridge, Australia; golfer (Curtis Cup 1982).
- 1964 - Birth of Peter Hanson; English/Sierra Leone/Dutch actor (Darling How Could You).
- 1964 - Birth of Raymond Libregts; soccer player (MVV).
- 1964 - Cheerio Meredith, actress (One Happy Family), dies at age 74.
- 1965 - Birth of Dmitri Mironov in Moscow, Russia; NHL defenseman (Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Mighty Ducks).
- 1965 - Birth of Kathleen Luciano in Munich, Germany; WPVA volleyball player (Nationals-17th-1993).
- 1965 - Movie Goldfinger opens in general release in theaters in the US.
- 1966 - Birth of Craig Veasey; NFL defensive tackle/defensive end (Houston Oilers).
- 1967 - Birth of Kathleen Franey in Brooklyn, New York, USA; 1.5km runner.
- 1968 - 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 - Birth of Corey Widmer; NFL linebacker (New York Giants).
- 1968 - Birth of Don Silvestri; NFL/WLAF kicker (New York Jets, London Monarchs).
- 1968 - Birth of Helena Christensen in Copenhagen, Denmark; model/actress (Inferno).
- 1968 - Birth of Jim Dowd in Brick, New Jersey, USA; NHL center (Vancouver Canucks).
- 1968 - Birth of Scott Bullett in Martinsburg, West Virginia, USA; outfielder (Chicago Cubs).
- 1969 - Five Israeli gunboats escape from Cherbourg harbor.
- 1969 - Birth of Bernhard Junior; Prince of Netherlands.
- 1969 - India all out for 163 at Madras versus Australia, Ashley Mallett 5-91.
- 1970 - Birth of Azhar Saeed in United Arab Emirates; cricket player (opening batsman 1996 World Cup).
- 1970 - Birth of Ghalid Salamat; soccer player (MVV).
- 1970 - Birth of Stu Barnes in Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada; NHL center (Florida Panthers).
- 1971 - Birth of Marlon Forbes; safety (Chicago Bears).
- 1971 - Birth of Noel Hogan; musician (Cranberries).
- 1971 - Birth of Terry Vaughn; Canadian Football League receiver (Calgary Stampeders).
- 1971 - Longest NFL game (3 hours 21 minutes) as Miami Dolphins beat Kansas City Chiefs 27-24.
- 1971 - Worst hotel fire in history kills 163 at Taeyokale Hotel in Seoul, South Korea.
- 1972 - Birth of Fantasia [Tonya Manley] in Detroit, Michigan, USA; dancer/actress (Pump it Up).
- 1972 - England beats India by six wickets in the first Test Cricket at Delhi.
- 1973 - Ismet Inönü [Mustapha Ismet Pasha], Turkish Prime Minister (1923-65), dies at age 89.
- 1973 - Tommy Chambers (Scotland) finishes 51-year cycle tour (799,405 miles).
- 1973 - The ARPANET crashes when a programming bug causes all ARPANET traffic to be routed through the server at Harvard University, causing the server to freeze.
- 1974 - Birth of Chris Naeole; guard (New Orleans Saints).
- 1974 - Birth of Grayson Shillingford; NFL wide receiver (Seattle Seahawks).
- 1974 - Cyclone Tracy virtually destroys Darwin, Australia.
- 1975 - Gaston Gallimard, French publisher (Library Gallimard), dies at age 94.
- 1976 - Arthur Mitchell, cricket player (batted in six Tests for England 1933-36), dies.
- 1976 - Birth of Scott Vermillion in Independence, Missouri; soccer defenceman (Olympics-gold-1996).
- 1976 - Birth of Yazmin Fiallos; Miss Universe-Honduras (1996).
- 1976 - Egyptian passenger liner SS Patria burns and sinks in Red Sea, about 100 killed.
- 1976 - Frankie Darro, actor (Radio Ranch, Valley of Wanted Men), dies at age 58.
- 1976 - Takeo Fukuda becomes Japanese premier.
- 1977 - Charlie Chaplin, actor (Modern Times), dies in Switzerland at age 88.
- 1977 - Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
- 1978 - Vietnam launches a major offensive against the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia. About 25,000 Vietnamese troops enter Kampuchea, take control of nation.
- 1979 - Death of Joan Blondell at age 73 of leukemia; actress (Here Come the Brides, Real McCoys).
- 1979 - Death of Lee Bowman at age 64, American actor (Ellery Queen, Miami Undercover) (born 1914).
- 1979 - Opening day of fourth Test Cricket, India 8-112 versus Pakistan at Kanpur.
- 1979 - Birth of Ferman Akgül, vocalist of Turkish nu-metal band maNga.
- 1980 - Fred Emney, actor (Adventures of a Private Eye), dies at age 80.
- 1980 - Oscar Romero, archbishop of El Salvador, is murdered.
- 1982 - In the Flores Island region, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake occurs. Thirteen people killed, 390 injured, 1,875 homes destroyed and other buildings damaged.
- 1982 - Mudassar Nazar scores century, then Imran rips through Indians.
- 1983 - The ABC TV network airs Walt Disney World's Very Merry Christmas Parade for the first time.
- 1983 - Joan Miró, Spanish surrealist painter, dies at his home in Majorca at age 90 (born 1893).
- 1984 - NBA's Bernard King scores 60 points.
- 1985 - George Rhodes, orchestra leader (Sammy Davis Junior Show), dies at age 66.
- 1987 - Buena Vista releases the film Good Morning, Vietnam to theaters.
- 1989 - Billy Martin, New York Yankees' baseball manager, killed in a car accident at age 61 in Binghamton, New York.
- 1989 - Japanese scientist achieves -271.8 degrees C, coldest temperature ever recorded.
- 1989 - Bank of Japan governors announce a major interest rate hike.
- 1989 - Romanian dictator (1945-89) Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena are executed after their unsuccessful escape attempt.
- 1989 - Roger Pigaut, actor (Indoptable Angélique), dies.
- 1990 - Tim Berners-Lee creates the WorldWideWeb software browser for the NeXT computer, the first Web browser.
- 1990 - The first successful communication between a client and server via the Internet is established.
- 1990 - Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev resigns.
- 1991 - Curt Bois, actor (Great Waltz, Boat is Full), dies at age 90.
- 1991 - Last day of a washout Pakistan versus Sri Lanka at Gujranwala.
- 1991 - Mahmood Hussain, cricket player (27 Tests for Pakistan, 68 wickets), dies.
- 1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev formally resigns as President of USSR.
- 1991 - Orane Demazis, French actress (Marius, Fanny et César), dies at age 87.
- 1992 - Garrison H Davidson, US Lieutenant-General commandant (West Point), dies.
- 1992 - Helen B M Fennell Joseph, English/South Africa anti-apartheid, dies at age 87.
- 1992 - Monica Dickens, English/US journalist/author, dies at age 77 (born 1915).
- 1992 - Ted Croker, RAF-pilot/secretary English soccer team (sponsoring), dies (born 1924).
- 1994 - Pierre Dreyfus, French director of Renault (1955-75), dies at age 87.
- 1994 - Zail Singh, President of India (1982-87), dies at age 78.
- 1994 - Buena Vista Pictures releases the Walt Disney Pictures live-action feature film Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book to theaters in the USA.
- 1995 - Dean Martin, American singer/actor (Return to Me), dies at age 78 (born 1917).
- 1995 - Emmanuel Levinas, philosopher, dies at age 89.
- 1995 - Jimmy Boucher, cricket player (great Irish all-rounder 1929-54), dies.
- 1995 - Nikolai [Nicolas Leonidovich] Slonimsky, Russian/American musicologist, dies at age 101 (born 1894).
- 1996 - Derek Prouse, writer, actor/director (Le Scandale), dies at age 74.
- 1996 - Rupert John, Governor-General of Grenadines (1970-76), dies.
- 1997 - Death of Denver Pyle at age 77 of lung cancer; actor (Uncle Jesse - The Dukes of Hazzard TV show, The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, The Doris Day Show, Andy Griffith Show).
- 1997 - For first time US movie box office receipts pass US$6 billion.
- 2003 - Beagle 2 is scheduled to land on Mars, but nothing is heard from the lander.
- 2003 - President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan escapes the second assassination attempt in two weeks.
- 2004 - An historic and unprecedented snowfall occurs over portions of southern Texas during the early morning hours. Daily totals include 1.5 inches at Brownsville, 3.5 inches at McAllen, 4.4 inches at Corpus Christi, and 12.1 inches at Victoria.
- 2007 - An overcrowded suspension bridge collapses near Nepalgunj, Nepal. At least 15 people are dead, with 100 to 200 missing.
- 2007 - An escaped tiger at the San Francisco Zoo kills one person and injures two others.
- 2007 - Queen Elizabeth II broadcasts her 50th televised Royal Christmas Message to the Commonwealth.
- 2008 - Eartha Kitt, American sultry singer ("Santa Baby"), dancer and actress (Catwoman in Batman, two Emmy awards) dies in New York at age 81 of colon cancer.
- 2009 - A Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, tries to ignite powder and liquid explosives on Northwest Airlines plane Flight 253 from Nigeria via Amsterdam as it is preparing to land in Detroit. The man is subdued and the plane lands safely with no injuries.
- 2009 - Japan approves a record budget for next year of 92.3 trillion yen (US$484 billion).
- 2010 - Death of Carlos Andrés Pérez, 55th President of Venezuela (born 1922).
- 2016 - A Tupolev Tu-154 crashes near Sochi, Russia, killing all 92 people on board, including 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble.
- 2021 - NASA, the European Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency and the Space Telescope Science Institute launch the James Webb Space Telescope from French Guiana aboard a European Ariane 5 rocket.
- 2021 - Death of Jean-Marc Vallée at age 58 following a heart attack, outside Quebec City, Canada; filmmaker and screenwriter (Dallas Buyers Club).
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Or, visit my Timelines of History page.
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