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 documented 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.

• 1356 Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, promulgates the Golden Bull, a constitution for his empire.

• 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

• 1724 J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, BWV 91, in Leipzig, based on Luther's 1524 Christmas hymn.

• 1725 J. S. Bach leads the first performance of the Christmas cantata Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110, making laughter audible in singing.

• 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 American Revolutionary War: General 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.

• 1793 Northwest Indian War: 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.

• 1870 Wagner's Siegfried Idyll is first performed.

1901–present

• 1914 World War I: 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.

• 1971 A fire at the Daeyeonggak Hotel in Seoul, South Korea kills 164 people.

• 1976 EgyptAir Flight 864, 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.

• 1996 The body of American child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey was found in her family's Boulder, Colorado, home. Her murder remains unsolved.

• 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.

• 2007 A Siberian tiger named Tatania escapes her exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo and attacks three people, killing one and injuring two more.

• 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.

• 2024 Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 crashes in Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 of its occupants.

Births

Pre-1600

• 1250 John IV Laskaris, Byzantine emperor (died 1305)

• 1281 Alice de Lacy, 4th Countess of Lincoln (died 1348)

• 1400 John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (died 1487)

• 1424 Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France (died 1445)

• 1461 Christina of Saxony, Queen consort of Denmark (died 1521)

• 1490 Francesco Marinoni, Italian Roman Catholic priest (died 1562)

• 1493 Antoinette de Bourbon, French noblewoman (died 1583)

• 1505 Christine of Saxony, German noblewoman (died 1549)

• 1564 Johannes Buxtorf, German Calvinist theologian (died 1629)

• 1583 Orlando Gibbons, English organist and composer (died 1625)

• 1584 Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain (died 1611)

1601–1900

• 1601 Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha (died 1675)

• 1628 Noël Coypel, French painter and educator (died 1707)

• 1642 Isaac Newton, English physicist and mathematician (died 1727)

• 1652 Archibald Pitcairne, Scottish physician, anatomist, and scholar (died 1713)

• 1665 Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish-English poet and songwriter (died 1746)

• 1674 Thomas Halyburton, Scottish minister and theologian (died 1712)

• 1686 Giovanni Battista Somis, Italian violinist and composer (died 1763)

• 1700 Leopold II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (died 1758)

• 1711 Jean-Joseph de Mondonville, French violinist and composer (died 1772)

• 1716 Johann Jakob Reiske, German physician and scholar (died 1774)

• 1717 Pope Pius VI (died 1799)

• 1728 Johann Adam Hiller, German composer and conductor (died 1804)

• 1730 Filippo Mazzei, Italian-American physician and philosopher (died 1816)

• 1745 Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Caribbean-French violinist, composer, and conductor (died 1799)

• 1757 Benjamin Pierce, American general and politician, 17th Governor of New Hampshire (died 1839)

• 1766 Christmas Evans, Welsh Nonconformist preacher (died 1838)

• 1771 Dorothy Wordsworth, English diarist and poet (died 1855)

• 1776 Sydney, Lady Morgan, Irish author and poet (died 1859)

• 1810 L. L. Langstroth, American apiarist, clergyman and teacher (died 1895)

• 1821 Clara Barton, American nurse and humanitarian, founder of the American Red Cross (died 1912)

• 1825 Stephen F. Chadwick, American lawyer and politician, 5th Governor of Oregon (died 1895)

• 1829 Patrick Gilmore, Irish-American composer and bandleader (died 1892)

• 1856 Pud Galvin, American baseball player and manager (died 1902)

• 1861 Francis Henry Buzzacott, American hunter, explorer and army scout famous for writing Buzzacott's Masterpiece (died 1947)

• 1861 Madan Mohan Malaviya, Indian educator, lawyer, and politician, President of the Indian National Congress (died 1946)

• 1865 Evangeline Booth, English 4th General of The Salvation Army (died 1950)

• 1869 Charles Finger, English-American journalist and author (died 1941)

• 1872 Helena Rubinstein, Polish-American businesswoman and philanthropist (died 1965)

• 1873 Otto Frederick Hunziker, Swiss-American agriculturalist and educator (died 1959)

• 1874 Lina Cavalieri, Italian soprano and actress (died 1944)

• 1875 Francis Aveling, Canadian psychologist and priest (died 1941)

• 1875 Theodor Innitzer, Austrian cardinal (died 1955)

• 1876 Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Indian-Pakistani lawyer and politician, 1st Governor-General of Pakistan (died 1948)

• 1876 Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1959)

• 1878 Louis Chevrolet, American race car driver and businessman, co-founded Chevrolet (died 1941)

• 1878 Noël, Countess of Rothes, British philanthropist, social leader and heroine of Titanic disaster (died 1956)

• 1878 Joseph M. Schenck, Russian-American film producer (died 1961)

• 1883 Hugo Bergmann, Czech-Israeli philosopher and academic (died 1975)

• 1883 Hana Meisel, Belarusian-Israeli agronomist and politician (died 1972)

• 1884 Samuel Berger, American boxer (died 1925)

• 1884 Evelyn Nesbit, American model and actress (died 1967)

• 1886 Malak Hifni Nasif, Egyptian poet and activist (died 1918)

• 1886 Kid Ory, American trombonist and bandleader (died 1973)

• 1887 Conrad Hilton, American entrepreneur (died 1979)

• 1889 Lila Bell Wallace, American publisher and philanthropist, co-founded Reader's Digest (died 1984)

• 1890 Noel Odell, English geologist and mountaineer (died 1987)

• 1891 Kenneth Anderson, Indian-English general and politician, Governor of Gibraltar (died 1959)

• 1891 Clarrie Grimmett, New Zealand-Australian cricketer (died 1980)

• 1899 Humphrey Bogart, American actor (died 1957)

1901–present

• 1901 Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (died 2004)

• 1902 William Bell, American tuba player and educator (died 1971)

• 1902 Barton MacLane, American actor, playwright, and screenwriter (died 1969)

• 1903 Antiochos Evangelatos, Greek composer and conductor (died 1981)

• 1904 Gerhard Herzberg, German-Canadian physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1999)

• 1904 Philip Vera Cruz, Filipino-American labor leader and farmworker (died 1994)

• 1906 Lew Grade, Baron Grade, Ukrainian-English film producer (died 1998)

• 1906 Ernst Ruska, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1988)

• 1907 Cab Calloway, American singer-songwriter and bandleader (died 1994)

• 1907 Mike Mazurki, Ukrainian-American wrestler and actor (died 1990)

• 1907 Glenn McCarthy, American businessman, founded the Shamrock Hotel (died 1988)

• 1908 Quentin Crisp, English author and illustrator (died 1999)

• 1908 Ernest L. Massad, American general (died 1993)

• 1908 Jo-Jo Moore, American baseball player (died 2001)

• 1909 Zora Arkus-Duntov, Belgian-American engineer (died 1996)

• 1911 Louise Bourgeois, French-American sculptor and painter (died 2010)

• 1913 Candy Candido, American singer, bass player, and voice actor (died 1999)

• 1913 Tony Martin, American singer (died 2012)

• 1914 James Fletcher Jnr, New Zealand businessman (died 2007)

• 1914 Oscar Lewis, American anthropologist of Latin America (died 1970)

• 1915 Pete Rugolo, Italian-American composer and producer (died 2011)

• 1916 Ahmed Ben Bella, Algerian soldier and politician, 1st President of Algeria (died 2012)

• 1917 Arseny Mironov, Russian scientist, engineer, pilot, oldest active researcher in aircraft aerodynamics and flight testing (died 2019)

• 1917 Lincoln Verduga Loor, Ecuadorian journalist and politician (died 2009)

• 1919 Naushad Ali, Indian composer and director (died 2006)

• 1919 Paul David, Canadian cardiologist and politician, founded the Montreal Heart Institute (died 1999)

• 1919 Noele Gordon, English actress (died 1985)

• 1921 Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah, Indian-Pakistani journalist and author (died 2000)

• 1921 Steve Otto, Polish-Canadian lawyer and politician (died 1989)

• 1922 William Demby, American author (died 2013)

• 1923 René Girard, French-American historian, philosopher, and critic (died 2015)

• 1923 Louis Lane, American conductor and educator (died 2016)

• 1924 Rod Serling, American screenwriter and producer, created The Twilight Zone (died 1975)

• 1924 Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Indian poet and politician, 10th Prime Minister of India (died 2018)

• 1925 Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian-American anthropologist and author (died 1998)

• 1925 Ned Garver, American baseball player (died 2017)

• 1925 Sam Pollock, Canadian businessman (died 2007)

• 1926 Enrique Jorrín, Cuban violinist and composer (died 1987)

• 1927 Nellie Fox, American baseball player and coach (died 1975)

• 1927 Ram Narayan, Indian sarangi player (died 2024)

• 1928 Irish McCalla, American actress and model (died 2002)

• 1928 Dick Miller, American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2019)

• 1929 Christine M. Jones, American educator and politician (died 2013)

• 1929 China Machado, Chinese-born Portuguese-American fashion model, editor and television producer (died 2016)

• 1929 Chris Kenner, American singer and songwriter (died 1976)

• 1930 Emmanuel Agassi, Iranian-American boxer and coach (died 2021)

• 1930 Armenak Alachachian, Armenian basketball player and coach (died 2017)

• 1930 Mary Rose Tuitt, Montserrat politician (died 2005)

• 1932 Mabel King, American actress and singer (died 1999)

• 1933 Basil Heatley, English runner (died 2019)

• 1935 Sadiq al-Mahdi, Sudanese politician, Prime Minister of Sudan (died 2020)

• 1935 Stephen Barnett, American scholar and academic (died 2009)

• 1935 Jeanne Hopkins Lucas, American educator and politician (died 2007)

• 1936 Princess Alexandra of Kent, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy

• 1936 Ismail Merchant, Indian-English director and producer (died 2005)

• 1937 Maung Aye, Burmese military officer

• 1937 O'Kelly Isley Jr., American R&B/soul singer-songwriter (died 1986)

• 1938 Duane Armstrong, American painter

• 1938 Noel Picard, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2017)

• 1939 Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Pakistani businessman and politician

• 1939 Bob James, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer

• 1939 Akong Rinpoche, Tibetan-Chinese spiritual leader (died 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, English politician

• 1942 Barry Goldberg, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (died 2025)

• 1942 Enrique Morente, Spanish singer-songwriter (died 2010)

• 1943 Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior, Brazilian race car driver and businessman (died 2024)

• 1943 Ravish Malhotra, Indian pilot and military officer

• 1943 Eve Pollard, English journalist and author

• 1943 Hanna Schygulla, German actress

• 1943 Jacqui McShee, English singer

• 1944 Kenny Everett, British comedian and broadcaster (died 1995)

• 1944 Jairzinho, Brazilian footballer

• 1944 Sam Strahan, New Zealand rugby player (died 2019)

• 1945 Rick Berman, American screenwriter and producer

• 1945 Mike Pringle, Zambian-Scottish lawyer and politician

• 1945 Noel Redding, English singer-songwriter and bass player (died 2003)

• 1945 Ken Stabler, American football player and sportscaster (died 2015)

• 1946 Jimmy Buffett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (died 2023)

• 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 Prime Minister of Pakistan

• 1950 Peter Boardman, English mountaineer and author (died 1982)

• 1950 Karl Rove, American political strategist and activist

• 1950 Manny Trillo, Venezuelan baseball player and manager

• 1951 Warren Robinett, American video game designer

• 1952 Tolossa Kotu, Ethiopian runner and coach

• 1952 Desireless, French singer and songwriter

• 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

• 1958 Cheryl Chase, American voice actress and singer

• 1958 Rickey Henderson, American baseball player and coach (died 2024)

• 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 (died 2003)

• 1959 Ramdas Athawale, Indian poet and politician

• 1961 Íngrid Betancourt, Colombian political scientist and politician

• 1961 Ghislaine Maxwell, British socialite, former owner of the TerraMar Project, and sex offender.

• 1962 Francis Dunnery, English musician

• 1964 Ian Bostridge, English tenor

• 1964 Gary McAllister, Scottish footballer and manager

• 1964 Bob Stanley, British musician and writer

• 1965 Ed Davey, English politician, Leader of the Liberal Democrats

• 1965 Dmitri Mironov, Russian ice hockey player

• 1965 David Rath, Czech physician and politician

• 1966 Toshi Arai, Japanese race car driver

• 1967 Andreas Haitzer, Austrian politician

• 1967 Jason Thirsk, American bass player (died 1996)

• 1968 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 Justin Trudeau, Canadian educator and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Canada

• 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 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 Atko Väikmeri, Estonian footballer

• 1976 Armin van Buuren, Dutch DJ and record producer

• 1977 Ali Tandoğan, Turkish footballer

• 1977 Israel Vázquez, Mexican boxer (died 2024)

• 1978 Simon Jones, Welsh cricketer

• 1978 Joel Porter, Australian footballer and manager

• 1978 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 Laura Sadler, English actress (died 2003)

• 1980 Marcus Trufant, American football player

• 1981 Trenesha Biggers, American wrestler and model

• 1981 Camille Herron, American ultramarathon runner

• 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 Chris Richard, American basketball player

• 1985 Martin Mathathi, Kenyan runner

• 1985 Rusev, Bulgarian-American professional wrestler

• 1985 Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukrainian politician, 19th Prime Minister of Ukraine

• 1987 Ceyhun Gülselam, Turkish footballer

• 1987 Demaryius Thomas, American football player (died 2021)

• 1988 Eric Gordon, American basketball player

• 1988 Lukas Hinds-Johnson, German rugby player

• 1988 Joãozinho, Brazilian footballer

• 1991 Avu-chan, Japanese musician, songwriter, actor, model and producer

• 1992 Mitakeumi Hisashi, Japanese sumo wrestler

• 1993 Emi Takei, Japanese actress, fashion model and singer

• 1996 Emiliano Buendía, Argentine footballer

• 1999 Adut Akech, South Sudanese-Australian fashion model

• 2000 Wilfried Singo, Ivorian footballer

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 304 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, Count of Ponthieu (born )

• 1156 Peter the Venerable, French abbot and saint (born 1092)

• 1156 Sverker the Elder, king of Sweden

• 1294 Mestwin II, Duke of Pomerania

• 1395 Elisabeth, Countess of Neuchâtel, Swiss ruler

• 1406 Henry III of Castile (born 1379)

• 1505 George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent, English politician (born 1454)

• 1553 Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish explorer and politician, 1st Royal Governor of Chile (born 1500)

1601–1900

• 1634 Lettice Knollys, English noblewoman (born 1543)

• 1635 Samuel de Champlain, French soldier, geographer, and explorer (born 1567)

• 1676 William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire (born 1592)

• 1676 Matthew Hale, English lawyer and jurist, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (born 1609)

• 1683 Kara Mustafa Pasha, Ottoman general and politician, 111th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (born 1634)

• 1708 Jørgen Thormøhlen, German-Norwegian merchant (born c.1640)

• 1730 Henry Scott, 1st Earl of Deloraine, Scottish peer and general (born 1676)

• 1758 James Hervey, English priest and author (born 1714)

• 1784 Yosa Buson, Japanese poet and painter (born 1716)

• 1796 Velu Nachiyar, Queen of Sivagangai (born 1730)

• 1824 Barbara von Krüdener, German mystic and author (born 1764)

• 1824 William Lawless, Irish revolutionary, later French Army general (born 1772)

• 1866 Hayrullah Efendi, Ottoman physician, historian, and official (born 1818)

• 1868 Linus Yale, Jr., American engineer and businessman (born 1821)

• 1875 Young Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (born 1851)

• 1880 Fridolin Anderwert, Swiss lawyer and politician, President of the Swiss National Council (born 1828)

1901–present

• 1916 Albert Chmielowski, Polish saint, founded the Albertine Brothers (born 1845)

• 1921 Vladimir Korolenko, Russian journalist, author, and activist (born 1853)

• 1925 Karl Abraham, German psychoanalyst and author (born 1877)

• 1926 Emperor Taishō of Japan (born 1879)

• 1928 Miles Burke, American boxer (born 1885)

• 1930 Jakob Mändmets, Estonian journalist and author (born 1871)

• 1933 Francesc Macià, Catalan colonel and politician, 122nd President of Catalonia (born 1859)

• 1935 Paul Bourget, French author and critic (born 1852)

• 1938 Karel Čapek, Czech author and playwright (born 1890)

• 1940 Agnes Ayres, American actress (born 1898)

• 1941 Richard S. Aldrich, American lawyer and politician (born 1884)

• 1944 George Steer, South African-English journalist and author (born 1909)

• 1946 W. C. Fields, American actor, comedian, juggler, and screenwriter (born 1880)

• 1947 Gaspar G. Bacon, American lawyer and politician, 51st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (born 1886)

• 1949 Leon Schlesinger, American animator and producer, founded Warner Bros. Cartoons (born 1884)

• 1950 Neil Francis Hawkins, English politician (born 1903)

• 1952 Margrethe Mather, American photographer (born 1886)

• 1953 Patsy Donovan, Irish-American baseball player and manager (born 1865)

• 1953 William Haselden, British cartoonist (born 1872)

• 1956 Robert Walser, Swiss author and playwright (born 1878)

• 1957 Charles Pathé, French record producer, founded Pathé Records (born 1863)

• 1961 Owen Brewster, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 54th Governor of Maine (born 1888)

• 1961 Otto Loewi, German-American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1873)

• 1963 Tristan Tzara, Romanian-French poet, playwright, painter, and critic (born 1896)

• 1970 Michael Peto, Hungarian-English photographer and journalist (born 1908)

• 1973 İsmet İnönü, Turkish general and politician, 2nd President of Turkey (born 1884)

• 1973 Gabriel Voisin, French pilot and engineer (born 1880)

• 1975 Gaston Gallimard, French publisher, founded Éditions Gallimard (born 1881)

• 1975 Gunnar Kangro, Estonian mathematician and author (born 1913)

• 1977 Charlie Chaplin, English actor and director (born 1889)

• 1979 Joan Blondell, American actress and singer (born 1906)

• 1979 Jordi Bonet, Canadian painter and sculptor (born 1932)

• 1980 Fred Emney, English actor and comedian (born 1900)

• 1983 Joan Miró, Spanish painter and sculptor (born 1893)

• 1988 Shōhei Ōoka, Japanese author and critic (born 1909)

• 1988 Edward Pelham-Clinton, 10th Duke of Newcastle, English entomologist and lepidopterist (born 1920)

• 1989 Benny Binion, American poker player and businessman (born 1904)

• 1989 Elena Ceaușescu, Romanian politician, First Lady of Romania (born 1916)

• 1989 Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romanian general and politician, 1st President of Romania (born 1918)

• 1989 Betty Garde, American actress (born 1905)

• 1989 Frederick F. Houser, American judge and politician, 34th Lieutenant Governor of California (born 1905)

• 1989 Billy Martin, American baseball player and manager (born 1928)

• 1989 Robert Pirosh, American director and screenwriter (born 1910)

• 1991 Wilbur Snyder, American football player and wrestler (born 1929)

• 1992 Monica Dickens, British-American nurse and author (born 1915)

• 1993 Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist and academic (born 1899)

• 1994 Zail Singh, Indian politician, 7th President of India (born 1916)

• 1995 Emmanuel Levinas, Lithuanian-French philosopher and academic (born 1906)

• 1995 Dean Martin, American singer and actor (born 1917)

• 1995 Chang Kee-ryo, Korean surgeon (born 1914)

• 1995 – Vincent Patriarca, Italian-American aviator and mercenary (born 1914)

• 1996 Bill Hewitt, Canadian sportscaster (born 1928)

• 1997 Anatoli Boukreev, Kazakh mountaineer and explorer (born 1958)

• 1997 Denver Pyle, American actor (born 1920)

• 1998 John Pulman, English snooker player (born 1923)

• 2000 Neil Hawke, Australian cricketer and footballer (born 1939)

• 2000 Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher and academic (born 1908)

• 2001 Alfred A. Tomatis, French otolaryngologist and academic (born 1920)

• 2003 Nicholas Mavroules, American politician (born 1929)

• 2004 Gennadi Strekalov, Russian engineer and astronaut (born 1940)

• 2005 Derek Bailey, English guitarist (born 1930)

• 2005 Robert Barbers, Filipino police officer, lawyer, and politician, 15th Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (born 1944)

• 2005 Birgit Nilsson, Swedish operatic soprano (born 1918)

• 2005 Joseph Pararajasingham, Sri Lankan journalist, businessman, and politician (born 1934)

• 2006 James Brown, American singer-songwriter (born 1933)

• 2007 Des Barrick, English cricketer (born 1927)

• 2007 Jim Beauchamp, American baseball player and coach (born 1939)

• 2008 Eartha Kitt, American singer and actress (born 1927)

• 2009 Vic Chesnutt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1964)

• 2010 Carlos Andrés Pérez, Venezuelan politician, 66th President of Venezuela (born 1922)

• 2011 Giorgio Bocca, Italian journalist (born 1920)

• 2011 Jim Sherwood, American saxophonist (born 1942)

• 2011 Simms Taback, American author and illustrator (born 1932)

• 2012 Erico Aumentado, Filipino journalist, lawyer, and politician (born 1940)

• 2012 Halfdan Hegtun, Norwegian radio host and politician (born 1918)

• 2012 Joe Krivak, American football player and coach (born 1935)

• 2012 Turki bin Sultan, Saudi Arabian politician (born 1959)

• 2012 Şerafettin Elçi, Turkish lawyer, politician, government minister (born 1938)

• 2013 Anthony J. Bryant, American historian and author (born 1961)

• 2013 David R. Harris, English geographer, anthropologist, archaeologist and academic (born 1930)

• 2013 Wayne Harrison, English footballer (born 1967)

• 2013 Mike Hegan, American baseball player and sportscaster (born 1942)

• 2013 Lola Lange, Canadian rural feminist and appointee to the Royal Commission on the Status of Women (born 1922)

• 2013 Mel Mathay, Filipino politician, 8th Mayor of Quezon City (born 1932)

• 2014 Ricardo Porro, Cuban-French architect (born 1925)

• 2014 Geoff Pullar, English cricketer (born 1935)

• 2014 David Ryall, English actor (born 1935)

• 2015 George Clayton Johnson, American author and screenwriter (born 1929)

• 2015 Dorothy M. Murdock, American author and historian (born 1961)

• 2016 Valery Khalilov, Russian military musician and composer (born 1952)

• 2016 George Michael, British singer and songwriter (born 1963)

• 2016 Vera Rubin, American astronomer (born 1928)

• 2017 D. Herbert Lipson, American magazine publisher (Philadelphia, Boston) (born 1929)

• 2018 Sulagitti Narasamma, Indian midwife (born 1920)

• 2019 Ari Behn, Norwegian writer (born 1972)

• 2020 K. C. Jones, American basketball player and coach (born 1932)

• 2021 Wayne Thiebaud, American artist (born 1920)

• 2022 Fabián O'Neill, Uruguayan footballer (born 1973)

• 2023 Jim Breaks, British wrestler (born 1940)

• 2024 Britt Allcroft, English writer (born 1943)

• 2024 Bill Bergey, American football player (born 1945)

• 2024 Jax Dane, American professional wrestler (born 1976)

• 2024 M. T. Vasudevan Nair, Indian author and screenwriter (born 1933)

• 2024 Osamu Suzuki, Japanese businessman (born 1930)

Holidays and observances

• Christmas Day, Christian festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. (Internationally observed)

Christian feast day:

• Anastasia of Sirmium (Catholic Church)

• Stephen (Armenian Apostolic Church)

• December 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

  Children's Day (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Republic of Congo)

• Tulsi Pujan Diwas (India)

• Constitution Day (Taiwan)

• Good Governance Day (India)

• Quaid-e-Azam's Day (Pakistan)

• Takanakuy (Chumbivilcas Province, Peru)

References

External links

• BBC: On This Day

• Historical Events on December 25