December 25......

December 25 is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 6 days remaining in the year on this date.

EVENTS

● 0 - Apocryphal birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

● 1 - 1st Christmas, according to calendar-maker Dionysus Exiguus

● 274 - Roman Emperor Aurelian has a temple dedicated to Sol Invictus on the supposed day of the solstice and day of rebirth of the Sun.

● 336 - This is the earliest possible known year that Jesus' nativity was celebrated on December 25th, as mentioned in the Philocalian Calendar of A.D. 354. Jesus' birth was commemorated on January 6th in Greek Orthodoxy, although by the 400s most of the Eastern churches had accepted the Roman date.

● 352 - 1st definite date Christmas was celebrated on Dec 25th

● 390 - Roman emperor Theodosius admits debt on mass murder in Thessalonica

● 498 - French king Clovis baptizes himself

● 597 - England adopts Julian calendar

● 604 - Battle at Etampes (Stampae): Burgundy beat Neustriers

● 795 - Adrian I ends his reign as Catholic Pope

● 800 - Pope Leo III crowns Charles the Great (Charlemagne), the first Holy Roman emperor in Rome

● 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 - Pope Clemens VI crowns Henry III Roman Catholic-German emperor

● 1048 - Parliament of Worms: Emperor Henry III names his cousin count Bruno van Egisheim/Dagsburg as Pope Leo IX

● 1066 - Coronation of William the Conqueror as king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.

● 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

● 1223 - St Francis of Assisi assembles 1st Nativity scene (Greccio, Italy)

● 1261 - John IV Lascaris of the restored Eastern Roman Empire is deposed and blinded by orders of his co-ruler Michael VIII Palaeologus.

● 1413 - Two years before his martyrdom, Bohemian reformer and martyr Jan Huss wrote in a letter: 'Rejoice, that the immortal God is born, so that mortal men may live through eternity.'

● 1492 - Columbus' ship Santa Maria docks at Dominican Republic

● 1522 - Turkish troops occupy Rhodos

● 1537 - German reformer Martin Luther was recorded as saying: 'It is the most ungodly and dangerous business to abandon the certain and revealed will of God in order to search in to the hidden mysteries of God.'

● 1582 - Zealand/Brabant adopts Gregorian calendar, yesterday was Dec 14th

● 1599 - The city of Natal, Brazil is founded.

● 1611 - Settlers under Sir Thomas Dale destroy Apamatuks village on the lower Appomattox River in Virginia; settlers erect townsite of Bermuda Hundred on the site. Merry Christmas.

● 1613 - Johan Sigismund of Brandenburg becomes protestant

● 1621 - Governor William Bradford of Plymouth forbids game playing on Christmas day

● 1640 - Pierre de Fermat writes to Marin Mersenne about Fermat's church thesis

● 1641 - Emperor Ferdinand III makes appointments with Sweden & France

● 1643 - Christmas Island founded and named by Captain William Mynors of the East India Ship Company vessel, the Royal Mary.

● 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

● 1688 - English king James II lands in Ambleteuse, France

● 1688 - Lord Delamere sides with King James II

● 1717 - Floods ravage Dutch coast provinces, 1000s killed

● 1723 - The Dunkards (Baptists from Germany) held their first immersion service in America at Germantown (near Philadelphia), Pennsylvania.

● 1741 - Astronomer Anders Celcius introduces Centigrade temperature scale

● 1745 - Prussia/Austria signs Treaty of Dresden; gives much of Silesia to the Prussians

● 1758 - Halley's comet 1st sighted by Johann Georg Palitzsch during return

● 1760 - Jupter Hammon, New York slave, publishes poetry in "An Evening Thought"

● 1775 - Pope Pius VI encyclical on the problems of the pontificate

● 1776 - During the American War for Independence, General George Washington leads a secret crossing of the Delaware River with 5,400 troops, hoping to surprise a Hessian force celebrating Christmas at their winter quarters in Trenton, New Jersey. The unconventional attack comes after several months of substantial defeats for Washington's army, resulting in the loss of New York City and other strategic points throughout the state. At about 11 at night on Christmas, his army commences their crossing of the half-frozen river at three locations. The 2,400 soldiers led by Washington successfully brave the freezing temperature, rain, and icy river, and reach the New Jersey side of the Delaware before dawn. The other two divisions, featuring some 3,000 men and important artillery, fail to reach the meeting point by the time of the attack. At approximately 8 AM of December 26, his remaining force, separated into two columns, reaches the outskirts of Trenton and descends on the unsuspecting Hessians. Trenton's 1,400 Hessian defenders are groggy from the previous evening's festivities and, after months of decisive British victories throughout New York, underestimate the Patriot threat.

● 1818 - The first performance of the first known Christmas carol, "Silent Night" takes place in the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria.

● 1818 - 1st US performance of Händel's Messiah, Boston

● 1821 - Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, was born in Oxford, Mass.

● 1830 - Hethherington defies British stamp tax by issuing "Poor Man's Guardian."

● 1830 - Hector Berlioz's "Symphony Fantastic" premieres

● 1831 - Louisiana & Arkansas are 1st states to observe Christmas as holiday

● 1832 - Charles Darwin celebrates Christmas in St Martin at Cape Receiver

● 1833 - Charles Darwin celebrates Christmas in Port Desire, Patagonia

● 1834 - Charles Darwin celebrates Christmas on Beagle at Tres Montes, Chile

● 1835 - Charles Darwin celebrates Christmas in Pahia, New Zealand

● 1837 - Battle of Okeechobee: United States forces defeat Seminole Indians.

● 1837 - Col. Zachary Taylor, commanding 1,100 troops, attacks Seminole tribe on north shore of Lake Okeechobee, Florida. 170 troops and 14 Seminoles killed. Quite different from conventional recounting above.

● 1843 - 1st theatre matinee (Olympic Theatre, New York NY)

● 1848 - New Haven Railroad opens

● 1862 - 40,000 watch the Union army men play baseball at Hilton Head SC

● 1868 - Despite bitter opposition, U.S. President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all persons involved in the Southern rebellion that resulted in the Civil War.

● 1868 - Shogunate rebels found Ezo Republic in Hokkaidō.

● 1875 - Charles Caldwell killed -- went from slavery through the U.S. Senate.

● 1875 - Jessie Wallace Hughan, founder of War Resisters League, born.

● 1887 - Overwhelmed by poverty, ideological confusion, grief at his grandmother's death, and ineligibility as a peasant to enter the Imperial Kazan University, Maxim Gorky attempts suicide at 18.

● 1894 - 1st midwestern football team to play on west coast, University of Chicago defeats Stanford 24-4 at Palo Alto CA

● 1896 - John Philip Sousa finally titled the melody "The Stars and Stripes Forever."

● 1900 - Arthur Schnitzlers "Leutnant Gustl" forbidden in Germany

● 1901 - Battle at Tweefontein Orange-Free state: Boers surprise attack British

● 1908 - Jack Johnson KO Tommy Burns & becomes 1st black heavyweight champion

● 1910 - Dynamite bomb destroys a portion of the Llewellyn Ironworks in Los Angeles, where a bitter strike is in progress.

● 1914 - Just after midnight on Christmas morning, the majority of German troops engaged in WWI cease firing their guns and artillery, and commence to sing Christmas carols. At certain points along the Eastern and Western fronts, the soldiers of Russia, France, and Britain even hear brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing. At the first light of dawn, many of the German soldiers emerge from their trenches and approach the Allied lines across no man's land, calling out "Merry Christmas" in their enemies' native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers suspect it to be a trick, but they soon too climb out of their trenches and shake hands with the German soldiers. The men exchange presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sing; the Christmas Truce lasts a few days. Good sense did not prevail however and the shooting began again.

● 1917 - The play "Why Marry?" opened at the Astor Theatre in New York City. "Why Marry?" was the first dramatic play to win a Pulitzer Prize.

● 1918 - Anwar el-Sadat, the Egyptian president who won the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating a peace treaty with Israel, was born.

● 1919 - Chile: Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) forms administration.

● 1922 - Lenin dictates his "Political testament"

● 1923 - In Washington, D.C., during Calvin Coolidge's first Christmas as president, the first electrically-lit Christmas tree appeared in the White House.

● 1925 - Birth of Carlos Castaneda. Author of a number of books describing the teaching of Don Juan, a Yaqui sorcerer and shaman. Castaneda kept himself out of the public eye; there has been much debate as to whether or not his books are documented fact or entirely fiction, and the appropriateness of both his expropriation (in fact or fiction) of native spirituality and the wealth he earned from it.

● 1926 - Nicaraguan rebel Augusto C. Sandino obtains arms and ammunition with the help of prostitutes.

● 1926 - Hirohito becomes Emperor of Japan (1926-1989), succeeding the Taisho Emperor.

● 1927 - In Buenos Aires, Argentina, the National City Bank bombed, killing two and wounding 23 among the American and Argentinian customers: it is the work of anarchists Giovanni and the brothers Scarfo, proponents of violent action.

● 1930 - The Mt. Van Hoevenberg bobsled run at Lake Placid, New York opened to the public. It was the first bobsled track of international specifications to open in the U.S.

● 1931 - Lawrence Tibbett was the featured vocalist as radio came to the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. The first opera was "Hansel und Gretel" and was heard on the NBC network of stations.

● 1932 - A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in Gansu, China kills ~70,000 people.

● 1932 - During King George V Christmas dinner speech, his chair collapes

● 1933 - Belgian Working people's party accept Henry de Mans Plan of Labor

● 1936 - Belgian bishops condemn fascism & communism

● 1937 - Arturo Toscanini conducted the first broadcast of "Symphony of the Air" over NBC radio.

● 1938 - George Cukor announces Vivien Leigh will play Scarlett O'Hara

● 1939 - Montgomery Ward stores introduces Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the 9th reindeer

● 1939 - "A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens, was read on CBS radio for the first time.

● 1941 - World War II: Battle of Hong Kong ends when Hong Kong surrendered to the Japanese, beginning the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong.

● 1941 - Japanese aircraft carriers Akagi/Kagu back in Kure, Japan

● 1942 - Admiral Dalans, murderer of Bosinier de la Chapelle, sentenced to death

● 1942 - British Colonel S W Bailey reaches Mihailovics headquarters

● 1942 - Russian artillery/tank battle on German armies at Stalingrad

● 1945 - Christmas tree catches fire in a Hartford, Connecticut hospital. 15 patients and three others die.

● 1946 - W.C. Fields, 66, dies, Pasadena, California.

● 1946 - First of several years of White House Christmas demonstrations seeking amnesty for conscientious objectors convicted of refusing to fight World War II.

● 1946 - Constitution accepted in Taiwan

● 1947 - Taiwan passes Human Rights laws (Day of Earth Law)

● 1947 - The Constitution of the Republic of China (Taiwan) goes into effect.

● 1948 - The Bulgarian Communist Party declares as "outlaws" the anarchists who had founded the FACB (Federation Bulgare Anarcho-Communist), and its newspaper "Rabotnitche Skamisal."

● 1950 - Coronation Stone, taken from Scone in Scotland by Edward I in 1296, stolen from Westminster Abbey & smuggled back to Scotland

● 1951 - Black leader Harry T. Moore killed in a bomb explosion, Sanford, Florida. His wife, critically injured, dies a few days later.

● 1952 - Queen makes first Christmas speech; British and Commonwealth listeners hear the Queen Elizabeth II's first Christmas broadcast since her accession to the throne.

● 1953 - Avalanche of lava kills 150 (Ruapehu volcano, New Zealand)

● 1953 - Anarchist Federation and the Libertarian Communist Federation founded by the FAF (French Anarchist Federation).

● 1955 - Pope Pius XII encyclical on sacred music & popular music

● 1956 - A good Christian bombs the home of anti-segregationist Fred Shuttlesworth. Birmingham, Ala.

● 1957 - Ed Gein judged insane and committed to Waupan State Hospital for a life sentence for the murders of Mary Hogan and Bernice Worden

● 1958 - Alan Freed's Christmas Rock & Roll Spectacular opens

● 1959 - A synagogue in Cologne Germany desecrated with swastikas

● 1959 - Richard Starkey [Ringo Starr] receives his 1st drum set

● 1959 - Sony brings transistor TV 8-301 to the market

● 1960 - Mass march of students for nuclear disarmament, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

● 1962 - The Department of Commerce Census Clock in Washington, DC, recorded the U.S. population on this day as 188,000,000.

● 1962 - Serge Gregoire dies. Writer, pacifist militant, free thinker, anarchist.

● 1962 - USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR

● 1963 - Tristan Tzara, Romanian-born French poet/essayist known mainly as the founder of Dada, a nihilist revolutionary movement in the arts, dies in Paris.

● 1964 - George Harrison's girlfriend Patti Boyd attacked by female Beatle fans

● 1967 - Paul McCartney & Jane Asher get engaged

● 1969 - 5 Israeli gunboats escape from Cherbourg harbor

● 1971 - Worst hotel fire in history kills 163 at Taeyokale Hotel in Seoul

● 1971 - Operation PUSH (People United to Save Humanity) form Jesse Jackson

● 1971 - The longest pro-football game to date finally ended when Garo Yepremian kicked a field goal in the second quarter of sudden death overtime. The Miami Dolphins defeated Kansas City, 27-24. The total game time was 82 minutes and 40 seconds.

● 1972 - The Nicaraguan capital Managua was hit by an earthquake. Over 10,000 people were killed.

● 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 - Cyclone Tracy leaves Darwin devastated; The Australian city of Darwin is wrecked by a powerful cyclone that leaves thousands of people homeless.

● 1974 - Marshall Fields drives a vehicle through the gates of the White House, resulting in a four-hour standoff.

● 1976 - Egyptian SS Patria sinks in Red Sea, about 100 killed

● 1976 - Takeo Fukuda becomes Japanese premier

● 1977 - Silent film legend Chaplin dies
Charlie Chaplin, the comic genius of silent films, dies at his home in Switzerland at the age of 88. Exactly 31 years after W. C. Fields; these two of the greatest comedians of all time must not really view Christmas as all that funny.

● 1977 - Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with President of Egypt Anwar Sadat.

● 1978 - Vietnamese troops invade Cambodia.

● 1978 - Four "Santa Clauses" arrested for climbing a fence at Pilgrim Nuclear Plant, Plymouth, Mass.

● 1979 - The USSR invaded Afghanistan in a bid to halt civil war and protect USSR interests.

● 1983 - 1st live telecast of Christmas Parade

● 1987 - Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, who escaped 2 days earlier, recaptured

● 1987 - In one of the highest-rated episodes in Coronation Street history, Hilda Ogden leaves her home of 23 years to be a char to her doctor in the country.

● 1989 - Nicolae Ceauşescu, former communist dictator of Romania, and his wife Elena are condemned to death and executed under a wide range of charges. Right until their death, they defied the jurisdiction of the court that tried them. Their execution was filmed; seated backwards in chairs they were shot in the back of the head.

● 1989 - Former New York Yankees player and manager Billy Martin died at age 61 when the pickup truck he was riding in crashed in Fenton, NY.

● 1989 - Dissident playwright Vaclav Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia.

● 1989 - Japanese scientist achieves -271.8ºC, coldest temp ever recorded at the time.

● 1990 - Mass demonstration in India to protest dam building and flooding of thousands of farms. Project is eventually significantly reduced, proving that the IMF and World Bank don't always succeed in keeping the rabble in line.

● 1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the U.S.S.R., marking the official dissolution of the Soviet Union.

● 1992 - Death of Helen Joseph, anti-apartheid activist, South Africa.

● 1995 - Singer Dean Martin died at age 78.

● 1997 - For 1st time US movie box office receipts pass $6 billion

● 1997 - Jerry Seinfeld says this is the final season of his TV show

● 1998 - Seven days into their journey, Richard Branson, Steve Fossett and Per Lindstrand of Sweden gave up their attempt to make the first nonstop round-the-world balloon flight. They ditched near Hawaii.

● 2000 - Over 300 people were killed and dozens were injured by fire at a Christmas party in the Chinese city of Luoyang. The incident occurred at the Dongdu Disco.

● 2002 - Katie Hnida became the first woman to play in a Division I football game when she attempted an extra point for New Mexico against UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl.

● 2003 - The ill-fated Beagle 2 probe which was released from the Mars Express Spacecraft on December 19, disappears. Scientists fail to make contact with British-built Mars probe Beagle 2, which should have landed on the Red Planet earlier today.

● 2004 - Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which successfully landed on Saturn's moon, Titan on January 14, 2005.

BIRTHS

● 1250 - John IV Lascaris, Eastern Roman Emperor (d. circa 1305)

● 1583 - Orlando Gibbons, English composer (d. 1625)

● 1628 - Noël Coypel, French painter (d. 1707)

● 1642 (O.S.) - Sir Isaac Newton, English physicist, mathematician and father of modern science (d. 1727)

● 1652 - Archibald Pitcairne, Scottish physician (d. 1713)

● 1665 - Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish songwriter (d. 1746)

● 1667 - Ehrengard von der Schulenburg, English royal mistress (d. 1743)

● 1674 - Thomas Halyburton, Scottish theologian (d. 1712)

● 1700 - Leopold II of Anhalt-Dessau, Prussian general (d. 1758)

● 1711 - Jean Joseph de Mondonville, French composer (d. 1772)

● 1716 - Johann Jakob Reiske, German scholar and physician (d. 1774)

● 1742 - Charlotte von Stein, German friend of Goethe (d. 1827)

● 1757 - Benjamin Pierce, U.S. politician (d 1839)

● 1763 - Claude Chappe, French telecommunications pioneer (d. 1805)

● 1771 - Dorothy Wordsworth, English diarist and sister of William Wordsworth (d. 1855)

● 1821 - Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross (d. 1912)

● 1856 - Hans von Bartels, German painter (d. 1913)

● 1861 - Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Indian founder of Banaras Hindu University (d. 1946)

● 1863 - Charles Pathé, French pioneer of film and record industries (d. 1957)

● 1865 - Evangeline Booth, the 4th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1950)

● 1875 - Theodor Cardinal Innitzer, Austrian archbishop (d. 1955)

● 1876 - Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan (d. 1948)

● 1876 - Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, Nobel laureate (d. 1959)

● 1878 - Louis Chevrolet, Swiss-born race car driver and American automobile designer (d. 1941)

● 1883 - Maurice Utrillo, French artist (d. 1955)

● 1884 - Evelyn Nesbit, American actress (d. 1967)

● 1886 - Franz Rosenzweig, German-Jewish philosopher (d. 1929)

● 1886 - Kid Ory, American musician (d. 1973)

● 1887 - Conrad Nicholson Hilton, American hotelier founded Hilton Hotels chain (d. 1979)

● 1890(93? NYT) - Robert Ripley, collector of odd facts (d. 1949)

● 1899 - Humphrey Bogart, American actor ("Casablanca") (d. 1957)

● 1901 - Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (d. 2004)

● 1902 - Barton MacLane, American actor (d. 1969)

● 1904 - Gerhard Herzberg, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)

● 1906 - Lew Grade, Ukrainian-born film producer (d. 1998)

● 1906 - Ernst Ruska, Nobel laureate (d. 1988)

● 1907 - Cab Calloway, American jazz composer, singer and bandleader (d. 1994)

● 1907 - Glenn McCarthy, American oil tycoon and businessman (d. 1988)

● 1907 - Mike Mazurki, Ukrainian-born actor (d. 1990)

● 1908 - Quentin Crisp, English author (d. 1999)

● 1908 - Jo-Jo Moore, baseball player (d. 2001)

● 1908 - Zora Arkus-Duntov, Belgian-American automotive engineer (d. 1996)

● 1912(13? NYT) - Tony Martin, American singer and actor

● 1912 - Natalino Otto, Italian singer (d. 1969)

● 1913 - Henri Nannen, German journalist (d. 1966)

● 1915 - Pete Rugolo, Italian-born composer

● 1918 - Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt (1970-81), signed historic peace treaty with Israel (till holding and in effect). Nobel Peace Prize laureate (d. 1981, assassinated)

● 1918 - Ahmed Ben Bella, politician, first President of Algeria

● 1919 - Paul David, French Canadian cardiologist, founder of the Montreal Heart Institute (d. 1999)

● 1921 - Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah, Pakistani journalist (d. 2000)

● 1924 - Rod Serling, American television writer, producer and host ("The Twilight Zone" and "Night Gallery") (d. 1975)

● 1924 - Atal Behari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India

● 1925 - Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian-born author (d. 1998)

● 1927 - Nellie Fox, baseball player (d. 1975)

● 1928 - Dick Miller, American actor

● 1929 - Chris Kenner, American singer and songwriter (d. 1976)

● 1932 - Mabel King, American actress (d. 1999)

● 1935 - Al Jackson, baseball player

● 1936 - Princess Alexandra of Kent

● 1936 - Ismail Merchant, Indian-born film producer (d. 2005)

● 1937 - O'Kelly Isley, Jr., American singer (The Isley Brothers) (d. 1986)

● 1940 - Pete Brown, English poet and lyricist

● 1943 - Hanna Schygulla, German actress

● 1943 - Wilson Fittipaldi, Brazilian racing driver

● 1944 - John Edwards, R&B singer (The Spinners)

● 1944 - Jairzinho, Brazilian footballer

● 1944 - Kenny Everett, British entertainer (d. 1995)

● 1945 - Noel Redding, English musician (d. 2003)

● 1945 - Gary Sandy, American actor (''WKRP In Cincinnati'')

● 1946 - Jimmy Buffett, American singer and songwriter

● 1946 - Larry Csonka, American football player and Hall of Fame member

● 1946 - Gene Lamont, American baseball player and manager

● 1948 - Barbara Mandrell, American singer and actress

● 1949 - Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan

● 1949 - Sissy Spacek, American actress

● 1949 - Joe Louis Walker, American musician

● 1950 - Manny Trillo, baseball player

● 1950 - Karl Rove, American presidential advisor and general all around scumbag

● 1952 - CCH Pounder, Guyana-born actress (''The Shield'')

● 1952 - Desireless, French singer

● 1954 - Robin Campbell, Reggae musician (UB40)

● 1954 - Annie Lennox, Scottish singer (Eurythmics)

● 1954 - Steve Wariner, Country singer

● 1955 - Alannah Myles, Canadian singer

● 1957 - Chris Kamara, English footballer and commentator

● 1957 - Shane MacGowan, Irish musician (The Pogues)

● 1958 - Hanford Dixon, American football player

● 1958 - Rickey Henderson, baseball player

● 1959 - Michael P. Anderson, astronaut (d. 2003)

● 1961 - Ingrid Betancourt, Colombian senator

● 1962 - Dean Cameron, American actor

● 1964 - Gary McAllister, Scottish footballer

● 1967 - Jason Thirsk, American bass player

● 1968 - Klea Scott, Actress

● 1968 - Helena Christensen, Danish model

● 1971 - Dido, English singer

● 1971 - Justin Trudeau, Canadian media personality

● 1971 - Noel Hogan, Irish musician

● 1972 - Mac Powell, Rock singer (Third Day)

● 1972 - Josh Freese, American drummer

● 1973 - Alexandre Trudeau, Canadian journalist

● 1973 - Robbie Elliott, English footballer

● 1975 - Marcus Trescothick, English cricketer

● 1976 - Tuomas Holopainen, Finnish keyboardist

● 1976 - Armin van Buuren, Dutch keyboardist

● 1978 - Joel Porter, Australian footballer

● 1978 - Simon Jones English Cricketer

● 1979 - Jim Greco, American skateboarder

● 1980 - Marcus Trufant, American football player

● 1980 - Reika Hashimoto, Japanese actress

● 1980 - Locó, Angolan footballer

● 1981 - Katie Wright, American actress

● 1981 - Willy Taveras, Baseball player

● 1982 - Alecia Elliott, Country singer

● 1984 - Jessica and Lisa Origliasso, Australian pop singers

● 1984 - Alastair Cook, English cricketer

● 1984 - Georgia Moffett, British actress

● 1986 - Doug Loft, English footballer

● 1990 - Abi Cooper, The best person ever

DEATHS

● 795 - Pope Adrian I

● 1156 - Peter the Venerable, Benedictine abbot of Cluny (b. c. 1092)

● 1635 - Samuel de Champlain, French explorer and founder of Quebec City (b. 1567)

● 1676 - Matthew Hale, Lord Chief Justice of England (b. 1609)

● 1676 - William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English soldier (b. 1592)

● 1683 - Kara Mustafa, Ottoman general (b. 1634)

● 1758 - James Hervey, English clergyman (b. 1714)

● 1784 - Yosa Buson, Japanese painter (b. 1716)

● 1824 - Barbara Juliana, Baroness von Krüdener, Russian writer (b. 1764)

● 1868 - Linus Yale, Jr., American mechanical engineer and inventor (b. 1821)

● 1880 - Fridolin Anderwert, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1828)

● 1916 - St. Albert Chmielowski, Polish Catholic Saint (b. 1845)

● 1921 - Vladimir Korolenko, Russian writer (b. 1853)

● 1925 - Karl Abraham, German psychoanalyst (b. 1877)

● 1926 - Taisho Emperor, Japanese emperor (b. 1879)

● 1933 - Francesc Macià, Catalonian statesman (b. 1859)

● 1935 - Paul Bourget, French novelist and critic (b. 1852)

● 1938 - Karel Capek, Czech author (b. 1890)

● 1940 - Agnes Ayres, American actress (b. 1898)

● 1946 - W. C. Fields, American comedian (b. 1880)

● 1950 - Neil Francis Hawkins, British fascist (b. 1903)

● 1953 - Patsy Donovan, Irish-born American baseball player (b. 1865)

● 1961 - Otto Loewi, Nobel laureate (b. 1873)

● 1961 - Owen Brewster, U.S. Senator from Maine (b. 1888)

● 1963 - Tristan Tzara, Romanian-born writer (b. 1896)

● 1971 - Maria Koepcke, ornithologist (b. 1924)

● 1973 - Ismet Inonu, Turkish statesman (b. 1884)

● 1973 - Gabriel Voisin, French aviation pioneer (b. 1880)

● 1977 - Charlie Chaplin, English actor (b. 1889)

● 1979 - Joan Blondell, American actress (b. 1906)

● 1983 - Joan Miró, Catalan painter (b. 1893)

● 1988 - Ooka Shohei, Japanese novelist (b. 1909)

● 1989 - Nicolae Ceauşescu, Romanian dictator (b. 1918)

● 1989 - Billy Martin, American baseball manager (b. 1928)

● 1992 - Monica Dickens, British writer (b. 1915)

● 1993 - Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist (b. 1899)

● 1994 - Zail Singh, President of India (b. 1916)

● 1995 - Dean Martin, American singer (b. 1917)

● 1997 - Denver Pyle, American actor (b. 1920)

● 1998 - John Pulman, English snooker player (b. 1926)

● 1999 - Peter Jeffrey, English actor (b. 1929)

● 2000 - Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher (b. 1908)

● 2003 - Nicholas Mavroules, American politician (b. 1929)

● 2005 - Birgit Nilsson, Swedish singer (b. 1918)

● 2005 - Robert Barbers, Philippine senator (b. 1944)

HOLIDAYS AND OBSERVANCES

● Roman Catholic:
● St. Eugenia
● St. Adalsindis
● St. Anastasia III
● St. Alburga
● Bl. Michael Nakashima
● New Years Day (until 12th century)

● Russian Orthodox Christian Menaion Calendar for December 12 (Civil Date: December 25)
● Nativity Fast. Fish, Wine And Oil allowed.
● St. Spyridon (Spiridon) the Wonderworker of Tremithon.
● St. Herman of Alaska.
● Hieromartyr Juvenal.
● Martyr Peter the Aleut.
● New Martyr Anatole of Irkutsk and Seraphim of Uglich.
● Hieromartyr Alexander, Bishop of Jerusalem.
● Martyr Synesius (Razumnik) of Rome.
● St. Therapontes, abbot of Monza.

● Greek Calendar:
● Sts. Amonathus and Anthus, monks.
● St. John, Metropolitan of Zichon, founder of the Monastery of the Forerunner on Mt. Menikion.
● Desert dweller Flegont of Maksha River, Penza.

● Christian: Christmas Day: Peace on Earth, good will towards men

● Christmas Day is a Christian holiday on this day celebrating the nativity of Jesus. It is a public holiday in many countries, including almost everywhere in the Americas, most European nations, the Philippines and most of Oceania, some African countries, the Commonwealth of Nations, and various other places. Many non-Christians, including non-theists, celebrate secular aspects of the holiday, such as decorating Christmas trees and exchanging gifts with family and friends. Some Christians celebrate Christmas on January 6, January 7, January 18, or even not at all. The date of Christmas Day is determined by various traditions rather than relying on historical research, which generally points to dates earlier in the year. Of those scholars who believe in a historical Jesus, the vast majority of them agree that the precise birthdate is unknown.

● British Isles - a quarter day in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland. (but not in Scotland)

● England : New Year's Day observed before 1068

● Taiwan : Constitution Day (1946)

● Roman festivals - (re)birth of Sol Invictus, the winter solstice feast in the Roman Empire since 274.

IN FICTION

● 1950 - Dick Tracy marries Tess Truehart


Click on this LINK to see original Wikipedia list with many having links with details.

Additional facts taken from:

On this day in the New York Times

The BBC’s Take on the day

On This Day Website

Geov Parrish's this Day in Radical History, things that happened on this day that you never had to memorize in school.

Scope Systems Any Day Website

Roman Catholic Saint of the Day

Russian Orthodox Christian Menaion Calendar

Permanent Backlink to Post