December 25

Historic Events

2024

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

2021

The James Webb Space Telescope is launched. ›

2020

An explosion in Nashville, Tennessee, occurs, leaving three civilians in the hospital. ›

2019

Twenty people are killed and thousands are left homeless by Typhoon Phanfone in the Philippines. ›

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. ›

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. ›

2007

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

2004

The Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which successfully landed on Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005. ›

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. ›

1999

Cubana de Aviación Flight 310, a Yakovlev Yak-42, crashes near Bejuma, Carabobo State, Venezuela, killing 22 people. ›

1996

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

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. ›

1989

Romanian Revolution: Deposed President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife, Elena, are condemned to death and executed after a summary trial. ›

1986

Iraqi Airways Flight 163, a Boeing 737-270C, is hijacked and crashes in Arar, Saudi Arabia, killing 63 people. ›

1977

Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with its president Anwar Sadat. ›

1976

EgyptAir Flight 864, a Boeing 707-366C, crashes on approach to Don Mueang International Airport, killing 71 people. ›

1971

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

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. ›

1963

Turkish Cypriot Bayrak Radio begins transmitting in Cyprus after Turkish Cypriots are forcibly excluded from Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation. ›

1962

The Soviet Union conducts its final above-ground nuclear weapon test, in anticipation of the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. ›

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. ›

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. ›

1946

The first European self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction is initiated within the Soviet Union's F-1 nuclear reactor. ›

1941

Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, appointed commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet on December 17, arrives at Pearl Harbor. ›

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. ›

1932

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in Gansu, China kills 275 people. ›

1927

B. R. Ambedkar and his followers burn copies of the Manusmriti in Mahad, Maharashtra, to protest its treatment of Dalit people. ›

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. ›

1914

World War I: A series of unofficial truces occur across the Western Front to celebrate Christmas. ›

1913

Disfellowshipped Adventist lay preacher Felix Manalo begins the new religious movement known as the Iglesia ni Cristo with the baptism of its first members. ›

1870

Wagner's Siegfried Idyll is first performed. ›

1868

Pardons for ex-Confederates: United States President Andrew Johnson grants an unconditional pardon to all Confederate veterans. ›

1837

Second Seminole War: American general Zachary Taylor leads 1,100 troops against the Seminoles at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee. ›

1831

The Great Jamaican Slave Revolt begins; up to 20% of Jamaica's slaves mobilize in an ultimately unsuccessful fight for freedom. ›

1826

The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy concludes after beginning the previous evening. ›

1815

The Handel and Haydn Society, oldest continually performing arts organization in the United States, gives its first performance. ›

1814

Rev. Samuel Marsden holds the first Christian service on land in New Zealand at Rangihoua Bay. ›

1809

Dr. Ephraim McDowell performs the first ovariotomy, removing a 22-pound tumor. ›

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. ›

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. ›

1766

Mapuches in Chile launch a series of surprise attacks against the Spanish starting the Mapuche uprising of 1766. ›

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. ›

1725

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

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. ›

1559

Pope Pius IV is elected, four months after his predecessor's death. ›

1553

Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeat the Spanish conquistadors and executes the governor of Chile, Pedro de Valdivia. ›

1492

The carrack Santa María, commanded by Christopher Columbus, runs onto a reef off Haiti due to an improper watch. ›

1356

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

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. ›

1130

Count Roger II of Sicily is crowned the first king of Sicily. ›

1100

Baldwin of Boulogne is crowned the first King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. ›

1076

Coronation of Bolesław II the Generous as king of Poland. ›

1066

William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy is crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London. ›

1046

Henry III is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement II. ›

1025

Coronation of Mieszko II Lambert as king of Poland. ›

1013

Sweyn Forkbeard takes control of the Danelaw and is proclaimed king of England. ›

1000

The foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary: Hungary is established as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary. ›

820

Eastern Emperor Leo V is murdered in a church of the Great Palace of Constantinople by followers of Michael II. ›

800

The coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome. ›

597

Augustine of Canterbury and his fellow-labourers baptise in Kent more than 10,000 Anglo-Saxons. ›

508

Clovis I, king of the Franks, is baptized into the Catholic faith at Reims, by Saint Remigius. ›

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. ›

336

First documented sign of Christmas celebration in Rome. ›

333

Roman Emperor Constantine the Great elevates his youngest son Constans to the rank of Caesar. ›

274

A temple to Sol Invictus is dedicated in Rome by Emperor Aurelian. ›

36

Forces of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han, under the command of Wu Han, conquer the separatist Chengjia empire, reuniting China. ›