December 25Birthdays & History

On this day: December 25 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 36Forces of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han, under the command of Wu Han, conquer the separatist Chengjia empire, reuniting China.Asia
2. 274A temple to Sol Invictus is dedicated in Rome by Emperor Aurelian.Europe
3. 333Roman Emperor Constantine the Great elevates his youngest son Constans to the rank of Caesar.Europe
4. 336First documented sign of Christmas celebration in Rome.Europe
5. 350Vetranio 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.Europe
6. 508Clovis I, king of the Franks, is baptized into the Catholic faith at Reims, by Saint Remigius.Europe
7. 597Augustine of Canterbury and his fellow-labourers baptise in Kent more than 10,000 Anglo-Saxons.Europe
8. 800The coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome.Europe
9. 820Eastern Emperor Leo V is murdered in a church of the Great Palace of Constantinople by followers of Michael II.Middle East
10. 1000The foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary: Hungary is established as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary.Europe
11. 1013Sweyn Forkbeard takes control of the Danelaw and is proclaimed king of England.Europe
12. 1025Coronation of Mieszko II Lambert as king of Poland.Europe
13. 1046Henry III is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement II.Europe
14. 1066William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy is crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.Europe
15. 1076Coronation of Bolesław II the Generous as king of Poland.Europe
16. 1100Baldwin of Boulogne is crowned the first King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.Middle East
17. 1130Count Roger II of Sicily is crowned the first king of Sicily.Europe
18. 1261Eleven-year-old John IV Laskaris of the restored Eastern Roman Empire is deposed and blinded by orders of his co-ruler Michael VIII Palaiologos.Europe
19. 1356Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, promulgates the Golden Bull, a constitution for his empire.Europe
20. 1492The carrack Santa María, commanded by Christopher Columbus, runs onto a reef off Haiti due to an improper watch.Latin America
21. 1553Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeat the Spanish conquistadors and executes the governor of Chile, Pedro de Valdivia.EuropeLatin America
22. 1559Pope Pius IV is elected, four months after his predecessor's death.Europe
23. 1724J. S. Bach leads the first performance of Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, BWV 91, in Leipzig, based on Luther's 1524 Christmas hymn.Europe
24. 1725J. S. Bach leads the first performance of the Christmas cantata Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110, making laughter audible in singing.Europe
25. 1758Halley'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.Europe
26. 1766Mapuches in Chile launch a series of surprise attacks against the Spanish starting the Mapuche uprising of 1766.Latin AmericaEurope
27. 1776American 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.North AmericaEurope
28. 1793Northwest 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.North America
29. 1809Dr. Ephraim McDowell performs the first ovariotomy, removing a 22-pound tumor.North America
30. 1814Rev. Samuel Marsden holds the first Christian service on land in New Zealand at Rangihoua Bay.Oceania
31. 1815The Handel and Haydn Society, oldest continually performing arts organization in the United States, gives its first performance.North America
32. 1826The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy concludes after beginning the previous evening.North America
33. 1831The Great Jamaican Slave Revolt begins; up to 20% of Jamaica's slaves mobilize in an ultimately unsuccessful fight for freedom.Latin America
34. 1837Second Seminole War: American general Zachary Taylor leads 1,100 troops against the Seminoles at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee.North America
35. 1868Pardons for ex-Confederates: United States President Andrew Johnson grants an unconditional pardon to all Confederate veterans.North America
36. 1870Wagner's Siegfried Idyll is first performed.Europe
37. 1913Disfellowshipped Adventist lay preacher Felix Manalo begins the new religious movement known as the Iglesia ni Cristo with the baptism of its first members.Asia
38. 1914World War I: A series of unofficial truces occur across the Western Front to celebrate Christmas.Europe
39. 1915The 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.Asia
40. 1927B. R. Ambedkar and his followers burn copies of the Manusmriti in Mahad, Maharashtra, to protest its treatment of Dalit people.Asia
41. 1932A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in Gansu, China kills 275 people.Asia
42. 1941Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, appointed commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet on December 17, arrives at Pearl Harbor.North America
43. 1941World War II: Battle of Hong Kong ends, beginning the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong.AsiaAsia
44. 1941Admiral 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.Europe
45. 1946The first European self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction is initiated within the Soviet Union's F-1 nuclear reactor.Europe
46. 1950The 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.Europe
47. 1951A 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.North America
48. 1962The Soviet Union conducts its final above-ground nuclear weapon test, in anticipation of the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.Europe
49. 1963Turkish Cypriot Bayrak Radio begins transmitting in Cyprus after Turkish Cypriots are forcibly excluded from Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation.Middle East
50. 1968Apollo 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.World
51. 1968Kilvenmani 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.Asia
52. 1971A fire at the Daeyeonggak Hotel in Seoul, South Korea kills 164 people.Asia
53. 1976EgyptAir Flight 864, a Boeing 707-366C, crashes on approach to Don Mueang International Airport, killing 71 people.Asia
54. 1977Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with its president Anwar Sadat.Middle East
55. 1986Iraqi Airways Flight 163, a Boeing 737-270C, is hijacked and crashes in Arar, Saudi Arabia, killing 63 people.Middle East
56. 1989Romanian Revolution: Deposed President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife, Elena, are condemned to death and executed after a summary trial.Europe
57. 1991Mikhail 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.Europe
58. 1996The body of American child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey was found in her family's Boulder, Colorado, home. Her murder remains unsolved.North America
59. 1999Cubana de Aviación Flight 310, a Yakovlev Yak-42, crashes near Bejuma, Carabobo State, Venezuela, killing 22 people.Latin America
60. 2003UTA Flight 141, a Boeing 727-223, crashes at the Cotonou Airport in Benin, killing 141 people.Africa
61. 2003The ill-fated Beagle 2 probe, released from the Mars Express spacecraft on December 19, stops transmitting shortly before its scheduled landing.World
62. 2004The Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which successfully landed on Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005.World
63. 2007A Siberian tiger named Tatania escapes her exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo and attacks three people, killing one and injuring two more.North America
64. 2012An Antonov An-72 plane crashes close to the city of Shymkent, killing 27 people.Asia
65. 2012Air Bagan Flight 011, a Fokker 100, crashes on approach to Heho Airport in Heho, Myanmar, killing two people.Asia
66. 2016A 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.Europe
67. 2019Twenty people are killed and thousands are left homeless by Typhoon Phanfone in the Philippines.Asia
68. 2020An explosion in Nashville, Tennessee, occurs, leaving three civilians in the hospital.North America
69. 2021The James Webb Space Telescope is launched.World
70. 2024Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 crashes in Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 of its occupants.EuropeAsia

Source: Wikipedia "December 25" / CC BY-SA 4.0