Holidays
Christmas (or the Feast of the Nativity)
Commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. Although the month and day of Jesus' birth are unknown, the church in the early fourth century fixed the date as December 25. This corresponds to the date of the winter solstice on the Roman calendar. This is also nine months after March 25, the date of the vernal equinox and a date linked to the conception of Jesus (Annunciation of the Lord).
What Happened On
British and German troops meeting together
British and German troops meeting together
World War I - Christmas Truce
December 25, 1914
About 100,000 British and German soldiers along the Western Front call an unofficial truce for Christmas Day. They met with each other, sang Christmas carols, exchanged season's greetings and gifts, and even played football with the opposing forces.
While small short truces weren't uncommon between the opposing sides on the front line, this was the first on such a large scale.
The fighting resumed the following day. By the following Christmas of 1915, tensions had heightened due to heavy losses on both sides and the men were given orders not to repeat the previous year's truce.
American Revolution - Washington Crosses the Delaware
December 25, 1776
George Washington makes his famous crossing of the Delaware for a surprise attack on the Hessians in Trenton, New Jersey the following morning. The attack was successful with Washington taking 1,000 prisoners and military stores as a result of the battle.
Halley's Comet in 1910
Halley's Comet in 1910
Halley's Comet
December 25, 1758
Halley's Comet arrives on schedule as predicted by Sir Edmond Halley. This was the first time a comet's return had been accurately predicted. For this, the comet was named after Halley. Halley had witnessed the comet in 1682. In 1705, Halley had compiled a list of 24 comet observations and noticed that the orbit of the comet that he had witnessed in 1682 was nearly the same as comets that had appeared in 1531 and 1607. Halley deduced that these were all the same comet returning about every 76 years. Unfortunately, Halley died in 1742 and wasn't able to witness the comet's return himself.
Mark Twain was born shortly after the 1835 appearance of Halley's Comet, and as he neared his death he predicted,
"I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: 'Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together'."
Twain died of a heart attack one day after the comet's closest approach to Earth in 1910.
Columbus on Santa Maria, painting by Emanuel Leutze
Columbus on Santa Maria, painting by Emanuel Leutze
Columbus Sinks the Santa Maria
December 25, 1492
Christopher Columbus' ship the Santa Maria sinks off the coast of Haiti. The previous night, while Columbus was sleeping the steersman decided to take a nap, leaving only a cabin boy to steer the ship; a practice forbidden by Columbus. The ship struck a sandbank incurring irreparable damages and sank.
JonBenét Ramsey Murdered
December 25, 1996
JonBenét Ramsey, the six-year-old child beauty pageant queen, is murdered in her Boulder, Colorado home. The following day, the Ramsey's discovered their daughter was missing and found a three-page ransom note. Her body was found later that day in the wine cellar. Trace DNA taken from her clothes was found to belong to an unknown male. This case is still unsolved. Her murder drew national attention.
Goldfinger
December 25, 1964
The James Bond movie Goldfinger premieres in the U.S. It was 3rd in the James Bond series and starred Sean Connery as 007.
Shirley Eaton played Bond girl Jill Masterson who dies of "skin suffocation" when her entire body is painted gold. The urban legend that Eaton herself died filming the scene is of course false.
Civil War
December 25, 1868
U.S. President Andrew Johnson grants amnesty to all those who participated in the war, including Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States.
First Published Black Poet in the Americas
December 25, 1760
Jupiter Hammon composes An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ, with Penitential Cries. It was published the following year making Hammon the first published black poet in the Americas.
Hammon published a total of eight pieces of work, four poems and four prose, all consisting of religious content. An Address to the Negroes in the State of New-York (1786) was Hammon's last literary work and considered his most influential - "If we should ever get to Heaven, we shall find nobody to reproach us for being black, or for being slaves."
Hammon was born a slave and served his owners his entire life. He was also a preacher and a commercial clerk on Long Island, New York.
Imperial Coronation of Charlemagne, by Friedrich Kaulbach, 1861
Imperial Coronation of Charlemagne, by Friedrich Kaulbach, 1861
Charlemagne Crowned Emperor
December 25, 800
Emperor Charlemagne is crowned Emperor of the Romans at St. Peter's Basilica by Pope Leo III.
Birthdays
Rod Serling (Rodman Edward Serling)
Born December 25, 1924 d. 1975
American Emmy-winning writer. Film: Planet of the Apes (1968, writer). TV: The Twilight Zone (1959-64, creator, producer, writer, and host) and Night Gallery (1969-73, creator, writer, host).
The Twilight Zone was almost canceled after the first three episodes due to poor ratings, but it eventually found its audience and became one of the iconic shows of the Golden Age of Television.
Humphrey Bogart (Humphrey DeForest Bogart)
Born December 25, 1899 d. 1957
Oscar-winning actor. Film: The Maltese Falcon (1941), Casablanca (1943), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), and The African Queen (1952). According to legend, his upper lip was scarred and partially paralyzed while transporting a prisoner in the Navy during World War I and that this was the cause of his lisp.
Bogart was a founding member of the Hollywood Rat Pack, along with Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, David Niven, Angie Dickinson, and others. They got their name in 1955, when after a long night of partying Lauren Bacall quipped, "You look like a goddamn rat pack."
A heavy smoker and drinker, Bogart died of esophageal cancer.
First Person to Survive Jumping Off the Brooklyn Bridge (Do a Brodie)
Steve Brodie
Born December 25, 1861 d. 1901
American daredevil. He is the first person to survive jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge (1886). He jumped from a height of 135 feet (41 m) - the same as a 14-story building, landing feet first in the East River. According to one account, a liquor dealer offered to back a saloon for Brodie if he made the jump. He used his fame from the jump to open his saloon and also appeared in vaudeville musicals.
The New York Times backed his account, but others doubted his claim saying he had an accomplice throw a dummy from the bridge with Brodie swimming out from the shore.
The term "do a Brodie" became a common phrase meaning to take a chance or a leap, specifically a suicidal one.
Sir Isaac Newton
Born December 25, 1642 d. 1727
English mathematician, philosopher, astronomer. He discovered the three laws of motion, the law of gravity, and invented calculus.
Annie Lennox
Born December 25, 1954
Scottish singer, with the Eurythmics. Music: Sweet Dreams (1982, #1).
Sissy Spacek (Mary Elizabeth Spacek)
Born December 25, 1949
American Oscar-winning actress. Film: Carrie (1976) and Coal Miner's Daughter (1979, Oscar).
Barbara Mandrell
Born December 25, 1948
American country singer. Music: Sleeping Single In a Double Bed (1977, #1). She was the Country Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year (1979) and Entertainer of the Year (1980 and 1981).
Larry Csonka
Born December 25, 1946
American Football Hall-of-Famer, Super Bowl VIII MVP.
Jimmy Buffett
Born December 25, 1946 d. 2023
American singer, songwriter. His fans were commonly known as parrotheads. Music: Margaritaville (1977) and Cheeseburger in Paradise (1978).
Gary Sandy
Born December 25, 1945
American actor. TV: Somerset (Randy Buchanan) and WKRP in Cincinnati (Andy Travis).
Rudolph Isley (left) with Ronald Isley (middle) and O'Kelly Isley Jr. (right)
Rudolph Isley (left) with Ronald Isley (middle) and O'Kelly Isley Jr. (right)
O'Kelly Isley
Born December 25, 1937 d. 1986
American Grammy-winning singer, with the Isley Brothers. Music: Twist and Shout (1962), This Old Heart of Mine (1966), and It's Your Thing (1970, Grammy).
Photo Credit: Photo used in Harper's Bazaar, 1959. by Richard Avedon
Photo Credit: Photo used in Harper's Bazaar, 1959. by Richard Avedon
China Machado (Noelie Dasouza Machado)
Born December 25, 1929 d. 2016
Chinese-born Portuguese-American fashion model, editor, and television producer. She was the first non-white person to appear on the cover of a major American fashion magazine (1959, Harper's Bazaar).
At one time she was the highest-paid runway model in Europe, earning $1,000 a day.
Anwar Sadat (Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat)
Born December 25, 1918 d. 1981
Egyptian president (1970-81), Time magazine's Man of the Year (1977), and co-winner of the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize (with Menachem Begin).
Cab Calloway (Cabell Calloway III)
Born December 25, 1907 d. 1994
American singer, bandleader, actor. His orchestra was one of the leading bands of the 1930s and '40s. Music: Minnie the Moocher (the first million-selling jazz record).
Lila Bell Acheson Wallace
Born December 25, 1889 d. 1984
American publisher. She and her husband DeWitt founded Reader's Digest (1921). It obtained the largest magazine circulation in the world.
Conrad Hilton
Born December 25, 1887 d. 1979
American hotel executive. He bought his first hotel in 1919. He was going to buy a bank, but the deal fell through so he bought the Mobley Hotel in Cisco, Texas instead.
Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah
Born December 25, 1876 d. 1948
Indian statesman, founder and first governor (1947-48) of Pakistan.
Mother of the Red Cross
Clara Barton
Born December 25, 1821 d. 1912
American nurse, philanthropist, Mother of the Red Cross. Known as the "Angel of the Battlefield", for her actions on the battlefield during the American Civil War. In 1864, Union General Benjamin Butler appointed her the "lady in charge" of the hospitals at the front of the Army of the James.
After the Civil War, she ran the Office of Missing Soldiers whose purpose was to find or identify soldiers killed or missing in action. Barton and her assistants wrote 41,855 replies to inquiries and helped locate more than twenty-two thousand missing men. Barton spent the summer of 1865 helping find, identify, and properly bury 13,000 individuals who died in the Andersonville Confederate prisoner-of-war camp in Georgia.
She helped organize and was the first president of the American Red Cross (1881).
Pius VI
Born December 25, 1717 d. 1799
Italian religious leader, 250th Pope (1775-99). He was imprisoned (1798) by Napoleon Bonaparte, where he died.
Deaths
Photo Credit: Mario De Leo
Photo Credit: Mario De Leo
Vera Rubin
Died December 25, 2016 b. 1928
American astronomer. Her discovery of the "galaxy rotation problem" contributed to the theory of dark matter. The galaxy rotation problem states that galaxies are rotating so fast that if only the gravity of their stars was holding them together, they should fly apart. But since they aren't, a huge amount of unseen mass must be holding them together, thus the concept of dark matter was used to explain this phenomenon. In fact, Rubin's calculations showed that galaxies must contain at least ten times as much dark mass as can be accounted for by the visible stars.
Kitt as Catwoman in Batman
Kitt as Catwoman in Batman
Eartha Kitt (Eartha Mae Keith)
Died December 25, 2008 b. 1927
American Emmy-winning actress, singer. TV: Batman (1966, Catwoman). Film: The Emperor's New Groove (2000, voice of Yzma). Music: The Christmas novelty Santa Baby (1953 - Eartha died on Christmas Day 2008).
Dean Martin (Dino Paul Crocetti)
Died December 25, 1995 b. 1917
American singer, actor. Partner of Jerry Lewis. He boxed professionally under the name "Kid Crochet." Martin and Lewis made their television debut on the first episode of The Toast of the Town (1948, later renamed The Ed Sullivan Show).
Sir Charles Chaplin
Died December 25, 1977 b. 1889
British silent film actor who endeared audiences with his "little tramp" character. He also co-founded United Artists (1919).
W.C. Fields (William Claude Dukenfield)
Died December 25, 1946 b. 1880
American actor. Film: You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939) and My Little Chickadee (1940).
Quote: "A thing worth having is a thing worth cheating for."
Quote: "'Twas a woman who drove me to drink. I never had the courtesy to thank her."
Quote: "I spent half my money on gambling, alcohol and wild women. The other half I wasted."
Founding of Santiago by Pedro de Valdivia
Founding of Santiago by Pedro de Valdivia
Executed by Pouring Molten Gold Down His Throat
Pedro de Valdivia
Died December 25, 1553 b. 1497
Spanish conquistador and first Governor of Chile, founder of Santiago, Concepción, and Valdivia. He was killed during a campaign against the Araucanian Indians. Legend has it that the Araucanians captured and executed him by pouring molten gold down his throat to satisfy his thirst for treasures.
George Michael (Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou)
Died December 25, 2016 b. 1963
British singer, with Wham!. He was named the most played artist on British radio during the period 1984-2004. Music: Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go (1984 #1) and I Want Your Sex (1987).
James Brown
Died December 25, 2006 b. 1933
American soul singer, "The Godfather of Soul." Music: I Feel Good (1965) and Living in America (1986).
Birgit Nilsson (Birgit Märta Svensson)
Died December 25, 2005 b. 1918
Swedish soprano, famed for her roles in Brunnhilde, Salome, and Elektra.
Denver Pyle
Died December 25, 1997 b. 1920
American actor. TV: The Dukes of Hazzard (Uncle Jesse) and The Doris Day Show (1968-70, Buck Webb - Doris Day's Father).
JonBenét Ramsey
Died December 25, 1996 b. 1990
American child beauty pageant queen, murder victim. The murder of the six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey in her Boulder, Colorado home drew national attention. The day after her murder, the Ramsey's discovered she was missing and found a three-page ransom note. Her body was found later that day in the wine cellar. Trace DNA taken from her clothes was found to belong to an unknown male. This case is still unsolved.
Billy Martin (Alfred Manuel Pesano, Jr.)
Died December 25, 1989 b. 1928
American baseball manager of the New York Yankees.
Lee Bowman
Died December 25, 1979 b. 1914
American actor. TV: Ellery Queen (title role).
Blondell's banned 1932 publicity photo
Blondell's banned 1932 publicity photo
Joan Blondell
Died December 25, 1979 b. 1906
American actress. She was known for playing wise cracking, gold digging blondes. Her 1932 publicity photo was later banned by the Motion Picture Production Code. Film: The Public Enemy (1931), Blonde Crazy (1931), Grease (1978).
Ismet Inönü
Died December 25, 1973 b. 1884
Turkish statesman, its first prime minister (1923-37), and second president (1938-50).
Dinty Moore (James H. Moore)
Died December 25, 1952 b. 1869
American restaurateur. Known as the "Corned Beef and Cabbage King."
Inventor of the Cylinder Lock
Linus Yale, Jr.
Died December 25, 1868 b. 1821
American inventor. He invented the cylinder lock (1861), an improvement on the tumbler locks invented by his father.
Adrian I
Died December 25, 795 b. ????
Italian religious leader, 95th Pope (772-795).