December 25
336 - The first recorded celebration of Christmas on December 25 took place in Rome.
1066 - William the Conqueror was crowned King of England.
1776 - George Washington crossed the Delaware River and surprised the Hessians at Trenton, New Jersey.
1818 - "Silent Night" was performed for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria.
1868 - President Andrew Johnson granted an unconditional pardon to all persons involved in the Southern rebellion that resulted in the Civil War.
1926 - Hirohito became emperor of Japan.
1977 - British film actor, director and producer Charlie Chaplin died in Switzerland at age 88.
1989 - Former Romanian president and Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife were executed.
1990 - The World Wide Web, the system providing quick access to websites over the Internet, was born in Geneva, Switzerland, as computer scientists Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau created the world's first hyperlinked webpage.
1991 - Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev went on TV to announce his resignation as the eighth and final leader of a Communist superpower that had already gone out of existence.
1995 - Singer Dean Martin died at age 78.
2006 - Soul singer James Brown died at age 73.
2009 - Passengers aboard a Northwest Airlines flight foiled an attempt to blow up the plane as it was landing in Detroit by seizing suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian accused of trying to set off explosives in his underwear.
2010 - The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, crisscrossed the country, making a Christmas visit to coalition troops at some of the main battle fronts in a show of appreciation and support in the tenth year of the war against the Taliban.
Birthdays
32 - Lukas Nelson (singer)
33 - Jorgie Porter (actress)
35 - Perdita Weeks (actress)
35 - Rusev (professional wrestler)
38 - Alecia Elliott (country singer)
49 - Dido (singer)
62 - Rickey Henderson (baseball player)
66 - Steve Wariner (country singer)
66 - Annie Lennox (singer)
71 - Sissy Spacek (actress)
72 - Barbara Mandrell (country singer)
74 - Larry Csonka (football player)
74 - Jimmy Buffett (singer)
75 - Gary Sandy (actor)
77 - Hanna Schygulla (actor)
85 - Anne Roiphe (author)
=========================================
Today in Sports History - December 25
1894 - The University of Chicago became the first Midwestern football team to play on the west coast. U.C. defeated Stanford, 24-4, in Palo Alto, CA.
1894 - Nebraska defeats Omaha YMCA 10-6 and ends the year at 6-2.
1914 - During World War I, British and German troops observed an unofficial truce and even played football together on the Western Front.
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.
1989 - Former New York Yankees player and manager Billy Martin, 61, died when the pickup truck he was riding in crashed.
1995 - Running back Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys sets an NFL record with his 25th touchdown of the season.
2008 - Phil Jackson of the Los Angeles Lakers becomes the sixth coach in NBA history to record 1,000 wins.
336 - The first recorded celebration of Christmas on December 25 took place in Rome.
1066 - William the Conqueror was crowned King of England.
1776 - George Washington crossed the Delaware River and surprised the Hessians at Trenton, New Jersey.
1818 - "Silent Night" was performed for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria.
1868 - President Andrew Johnson granted an unconditional pardon to all persons involved in the Southern rebellion that resulted in the Civil War.
1926 - Hirohito became emperor of Japan.
1977 - British film actor, director and producer Charlie Chaplin died in Switzerland at age 88.
1989 - Former Romanian president and Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife were executed.
1990 - The World Wide Web, the system providing quick access to websites over the Internet, was born in Geneva, Switzerland, as computer scientists Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau created the world's first hyperlinked webpage.
1991 - Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev went on TV to announce his resignation as the eighth and final leader of a Communist superpower that had already gone out of existence.
1995 - Singer Dean Martin died at age 78.
2006 - Soul singer James Brown died at age 73.
2009 - Passengers aboard a Northwest Airlines flight foiled an attempt to blow up the plane as it was landing in Detroit by seizing suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian accused of trying to set off explosives in his underwear.
2010 - The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, crisscrossed the country, making a Christmas visit to coalition troops at some of the main battle fronts in a show of appreciation and support in the tenth year of the war against the Taliban.
Birthdays
32 - Lukas Nelson (singer)
33 - Jorgie Porter (actress)
35 - Perdita Weeks (actress)
35 - Rusev (professional wrestler)
38 - Alecia Elliott (country singer)
49 - Dido (singer)
62 - Rickey Henderson (baseball player)
66 - Steve Wariner (country singer)
66 - Annie Lennox (singer)
71 - Sissy Spacek (actress)
72 - Barbara Mandrell (country singer)
74 - Larry Csonka (football player)
74 - Jimmy Buffett (singer)
75 - Gary Sandy (actor)
77 - Hanna Schygulla (actor)
85 - Anne Roiphe (author)
=========================================
Today in Sports History - December 25
1894 - The University of Chicago became the first Midwestern football team to play on the west coast. U.C. defeated Stanford, 24-4, in Palo Alto, CA.
1894 - Nebraska defeats Omaha YMCA 10-6 and ends the year at 6-2.
1914 - During World War I, British and German troops observed an unofficial truce and even played football together on the Western Front.
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.
1989 - Former New York Yankees player and manager Billy Martin, 61, died when the pickup truck he was riding in crashed.
1995 - Running back Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys sets an NFL record with his 25th touchdown of the season.
2008 - Phil Jackson of the Los Angeles Lakers becomes the sixth coach in NBA history to record 1,000 wins.