December 25 in History

Historical Events on December 25

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

336 First documentary sign of Christmas celebration in Rome.

1066 William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy is crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.

1776 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.

1868 United States President Andrew Johnson grants an unconditional pardon to all Confederate veterans.

1941 World War II: Battle of Hong Kong ends, beginning the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong.

1962 The Soviet Union conducts its final above-ground nuclear weapon test, in anticipation of the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

1968 Apollo program: Apollo 8 performs the very first successful Trans-Earth injection (TEI) maneuver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit.

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.

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Famous Birthdays on December 25

1924 Atal Bihari Vajpayee

1949 Nawaz Sharif

1971 Justin Trudeau

1984 Alastair Cook

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Famous Deaths on December 25

1963 Tristan Tzara

1977 Charlie Chaplin

2006 James Brown

2016 George Michael

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