What Happened on Dec 25

Giovanni Medici (Pius IV) elected Pope

Pope Pius IV (31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was Pope from 1559 to 1565. He is notable for presiding over the... Read more

Christmas Island Discovered

British and Dutch navigators first included the island on their charts in the early seventeenth century, and Captain William Mynors of the British... Read more

The First Regularly Scheduled Passenger Train In The United States Begins Operation

On Christmas Day, December 25, 1830, the first regularly scheduled passenger train in the United States began operation. Chartered in 1827, the... Read more

Battle Of El Brazito

The Battle of El Brazito took place on December 25, 1846, early in the Mexican-American war. In October 1846, Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan of... Read more

Battle of Anthony's Hill

The Battle of Anthony’s Hill (also known as the Battle of King's Hill or the Battle of Devil's Gap) was an engagement that occurred December 25,... Read more

Thomas Edison Marries Mary Stilwell

Mary Stilwell was born in Newark, New Jersey on September 6, 1855, the daughter of Nicholas Stilwell and Margaret Crane. At his subsidiary, the... Read more

Gansu Earthquake of 1932

A strong earthquake measuring 7.6 Richter scale hit Changma fort (39.7°N, 97.0°E) in Gansu Province at 10:04:27 am on December 25, 1932. The... Read more

Banjo Eyes Opens

Banjo Eyes is a musical based on the play Three Men on a Horse by John Cecil Holm and George Abbott. It has a book by Joseph Quinlan and Izzy... Read more

"Force Of Evil" Is Released

Force of Evil (1948) is a film noir directed by Abraham Polonsky who had already achieved a name for himself as a scriptwriter, most notably for... Read more

"Paths Of Glory" Is Released

Paths of Glory (1957) is a war film by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel of the same name by Humphrey Cobb. The book had no title when it was... Read more

David Bowie receives first instrument for Christmas

Bowie's interest in music was sparked at the age of nine when his father brought home a collection of American 45s, including Fats Domino, Chuck... Read more

"My Fair Lady" Is Released

My Fair Lady is a 1964 musical film adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe stage musical, My Fair Lady, based on the film adaptation of the stage play... Read more

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Dies

Chaplin's robust health began to slowly fail in the late 1960s, after the completion of his final film A Countess from Hong Kong, and more rapidly... Read more

"Empire Of The Sun" Is Released

Empire of the Sun is a 1987 coming of age war film based on J. G. Ballard's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. Steven Spielberg directed... Read more

"Pelle The Conqueror" Is Released

Pelle the Conqueror (Danish: Pelle Erobreren; Swedish: Pelle Erövraren) is a 1987 Danish film by Bille August that tells the story of two Swedish... Read more

The Godfather Part III released

The Godfather Part III is a 1990 American crime thriller written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, and directed by Coppola. It completes the... Read more

Extreme Sports with the Berenstein Bears Released for the Gameboy Color

Calling this game "extreme" is like calling this game "crappy." Both of them are way too kind. The game has four events: sledding, kayaking,... Read more

"The Hours" Is Released

The Hours is a 2002 American & British drama film directed by Stephen Daldry, and starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, and Ed... Read more

James Brown Dies

On December 23, 2006, James Brown, in ill health, showed up at his dentist's office in Atlanta, Georgia several hours later than his appointment... Read more

"The Great Debaters" Is Released

The Great Debaters is a 2007 film directed by and starring two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington and produced by Oprah Winfrey and her... Read more

Eartha Kitt Dies

Eartha Mae Kitt (January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American actress, singer, and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly... Read more

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (movie) released

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a 2008 American fantasy drama film, loosely based on the 1921 short story of the same name written by F.... Read more

Kota Chambal Bridge Collapse

Rescue and search operations continued overnight in Kunhadi area in Kota to recover victims from the debris of the unfinished bridge over Chambal... Read more

Rod Blagojevich's Indictment Voted "#2 Illinois Story of the Decade" by the Associated Press

When the decade opened, Barack Obama was serving in the Illinois Senate before moving on to the U.S. Senate. His history-making election as... Read more

Carlos Andrés Pérez Dies

Former Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez, whose popularity soared with his country's oil-based economy but who later faced riots, a severe... Read more