1914 Christmas Truce

1914

The Christmas Truce

Born on This Day

Rod Serling

Rod Serling

1924 - 1975

TV writer, producer and playwright, best known for creating the iconic TV series "The Twilight Zone."

Celebrities Visit Broadway - February 22, 2018

Jimmy Buffett

1946 - 2023

Singer-songwriter and businessman known for epitomizing the laid-back tropical lifestyle. Hits include "Margaritaville" and "Come Monday."

Eurythmics Perform At Hammersmith Odeon In 1983

Annie Lennox

1954 -

Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist who rose to fame with the popular 1980s British rock duo Eurythmics.

1950

DEC

25

Four Scottish students brazenly steal the Stone of Destiny, an ancient symbol of Scotland that had been seized by England’s King Edward I in 1296, from Westminster Abbey. Recovered four months later, it returned permanently to Edinburgh in 1996.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on December 25th

6

Christ is born?

Although most Christians celebrate December 25 as the birthday of Jesus Christ, few in the first two Christian centuries claimed any knowledge of the exact day or year in which he was born. The oldest existing record of a Christmas celebration is found in a Roman almanac that tells of Christ’s Nativity festival led by […]

1776

George Washington crosses the Delaware

During the American Revolution, Patriot General George Washington crosses the Delaware River with 5,400 troops, hoping to surprise a Hessian force celebrating Christmas at their winter quarters in Trenton, New Jersey. The unconventional attack came after several months of substantial defeats for Washington’s army that had resulted in the loss of New York City and […]

George Washington crosses the Delaware

1895

The legend of “Stagger Lee” is born

On Christmas night 1895, a barroom argument between two men—one named Billy and another named “Stag” Lee—takes place, leading to murder. The killing would inspire an iconic blues song. Murder and mayhem inspired many popular songs over the years, though more often than not, the tales around which such songs revolve tend to be wholly […]

1941

Bing Crosby introduces “White Christmas” to the world

“White Christmas,” written by the formidable composer and lyricist Irving Berlin, receives its world premiere on December 25, 1941 on Bing Crosby’s weekly NBC radio program, The Kraft Music Hall. It went on to become one of the most commercially successful singles of all time. “White Christmas” took its first steps toward becoming a bedrock […]

1962

“To Kill a Mockingbird” film premieres in Los Angeles

On December 25, 1962, To Kill a Mockingbird, a film based on the 1960 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Harper Lee, opens in Los Angeles. The Great Depression-era story of racial injustice and the loss of childhood innocence is told from the perspective of a young Alabama girl named Scout Finch, played […]

1971

Miami Dolphins beat Kansas City Chiefs in NFL’s longest game

On December 25, 1971, Garo Yepremian boots a 37-yard field goal in the second overtime of an AFC playoff game to give the Miami Dolphins a 27-24 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the longest game in NFL history. Game time elapsed for the Christmas contest: 82 minutes and 40 seconds.  “After I kicked […]

1991

Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the USSR

Mikhail Gorbachev announces that he is resigning as president of the Soviet Union. In truth, there was not much of a Soviet Union from which to resign—just four days earlier, 11 of the former Soviet republics had established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), effectively dismembering the USSR. The Soviet Union, for all intents and […]

2002

Katie Hnida is first woman to play in Division I football game

On December 25, 2002, the University of New Mexico junior place-kicker Katie Hnida attempts to kick an extra point in a game against UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl. Though her kick was blocked by UCLA, Hnida became the first woman to play in a Division I football game. Hnida was the latest of a […]

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