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What happened on December 25
Every December 25 carries a layer of history: wars that began or ended, inventions, premieres, treaties, and people born or lost on this day across the centuries. We gathered 12 of the most striking events recorded on December 25, plus notable births and deaths, each with its year and a link to the Wikipedia article where the story continues. It is a fast way to answer "what happened on December 25" without digging through many sources: the list arrives ranked by relevance and dated.
Notable events
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2024 | After the loss of aircraft systems, Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 crashed near Aktau International Airport while attempting to perform an emergency landing after being hit by a Russian defense missile. Aircraft systems |
| 2016 | A Tupolev Tu-154 of the Russian Defence Ministry crashed into the Black Sea shortly after taking off from Sochi International Airport, killing all 92 people on board. Tupolev Tu-154 |
| 2009 | Aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear. Northwest Airlines Flight 253 |
| 2009 | A fire destroyed Longford's 19th-century St Mel's Cathedral, considered the "flagship cathedral" of the Irish midlands. Longford |
| 2007 | A tiger at the San Francisco Zoo escaped from its enclosure and attacked three patrons before it was shot and killed. San Francisco Zoo |
| 2000 | Russian president Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill officially adopting a new national anthem, with music by Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov originally composed for the anthem of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Putin |
| 1991 | In a nationally televised speech, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as President of the Soviet Union. Mikhail Gorbachev |
| 1990 | British computer programmer Tim Berners-Lee introduced WorldWideWeb, the world's first web browser and WYSIWYG HTML editor. Tim Berners-Lee |
| 1989 | Romanian Revolution: Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena were condemned to death on a wide range of charges and executed. Romanian revolution |
| 1968 | In Tamil Nadu, India, families of striking Dalit workers were massacred by a gang, allegedly led by their landlords. Tamil Nadu |
| 1941 | Second World War: The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when Mark Aitchison Young, the Governor of Hong Kong, surrendered the territory to Japan after 18 days of fierce fighting. World War II |
| 1927 | The Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng, a revolutionary socialist political party that sought Vietnamese independence from French colonial rule, was formed in Hanoi. Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng |
Births
| Year | Who |
|---|---|
| 2000 | Wilfried Singo, Ivorian footballer Wilfried Singo |
| 1999 | Adut Akech, South Sudanese-Australian fashion model Adut Akech |
| 1996 | Emiliano Buendía, Argentine footballer Emiliano Buendía |
| 1993 | Emi Takei, Japanese actress, fashion model and singer Emi Takei |
Deaths
| Year | Who |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Britt Allcroft, English writer (born 1943) Britt Allcroft |
| 2024 | Bill Bergey, American football player (born 1945) Bill Bergey |
| 2024 | Jax Dane, American professional wrestler (born 1976) Jax Dane |
| 2024 | M. T. Vasudevan Nair, Indian author and screenwriter (born 1933) M. T. Vasudevan Nair |
A single anniversary does not explain on its own why a day matters: one December 25 can hold a scientific milestone, a tragedy and the birth of an artist, centuries apart. That is why we date every row and link the source, so you can follow what interests you. The selection mixes 12 events, 4 births and 4 deaths; the full list, with every reference, lives on Wikipedia.
Source, license and method
This page curates the day's anniversaries for December 25 from Wikipedia, delivered through the Wikimedia "On this day" feed (the encyclopedia's own open dataset). It is not original research: the facts, years and wording come from Wikipedia and are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike (CC BY-SA 4.0), which requires crediting the source and keeping the same license. We pick each day's most relevant items, favouring the editors' own selection and the most prominent articles, and every row links back to the matching entry. For the full list and primary references, see the day's article on Wikipedia (December 25).
Continue in the dates cluster
Anniversaries are just a doorway. People who arrive asking about the date usually also want: What day is it today, in every calendar, Moon phase today and the Date and age calculators.
Last updated: · Methodology and sources