December 25

Pre-1600

• 36 – Forces of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han, under the command of Wu Han, conquer the separatist Chengjia empire, reuniting China.
• 274 – A temple to Sol Invictus is dedicated in Rome by Emperor Aurelian.
• 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.
• 350 – Vetranio meets Constantius II at Naissus (Serbia) and is forced to abdicate his imperial title. Constantius allows him to live as a private citizen on a state pension.
• 508 – Clovis I, king of the Franks, is baptized into the Catholic faith at Reims, by Saint Remigius.
• 597 – Augustine of Canterbury and his fellow-labourers baptise in Kent more than 10,000 Anglo-Saxons.
• 800 – The coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome.
• 820 – Eastern Emperor Leo V is murdered in a church of the Great Palace of Constantinople by followers of Michael II.
• 1000 – The foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary: Hungary is established as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary.
• 1013 – Sweyn Forkbeard takes control of the Danelaw and is proclaimed king of England.
• 1025 – Coronation of Mieszko II Lambert as king of Poland.
• 1046 – Henry III is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement II.
• 1066 – William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy is crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.
• 1076 – Coronation of Bolesław II the Generous as king of Poland.
• 1100 – Baldwin of Boulogne is crowned the first King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
• 1130 – Count Roger II of Sicily is crowned the first king of Sicily.
• 1261 – Eleven-year-old John IV Laskaris of the restored Eastern Roman Empire is deposed and blinded by orders of his co-ruler Michael VIII Palaiologos.
• 1492 – The carrack Santa María, commanded by Christopher Columbus, runs onto a reef off Haiti due to an improper watch.
• 1553 – Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeat the Spanish conquistadors and executes the governor of Chile, Pedro de Valdivia.
• 1559 – Pope Pius IV is elected, four months after his predecessor's death.

1601–1900

• 1758 – Halley's Comet is sighted by Johann Georg Palitzsch, confirming Edmund Halley's prediction of its passage. This was the first passage of a comet predicted ahead of time.
• 1766 – Mapuches in Chile launch a series of surprise attacks against the Spanish starting the Mapuche uprising of 1766.
• 1776 – American Revolutionary War: 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.
• 1793 – General "Mad Anthony" Wayne and a 300 man detachment identify the site of St. Clair's 1791 defeat by the large number of unburied human remains at modern Fort Recovery, Ohio.
• 1809 – Dr. Ephraim McDowell performs the first ovariotomy, removing a 22-pound tumor.
• 1814 – Rev. Samuel Marsden holds the first Christian service on land in New Zealand at Rangihoua Bay.
• 1815 – The Handel and Haydn Society, oldest continually performing arts organization in the United States, gives its first performance.
• 1826 – The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy concludes after beginning the previous evening.
• 1831 – The Great Jamaican Slave Revolt begins; up to 20% of Jamaica's slaves mobilize in an ultimately unsuccessful fight for freedom.
• 1837 – Second Seminole War: American general Zachary Taylor leads 1,100 troops against the Seminoles at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee.
• 1868 – Pardons for ex-Confederates: United States President Andrew Johnson grants an unconditional pardon to all Confederate veterans.

1901–present

• 1914 – World War I: A series of unofficial truces occur across the Western Front to celebrate Christmas.
• 1915 – The National Protection War breaks out against the Empire of China, as military leaders Cai E and Tang Jiyao proclaim the independence of Yunnan and begin a campaign to restore the Republic.
• 1927 – B. R. Ambedkar and his followers burn copies of the Manusmriti in Mahad, Maharashtra, to protest its treatment of Dalit people.
• 1932 – A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in Gansu, China kills 275 people.
• 1941 – Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, appointed commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet on December 17, arrives at Pearl Harbor.
• 1941 – World War II: Battle of Hong Kong ends, beginning the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong.
• 1941 – Admiral Émile Muselier seizes the archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, which become the first part of France to be liberated by the Free French Forces.^{[citation needed]}
• 1946 – The first European self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction is initiated within the Soviet Union's F-1 nuclear reactor.
• 1950 – The Stone of Scone, traditional coronation stone of British monarchs, is taken from Westminster Abbey by Scottish nationalist students. It later turns up in Scotland on April 11, 1951.
• 1951 – A bomb explodes at the home of Harry T. Moore and Harriette V. S. Moore, early leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, killing Harry instantly and fatally wounding Harriette.
• 1962 – The Soviet Union conducts its final above-ground nuclear weapon test, in anticipation of the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
• 1963 – Turkish Cypriot Bayrak Radio begins transmitting in Cyprus after Turkish Cypriots are forcibly excluded from Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation.
• 1968 – Apollo program: Apollo 8 performs the first successful Trans-Earth injection (TEI) maneuver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit.
• 1968 – Kilvenmani massacre: Forty-four Dalits (untouchables) are burnt to death in Kizhavenmani village, Tamil Nadu, a retaliation for a campaign for higher wages by Dalit laborers.
• 1976 – EgyptAir Flight 664, a Boeing 707-366C, crashes on approach to Don Mueang International Airport, killing 71 people.
• 1977 – Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with its president Anwar Sadat.
• 1986 – Iraqi Airways Flight 163, a Boeing 737-270C, is hijacked and crashes in Arar, Saudi Arabia, killing 63 people.
• 1989 – Romanian Revolution: Deposed President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife, Elena, are condemned to death and executed after a summary trial.
• 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.
• 1999 – Cubana de Aviación Flight 310, a Yakovlev Yak-42, crashes near Bejuma, Carabobo State, Venezuela, killing 22 people.
• 2003 – UTA Flight 141, a Boeing 727-223, crashes at the Cotonou Airport in Benin, killing 141 people.
• 2003 – The ill-fated Beagle 2 probe, released from the Mars Express spacecraft on December 19, stops transmitting shortly before its scheduled landing.
• 2004 – The Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which successfully landed on Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005.
• 2012 – An Antonov An-72 plane crashes close to the city of Shymkent, killing 27 people.
• 2012 – Air Bagan Flight 011, a Fokker 100, crashes on approach to Heho Airport in Heho, Myanmar, killing two people.
• 2016 – A Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 carrying members of the Alexandrov Ensemble crashes into the Black Sea shortly after takeoff, killing all 92 people on board.
• 2019 – Twenty people are killed and thousands are left homeless by Typhoon Phanfone in the Philippines.
• 2020 – An explosion in Nashville, Tennessee, occurs, leaving three civilians in the hospital.
• 2021 – The James Webb Space Telescope is launched.

Pre-1600

• 1250 – John IV Laskaris, Byzantine emperor (d. 1305)
• 1281 – Alice de Lacy, 4th Countess of Lincoln (d. 1348)
• 1400 – John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1487)
• 1424 – Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France (d. 1445)
• 1461 – Christina of Saxony, Queen consort of Denmark (d. 1521)
• 1490 – Francesco Marinoni, Italian Roman Catholic priest (d. 1562)
• 1493 – Antoinette de Bourbon, French noblewoman (d. 1583)
• 1505 – Christine of Saxony, German noblewoman (d. 1549)
• 1564 – Johannes Buxtorf, German Calvinist theologian (d. 1629)
• 1583 – Orlando Gibbons, English organist and composer (d. 1625)
• 1584 – Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain (d. 1611)

1601–1900

• 1601 – Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha (d. 1675)
• 1628 – Noël Coypel, French painter and educator (d. 1707)
• 1642 (OS) – Isaac Newton, English physicist and mathematician (d. 1726/1727)
• 1652 – Archibald Pitcairne, Scottish physician, anatomist, and scholar (d. 1713)
• 1665 – Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish-English poet and songwriter (d. 1746)
• 1674 – Thomas Halyburton, Scottish minister and theologian (d. 1712)
• 1686 – Giovanni Battista Somis, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1763)
• 1700 – Leopold II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (d. 1758)
• 1711 – Jean-Joseph de Mondonville, French violinist and composer (d. 1772)
• 1716 – Johann Jakob Reiske, German physician and scholar (d. 1774)
• 1717 – Pope Pius VI (d. 1799)
• 1728 – Johann Adam Hiller, German composer and conductor (d. 1804)
• 1730 – Philip Mazzei, Italian-American physician and philosopher (d. 1816)
• 1745 – Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Caribbean-French violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1799)
• 1757 – Benjamin Pierce, American general and politician, 17th Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1839)
• 1766 – Christmas Evans, Welsh Nonconformist preacher (d. 1838)
• 1771 – Dorothy Wordsworth, English diarist and poet (d. 1855)
• 1776 – Sydney, Lady Morgan, Irish author and poet (d. 1859)
• 1810 – L. L. Langstroth, American apiarist, clergyman and teacher (d. 1895)
• 1821 – Clara Barton, American nurse and humanitarian, founder of the American Red Cross (d. 1912)
• 1825 – Stephen F. Chadwick, American lawyer and politician, 5th Governor of Oregon (d. 1895)
• 1829 – Patrick Gilmore, Irish-American composer and bandleader (d. 1892)
• 1856 – Pud Galvin, American baseball player and manager (d. 1902)
• 1861 – Francis Henry Buzzacott, American hunter, explorer and army scout famous for writing Buzzacott's Masterpiece (d. 1947)
• 1861 – Madan Mohan Malaviya, Indian educator, lawyer, and politician, President of the Indian National Congress (d. 1946)
• 1865 – Evangeline Booth, English 4th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1950)
• 1869 – Charles Finger, English-American journalist and author (d. 1941)
• 1872 – Helena Rubinstein, Polish-American businesswoman and philanthropist (d. 1965)
• 1873 – Otto Frederick Hunziker, Swiss-American agriculturalist and educator (d. 1959)
• 1874 – Lina Cavalieri, Italian soprano and actress (d. 1944)
• 1875 – Francis Aveling, Canadian psychologist and priest (d. 1941)
• 1875 – Theodor Innitzer, Austrian cardinal (d. 1955)
• 1876 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Indian-Pakistani lawyer and politician, 1st Governor-General of Pakistan (d. 1948)
• 1876 – Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)
• 1878 – Louis Chevrolet, American race car driver and businessman, co-founded Chevrolet (d. 1941)
• 1878 – Noël, Countess of Rothes, philanthropist, social leader and heroine of Titanic disaster (d. 1956)
• 1878 – Joseph M. Schenck, Russian-American film producer (d. 1961)
• 1883 – Hugo Bergmann, Czech-Israeli philosopher and academic (d. 1975)
• 1883 – Hana Meisel, Belarusian-Israeli agronomist and politician (d. 1972)
• 1884 – Samuel Berger, American boxer (d. 1925)
• 1884 – Evelyn Nesbit, American model and actress (d. 1967)
• 1886 – Malak Hifni Nasif, Egyptian poet and activist (d. 1918)
• 1886 – Kid Ory, American trombonist and bandleader (d. 1973)
• 1887 – Conrad Hilton, American entrepreneur (d. 1979)
• 1889 – Lila Bell Wallace, American publisher and philanthropist, co-founded Reader's Digest (d. 1984)
• 1890 – Noel Odell, English geologist and mountaineer (d. 1987)
• 1891 – Kenneth Anderson, Indian-English general and politician, Governor of Gibraltar (d. 1959)
• 1891 – Clarrie Grimmett, New Zealand-Australian cricketer (d. 1980)
• 1899 – Humphrey Bogart, American actor (d. 1957)

1901–present

• 1901 – Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (d. 2004)
• 1902 – William Bell, American tuba player and educator (d. 1971)
• 1902 – Barton MacLane, American actor, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1969)
• 1903 – Antiochos Evangelatos, Greek composer and conductor (d. 1981)
• 1904 – Gerhard Herzberg, German-Canadian physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
• 1906 – Lew Grade, Baron Grade, Ukrainian-English film producer (d. 1998)
• 1906 – Ernst Ruska, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
• 1907 – Cab Calloway, American singer-songwriter and bandleader (d. 1994)
• 1907 – Mike Mazurki, Ukrainian-American wrestler and actor (d. 1990)
• 1907 – Glenn McCarthy, American businessman, founded the Shamrock Hotel (d. 1988)
• 1908 – Quentin Crisp, English author and illustrator (d. 1999)
• 1908 – Ernest L. Massad, American general (d. 1993)
• 1908 – Jo-Jo Moore, American baseball player (d. 2001)
• 1909 – Zora Arkus-Duntov, Belgian-American engineer (d. 1996)
• 1911 – Louise Bourgeois, French-American sculptor and painter (d. 2010)
• 1913 – Candy Candido, American singer, bass player, and voice actor (d. 1999)
• 1913 – Tony Martin, American singer (d. 2012)
• 1914 – James Fletcher Jnr, New Zealand businessman (d. 2007)
• 1914 – Oscar Lewis, American anthropologist of Latin America (d. 1970)
• 1915 – Pete Rugolo, Italian-American composer and producer (d. 2011)
• 1916 – Ahmed Ben Bella, Algerian soldier and politician, 1st President of Algeria (d. 2012)
• 1917 – Arseny Mironov, Russian scientist, engineer, pilot, oldest active researcher in aircraft aerodynamics and flight testing (d. 2019)
• 1917 – Lincoln Verduga Loor, Ecuadorian journalist and politician (d. 2009)
• 1918 – Anwar Sadat, Egyptian lieutenant and politician, 3rd President of Egypt, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
• 1919 – Naushad Ali, Indian composer and director (d. 2006)
• 1919 – Paul David, Canadian cardiologist and politician, founded the Montreal Heart Institute (d. 1999)
• 1919 – Noele Gordon, English actress (d. 1985)
• 1921 – Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah, Indian-Pakistani journalist and author (d. 2000)
• 1921 – Steve Otto, Polish-Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1989)
• 1922 – William Demby, American author (d. 2013)
• 1923 – René Girard, French-American historian, philosopher, and critic (d. 2015)
• 1923 – Louis Lane, American conductor and educator (d. 2016)
• 1924 – Rod Serling, American screenwriter and producer, created The Twilight Zone (d. 1975)
• 1924 – Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Indian poet and politician, 10th Prime Minister of India (d. 2018)
• 1925 – Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian-American anthropologist and author (d. 1998)
• 1925 – Ned Garver, American baseball player (d. 2017)
• 1925 – Sam Pollock, Canadian businessman (d. 2007)
• 1926 – Enrique Jorrín, Cuban violinist and composer (d. 1987)
• 1927 – Nellie Fox, American baseball player and coach (d. 1975)
• 1927 – Leo Kubiak, American basketball and baseball player
• 1927 – Ram Narayan, Indian sarangi player
• 1928 – Irish McCalla, American actress and model (d. 2002)
• 1928 – Dick Miller, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2019)
• 1929 – Christine M. Jones, American educator and politician (d. 2013)
• 1929 – China Machado, Chinese-born Portuguese-American fashion model, editor and television producer (d. 2016)
• 1929 – Chris Kenner, American singer and songwriter (d. 1976)
• 1930 – Emmanuel Agassi, Iranian-American boxer and coach
• 1930 – Armenak Alachachian, Armenian basketball player and coach (d. 2017)
• 1930 – Mary Rose Tuitt, Montserrat politician (d. 2005)
• 1932 – Mabel King, American actress and singer (d. 1999)
• 1933 – Basil Heatley, English runner (d. 2019)
• 1935 – Sadiq al-Mahdi, Sudanese politician, Prime Minister of Sudan (d. 2020)
• 1935 – Stephen Barnett, American scholar and academic (d. 2009)
• 1935 – Jeanne Hopkins Lucas, American educator and politician (d. 2007)
• 1936 – Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy
• 1936 – Ismail Merchant, Indian-English director and producer (d. 2005)
• 1937 – Maung Aye, Burmese military officer
• 1937 – O'Kelly Isley Jr., American R&B/soul singer-songwriter (d. 1986)
• 1938 – Duane Armstrong, American painter
• 1938 – Noel Picard, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2017)
• 1939 – Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Pakistani businessman and politician
• 1939 – Bob James, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
• 1939 – Akong Rinpoche, Tibetan-Chinese spiritual leader (d. 2013)
• 1940 – Hilary Spurling, English journalist and author
• 1941 – Kenneth Calman, Scottish physician and academic
• 1942 – Françoise Dürr, French tennis player and coach
• 1942 – Barbara Follett, English politician
• 1942 – Barry Goldberg, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
• 1942 – Enrique Morente, Spanish singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
• 1943 – Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior, Brazilian race car driver and businessman (d. 2024)
• 1943 – Ravish Malhotra, Indian pilot and military officer
• 1943 – Eve Pollard, English journalist and author
• 1943 – Hanna Schygulla, German actress
• 1943 – Jacqui McShee, English singer
• 1944 – Kenny Everett, British comedian and broadcaster (d. 1995)
• 1944 – Jairzinho, Brazilian footballer
• 1944 – Sam Strahan, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2019)
• 1945 – Rick Berman, American screenwriter and producer
• 1945 – Mike Pringle, Zambian-Scottish lawyer and politician
• 1945 – Noel Redding, English singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2003)
• 1945 – Ken Stabler, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
• 1946 – Jimmy Buffett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (d. 2023)
• 1948 – Merry Clayton, American singer and actress
• 1948 – Kay Hymowitz, American sociologist and writer
• 1948 – Barbara Mandrell, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1948 – Joel Santana, Brazilian footballer and manager
• 1949 – Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira, Brazilian singer
• 1949 – Nawaz Sharif, Pakistani politician, 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan
• 1949 – Sissy Spacek, American actress
• 1950 – Peter Boardman, English mountaineer and author (d. 1982)
• 1950 – Karl Rove, American political strategist and activist
• 1950 – Manny Trillo, Venezuelan baseball player and manager
• 1952 – Tolossa Kotu, Ethiopian runner and coach
• 1952 – CCH Pounder, Guyanese-American actress
• 1952 – Desireless, French singer and songwriter
• 1953 – Kaarlo Maaninka, Finnish runner
• 1954 – Annie Lennox, Scottish singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1957 – Mansoor Akhtar, Pakistani cricketer
• 1957 – Chris Kamara, English footballer and sportscaster
• 1957 – Shane MacGowan, English-Irish singer-songwriter (d. 2023)
• 1958 – Cheryl Chase, American voice actress and singer
• 1958 – Rickey Henderson, American baseball player and coach
• 1958 – Konstantin Kinchev, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1958 – Alannah Myles, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress
• 1959 – Michael P. Anderson, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2003)
• 1959 – Ramdas Athawale, Indian poet and politician
• 1961 – Íngrid Betancourt, Colombian political scientist and politician
• 1962 – Francis Dunnery, English musician
• 1964 – Ian Bostridge, English tenor
• 1964 – Gary McAllister, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1965 – Ed Davey, English politician, Leader of the Liberal Democrats
• 1965 – Dmitri Mironov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1965 – David Rath, Czech physician and politician
• 1966 – Toshi Arai, Japanese race car driver
• 1967 – Jason Thirsk, American bass player (d. 1996)
• 1968 – Helena Christensen, Danish model and actress
• 1968 – Jim Dowd, American ice hockey player
• 1969 – Nicolas Godin, French musician
• 1969 – Noel Goldthorpe, Australian rugby league player
• 1969 – Frederick Onyancha, Kenyan runner
• 1970 – Emmanuel Amunike, Nigerian footballer and manager
• 1970 – Rodney Dent, American basketball player
• 1971 – Dido, English singer-songwriter
• 1971 – Noel Hogan, Irish musician and songwriter
• 1971 – Justin Trudeau, Canadian educator and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Canada
• 1972 – Mac Powell, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1972 – Qu Yunxia, Chinese runner
• 1973 – Robbie Elliott, English footballer and coach
• 1973 – Chris Harris, American wrestler
• 1973 – Daisuke Miura, Japanese baseball player and coach
• 1973 – Alexandre Trudeau, Canadian journalist and director
• 1975 – Hideki Okajima, Japanese baseball player
• 1975 – Choi Sung-yong, South Korean footballer and manager
• 1975 – Marcus Trescothick, English cricketer
• 1976 – Tuomas Holopainen, Finnish keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
• 1976 – Atko Väikmeri, Estonian footballer
• 1976 – Armin van Buuren, Dutch DJ and record producer
• 1977 – Ali Tandoğan, Turkish footballer
• 1977 – Israel Vázquez, Mexican boxer
• 1978 – Simon Jones, Welsh cricketer
• 1978 – Joel Porter, Australian footballer and manager
• 1978 – Jeremy Strong, American actor
• 1979 – Ferman Akgül, Turkish singer-songwriter
• 1979 – Laurent Bonnart, French footballer
• 1979 – Robert Huff, English race car driver
• 1979 – Hyun Young-min, South Korean footballer
• 1980 – Laura Sadler, English actress (d. 2003)
• 1980 – Marcus Trufant, American football player
• 1981 – Trenesha Biggers, American wrestler and model
• 1981 – Camille Herron, American ultramarathon runner
• 1981 – Christian Holst, Danish-Faroese footballer
• 1981 – Willy Taveras, Dominican baseball player
• 1982 – Shawn Andrews, American football player
• 1982 – Rob Edwards, Welsh footballer
• 1982 – Ethan Kath, Canadian keyboard player, songwriter and producer
• 1982 – Chris Rene, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1984 – Chris Cahill, Samoan footballer
• 1984 – Alastair Cook, English cricketer
• 1984 – Jessica Origliasso, Australian singer, actress, and fashion designer
• 1984 – Lisa Origliasso, Australian singer, actress, and fashion designer
• 1984 – Chris Richard, American basketball player
• 1985 – Martin Mathathi, Kenyan runner
• 1985 – Rusev, Bulgarian-American professional wrestler
• 1985 – Perdita Weeks, Welsh actress
• 1987 – Ceyhun Gülselam, Turkish footballer
• 1987 – Demaryius Thomas, American football player (d. 2021)
• 1988 – Eric Gordon, American basketball player
• 1988 – Lukas Hinds-Johnson, German rugby player
• 1988 – Joãozinho, Brazilian footballer
• 1991 – Avu-chan, Japanese musician, songwriter, actor, model and producer
• 1992 – Mitakeumi Hisashi, Japanese sumo wrestler
• 1993 – Emi Takei, Japanese actress, fashion model and singer
• 1999 – Adut Akech, South Sudanese-Australian fashion model

Pre-1600

• 304 – Saint Anastasia
• 795 – Pope Adrian I
• 820 – Emperor Leo V
• 936 – Zhang Jingda, general of Later Tang
• 940 – Makan ibn Kaki, Iranian general
• 1147 – Guy II, Count of Ponthieu (b. c. 1120)
• 1156 – Peter the Venerable, French abbot and saint (b. 1092)
• 1156 – Sverker the Elder, king of Sweden
• 1294 – Mestwin II, Duke of Pomerania
• 1395 – Elisabeth, Countess of Neuchâtel, Swiss ruler
• 1406 – Henry III of Castile (b. 1379)
• 1505 – George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent, English politician (b. 1454)
• 1553 – Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish explorer and politician, 1st Royal Governor of Chile (b. 1500)

1601–1900

• 1634 – Lettice Knollys, English noblewoman (b. 1543)
• 1635 – Samuel de Champlain, French soldier, geographer, and explorer (b. 1567)
• 1676 – William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire (b. 1592)
• 1676 – Matthew Hale, English lawyer and jurist, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (b. 1609)
• 1683 – Kara Mustafa Pasha, Ottoman general and politician, 111th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1634)
• 1708 – Jørgen Thormøhlen, German-Norwegian merchant (b. c.1640)
• 1730 – Henry Scott, 1st Earl of Deloraine, Scottish peer and general (b. 1676)
• 1758 – James Hervey, English priest and author (b. 1714)
• 1784 – Yosa Buson, Japanese poet and painter (b. 1716)
• 1796 – Velu Nachiyar, Queen of Sivagangai (b. 1730)
• 1824 – Barbara von Krüdener, German mystic and author (b. 1764)
• 1824 – William Lawless, Irish revolutionary, later French Army general (b. 1772)
• 1868 – Linus Yale, Jr., American engineer and businessman (b. 1821)
• 1875 – Young Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (b. 1851)
• 1880 – Fridolin Anderwert, Swiss lawyer and politician, President of the Swiss National Council (b. 1828)

1901–present

• 1916 – Albert Chmielowski, Polish saint, founded the Albertine Brothers (b. 1845)
• 1921 – Vladimir Korolenko, Russian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1853)
• 1925 – Karl Abraham, German psychoanalyst and author (b. 1877)
• 1926 – Emperor Taishō of Japan (b. 1879)
• 1928 – Miles Burke, American boxer (b. 1885)
• 1930 – Jakob Mändmets, Estonian journalist and author (b. 1871)
• 1933 – Francesc Macià, Catalan colonel and politician, 122nd President of Catalonia (b. 1859)
• 1935 – Paul Bourget, French author and critic (b. 1852)
• 1938 – Karel Čapek, Czech author and playwright (b. 1890)
• 1940 – Agnes Ayres, American actress (b. 1898)
• 1941 – Richard S. Aldrich, American lawyer and politician (b. 1884)
• 1944 – George Steer, South African-English journalist and author (b. 1909)
• 1946 – W. C. Fields, American actor, comedian, juggler, and screenwriter (b. 1880)
• 1947 – Gaspar G. Bacon, American lawyer and politician, 51st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1886)
• 1949 – Leon Schlesinger, American animator and producer, founded Warner Bros. Cartoons (b. 1884)
• 1950 – Neil Francis Hawkins, English politician (b. 1903)
• 1952 – Margrethe Mather, American photographer (b. 1886)
• 1953 – Patsy Donovan, Irish-American baseball player and manager (b. 1865)
• 1953 – William Haselden, British cartoonist (b. 1872)
• 1956 – Robert Walser, Swiss author and playwright (b. 1878)
• 1957 – Charles Pathé, French record producer, founded Pathé Records (b. 1863)
• 1961 – Owen Brewster, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 54th Governor of Maine (b. 1888)
• 1961 – Otto Loewi, German-American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1873)
• 1963 – Tristan Tzara, Romanian-French poet, playwright, painter, and critic (b. 1896)
• 1970 – Michael Peto, Hungarian-English photographer and journalist (b. 1908)
• 1973 – İsmet İnönü, Turkish general and politician, 2nd President of Turkey (b. 1884)
• 1973 – Gabriel Voisin, French pilot and engineer (b. 1880)
• 1975 – Gaston Gallimard, French publisher, founded Éditions Gallimard (b. 1881)
• 1975 – Gunnar Kangro, Estonian mathematician and author (b. 1913)
• 1977 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor and director (b. 1889)
• 1979 – Joan Blondell, American actress and singer (b. 1906)
• 1979 – Jordi Bonet, Canadian painter and sculptor (b. 1932)
• 1980 – Fred Emney, English actor and comedian (b. 1900)
• 1983 – Joan Miró, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1893)
• 1988 – Shōhei Ōoka, Japanese author and critic (b. 1909)
• 1988 – Edward Pelham-Clinton, 10th Duke of Newcastle, English entomologist and lepidopterist (b. 1920)
• 1989 – Benny Binion, American poker player and businessman (b. 1904)
• 1989 – Elena Ceaușescu, Romanian politician, First Lady of Romania (b. 1916)
• 1989 – Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romanian general and politician, 1st President of Romania (b. 1918)
• 1989 – Betty Garde, American actress (b. 1905)
• 1989 – Frederick F. Houser, American judge and politician, 34th Lieutenant Governor of California (b. 1905)
• 1989 – Billy Martin, American baseball player and manager (b. 1928)
• 1989 – Robert Pirosh, American director and screenwriter (b. 1910)
• 1991 – Wilbur Snyder, American football player and wrestler (b. 1929)
• 1992 – Monica Dickens, British-American nurse and author (b. 1915)
• 1993 – Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist and academic (b. 1899)
• 1994 – Zail Singh, Indian politician, 7th President of India (b. 1916)
• 1995 – Emmanuel Levinas, Lithuanian-French philosopher and academic (b. 1906)
• 1995 – Dean Martin, American singer and actor (b. 1917)
• 1995 – Chang Kee-ryo, Korean surgeon (b. 1914)
• 1996 – Bill Hewitt, Canadian sportscaster (b. 1928)
• 1997 – Anatoli Boukreev, Kazakh mountaineer and explorer (b. 1958)
• 1997 – Denver Pyle, American actor (b. 1920)
• 1998 – John Pulman, English snooker player (b. 1923)
• 2000 – Neil Hawke, Australian cricketer and footballer (b. 1939)
• 2000 – Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher and academic (b. 1908)
• 2001 – Alfred A. Tomatis, French otolaryngologist and academic (b. 1920)
• 2003 – Nicholas Mavroules, American politician (b. 1929)
• 2004 – Gennadi Strekalov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1940)
• 2005 – Derek Bailey, English guitarist (b. 1930)
• 2005 – Robert Barbers, Filipino police officer, lawyer, and politician, 15th Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (b. 1944)
• 2005 – Birgit Nilsson, Swedish operatic soprano (b. 1918)
• 2005 – Joseph Pararajasingham, Sri Lankan journalist, businessman, and politician (b. 1934)
• 2006 – James Brown, American singer-songwriter (b. 1933)
• 2007 – Des Barrick, English cricketer (b. 1927)
• 2007 – Jim Beauchamp, American baseball player and coach (b. 1939)
• 2008 – Eartha Kitt, American singer and actress (b. 1927)
• 2009 – Vic Chesnutt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1964)
• 2010 – Carlos Andrés Pérez, Venezuelan politician, 66th President of Venezuela (b. 1922)
• 2011 – Giorgio Bocca, Italian journalist (b. 1920)
• 2011 – Jim Sherwood, American saxophonist (b. 1942)
• 2011 – Simms Taback, American author and illustrator (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Erico Aumentado, Filipino journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1940)
• 2012 – Halfdan Hegtun, Norwegian radio host and politician (b. 1918)
• 2012 – Joe Krivak, American football player and coach (b. 1935)
• 2012 – Turki bin Sultan, Saudi Arabian politician (b. 1959)
• 2012 – Şerafettin Elçi, Turkish lawyer, politician, government minister (b. 1938)
• 2013 – Anthony J. Bryant, American historian and author (b. 1961)
• 2013 – David R. Harris, English geographer, anthropologist, archaeologist and academic (b. 1930)
• 2013 – Wayne Harrison, English footballer (b. 1967)
• 2013 – Mike Hegan, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Lola Lange, Canadian rural feminist and appointee to the Royal Commission on the Status of Women (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Mel Mathay, Filipino politician, 8th Mayor of Quezon City (b. 1932)
• 2014 – Ricardo Porro, Cuban-French architect (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Geoff Pullar, English cricketer (b. 1935)
• 2014 – David Ryall, English actor (b. 1935)
• 2015 – George Clayton Johnson, American author and screenwriter (b. 1929)
• 2015 – Dorothy M. Murdock, American author and historian (b. 1961)
• 2016 – Valery Khalilov, Russian military musician and composer (b. 1952)
• 2016 – George Michael, British singer and songwriter (b. 1963)
• 2016 – Vera Rubin, American astronomer (b. 1928)
• 2017 – D. Herbert Lipson, American magazine publisher (Philadelphia, Boston) (b. 1929)
• 2018 – Sulagitti Narasamma, Indian midwife (b. 1920)
• 2019 – Ari Behn, Norwegian writer (b. 1972)
• 2020 – K. C. Jones, American basketball player and coach (b. 1932)
• 2021 – Wayne Thiebaud, American artist (b. 1920)
• 2022 – Fabián O'Neill, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1973)
• 2023 – Jim Breaks, British wrestler (b. 1940)

• Children's Day (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Republic of Congo)
• Christian feast day:
  • Anastasia of Sirmium (Catholic Church)
  • Stephen (Armenian Apostolic Church)
  • December 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Christmas Day, Christian festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. (Internationally observed)
• Tulsi Pujan Diwas (India)
• Constitution Day (Taiwan)
• Good Governance Day (India)
• Quaid-e-Azam's Day (Pakistan)
• Takanakuy (Chumbivilcas Province, Peru)

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Historical Events on December 25