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274 - Roman Emperor Aurelian has a temple dedicated to Sol Invictus on the supposed day of the solstice and day of rebirth of the Sun.

800 - Coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome.

1066 - Coronation of William the Conqueror as king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.

1223 - St. Francis of Assisi assembles the first Nativity scene.

1261 - John IV Lascaris of the restored Eastern Roman Empire is deposed and blinded by orders of his co-ruler Michael VIII Palaeologus.

1599 - The city of Natal, Brazil is founded.

1643 - Christmas Island founded and named by Captain William Mynors of the East India Ship Company vessel, the Royal Mary.

1776 - George Washington and his army cross the Delaware River to attack the Kingdom of Great Britain's Hessian mercenaries in Trenton, New Jersey.

1818 - The first performance of "Silent Night" takes place in the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria.

1837 - Battle of Okeechobee: United States forces defeat Seminole Indians.

1868 - U.S. President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all Civil War Confederate soldiers.

1868 - Shogunate rebels found Ezo Republic in Hokkaido.

1914 - World War I: Known as the Christmas truce, German and British troops on the Western Front temporarily cease fire.

1917 - Why Marry?, first dramatic play to win a Pulitzer Prize, opens at the Astor Theatre in New York City.

1926 - Hirohito becomes Emperor of Japan, succeeding the Taisho Emperor.

1932 - A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in Gansu, China kills ~70,000 people.

1939 - Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is read on the radio for the first time (CBS radio).

1939 - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is introduced by Montgomery Ward stores.

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

1947 - The Constitution of the Republic of China goes into effect.

1971 - In the longest game in NFL history (82m40s), the Miami Dolphins defeat the Kansas City Chiefs.

1973 - The ARPANET crashes when a programming bug causes all ARPANET traffic to be routed through the server at Harvard University, causing the server to freeze.

1974 - Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Northern Territory Australia.

1974 - Marshall Fields drives a vehicle through the gates of the White House, resulting in a four-hour standoff.

1977 - Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with President of Egypt Anwar Sadat.

1987 - In one of the highest-rated episodes in Coronation Street history, Hilda Ogden leaves her home of 23 years to be a char to her doctor in the country.

1989 - Nicolae Ceauşescu, former communist dictator of Romania, and his wife Elena are condemned to death and executed under a wide range of charges.

1991 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the Soviet Union (the union itself is dissolved the next day).

2003 - The ill-fated Beagle 2 probe which was released from the Mars Express Spacecraft on December 19, disappears shortly before its scheduled landing.

2004 - Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which successfully landed on Saturn's moon, Titan on January 14, 2005.

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1250 - John IV Lascaris, Eastern Roman Emperor (d. circa 1305)

1583 - Orlando Gibbons, English composer (d. 1625)

1628 - Noël Coypel, French painter (d. 1707)

1642 (O.S.) - Sir Isaac Newton, English physicist and mathematician (d. 1727)

1652 - Archibald Pitcairne, Scottish physician (d. 1713)

1665 - Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish songwriter (d. 1746)

1667 - Ehrengard von der Schulenburg, English royal mistress (d. 1743)

1674 - Thomas Halyburton, Scottish theologian (d. 1712)

1700 - Leopold II of Anhalt-Dessau, Prussian general (d. 1758)

1711 - Jean Joseph de Mondonville, French composer (d. 1772)

1716 - Johann Jakob Reiske, German scholar and physician (d. 1774)

1742 - Charlotte von Stein, German friend of Goethe (d. 1827)

1757 - Benjamin Pierce, U.S. politician (d 1839)

1763 - Claude Chappe, French telecommunications pioneer (d. 1805)

1771 - Dorothy Wordsworth, English diarist and sister of William Wordsworth (d. 1855)

1821 - Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross (d. 1912)

1856 - Hans von Bartels, German painter (d. 1913)

1861 - Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Indian founder of Banaras Hindu University (d. 1946)

1865 - Evangeline Booth, the 4th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1950)

1875 - Theodor Cardinal Innitzer, Austrian archbishop (d. 1955)

1876 - Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan (d. 1948)

1876 - Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, Nobel laureate (d. 1959)

1878 - Louis Chevrolet, Swiss-born race car driver (d. 1941)

1883 - Maurice Utrillo, French artist (d. 1955)

1884 - Evelyn Nesbit, American actress (d. 1967)

1886 - Kid Ory, American musician (d. 1973)

1887 - Conrad Nicholson Hilton, American hotelier (d. 1979)

1890 - Robert Ripley, collector of odd facts (d. 1949)

1899 - Humphrey Bogart, American actor (d. 1957)

1901 - Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (d. 2004)

1904 - Gerhard Herzberg, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)

1906 - Lew Grade, Ukrainian-born film producer (d. 1998)

1906 - Ernst Ruska, Nobel laureate (d. 1988)

1907 - Cab Calloway, American bandleader (d. 1994)

1908 - Quentin Crisp, English author (d. 1999)

1908 - Jo-Jo Moore, baseball player (d. 2001)

1912 - Tony Martin, American singer and actor

1912 - Natalino Otto, Italian singer (d. 1969)

1913 - Henri Nannen, German journalist (d. 1966)

1915 - Pete Rugolo, Italian-born composer

1918 - Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, Nobel laureate (d. 1981)

1921 - Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah, Pakistani journalist (d. 2000)

1924 - Rod Serling, American television writer (d. 1975)

1924 - Atal Behari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India

1925 - Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian-born author (d. 1998)

1927 - Nellie Fox, baseball player (d. 1975)

1928 - Dick Miller, American actor

1932 - Mabel King, American actress (d. 1999)

1935 - Al Jackson, baseball player

1936 - Princess Alexandra of Kent

1936 - Ismail Merchant, Indian-born film producer (d. 2005)

1940 - Pete Brown, English poet and lyricist

1943 - Hanna Schygulla, German actress

1943 - Wilson Fittipaldi, Brazilian racing driver

1944 - Jairzinho, Brazilian footballer

1944 - Kenny Everett, British entertainer (d. 1995)

1945 - Noel Redding, English musician (d. 2003)

1945 - Gary Sandy, American actor

1946 - Jimmy Buffett, American singer and songwriter

1946 - Larry Csonka, American football player

1946 - Gene Lamont, American baseball player and manager

1948 - Barbara Mandrell, American singer and actress

1949 - Nawaz Sharif, Prime Minister of Pakistan

1949 - Sissy Spacek, American actress

1949 - Joe Louis Walker, American musician

1950 - Manny Trillo, baseball player

1950 - Karl Rove, American presidential advisor

1952 - CCH Pounder, Guyana-born actress

1954 - Annie Lennox, Scottish singer

1957 - Chris Kamara, English footballer and commentator

1957 - Shane MacGowan, Irish musician

1958 - Hanford Dixon, American football player

1958 - Rickey Henderson, baseball player

1959 - Michael P. Anderson, astronaut (d. 2003)

1961 - Ingrid Betancourt, Colombian senator

1962 - Dean Cameron, American actor

1964 - Gary McAllister, Scottish footballer

1967 - Jason Thirsk, American bass player

1968 - Helena Christensen, Danish model

1971 - Dido, English singer

1971 - Justin Trudeau, Canadian media personality

1971 - Noel Hogan, Irish musician

1972 - Josh Freese, American drummer

1973 - Alexandre Trudeau, Canadian journalist

1973 - Robbie Elliott, English footballer

1975 - Marcus Trescothick, English cricketer

1976 - Tuomas Holopainen, Finnish keyboardist

1976 - Armin van Buuren, Dutch keyboardist

1978 - Joel Porter, Australian footballer

1979 - Jim Greco, American skateboarder

1980 - Marcus Trufant, American football player

1980 - Reika Hashimoto, Japanese actress

1980 - Locó, Angolan footballer

1981 - Katie Wright, American actress

1981 - Willy Taveras, Baseball player

1984 - Jessica and Lisa Origliasso, Australian pop singers

1984 - Alastair Cook, English cricketer

1984 - Georgia Moffett, British actress

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795 - Pope Adrian I

1156 - Peter the Venerable, Benedictine abbot of Cluny (b. c. 1092)

1635 - Samuel de Champlain, French explorer and founder of Quebec City (b. 1567)

1676 - Matthew Hale, Lord Chief Justice of England (b. 1609)

1676 - William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English soldier (b. 1592)

1683 - Kara Mustafa, Ottoman general (b. 1634)

1758 - James Hervey, English clergyman (b. 1714)

1784 - Yosa Buson, Japanese painter (b. 1716)

1824 - Barbara Juliana, Baroness von Krüdener, Russian writer (b. 1764)

1880 - Fridolin Anderwert, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1828)

1916 - St. Albert Chmielowski, Polish Catholic Saint (b. 1845)

1921 - Vladimir Korolenko, Russian writer (b. 1853)

1925 - Karl Abraham, German psychoanalyst (b. 1877)

1926 - Taisho Emperor, Japanese emperor (b. 1879)

1933 - Francesc Macià, Catalonian statesman (b. 1859)

1938 - Karel Capek, Czech author (b. 1890)

1940 - Agnes Ayres, American actress (b. 1898)

1946 - W. C. Fields, American comedian (b. 1880)

1950 - Neil Francis Hawkins, British fascist (b. 1903)

1953 - Patsy Donovan, Irish-born American baseball player (b. 1865)

1961 - Otto Loewi, Nobel laureate (b. 1873)

1961 - Owen Brewster, U.S. Senator from Maine (b. 1888)

1963 - Tristan Tzara, Romanian-born writer (b. 1896)

1971 - Maria Koepcke, ornithologist (b. 1924)

1973 - Ismet Inonu, Turkish statesman (b. 1884)

1973 - Gabriel Voisin, French aviation pioneer (b. 1880)

1977 - Charlie Chaplin, English actor (b. 1889)

1979 - Joan Blondell, American actress (b. 1906)

1983 - Joan Miró, Catalan painter (b. 1893)

1988 - Ooka Shohei, Japanese novelist (b. 1909)

1989 - Nicolae Ceauşescu, Romanian dictator (b. 1918)

1989 - Billy Martin, American baseball manager (b. 1928)

1993 - Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist (b. 1899)

1994 - Zail Singh, President of India (b. 1916)

1995 - Dean Martin, American singer (b. 1917)

1997 - Denver Pyle, American actor (b. 1920)

1998 - John Pulman, English snooker player (b. 1926)

1999 - Peter Jeffrey, English actor (b. 1929)

2000 - Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher (b. 1908)

2003 - Nicholas Mavroules, American politician (b. 1929)

2005 - Birgit Nilsson, Swedish singer (b. 1918)

2005 - Robert Barbers, Philippine senator (b. 1944)

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Christmas Day is a Christian holiday on this day celebrating the nativity of Jesus. It is a public holiday in many countries, including almost everywhere in the Americas, most European nations, the Philippines and most of Oceania, some African countries, the Commonwealth of Nations, and various other places. Many non-Christians, including non-theists, celebrate secular aspects of the holiday, such as decorating Christmas trees and exchanging gifts with family and friends. Some Christians celebrate Christmas on January 6, January 7, January 18, or even not at all. The date of Christmas Day is determined by various traditions rather than relying on historical evidence, which generally points to dates earlier in the year. Of those scholars who believe in a historical Jesus the great majority agree that the precise birthdate is unknown.

British Isles - a quarter day in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland. (but not in Scotland)

Roman festivals - (re)birth of Sol Invictus, the winter solstice feast in the Roman Empire since 274.

Pakistan - Quaid-e-Azam's Day is celebrated as a national holiday in Pakistan in honour of the birth of Mohammad Ali Jinnah.