On Dec. 25, 1991, Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev went on TV to announce his resignation as the eighth and final leader of a Communist superpower that had already gone out of existence.
On Dec. 25, 1918, Anwar el-Sadat, the Egyptian president who won the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating a peace treaty with Israel, was born. Following his death on Oct. 6, 1981, his obituary appeared in The Times.
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On This Date
| 336 | The first recorded celebration of Christmas on Dec. 25 took place in Rome. |
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| 1066 | William the Conqueror was crowned king of England. |
| 1776 | Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, N.J. |
| 1818 | "Silent Night" was performed for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria. |
| 1821 | Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, was born in Oxford, Mass. |
| 1868 | President Andrew Johnson granted an unconditional pardon to everyone involved in the Southern rebellion that resulted in the Civil War. |
| 1926 | Hirohito became emperor of Japan, succeeding his father, Emperor Yoshihito. |
| 1977 | Comedian Charlie Chaplin died at age 88. |
| 1989 | Ousted Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were executed. |
| 1989 | Former New York Yankees player and manager Billy Martin, 61, died when the pickup truck he was riding in crashed. |
| 1991 | Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev went on TV to announce his resignation as the eighth and final leader of a Communist superpower that had already gone out of existence. |
| 1995 | Singer Dean Martin died at age 78. |
| 2006 | Soul singer James Brown died at age 73. |
| 2009 | Passengers aboard a Northwest Airlines flight foiled an attempt to blow up the plane as it was landing in Detroit by seizing suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian accused of trying to set off explosives in his underwear. |
Historic Birthdays
Anwar el-Sadat
12/25/1918 - 10/6/1981
Egyptian president (1970-81); signed historic peace treaty with Israel.
Go to obituary »
| 50 |
Rod Serling 12/25/1924 - 6/28/1975 American television writer and producer |
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| 86 |
Cab Calloway 12/25/1907 - 11/18/1994 American jazz composer, singer and bandleader |
| 57 |
Humphrey Bogart 12/25/1899 - 1/14/1957 American actor |
| 55 |
Robert Ripley 12/25/1890 - 5/27/1949 American newspaper cartoonist; founded "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" |
| 91 |
Conrad Hilton 12/25/1887 - 1/3/1979 American businessman; founded Hilton Hotels chain |
| 42 |
Franz Rosenzweig 12/25/1886 - 12/10/1929 German-Jewish philosopher |
| 71 |
Maurice Utrillo 12/25/1883 - 11/5/1955 French painter |
| 62 |
Louis Chevrolet 12/25/1878 - 6/6/1941 French-born American automobile designer |
| 90 |
Clara Barton 12/25/1821 - 4/12/1912 Founder of the American Red Cross |