Updated December 24, 2011, 1:28 pm
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.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
336 The first recorded celebration of Christmas on Dec. 25 took place in Rome. 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. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
Actress Sissy Spacek turns 62 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini
Actress CCH Pounder (“The Shield”) turns 59 years old today.
AP Photo/Matt Sayles
1945 Gary Sandy, Actor (“WKRP In Cincinnati”), turns 66 1946 Jimmy Buffet, Rock musician, turns 65 1946 Larry Csonka, Football Hall of Famer, turns 65 1948 Barbara Mandrell, Country singer, turns 63 1950 Karl Rove, Former White House aide, turns 61 1954 Annie Lennox, Rock singer (Eurythmics), turns 57 1958 Rickey Henderson, Baseball Hall of Famer, turns 53 1958 Christina Romer, Former chairwoman of the Council of Economic Advisers, turns 53 1971 Dido, Rock singer, turns 40 1980 Ryan Shaw, R&B singer, turns 31 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 producer86 Cab Calloway 12/25/1907 – 11/18/1994
American jazz composer, singer and bandleader57 Humphrey Bogart 12/25/1899 – 1/14/1957
American actor55 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 chain42 Franz Rosenzweig 12/25/1886 – 12/10/1929
German-Jewish philosopher71 Maurice Utrillo 12/25/1883 – 11/5/1955
French painter62 Louis Chevrolet 12/25/1878 – 6/6/1941
French-born American automobile designer90 Clara Barton 12/25/1821 – 4/12/1912
Founder of the American Red Cross
