History for December 25

History for December 25 - On-This-Day.com:
Sir Isaac Newton 1642 (O.S.) - Physicist, mathematician, Clara Barton 1821, Humphrey Bogart 1899

Rod Serling 1924, Jimmy Buffett 1946 - Singer, Barbara Mandrell 1948 


1776 - Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, NJ. 


1818 - "Silent Night" was performed for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorff, Austria. 


1868 - U.S. President Andrew Johnson granted an unconditional pardon to all persons involved in the Southern rebellion that resulted in the Civil War. 


1896 - John Philip Sousa finally titled the melody "The Stars and Stripes Forever." 


1914 - During World War I, British and German troops observed an unofficial truce and even playing football together on the Western Front. 


1926 - Hirohito became the emperor of Japan after the death of his father Emperor Taisho. 


1946 - W.C. Fields died at the age of 66. 


1989 - Ousted Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were executed following a popular uprising.