1 1st Christmas, according to calendar-maker Dionysus Exiguus
274 Roman Emperor Aurelian dedicates a temple to Sol Invictus on the supposed day of the winter solstice and day of rebirth of the Sun.
337 Earliest possible date that Christmas was celebrated on Dec 25th
496 King Clovis I is baptized a Roman Catholic in Reims cathedral – first Germanic king to do so, according to Henry of Tours (year disputed)
1066 William the Conqueror is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey, completing the Norman conquest of England
1223 St Francis of Assisi assembles 1st Nativity scene (Greccio, Italy)
1492 Christopher Columbus’ flagship the Santa María runs aground and sinks on the north coast of Hispaniola. The crew are left to found a colony as Columbus returns to Spain
1776 Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, NJ.
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 “Stars & Stripes Forever” written by John Philip Sousa
1914 Legendary “Christmas Truce” takes place on the battlefields of WWI between British and German troops. Instead of fighting, soldiers exchange gifts and play football https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/christmas-truce-of-1914
1950 Coronation Stone, taken from Scone in Scotland by Edward I in 1296, stolen from Westminster Abbey & smuggled back to Scotland
1962 The Department of Commerce Census Clock in Washington, DC, recorded the U.S. population on this day as 188,000,000.
1968 42 Dalits are burned alive in Kilavenmani village, Tamil Nadu, India, a retaliation for a campaign for higher wages by Dalit labourers
1973 Arab oil ministers cancel January 5 percent production cut; Saudi Arabian oil minister promises 10 percent OPEC production rise
1974 Marshall Fields drives a vehicle through the gates of the White House, resulting in a four-hour standoff.
1979 Soviet forces invade Afghanistan to prop up the Communist government, beginning a disastrous and failed ten-year war
1989 Show trial of Romanian Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena on charges of genocide and personal enrichment. The couple are found guilty and executed by firing squad the same day.
1991 Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev went on television to announce his resignation as leader of a Communist superpower that had already gone out of existence.
1996 1,500 year anniversary of Catholicism in France commemorating the baptism of Clovis I in Rheims
2004 Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which successfully landed on Saturn’s moon Titan on January 14, 2005.
2009 Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab unsuccessfully attempts a terrorist attack against the US while on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253
2020 An RV detonates in downtown Nashville, Tennessee causing damage to people and property; prior to detonating, a recorded message playing from speakers warned anyone in earshot to evacuate prior to an explosion
REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
