Aircraft systems
After the loss of aircraft systems, Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 crashed near Aktau International Airport while attempting to perform an emergency landing after being hit by a Russian defense missile.
What happened on December 25
38 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1066 to 2024.
Standout on December 25
2024
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 crashes in Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 of its occupants.
About December 25
December 25 is the 359th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 359 of 365 (360 in leap years)6 days left in the year (6 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Friday in 2026, Saturday in 2027, Monday in 2028, Tuesday in 2029, Wednesday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 52 of 2026 · Q4
- Zodiac sign
- ♑ Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)
- Season
- Winter in the north · Summer in the south
- December birthstone
- Turquoise / Tanzanite / Zircongood fortune, wisdom and success
- December birth flower
- Narcissus / Holly / Poinsettiarespect, hope and good wishes
- Next occurrence
- In 59 days
- Roman numerals
- XXV.XIIday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 50thEgyptAir Flight 8641976
- 40thIraqi Airways Flight 1631986
- 30thEmiliano Buendía1996
- 30thKilling of JonBenét Ramsey1996
- 10thGeorge Michael2016
- 10thMinistry of Defence (Russia)2016
- 10thTupolev Tu-1542016
- 10thValery Khalilov2016
December 25 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- Tupolev Tu-154 · Ministry of Defence (Russia) · Valery Khalilov
- 25 years ago2001
- Nothing recorded
- 50 years ago1976
- EgyptAir Flight 864
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on December 25 — ages this year
- 2000Wilfried Singoturns 26
- 1999Adut Akechturns 27
- 1996Emiliano Buendíaturns 30
- 1993Emi Takeiturns 33
- 1992Mitakeumi Hisashiturns 34
- 1991Avu-chanturns 35
Historical events 38
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 crashes in Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 of its occupants.
James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope is launched.
2020 Nashville bombing
An explosion in Nashville, Tennessee, occurs, leaving three civilians in the hospital.
Typhoon Phanfone
Twenty people are killed and thousands are left homeless by Typhoon Phanfone in the Philippines.
Tupolev Tu-154
A Tupolev Tu-154 of the Russian Defence Ministry crashed into the Black Sea shortly after taking off from Sochi International Airport, killing all 92 people on board.
Ministry of Defence (Russia)
A Russian Defence Ministry Tupolev Tu-154 carrying members of the Alexandrov Ensemble crashes into the Black Sea shortly after takeoff, killing all 92 people on board.
Antonov An-72
An Antonov An-72 plane crashes close to the city of Shymkent, killing 27 people.
Air Bagan Flight 011
Air Bagan Flight 011, a Fokker 100, crashes on approach to Heho Airport in Heho, Myanmar, killing two people.
Northwest Airlines Flight 253
Aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear.
Longford
A fire destroyed Longford's 19th-century St Mel's Cathedral, considered the "flagship cathedral" of the Irish midlands.
Siberian tiger
A Siberian tiger named Tatania escapes her exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo and attacks three people, killing one and injuring two more.
San Francisco Zoo
A tiger at the San Francisco Zoo escaped from its enclosure and attacked three patrons before it was shot and killed.
Cassini–Huygens
The Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which successfully landed on Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005.
Beagle 2
The ill-fated Beagle 2 probe, released from the Mars Express spacecraft on December 19, stops transmitting shortly before its scheduled landing.
UTA Flight 141
UTA Flight 141, a Boeing 727-223, crashes at the Cotonou Airport in Benin, killing 141 people.
Vladimir Putin
Russian president Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill officially adopting a new national anthem, with music by Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov originally composed for the anthem of the Soviet Union.
Cubana de Aviación Flight 310
Cubana de Aviación Flight 310, a Yakovlev Yak-42, crashes near Bejuma, Carabobo State, Venezuela, killing 22 people.
Killing of JonBenét Ramsey
The body of American child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey was found in her family's Boulder, Colorado, home. Her murder remains unsolved.
Mikhail Gorbachev
In a nationally televised speech, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as President of the Soviet Union.
Tim Berners-Lee
British computer programmer Tim Berners-Lee introduced WorldWideWeb, the world's first web browser and WYSIWYG HTML editor.
Romanian revolution
Romanian Revolution: Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena were condemned to death on a wide range of charges and executed.
Iraqi Airways Flight 163
Iraqi Airways Flight 163, a Boeing 737-270C, is hijacked and crashes in Arar, Saudi Arabia, killing 63 people.
Menachem Begin
Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with its president Anwar Sadat.
EgyptAir Flight 864
EgyptAir Flight 864, a Boeing 707-366C, crashes on approach to Don Mueang International Airport, killing 71 people.
Daeyeonggak Hotel fire
A fire at the Daeyeonggak Hotel in Seoul, South Korea kills 164 people.
Tamil Nadu
In Tamil Nadu, India, families of striking Dalit workers were massacred by a gang, allegedly led by their landlords.
Apollo program
Apollo program: Apollo 8 performs the first successful Trans-Earth injection (TEI) maneuver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit.
World War II
Second World War: The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when Mark Aitchison Young, the Governor of Hong Kong, surrendered the territory to Japan after 18 days of fierce fighting.
Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng
The Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng, a revolutionary socialist political party that sought Vietnamese independence from French colonial rule, was formed in Hanoi.
HMT Night Hawk
The Royal Navy armed trawler Night Hawk sank after striking a mine, with the loss of six of her crew.
Baptists
A Baptist preacher named Samuel Sharpe began an unsuccessful eleven-day slave revolt in Jamaica.
Ephraim McDowell
American physician Ephraim McDowell performed the world's first removal of an ovarian tumor.
Edmond Halley
Based on predictions by Edmond Halley in 1705, Johann Georg Palitzsch observed a comet that was later named Halley's Comet .
Johann Sebastian Bach
J. S. Bach led the first performance of the Christmas cantata Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, BWV 110, making laughter audible in singing.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach led the first performance of Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, based on the Christmas hymn written by Martin Luther in 1524.
Baldwin I of Jerusalem
Baldwin I was crowned the first king of Jerusalem (depicted) in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
Norman Conquest
Norman Conquest: William the Conqueror was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey, but continued to face rebellions over the following years and was not secure on the throne until after 1072.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Yulia Svyrydenko
Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukrainian politician, 19th Prime Minister of Ukraine
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
D. Herbert Lipson
D. Herbert Lipson, American magazine publisher (Philadelphia, Boston) (born 1929)
George Clayton Johnson
George Clayton Johnson, American author and screenwriter (born 1929)
Holidays & observances 8
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Good Governance Day
Good Governance Day (India)
Public holidays in Taiwan
Constitution Day (Taiwan)
Christmas
Christmas Day, Christian festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. (Internationally observed)
Asaram
Tulsi Pujan Diwas (India)
Saint Stephen
Christian feast day: Stephen (Armenian Apostolic Church)
December 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Christian feast day: December 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Children's Day
Children's Day (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Republic of Congo)
Anastasia of Sirmium
Christian feast day: Anastasia of Sirmium (Catholic Church)
Spread across the centuries
- 11th century2
- 18th century3
- 19th century2
- 20th century35
- 21st century36
Earliest: Norman Conquest (1066). Most recent: Aircraft systems (2024).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about December 25
What day of the year is December 25?
December 25 is the 359th day of the year, with 6 days left after it.
What star sign is December 25?
December 25 falls under Capricorn (December 22 – January 19), a earth sign ruled by Saturn. The birthstone for the month is Turquoise or Tanzanite or Zircon.
How many things happened on December 25?
We record 86 entries for December 25: 38 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1066 to 2024.
Who was born on December 25?
Wilfried Singo (2000) is among the notable births on December 25. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the December 25 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like December 25
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.