Did you know
Patrick Joseph Donovan was an Irish born right fielder and manager in Major League Baseball who played for several teams from 1890 to 1907, most notably the Pittsburgh Pirates
Notable Deaths on December 25
133 people
304 – 2024
December 25 has seen 133 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 304 – 2024. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1953 — Patsy Donovan
Irish-American baseball player and manager (born 1865)
Did you know
In his first full season with the team, he had his first .300 season as a National League player, batting .317 with 46 stolen bases and 158 hits in 113 games
Did you know
Donovan started his career with Boston in 1890 but shuffled over to Brooklyn before the season ended, which saw him win the National League pennant
Did you know
He played for Louisville and Washington of the American Association for a season each before he found himself with the Pirates in 1892, where he would play for the next seven years
Did you know
He batted .300 in each of the next five seasons with Pittsburgh before his tenure ended in 1899
Saint Anastasia is a Christian saint and martyr who died at Sirmium in the Roman province of Pannonia Secunda. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, she is venerated as St. Anastasia the Pharmakolytria, i.e. "Deliverer from…
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304
Pope Adrian I was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 772 until his death on 25 December 795. Descended from a family of the military aristocracy of Rome known as domini de via Lata, he was…
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795
Leo V the Armenian was the Byzantine emperor from 813 to 820. He is chiefly remembered for ending the decade-long war with the Bulgars, as well as initiating the second period of Byzantine iconoclasm.
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820
general of Later Tang
Zhang Jingda, courtesy name Zhitong (志通), nickname Shengtie, was a Chinese military general and politician of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period Later Tang state. At the end of Later Tang, when Shi Jingtang…
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936
Iranian general
Abu Mansur Makan ibn Kaki was a Daylamite military leader active in northern Iran in the early 10th century. He became involved in the succession disputes of the Alids of Tabaristan, and managed to establish himself as…
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940
1147
French abbot and saint (born 1092)
Peter the Venerable, also known as Peter of Montboissier, was the abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Cluny. He has been honored as a saint although he was never canonized in the Middle Ages. Since in 1862 Pope Pius IX…
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1156
king of Sweden
Sverker the Elder, also known as Sverker I, was King of Sweden from about 1132 until his murder. Of non-royal descent, he founded the House of Sverker, the rulers of which alternated with the rival House of Erik over…
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1156
Duke of Pomerania
Mestwin II was a Duke of Gdańsk Pomerania, member of the Samborides dynasty. He ruled Gdańsk Pomerania as a sole ruler from 1273 to 1294.
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1294
1395
Henry III of Castile, called the Suffering due to his ill health, was the son of John I and Eleanor of Aragon. He succeeded his father as King of Castile in 1390.
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1406
2nd Earl of Kent, English politician (born 1454)
George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent, was the son of Edmund Grey, 1st Earl of Kent and Lady Katherine Percy. He was the Second Earl of Kent from 1490 to 1505.
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1505
Spanish explorer and politician, 1st Royal Governor of Chile (born 1500)
Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva was a Spanish conquistador and the first Governor of Colonial Chile. After having served with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1535, where he…
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1553
English noblewoman (born 1543)
Lettice Knollys was an English noblewoman and mother to the courtiers Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and Penelope, Lady Rich. She was Countess of Essex during her first marriage to Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of…
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1634
French soldier, geographer, and explorer (born 1567)
Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer, navigator, cartographer, soldier, geographer, diplomat, and chronicler who founded Quebec City and established New France as a permanent French colony in North America.
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1635
1st Duke of Newcastle, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire (born 1592)
William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne,, who after 1665 styled himself as Prince William Cavendish, was an English courtier and supporter of the arts. He was a renowned horse breeder, as well as being patron…
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1676
English lawyer and jurist, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (born 1609)
Sir Matthew Hale was an influential English lawyer, most noted for his treatise Historia Placitorum Coronæ, or The History of the Pleas of the Crown. He occupied various public offices both under the Cromwellian…
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1676
Ottoman general and politician, 111th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (born 1634)
Kara Mustafa Pasha was an Ottoman nobleman, military figure and Grand Vizier, who was a central character in the Ottoman Empire's last attempts at expansion into both Central and Eastern Europe.
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1683
German-Norwegian merchant (born c.1640)
Jørgen Thormøhlen was a German-born Norwegian merchant, shipowner, slave trader and industrialist.
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1708
1st Earl of Deloraine, Scottish peer and general (born 1676)
Major-General Henry Scott, 1st Earl of Deloraine, KB was a British Army officer and politician.
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1730
1758
Japanese poet and painter (born 1716)
Yosa (no) Buson was a Japanese poet and painter of the Edo period. He lived from 1716 – January 17, 1784. Along with Matsuo Bashō and Kobayashi Issa, Buson is considered among the greatest poets of the Edo Period. He…
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1784
Queen of Sivagangai (born 1730)
"Veeramangai" Rani Velu Nachiyar was a queen of Sivaganga estate from c. 1780–1790. She was the first Indian queen to wage war with the East India Company (EIC) in India. She is proudly called by Tamils as Veeramangai.
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1796
German mystic and author (born 1764)
Beate Barbara Juliane Freifrauvon Krüdener, often called by her formal French name, Madame de Krüdener, was a Baltic German religious mystic, author, and Pietist Lutheran theologian who exerted influence on wider…
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1824
Irish revolutionary, later French Army general (born 1772)
General William Lawless was a Dublin-born surgeon and important member of the Society of the United Irishmen, a revolutionary republican organisation in late 18th century Ireland.
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1824
Ottoman physician, historian, and official (born 1818)
Hayrullah Efendi was an Ottoman historian, physician, and statesman, who served as the Ottoman ambassador to Iran from 1865 until his death.
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1866
Jr., American engineer and businessman (born 1821)
Linus Yale Jr. was an American businessman, inventor, mechanical engineer, and metalsmith. He was a co-founder with millionaire Henry R. Towne of the Yale Lock Company, which became the premier manufacturer of locks in…
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1868
Scottish golfer (born 1851)
Thomas Morris, better known as Young Tom Morris, was a Scottish professional golfer. He is considered one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodigy in golf history. He won four consecutive…
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1875
Swiss lawyer and politician, President of the Swiss National Council (born 1828)
Fridolin Anderwert was a Swiss politician.
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1880
Polish saint, founded the Albertine Brothers (born 1845)
Albert Chmielowski – born Adam Hilary Bernard Chmielowski – was a Polish Franciscan tertiary, painter, and disabled veteran of the Uprising of 1863. He was founder of both the Albertine Brothers and Albertine Sisters…
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1916
Russian journalist, author, and activist (born 1853)
Vladimir Galaktionovich Korolenko was a Russian writer, journalist and humanitarian of Ukrainian origin. His best-known work includes the short novel The Blind Musician (1886), as well as numerous short stories based…
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1921
German psychoanalyst and author (born 1877)
Karl Abraham was an influential German psychoanalyst, and a collaborator of Sigmund Freud, who called him his 'best pupil'.
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1925
Emperor Taishō was Emperor of Japan from 29 July 1912 until his death in 1926. His reign was marked by a domestic political shift toward liberal democracy, called Taishō democracy. He oversaw Japan's participation in…
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1926
American boxer (born 1885)
Miles J. Burke was an American flyweight boxer who competed in the early twentieth century. He died in St. Louis, Missouri.
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1928
Estonian journalist and author (born 1871)
Jakob Mändmets was an Estonian writer and journalist.
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1930
Catalan colonel and politician, 122nd President of Catalonia (born 1859)
Francesc Macià i Llussà was a Catalan politician who served as the 122nd president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, and formerly an officer in the Spanish Army.
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1933
French author and critic (born 1852)
Paul Charles Joseph Bourget was a French poet, novelist and critic. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times.
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1935
Czech author and playwright (born 1890)
Karel Čapek was a Czech writer, playwright, critic and journalist. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel War with the Newts (1936) and play R.U.R., which introduced the word robot. He…
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1938
American actress (born 1898)
Agnes Ayres was an American actress who rose to fame during the period of silent films. She was known for her role as Lady Diana Mayo in The Sheik opposite Rudolph Valentino.
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1940
American lawyer and politician (born 1884)
Richard Steere Aldrich was an American politician. He was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and served in the Rhode Island State Senate and the Rhode Island House of Representatives.
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1941
South African-English journalist and author (born 1909)
George Lowther Steer was a South African-born British journalist, author and war correspondent who reported on wars preceding the Second World War, especially the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and the Spanish Civil War.…
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1944
American actor, comedian, juggler, and screenwriter (born 1880)
William Claude Dukenfield, better known as W. C. Fields, was an American actor, comedian, juggler and writer. His career in show business began in vaudeville, where he attained international success as a silent juggler.…
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1946
American lawyer and politician, 51st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (born 1886)
Gaspar Griswold Bacon Sr. was an American politician who served as the president of the Massachusetts Senate from 1929 to 1932 and as the 51st lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 1933 to 1935.
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1947
American animator and producer, founded Warner Bros. Cartoons (born 1884)
Leon Schlesinger was an American film producer and businessman who founded Leon Schlesinger Productions, later known as Warner Bros. Cartoons, a prolific producer of animated short films during the Golden Age of…
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1949
English politician (born 1903)
Neil Lanfear Maclean Francis Hawkins was a British writer and politician who was a leading proponent of British fascism in the United Kingdom both before and after the Second World War. He played a leading role in the…
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1950
American photographer (born 1886)
Margrethe Mather was an American photographer. She was one of the best known female photographers of the early 20th century. Initially she influenced and was influenced by Edward Weston while working in the pictorial…
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1952
British cartoonist (born 1872)
William Kerridge Haselden was an English cartoonist and caricaturist.
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1953
Swiss author and playwright (born 1878)
Robert Walser was a German language Swiss writer. He additionally worked as a copyist, an inventor's assistant, a butler, and in various other low-paying trades. Despite marginal early success in his literary career,…
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1956
French record producer, founded Pathé Records (born 1863)
Charles Morand Pathé was a pioneer of the French film and recording industries. As the founder of Pathé Frères, its roots lie in 1896 Paris, France, when Pathé and his brothers pioneered the development of the moving…
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1957
American captain, lawyer, and politician, 54th Governor of Maine (born 1888)
Ralph Owen Brewster was an American politician from Maine. Brewster, a Republican, served as the 54th governor of Maine from 1925 to 1929, in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1935 to 1941 and in the U.S. Senate…
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1961
German-American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1873)
Otto Loewi was a German-born pharmacologist and psychobiologist who discovered the role of acetylcholine as an endogenous neurotransmitter. For this discovery, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in…
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1961
Romanian-French poet, playwright, painter, and critic (born 1896)
Tristan Tzara was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, composer and film director, he was known best for being one of…
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1963
Hungarian-English photographer and journalist (born 1908)
Michael Peto was an internationally recognized Hungarian-British photojournalist of the twentieth century. Emigrating to London before World War II through business, in the postwar years he became one of a generation of…
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1970
Turkish general and politician, 2nd President of Turkey (born 1884)
Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish politician and military officer who served as the president of Turkey from 1938 to 1950, and as its prime minister three times: from 1923 to 1924, 1925 to 1937, and 1961 to 1965.
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1973
French pilot and engineer (born 1880)
Gabriel Voisin was a French aviation pioneer and the creator of Europe's first manned, engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft capable of a sustained (1 km), circular, controlled flight, which was made by Henri Farman…
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1973
French publisher, founded Éditions Gallimard (born 1881)
Gaston Gallimard was a French publisher.
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1975
Estonian mathematician and author (born 1913)
Gunnar Kangro was an Estonian mathematician. He worked mainly on summation theory. He taught various courses on mathematical analysis, functional analysis and algebra in the University of Tartu and he has written…
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1975
English actor and director (born 1889)
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. was an English comic actor, filmmaker, film editor and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is…
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1977
American actress and singer (born 1906)
Rose Joan Blondell was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years.
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1979
Canadian painter and sculptor (born 1932)
Jordi Bonet, known professionally as Jordi Bonet, was a Spanish-born Canadian painter, ceramist, muralist, and sculptor who worked principally in Quebec.
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1979
English actor and comedian (born 1900)
Frederick Arthur Round Emney was an English character actor and comedian.
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1980
1983
Japanese author and critic (born 1909)
Shōhei Ōoka was a Japanese novelist, literary critic, and lecturer and translator of French literature who was active during the Shōwa period. Ōoka belongs to the group of postwar writers whose Pacific War experiences…
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1988
10th Duke of Newcastle, English entomologist and lepidopterist (born 1920)
Edward Charles Pelham-Clinton, 10th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, was an English lepidopterist and military officer as well as Duke of Newcastle for less than two months at the end of his life, inheriting the titles…
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1988
American poker player and businessman (born 1904)
Lester Ben Binion, better known as Benny Binion, was an American casino operator who established illegal gambling operations in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. In 1931, Binion was convicted of shooting and killing a…
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1989
Romanian politician, First Lady of Romania (born 1916)
Elena Ceaușescu was a Romanian communist politician who was the wife of Nicolae Ceaușescu, General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party and leader of the Socialist Republic of Romania. She was also the Deputy Prime…
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1989
Romanian general and politician, 1st President of Romania (born 1918)
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian communist politician who led Romania as general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 and as president from 1974 until his execution in 1989.
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1989
American actress (born 1905)
Katharine Elizabeth Garde was an American stage, radio, film and television actress.
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1989
American judge and politician, 34th Lieutenant Governor of California (born 1905)
Frederick Francis Houser was an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 34th lieutenant governor of California under Governor Earl Warren from 1943 to 1947.
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1989
American baseball player and manager (born 1928)
Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin Jr. was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman and manager, who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yankees. First known as a…
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1989
American director and screenwriter (born 1910)
Robert Pirosh was an American screenwriter and film director. He is most known for his war and military-themed works, inspired by his experiences as a U.S. Army infantryman during World War II. He won an Academy Award…
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1989
American football player and wrestler (born 1929)
Wilbur Snyder was an American football player and professional wrestler. He played college football for the Utah Utes.
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1991
British-American nurse and author (born 1915)
Monica Enid Dickens, MBE was an English writer, the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens.
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1992
French physicist and academic (born 1899)
Pierre Victor Auger was a French physicist, born in Paris. He worked in the fields of atomic physics, nuclear physics, and cosmic ray physics. He is famous for being one of the discoverers of the Auger effect, named…
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1993
Indian politician, 7th President of India (born 1916)
Giani Zail Singh was an Indian politician who served as President of India from 1982 to 1987 and chief minister of Punjab in the 1970s. He was the first Sikh to become president.
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1994
Lithuanian-French philosopher and academic (born 1906)
Emmanuel Levinas was a French philosopher of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry who is known for his work within Jewish philosophy, existentialism, and phenomenology, focusing on the relationship of ethics to metaphysics and…
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1995
American singer and actor (born 1917)
Dean Martin was an American singer, actor, comedian and television host. Nicknamed the "King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of the 20th century.
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1995
Korean surgeon (born 1914)
Chang Kee-ryo was a surgeon, educator, and philanthropist of South Korea.
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1995
Italian-American aviator and mercenary (born 1914)
Vincent Joseph Patriarca, later known as Maresciallo Vincenzo Joseph Patriarca, was an Italian American notable for being one of the few United States citizens to fight for Franco's Nationalists during the Spanish Civil…
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1995
Canadian sportscaster (born 1928)
Foster William Alfred Hewitt was a Canadian radio and television sportscaster. He was the son of hockey broadcaster Foster Hewitt and the grandson of Toronto Star journalist W. A. Hewitt.
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1996
Kazakh mountaineer and explorer (born 1958)
Anatoli Nikolaevich Boukreev was a Russian-born Kazakh mountaineer who made ascents of 10 of the 14 eight-thousander peaks—those above 8,000 m (26,247 ft)—without supplemental oxygen. From 1989 through 1997, he made 18…
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1997
American actor (born 1920)
Denver Dell Pyle was an American film and television actor and director. He was well known for a number of television roles from the 1960s through the 1980s, including his portrayal of Briscoe Darling in several…
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1997
English snooker player (born 1923)
Herbert John Pulman was an English professional snooker player who was the World Snooker Champion from 1957 to 1968. He first won the title at the 1957 Championship and retained it across seven challenges from 1964 to…
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1998
Australian cricketer and footballer (born 1939)
Neil James Napier Hawke was an Australian Test cricketer and leading Australian rules footballer.
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2000
American philosopher and academic (born 1908)
Willard Van Orman Quine was an American logician and philosopher in the analytic tradition, recognized as "one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century". He was the Edgar Pierce Chair of Philosophy…
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2000
French otolaryngologist and academic (born 1920)
Alfred Tomatis was a French otolaryngologist and inventor. He received his Doctorate in Medicine from the Paris School of Medicine. His alternative medicine theories of hearing and listening are known as the Tomatis…
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2001
American politician (born 1929)
Nicholas James Mavroules was an American Democratic Party politician from Massachusetts. He served as Mayor of Peabody, Massachusetts for a decade, then represented Peabody and much of the surrounding North Shore region…
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2003
Russian engineer and astronaut (born 1940)
Gennady Mikhailovich Strekalov was an engineer, cosmonaut, and administrator at Russian aerospace firm RSC Energia. He flew into space five times and lived aboard the Salyut 6, Salyut 7, and Mir space stations, spending…
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2004
English guitarist (born 1930)
Derek Bailey was an English avant-garde guitarist and an important figure in the free improvisation movement. Bailey abandoned conventional performance techniques found in jazz, exploring atonality, noise, and whatever…
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2005
Filipino police officer, lawyer, and politician, 15th Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (born 1944)
Robert Zabala Barbers was a Filipino police officer and politician. Barbers had served in the police force for almost three decades prior to becoming part of the government of the Philippines. He served in the…
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2005
Swedish operatic soprano (born 1918)
Märta Birgit Nilsson was a Swedish dramatic soprano. Although she sang a wide repertoire of operatic and vocal works, Nilsson was best known for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. Her…
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2005
Sri Lankan journalist, businessman, and politician (born 1934)
Joseph Pararajasingham was a Sri Lankan Tamil civil servant, journalist, businessman and politician. He was Member of Parliament for Batticaloa District from 1990 to 2004 and a National List Member of Parliament from…
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2005
American singer-songwriter (born 1933)
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by various nicknames, among…
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2006
English cricketer (born 1927)
Desmond William Barrick was an English cricketer who played in 301 first-class matches between 1949 and 1960.
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2007
American baseball player and coach (born 1939)
James Edward Beauchamp was an American Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder who played from 1963 to 1973 for the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Colt .45s/Astros, Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds,…
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2007
American singer and actress (born 1927)
Eartha Mae Kitt was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby".
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2008
American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1964)
James Victor Chesnutt was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, Little, was released in 1990. His commercial breakthrough came in 1996 with the release of Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the…
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2009
Venezuelan politician, 66th President of Venezuela (born 1922)
Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez, also known by his initials CAP and often referred to as El Gocho, was a Venezuelan politician who served as the 47th and 50th president of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again from 1989…
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2010
Italian journalist (born 1920)
Giorgio Valentino Bocca was an Italian essayist and journalist, also known for his participation in the World War II partisan movement.
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2011
American saxophonist (born 1942)
Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood was an American rock musician notable for being a member of the original version of Frank Zappa's band the Mothers of Invention, providing soprano, tenor and baritone saxophone,…
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2011
American author and illustrator (born 1932)
Simms Taback was an American writer, graphic artist, and illustrator of more than 35 books. He won the 2000 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, and was a…
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2011
Filipino journalist, lawyer, and politician (born 1940)
Erico Boyles Aumentado was a former governor, vice governor, and senior provincial board member of Bohol, and congressman and deputy speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives. He is the first governor of Bohol…
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2012
Norwegian radio host and politician (born 1918)
Halfdan Hegtun was a Norwegian radio personality, comedian and writer, former politician for the Liberal Party and later the Liberal People's Party.
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2012
American football player and coach (born 1935)
Joseph John Krivak was an American football player and coach. He served as head coach for the Maryland Terrapins football team from 1987 to 1991, where he compiled a 20–34–2 record. He also served as an assistant coach…
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2012
Saudi Arabian politician (born 1959)
Turki bin Sultan Al Saud was deputy minister of culture and information of Saudi Arabia. He was a member of the House of Saud and was one of the grandsons of Saudi's founder King Abdulaziz.
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2012
Turkish lawyer, politician, government minister (born 1938)
Şerafettin Elçi was a Kurdish lawyer, politician, government minister and statesman in Turkey. He was one of the pioneers of Kurdish politics in Turkey.
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2012
American historian and author (born 1961)
Anthony J. Bryant was an American author and editor. He worked in Japan for a period of time, and became an authority on medieval Japanese armor and samurai culture.
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2013
English geographer, anthropologist, archaeologist and academic (born 1930)
David Russell Harris, FSA, FBA was a British geographer, anthropologist, archaeologist and academic, well known for his detailed work on the origins of agriculture and the domestication of plants and animals. He was a…
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2013
English footballer (born 1967)
Wayne Harrison was an English professional footballer who played as a striker.
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2013
American baseball player and sportscaster (born 1942)
James Michael Hegan was an American professional baseball player, who later worked as a sports commentator. In Major League Baseball (MLB) he was a first baseman and outfielder, and played for three different American…
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2013
Canadian rural feminist and appointee to the Royal Commission on the Status of Women (born 1922)
Lola M. Lange was a Canadian rural feminist and a member of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women.
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2013
Filipino politician, 8th Mayor of Quezon City (born 1932)
Ismael Austria Mathay Jr., also known as Mel Mathay, was a Filipino lawyer and politician who last served as the Mayor of Quezon City from 1992 to 2001. Previously, he had also served as vice mayor of Quezon City from…
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2013
Cuban-French architect (born 1925)
Ricardo Porro Hidalgo was a Cuban-born architect. He graduated in architecture from the Universidad de la Habana in 1949 and built this year his first project Villa Armenteros in Havana, following which he spent two…
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2014
English cricketer (born 1935)
Geoffrey Pullar was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire and Gloucestershire and in 28 Tests for England.
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2014
English actor (born 1935)
David John Ryall was an English stage, film and television actor. He had leading roles in Lytton's Diary and Goodnight Sweetheart, as well as memorable roles in Dennis Potter's The Singing Detective and Andrew Davies's…
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2014
American author and screenwriter (born 1929)
George Clayton Johnson was an American science fiction writer, who co-wrote with William F. Nolan the novel Logan's Run, the basis for the MGM 1976 film. He also wrote television scripts for The Twilight Zone, and the…
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2015
American author and historian (born 1961)
Dorothy Milne Murdock, better known by her pen names Acharya S and D. M. Murdock, was an American writer supporting the Christ myth theory, which asserts that Jesus never existed as a historical person, but was rather a…
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2015
Russian military musician and composer (born 1952)
Valery Mikhailovich Khalilov was an Uzbek-born Russian military band conductor and composer. A lieutenant general in the Russian military, he was the Senior Director of Music of the Military Band Service of the Armed…
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2016
British singer and songwriter (born 1963)
George Michael was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time. Michael was known as a creative force in songwriting,…
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2016
American astronomer (born 1928)
Vera Florence Cooper Rubin was an American astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation rates. She uncovered the discrepancy between the predicted and observed angular motion of galaxies by studying galactic…
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2016
American magazine publisher (Philadelphia, Boston) (born 1929)
David Herbert Lipson was an American magazine publisher and longtime owner of Philadelphia and Boston magazines. Born in Philadelphia to newspaper owner S. Arthur Lipson, he graduated from Lafayette College in 1952, and…
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2017
Indian midwife (born 1920)
Sulagitti Narasamma was an Indian midwife from Pavagada town, Tumakuru district of Karnataka state. She performed more than 20,000 traditional deliveries free of charge over a 70-year period of service in deprived…
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2018
2019
American basketball player and coach (born 1932)
K.C. Jones Jr. was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is best known for his association with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA), with whom he won 11 of his 12 NBA…
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2020
American artist (born 1920)
Wayne Thiebaud was an American painter known for his colorful works depicting commonplace objects—pies, cakes, lipsticks, paint cans, ice cream cones, pastries, and hot dogs—as well as for his landscapes and figure…
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2021
Uruguayan footballer (born 1973)
Fabián Alberto O'Neill Domínguez was a Uruguayan professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
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2022
British wrestler (born 1940)
James Breaks was an English professional wrestler. A holder of several of the Mountevans championships he regularly competed for these and in other matches on ITV's wrestling coverage particularly on World of Sport.…
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2023
English writer (born 1943)
Britt Allcroft was an English screenwriter, producer, director, and voice actress. She adapted Wilbert Awdry's The Railway Series in the form of the children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. She…
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2024
American football player (born 1945)
William Earl Bergey was an American professional football linebacker who played for 12 seasons, most notably with the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals…
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2024
2024
Indian author and screenwriter (born 1933)
Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Narayanan Nair was an Indian author, lecturer, screenplay writer, filmmaker and literary statesman. He was a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and was one of the…
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2024
Japanese businessman (born 1930)
Osamu Suzuki , was a Japanese businessman and the chairman of Suzuki Motor Corporation. From 1978, Suzuki served as the CEO, president, and chairman of the company. In February 2021, Suzuki Motor Corporation announced…
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2024
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Notable deaths
Who died on December 25?
Patsy Donovan — Irish baseball player and manager (1865–1953)
FeaturedPatsy Donovan
Death year1953
Known forDonovan started his career with Boston in 1890 but shuffled over to Brooklyn before the season ended, which saw him win the National League pennant
Deaths on this date133 (304 – 2024)
Explore December 25
Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.
Also on December 25 in History
2024
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 crashes in Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 of its occupants. Wikipedia →
2021
The James Webb Space Telescope is launched. Wikipedia →
2020
See all events on December 25
An explosion in Nashville, Tennessee, occurs, leaving three civilians in the hospital. Wikipedia →
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