On This Day December 25

1964
James Bond: Goldfinger premiers in the U.S. It was 3rd in the James Bond series and starred Sean Connery as 007.

1868
Civil War: Pres. Johnson grants amnesty to all those who participated in the war, including Jefferson Davis.

1776
American Revolution: Washington makes his famous crossing of the Delaware to attack the Hessians in Trenton, New Jersey.

1760
First black in America to publish his own poetry: Jupiter Hammon publishes An Evening Thought.

1758
Halley's Comet: As predicted by Sir Edmund Halley, it arrives. This was the first time a comet's return had been accurately predicted.

1954
Annie Lennox, Scottish singer, with the Eurythmics. Music: Sweet Dreams (1982, #1).

1949
Sissy Spacek (Mary Elizabeth Spacek), American Oscar-winning actress. Film: Carrie (1976) and Coal Miner's Daughter (1979, Oscar).

1948
Barbara Mandrell, American country singer. Music: Sleeping Single In a Double Bed (1977, #1). She was the Country Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year (1979) and Entertainer of the Year (1980 and 1981).

1946
Jimmy Buffet, American singer, songwriter. Music: Margaritaville (1977) and Cheeseburger in Paradise (1978).

1945
Gary Sandy, American actor. TV: Somerset (Randy Buchanan) and WKRP in Cincinnati (Andy Travis).

1937 d. 1986
O'Kelly Isley, American Grammy-winning singer, with the Isley Brothers. Music: Twist and Shout (1962), This Old Heart of Mine (1966), and It's Your Thing (1970, Grammy).

1924 d. 1975
Rod Serling (Rodman Edward Serling), American Emmy-winning writer. Film: Planet of the Apes (1968, writer). TV: The Twilight Zone (producer, creator, and host) and Night Gallery (host).

1918 d. 1981
Anwar as-Sadat, Egyptian president (1970-81), Time magazine's Man of the Year (1977), and co-winner of the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize (with Menachem Begin).

1907 d. 1994
Cab Calloway (Cabell Calloway), American singer, bandleader, actor. His orchestra was one of the leading bands of the 1930s and '40s. Music: Minnie the Moocher (the first million-selling jazz record).

1889 d. 1984
Lila Bell Acheson Wallace, American publisher. She and her husband DeWitt founded Reader's Digest (1921). It obtained the largest magazine circulation in the world.

1887 d. 1979
Conrad Hilton, American hotel executive. He bought his first hotel in Texas in 1919.

1880 d. 1938
Johnny Gruelle (John Barton), American children's author, creator of Raggedy Ann (1917) and Raggedy Andy (1922).

1876 d. 1948
Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Indian statesman, founder and first governor (1947-48) of Pakistan.

1821 d. 1912
Clara Barton, American nurse, philanthropist, Mother of the Red Cross. Known as the "Angel of the Battlefield," she helped organize and was the first president of the American Red Cross Society (1881).

1642 d. 1727
Sir Isaac Newton, English mathematician, philosopher, astronomer. He discovered the three laws of motion, the law of gravity, and invented calculus.

1997 b. 1920
Denver Pyle, American actor. TV: The Dukes of Hazzard (Uncle Jesse) and The Doris Day Show (1968-70, Buck Webb - Doris Day's Father).

1996 b. 1990
JonBenét Patricia Ramsey, American child beauty pageant queen, murder victim. Her murder in her Boulder, Colorado home drew national attention.

1995 b. 1917
Dean Martin (Dino Paul Crocetti), American singer, actor, partner of Jerry Lewis. He boxed professionally under the name "Kid Crochet."

1977 b. 1889
Sir Charles Chaplin, British silent film actor who endeared audiences with his "little tramp" character. He also co-founded United Artists (1919).

1973 b. 1884
Ismet Inönü, Turkish statesman and its first prime minister (1923-37) and second president (1938-50).

1952 b. 1869
Dinty Moore (James H. Moore), American restaurateur, known as the "Corned Beef and Cabbage King."

1946 b. 1879
W.C. Fields (William Claude Dukenfield), American actor. Film: You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939) and My Little Chickadee (1940).

December 25

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