Today in History: December 25th Through the Years

Today in History: December 25th Through the Years

Today is December 25th, 2025, marking the 359th day of the year and Christmas Day. On this day in history, passengers on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 thwarted a terrorist attempt in 2009. In 1066, William the Conqueror was crowned King of England, while in 1818, the iconic Christmas carol "Silent Night" was performed for the first time in Austria. President Andrew Johnson granted pardons to Confederate supporters in 1868, and in 1776, Gen. George Washington led a surprise attack on Hessian forces in New Jersey during the Revolutionary War. Hirohito became emperor of Japan in 1926, and in 1989, Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu was executed after a popular uprising. In 2021, NASA launched the James Webb Space Telescope to explore the universe for signs of life.