Pope Liberius celebrated the first official Christmas mass in Rome on this day in 352. The birth of Jesus Christ had been celebrated as many as two centuries earlier, but it was this mass that ensured Christmas’s place on December 25 in the Roman Catholic calendar. 352.
American singer and songwriter James Brown, known as “the Godfather of Soul,” died at the age of 73. 2006.
Mikhail Gorbachev resigned the presidency of the Soviet Union, which ceased to exist at the end of the year. 1991.
The film adaptation of Harper Lee‘s To Kill a Mockingbird premiered and became a classic, especially noted for Gregory Peck‘s portrayal of Atticus Finch. 1962.
As an important step in the U.S.S.R.’s efforts to build a nuclear weapon, the first Soviet chain reaction took place in Moscow using an experimental graphite-moderated natural uranium pile. The Soviets successfully tested their first nuclear device about two and a half years later. 1946.
During the American Revolution, General George Washington crossed the Delaware River and surprised the British at Trenton, New Jersey. 1776.
Bing Crosby debuted Irving Berlin‘s “White Christmas” on The Kraft Music Hall radio program. Crosby later recorded the song for the film Holiday Inn (1942), and it won an Oscar, becoming one of the most popular songs in American history. 1941.
Co. Hesive Magazine 