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Today marks Friday, December 26, 2025, the 360th day of the year, leaving just five days remaining in the calendar year.
Today in history:
On this day in 1908, history was made when Jack Johnson became the first Black boxer to secure the world heavyweight title. He achieved this milestone by defeating Canadian Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia.
Also on this date:
Fast forward to 1941, amidst the turmoil of World War II, Winston Churchill etched his name in history by becoming the first British prime minister to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress. This significant moment took place just two weeks following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which had drawn the United States into the global conflict.
The year 1966 saw the inaugural celebration of Kwanzaa, a seven-day holiday established to help African Americans reconnect with their African roots and heritage.
In a poignant moment from 1990, Nancy Cruzan, a woman in a persistent vegetative state whose situation had prompted a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding the right to die, passed away in a Missouri hospital.
Significant political change unfolded in 1991 when the Soviet Union was officially dissolved, following a declaration by the Supreme Soviet, marking the end of an era.
In 2004, a 9.1-magnitude earthquake beneath the Indian Ocean off the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered a tsunami with waves up to 100 feet high that killed about 230,000 people across a dozen countries as far as East Africa. The worst-affected countries were Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.
In 2006, former President Gerald R. Ford died in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 93.
In 2021, South African Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu died at 90; the retired archbishop had been an uncompromising foe of apartheid and a modern-day activist for racial justice and LGBTQ rights.
Today’s Birthdays:
- “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh is 80.
- Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk is 78.
- Baseball Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith is 71.
- Humorist David Sedaris is 69.
- Rock musician Lars Ulrich (Metallica) is 62.
- Actor-musician Jared Leto is 54.
- Rock singer Chris Daughtry is 46.
- Actor Beth Behrs is 40.
- Actor Kit Harington is 39.
