This Day in History: Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, marking the end of the Soviet Union

Following are some of the major events to have occurred on December 25:

1914 – A group of British and German soldiers observed an unofficial “Christmas Truce” on the Western Front, climbing out of their trenches and meeting in no-man’s land.

1926 – Emperor Hirohito acceded to the Japanese throne on the death of his father Taisho. Hirohito died in 1989.

1941 – Hong Kong surrendered to the Japanese after a 17-day siege.

1946 – W.C. Fields, U.S. comedian and star of such films as “The Bank Dick” and “My Little Chickadee”, died.

1977 – Charlie Chaplin, British-born U.S. star of silent comedy films, died.

1991 – Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, ceding power in Russia to Boris Yeltsin and marking the end of the Soviet Union.

1995 – Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, the country’s first female leader, resigned after losing elections to the Islamist Welfare Party.

2003 – One hundred and thirty-eight people were killed when a Boeing 727 bound for Beirut clipped a building after takeoff in Benin’s capital, Cotonu and crashed into the Atlantic.

2006 – James Brown, the “Godfather of Soul,” whose voice, showmanship and bold rhythms brought funk into the mainstream and influenced a generation of black music, died. He was 73.

2006 – The Queen’s televised Christmas message is offered as a podcast for the first time.

2008 – Eartha Kitt, who rose from the Southern cotton fields to captivate audiences around the world with sultry performances as a singer, dancer and actress, died.

(Reuters)