February 25
February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 309 days remaining until the end of the year (310 in leap years).
Events
- 138 – The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor.
- 1570 – Pope Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England.
- 1797 – Colonel William Tate and his force of 1000-1500 soldiers surrender after the Last Invasion of Britain.
- 1836 – Samuel Colt is granted a United States patent for the Colt revolver.
- 1843 – Provisional Cession of the Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands established by Lord George Paulet.
- 1866 – Miners in Calaveras County, California, discover what is now called the Calaveras Skull, human remains that supposedly indicated that man, mastodons, and elephants had co-existed.
- 1870 – Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in the U.S. Congress.
- 1901 – J. P. Morgan incorporates the United States Steel Corporation.
- 1912 – Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
- 1919 – Oregon places a 1 cent per U.S. gallon tax on gasoline, becoming the first U.S. state to levy a gasoline tax.
- 1921 – Tbilisi, capital of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, is occupied by Bolshevist Russia.
- 1928 – Charles Jenkins Laboratories of Washington, D.C. becomes the first holder of a television license from the Federal Radio Commission.
- 1932 – Adolf Hitler obtains German citizenship by naturalization, which allows him to run in the 1932 election for Reichspräsident.
- 1933 – The USS Ranger is launched. It is the first US Navy ship to be built solely as an aircraft carrier.
- 1941 – February Strike: In occupied Amsterdam, a general strike is declared in response to increasing anti-Jewish measures instituted by the Nazis.
- 1945 – World War II: Turkey declares war on Germany.
- 1947 – The State of Prussia ceases to exist.
- 1948 – The Communist Party takes control of government in Czechoslovakia and the period of the Third Republic ends.
- 1951 – The first Pan American Games are held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- 1954 – Gamal Abdul Nasser is made premier of Egypt.
- 1956 – In his speech On the Personality Cult and its Consequences Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union denounces the cult of personality of Joseph Stalin.
- 1964 – North Korean Prime Minister Kim Il-sung calls for the removal of feudalistic land ownership aimed at turning all cooperative farms into state-run ones.
- 1964 – U.S. Air Force launches a satellite employing a US Air Force Atlas/Agena combination from Point Arguello (LC-2-3) in California and from Cape Kennedy in Florida.
- 1968 – Vietnam War: 135 unarmed citizens of Ha My village in South Vietnam's Quảng Nam Province are killed and buried en masse by South Korean troops in what would come to be known as the Ha My massacre.
- 1971 – The first unit of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, the first commercial nuclear power station in Canada, goes online.
- 1980 – The Suriname government is overthrown by a military coup which is initiated with the bombing of the police station from an army ship off the coast of the nation's capital, Paramaribo
- 1986 – People Power Revolution: President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos flees the nation after 20 years of rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the Philippines' first woman president.
- 1991 – Gulf War: An Iraqi scud missile hits an American military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia killing 28 U.S. Army Reservists from Pennsylvania.
- 1992 – Khojaly massacre: about 613 civilians are killed by Armenian armed forces during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan
- 1994 – Mosque of Abraham massacre: In the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron, Baruch Goldstein opens fire with an automatic rifle, killing 29 Palestinian worshippers and injuring 125 more before being subdued and beaten to death by survivors.
- 2009 – BDR massacre in Pilkhana, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 74 people are killed, including more than 50 army officials, by Bangladeshi Border Guards inside its headquarters.
- 2011 – In the Irish general election, the Fianna Fáil-led government suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government since the formation of the Irish state in 1921.
Births
- 1398 – Emperor Xuande of China (d. 1435)
- 1591 – Friedrich von Spee, German writer (d. 1635)
- 1643 – Ahmed II, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1695)
- 1663 – Pierre Antoine Motteux, French-born English dramatist (d. 1718)
- 1682 – Giovanni Battista Morgagni, Italian anatomist (d. 1771)
- 1692 – Karl Ludwig, Freiherr von Pöllnitz, German adventurer and writer (d. 1775)
- 1707 – Carlo Goldoni, Italian writer (d. 1793)
- 1714 – René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, Chancellor of France (d. 1792)
- 1714 – Sir Hyde Parker, 5th Baronet, British admiral (d. 1782)
- 1725 – Karl Wilhelm Ramler, German poet (d. 1798)
- 1752 – John Graves Simcoe, British territorial lieutenant governor of Upper Canada (d. 1806)
- 1778 – Don José de San Martín, Argentine military commander (d. 1850)
- 1841 – Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French painter and sculptor (d. 1919)
- 1842 – Karl May, German writer (d. 1912)
- 1845 – George Reid, Australian politician (d. 1918)
- 1855 – George Bonnor, Australian cricketer (d. 1912)
- 1855 – Cesário Verde, Portuguese poet (d. 1886)
- 1860 – Sir William Ashley, British economic historian (d. 1927)
- 1861 – Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher and educator (d. 1925)
- 1865 – Zoravar Andranik Armenian general, political and public activist and freedom fighter (d. 1927)
- 1866 – Benedetto Croce, Italian philosopher (d. 1952)
- 1871 – Lesya Ukrainka, Ukrainian poet (d.1913)
- 1873 – Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor (d. 1921)
- 1877 – Erich von Hornbostel, Austrian musicologist (d. 1935)
- 1883 – Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (d. 1981)
- 1885 – Princess Alice of Battenberg (d. 1969)
- 1885 – Sylvia Brett, British socialite and wife of Charles Vyner Brooke (d. 1971)
- 1888 – John Foster Dulles, American politician, former United States Senator from New York, and 52nd United States Secretary of State (d. 1959)
- 1889 – Homer S. Ferguson, American politician (d. 1982)
- 1890 – Dame Myra Hess, English pianist (d. 1965)
- 1890 – Vyacheslav Molotov, Soviet politician (d. 1986)
- 1894 – Meher Baba, Indian spiritual figure (d. 1969)
- 1895 – Lew Andreas, American basketball coach (d. 1984)
- 1897 – Peter Llewelyn Davies, British namesake of Peter Pan (d. 1960)
- 1901 – Zeppo Marx, American actor (d. 1979)
- 1903 – King Clancy, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1986)
- 1906 – Boris Papandopulo, Croatian composer and conductor (d. 1991)
- 1908 – Frank G. Slaughter, American novelist (d. 2001)
- 1910 – Millicent Fenwick, American fashion editor and politician (d. 1992)
- 1912 – Brenda Joyce, American actress (d. 2009)
- 1913 – Jim Backus, American actor (d. 1989)
- 1913 – Gert Fröbe, German actor (d. 1988)
- 1914 – John Arlott, English cricket journalist (d. 1991)
- 1916 – Reinhard Bendix, German sociologist (d. 1991)
- 1917 – Anthony Burgess, English author (d. 1993)
- 1918 – Barney Ewell, American athlete (d. 1996)
- 1918 – Rena Kyriakou, Greek pianist (d. 1994)
- 1918 – Bobby Riggs, American tennis player (d. 1995)
- 1919 – Karl H. Pribram, Austrian neuroscientist
- 1919 – Monte Irvin, American baseball player
- 1920 – Gérard Bessette, Canadian author (d. 2005)
- 1921 – Pierre Laporte, Canadian statesman (d. 1970)
- 1921 – Andy Pafko, American baseball player
- 1923 – Takeo Kajiwara, Japanese Go player (d. 2009)
- 1927 – Dickie Jones, American actor
- 1927 – Ralph Stanley, American musician
- 1928 – Larry Gelbart, American comedy writer (d. 2009)
- 1929 – Christopher George, American actor (d. 1983)
- 1929 – Tommy Newsom, American bandleader (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Sister Wendy Beckett, South African-born British art connoisseur
- 1932 – Tony Brooks, English race car driver
- 1932 – Faron Young, American singer (d. 1996)
- 1934 – Bernard Bresslaw, English actor (d. 1993)
- 1934 – Tony Lema, American golfer (d. 1966)
- 1935 – Sally Jessy Raphaël, American talk show host
- 1936 – Jiří Černý, Czech music critic
- 1937 – Tom Courtenay, English actor
- 1937 – Barbara Piasecka Johnson, widow of John Seward Johnson I
- 1937 – Bob Schieffer, American broadcast journalist
- 1938 – Diane Baker, American actress
- 1938 – Herb Elliott, Australian runner
- 1940 – Danny Cater, American baseball player
- 1940 – Billy Packer, American sports broadcaster
- 1940 – Ron Santo, American baseball player and broadcaster (d. 2010)
- 1942 – Karen Grassle, American actress
- 1942 – John Saul, American author
- 1943 – George Harrison, English musician (The Beatles) (d. 2001)
- 1943 – Wilson da Silva Piazza, Brazilian footballer
- 1944 – Matt Guokas, American basketball player & head coach
- 1945 – Elkie Brooks, English singer
- 1945 – Herbert Léonard, French singer
- 1946 – Franz Xaver Kroetz, German dramatist
- 1946 – Jean Todt, French Formula One executive
- 1947 – Giuseppe Betori, Archbishop of Florence
- 1947 – Lee Evans, American athlete
- 1947 – Doug Yule, American bass guitarist (The Velvet Underground)
- 1948 – Aldo Busi, Italian writer
- 1948 – Danny Denzongpa, Indian actor
- 1949 – Ric Flair, American professional wrestler
- 1949 – Jack Handey, American humorist
- 1949 – Amin Maalouf, Lebanese writer
- 1950 – Neil Jordan, Irish director
- 1950 – Néstor Kirchner, Argentine politician (d. 2010)
- 1950 – Francisco Fernández Ochoa, Spanish alpine skier (d. 2006)
- 1950 – Emitt Rhodes, American singer/songwriter
- 1951 – James Brown, American sportscaster
- 1951 – César Cedeño, Dominican baseball player
- 1951 – Don Quarrie, Jamaican runner
- 1952 – Jerry Chamberlain, American musician
- 1952 – Joey Dunlop, Irish motorcycle racer (d. 2000)
- 1952 – Inger Segelström, Swedish politician
- 1953 – José María Aznar, Spanish politician
- 1953 – Kim Yeong-cheol, South Korean actor
- 1954 – John Doe, American musician
- 1954 – Gerardo Pelusso, Uruguayan football manager
- 1957 – Sérgio Marques, Portuguese politician
- 1958 – Panagiotis Beglitis, Greek politician
- 1958 – Jeff Fisher, American football coach
- 1958 – Kurt Rambis, American basketball player and coach
- 1959 – Carl Marotte, Canadian actor
- 1959 – Mike Peters, Welsh musician (The Alarm)
- 1960 – Stefan Blöcher, German field hockey player
- 1961 – Davey Allison, American race car driver (d. 1993)
- 1961 – Todd Blackledge, American football player and television color commontator
- 1961 – Chris Pitman, American keyboardist (Guns N' Roses)
- 1962 – Birgit Fischer, German kayaker
- 1962 – Faron Moller, Canadian-born British computer scientist
- 1963 – Joseph E. Duncan III, American convicted serial killer and sex offender
- 1963 – Paul O'Neill, American baseball player
- 1964 – Lee Evans, English comedian
- 1964 – Don Majkowski, American football player
- 1964 – Luigi Troiani, Italian rugby player
- 1965 – Brian Baker, American guitarist
- 1965 – Veronica Webb, American supermodel and actress
- 1965 – Carrot Top, American comedian
- 1966 – Alexis Denisof, American actor
- 1966 – Samson Kitur, Kenyan athlete (d. 2003)
- 1966 – Téa Leoni, American actress
- 1966 – Nancy O'Dell, American television personality
- 1966 – Samantha Phillips, American actress
- 1968 – Evridiki, Greek Cypriot singer
- 1968 – Sandrine Kiberlain, French actress
- 1969 – Paul Trimboli, Australian soccer player
- 1970 – Julie Hesmondhalgh, English actress
- 1971 – Sean Astin, American actor
- 1971 – Dave Harris, American disc jockey
- 1971 – Daniel Powter, Canadian musician
- 1973 – Julio Iglesias, Jr., Spanish singer
- 1973 – Justin Jeffre, American singer (98 Degrees)
- 1973 – Anson Mount, American actor
- 1973 – Normann Stadler, German triathlete
- 1974 – Divya Bharti, Indian Actress
- 1975 – Chelsea Handler, American comedian and actress
- 1976 – Rashida Jones, American actress and musician
- 1976 – Samaki Walker, American basketball player
- 1977 – Sarah Jezebel Deva, English singer
- 1977 – Horace Mui, Chinese vocalist
- 1977 – Josh Wolff, American footballer
- 1979 – Jennifer Ferrin, American actress
- 1979 – David Hoflin, Swedish-born Australian Actor
- 1980 – Antonio Burks, American basketball player
- 1980 – Christy Knowings, American actress
- 1981 – Park Ji-Sung, South Korean footballer
- 1981 – Shahid Kapoor, Indian actor
- 1982 – Jamie Lynn, American pornographic actress
- 1982 – Chris Baird, Irish footballer
- 1982 – Kimberly Caldwell, American reality television personality
- 1982 – Maria Kanellis, American model and professional wrestler
- 1982 – Bert McCracken, American singer (The Used)
- 1982 – Flavia Pennetta, Italian professional tennis player
- 1982 – Anton Volchenkov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1982 – Tara Wilson, Canadian actress
- 1983 – Eduardo da Silva, Brazilian-born Croatian footballer
- 1984 – Logan Leistikow, American documentary filmmaker and comedian
- 1984 – Lovefoxxx, Brazilian singer (CSS)
- 1984 – Dane Swan, Australian rules footballer
- 1985 – Benji Marshall, New Zealand rugby league footballer
- 1985 – Joakim Noah, American basketball player
- 1986 – Justin Berfield, American actor
- 1986 – James and Oliver Phelps, English actors
- 1986 – Danny Saucedo, Swedish singer
- 1986 – James Starks, American football player
- 1987 – Justin Abdelkader, American ice hockey player
- 1987 – Kwaku Afriyie, Ghanaian footballer
- 1987 – Eva Avila, Canadian singer
- 1987 – Andrew Poje, Canadian figure skater
- 1988 – Jimmy Monaghan, Irish musician
- 1989 – Jimmer Fredette, American basketball player
- 1989 – E'Twaun Moore, American basketball player
- 1990 – Alejandra Andreu, Spanish pageant contestant
- 1990 – Jefferson Alves Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
- 1991 – Gerran Howell, Welsh actor
- 1991 – Tony Oller, American actor
- 1993 – Christina Kirkman, American actress
- 1994 – Eugénie Bouchard, Canadian tennis player
- 1997 – Isabelle Fuhrman, American actress
- 1998 – Brendon Baerg, American actor
Deaths
- 1246 – Dafydd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd
- 1522 – William Lilye, English classical scholar
- 1536 – Berthold Haller, German-born reformer (b. 1492)
- 1553 – Hirate Masahide, Japanese diplomat and tutor of Oda Nobunaga (suicide) (b. 1492)
- 1558 – Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal and France (b. 1498)
- 1601 – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, English politician (b. 1566)
- 1634 – Albrecht von Wallenstein, Austrian general (b. 1583)
- 1643 – Marco da Gagliano, Italian composer (b. 1582)
- 1655 – Daniel Heinsius, Flemish scholar (b. 1580)
- 1682 – Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer (b. 1639)
- 1713 – King Frederick I of Prussia (b. 1657)
- 1715 – Pu Songling, Chinese writer (b. 1640)
- 1723 – Sir Christopher Wren, English architect (b. 1632)
- 1756 – Eliza Haywood, English actress and writer (b. 1693)
- 1798 – Louis-Jules Mancini-Mazarini, Duc de Nivernais, French diplomat and writer (b. 1716)
- 1805 – Thomas Pownall, British colonial statesman (b. 1722)
- 1831 – Friedrich Maximilian Klinger, German writer (b. 1752)
- 1850 – Daoguang, Emperor of China (b. 1782)
- 1852 – Thomas Moore, Irish poet (b. 1779)
- 1860 – Chauncey Allen Goodrich, American clergyman, educator, and lexicographer (b. 1790)
- 1899 – Paul Julius Reuter, German-born journalist (b. 1816)
- 1912 – Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (b. 1852)
- 1919 – Josef Christiaens, Belgian racing driver (b. 1879)
- 1922 – Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (b. 1869)
- 1928 – William O'Brien, Irish author, journalist and politician (M.P.) (b. 1852)
- 1934 – John McGraw, American baseball player and manager (b. 1873)
- 1945 – Mário de Andrade, Brazilian writer and photographer (b. 1893)
- 1950 – George Minot, American physician, Nobel laureate (b. 1885)
- 1953 – Sergei Winogradsky, Russian scientist (b. 1856)
- 1957 – George "Bugs" Moran, American gangster (b. 1893)
- 1964 – Alexander Archipenko, a Ukrainian avant-garde artist, sculptor, and graphic artist (b. 1887)
- 1964 – Johnny Burke (lyricist), (b. 1908)
- 1964 – Mariano Jesús Cuenco, a Filipino Cebuano politician and writer (b. 1888)
- 1964 – Maurice Farman, French Grand Prix motor racing champion (b. 1877)
- 1964 – David Logan (politician), a British Labour Party politician (b. 1871)
- 1964 – Hinrich Lohse, a Nazi German politician (b. 1896)
- 1964 – Grace Metalious, American writer (b. 1924)
- 1964 – Kenneth Lee Spencer, American opera singer and actor (b. 1913)
- 1966 – James D. Norris, American sports businessman (b. 1906)
- 1970 – Walter Koch, German astrologer (b. 1895)
- 1970 – Mark Rothko, Latvian-born American painter (b. 1903)
- 1971 – Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1884)
- 1975 – Elijah Muhammad, American Black Muslim leader (b. 1897)
- 1978 – Daniel "Chappie" James Jr., American general (b. 1920)
- 1983 – Tennessee Williams, American playwright (b. 1911)
- 1987 – James Coco, American actor (b. 1930)
- 1993 – Eddie Constantine, American-born actor and singer (b. 1917)
- 1993 – Mary Walter, Filipino actress (b. 1912)
- 1994 – Baruch Goldstein, American-born mass murderer (b. 1956)
- 1994 – Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer (b. 1914)
- 1996 – Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian-born actor (b. 1940)
- 1997 – Cal Abrams, American major league baseball outfielder (b. 1924)
- 1998 – Celestine Tate Harrington, a quadriplegic street musician and writer. (b. 1956)
- 2000 – Luce Maced Martinique supercentenarian
- 1999 – Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1912)
- 2001 – Sir Donald Bradman, Australian cricketer (b. 1908)
- 2003 – Tom O'Higgins, Irish Chief Justice (b. 1916)
- 2003 – Alberto Sordi, Italian actor (b. 1920)
- 2004 – Donald Hings, Canadian inventor (b. 1907)
- 2005 – Peter Benenson, English founder of Amnesty International (b. 1921)
- 2005 – Ben Bowen, Brain Cancer victim (b. 2002)
- 2006 – Thomas Koppel, Danish musician (b. 1944)
- 2006 – Darren McGavin, American actor (b. 1922)
- 2006 – Charlie Wayman, English footballer (b. 1922)
- 2007 – William R. Anderson, American Naval Officer and Congressman (b. 1921)
- 2007 – Mark Spoelstra, American singer/songwriter (b. 1940)
- 2008 – Charles Chan, father of Jackie Chan (b. 1914)
- 2008 – Ashley Cooper, Australian race car driver (b. 1980)
- 2008 – Static Major, American singer (b. 1974)
- 2008 – Hans Raj Khanna, Judge of the Supreme Court of India (b. 1912)
- 2009 – Philip José Farmer, American novelist (b. 1918)
- 2010 – İhsan Doğramacı, Turkish academic and the founder of YÖK (b. 1915)
Holidays and observances
External links