February 25
February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the
Gregorian Calendar. There are 309 days remaining, 310 in
leap years.
*
138 - The
Emperor Hadrian adopts
Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor.
*
1570 -
Pope Pius V excommunicates
Queen Elizabeth I of England.
*
1793 -
George Washington holds the first
Cabinet meeting as
President of the United States.
*
1836 -
Samuel Colt receives an
American patent for the
Colt revolver.
*
1836 - US Showman
Phineas Taylor Barnum exhibits African American slave
Joice Heth.
*
1837 - First
U.S. electric printing press patented by
Thomas Davenport.
*
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.
*
1913 - The
16th Amendment to the United States Constitution, authorizing a graduated
income tax, is ratified.
*
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 - The
Democratic Republic of Georgia joins
Bolshevist Russia.
*
1925 - Glacier Bay National Monument (now
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve) is established in
Alaska.
*
1928 -
Charles Jenkins Laboratories of
Washington, DC becomes the first holder of a
television license from the
Federal Radio Commission.
*
1933 - The
USS Ranger is launched, becoming the first custom-built
aircraft carrier.
*
1941 -
February strike: First general & physical protest against nazi anti-Jewish behaviour & -laws (Amsterdam)
*
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 Soviet leader
Nikita Khrushchev denounces the actions of
Joseph Stalin.
*
1964 -
Cassius Clay beats
Sonny Liston in
Miami Beach, Florida, and is
crowned the heavyweight champion of the world.
*
1969 -
Germany gives $5 million to an
Arab terrorist as ransom for the passengers and crew of a hijacked
jumbo jet.
*
1971 - The first unit of the
Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, first commercial
nuclear power station in
Canada, goes online.
*
1986 -
EDSA Revolution:
President Ferdinand Marcos of the
Philippines flees the nation after 20 years of rule;
Corazon Aquino becomes the first
Filipino woman president.
*
1991 -
Gulf War: An
Iraqi
Scud missile hits an
American military barracks in
Dhahran,
Saudi Arabia killing 28
U.S. Marines.
*
1992 -
Khojaly massacre: about 613 civilians 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,
Dr. Baruch Kappel Goldstein opens fire with an assault rifle, killing 29
Palestinian worshippers and injuring 125 more before being subdued and beaten to death by survivors. Subsequent rioting kills 26 more
Palestinians and 9
Israelis.
*
2000 - The
Swedish political party New Democracy is declared financially bankrupt.
*
2004 - Mel Gibson releases
The Passion of the Christ.
*
2006 - The world's estimated
population reaches 6.5 billion.
*
2006 -
Imette St. Guillen's body is found on
Brooklyn's
Belt Parkway,
New York. She was raped, tortured, and murdered.
Darryl Littlejohn, a nightclub bouncer at "The Falls", where St. Guillen was last seen alive, is indicted.
*
1398 -
Xuande, Emperor 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 -
Hyde Parker, British admiral (d.
1782)
*
1725 -
Karl Wilhelm Ramler, German poet (d.
1798)
*
1752 -
John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (d.
1806)
*
1778 -
José de San Martín, Argentine general and liberator of South America
*
1841 -
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French painter, graphic artist and sculptor (d.
1919)
*
1842 -
Karl May, German writer (d.
1912)
*
1845 -
George Reid, fourth
Prime Minister of Australia (d.
1918)
*
1860 -
Sir William Ashley, Economic historian. (d.
1927)
*
1873 -
Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor (d.
1921)
*
1877 -
Erich von Hornbostel, Austrian musicologist (d.
1935)
*
1888 -
John Foster Dulles,
U.S. Secretary of State (d.
1959)
*
1890 - Dame
Myra Hess, English pianist (d.
1965)
* 1890 -
Vyacheslav Molotov, Soviet politician (d.
1986)
*
1895 -
Lew Andreas, American basketball coach (d.
1984)
*
1901 -
Zeppo Marx, American actor (d.
1979)
*
1908 -
Frank G. Slaughter, American novelist (d.
2001)
*
1910 -
Millicent Fenwick, American fashion editor and politician (d.
1992)
*
1913 -
Jim Backus, American actor (d.
1989)
* 1913 -
Gert Fröbe, German actor (d.
1988)
*
1916 -
Reinhard Bendix, German sociologist (d.
1991)
*
1917 -
Anthony Burgess, English author (d.
1993)
*
1918 -
Barney Ewell, American athlete (d.
1996)
* 1918 -
Bobby Riggs, American tennis player (d.
1995)
*
1919 -
Karl Pribram, Austrian neuroscientist
*
1921 -
Pierre Laporte, Canadian statesman (d.
1970)
*
1925 -
Edward Gorey, American illustrator (d.
2000)
*
1928 -
Larry Gelbart, American comedy writer
*
1929 -
Christopher George, American actor (d.
1983)
*
1932 -
Faron Young, American singer (d.
1996)
*
1934 -
Tony Lema, American pro golfer (d.
1966)
*
1935 -
Sally Jessy Raphaël, American talk show host
*
1937 -
Tom Courtenay, British actor
* 1937 -
Bob Schieffer, American broadcast journalist
* 1937 -
Barbara Piasecka Johnson, widow of
John Seward Johnson I*
1938 -
Diane Baker, American actress
* 1938 -
Herb Elliott, Australian runner
*
1940 -
Billy Packer, American sports broadcaster
* 1940 -
Ron Santo, baseball player
* 1940 -
Danny Cater, baseball player
*
1942 -
Karen Grassle, American actress
* 1942 -
Carl Eller, former American football player
*
1943 -
Wilson Piazza, Brazilian footballer
* 1943 -
George Harrison, British musician (the
Beatles) (d.
2001)
*
1946 -
Franz Xaver Kroetz, German dramatist
*
1947 -
Lee Evans, American athlete
* 1947 -
Doug Yule, American bass guitarist, (
The Velvet Underground)
*
1948 -
Danny Denzongpa, Indian actor
*
1949 -
Ric Flair, American professional wrestler
*
1950 -
Neil Jordan, Irish director
* 1950 -
Néstor Kirchner,
President of Argentina*
1951 -
Don Quarrie, Jamaican runner
* 1951 -
James Brown, American sportscaster
* 1951 -
César Cedeño, baseball player
*
1952 -
Joey Dunlop, Irish motorcycle racer (d.
2000)
*
1953 -
José María Aznar,
Prime Minister of Spain*
1954 -
John Doe, American musician
*
1958 -
Kurt Rambis, American basketball player
*
1959 -
Mike Peters, Welsh musician (
The Alarm)
*
1960 -
Grimaud, Maltese-born singer and songwriter
*
1960 -
Stefan Blöcher, German
field hockey player
*
1961 -
Davey Allison, American race car driver (d.
1993)
* 1961 -
Todd Blackledge, American football player
*
1962 -
Birgit Fischer, German kayaker
*
1963 -
Nancy O'Dell, American reporter and television personality
*
1964 -
Lee Evans, British Comedian
*
1964 -
Don Majkowski, American football player
*
1966 -
Alexis Denisof, American actor
* 1966 -
Samson Kitur, Kenyan athlete (d.
2003)
* 1966 -
Téa Leoni, American actress
*
1968 -
Sandrine Kiberlain, French actress
*
1969 -
Paul Trimboli, Australian footballer
*
1971 -
Sean Astin, American actor
* 1971 -
Dave Harris, American disc jockey
* 1971 -
Daniel Powter, Canadian musician
*
1973 -
Justin Jeffre, American singer (
98 Degrees)
*
1976 -
Rashida Jones, American actress, writer, model, musician
*
1977 -
Sarah Jezebel Deva, English singer
* 1977 -
Josh Wolff, American footballer
*
1978 -
Sara Sinha, English singer and guitarist
*
1981 -
Park Ji-Sung, South Korean footballer
*
1982 -
Chris Baird, Irish footballer
*
1982 -
Bert McCracken, American singer (
The Used)
*
1985 -
Joakim Noah, American basketball player
*
1986 -
Justin Berfield, American actor
* 1986 -
James and Oliver Phelps, British actors
*
1998 -
Brendon Baerg, American actor
*
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) (d.
1492)
*
1558 -
Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal and France (b.
1498)
*
1577 -
King Eric XIV of Sweden (b.
1533)
*
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)
*
1934 -
John McGraw, baseball player and manager (b.
1873)
*
1945 -
Mário de Andrade, Brazilian writer and photographer (b.
1893)
*
1950 -
George Minot, American physician, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b.
1885)
*
1953 -
Sergei Winogradsky, Russian scientist (b.
1856)
*
1957 -
George "Bugs" Moran, American gangster (b.
1893)
*
1964 -
Grace Metalious, American writer (b.
1924)
*
1970 -
Mark Rothko, American painter
*
1971 -
Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist,
Nobel Prize 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)
*
1994 -
Baruch Goldstein, American-born mass killer (b.
1956)
* 1994 -
Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer (b.
1914)
*
1996 -
Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian-born actor (b.
1940)
*
1999 -
Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist,
Nobel Prize 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)
*
2005 -
Peter Benenson, British founder of Amnesty International (b.
1921)
*
2006 -
Darren McGavin, American actor (b.
1922)
* 2006 -
Charlie Wayman, English footballer (b.
1922)
*
Kuwait's national day.
*
People Power Day, special holiday in the
Philippines.
Liturgical feasts
*
Saint Cesar*
Saint Klaudian*
Blessed Romeo*
Saint Walburgis*
Saint Adeltrude*
BBC: On This Day*
The New York Times: On This Day*
On This Day in CanadaFebruary 24 -
February 26 -
January 25 -
March 25 --
listing of all days
