On This Day in History for February 25

Events 1 - 100 of 131

• 1095 Council of Rockingham: bishop Anselmus vs King William II Rufus
• 1358 Dalmatie flees Venice
• 1497 Italians troops reconquer Taranto on France
• 1502 Austrian emperor Maximilian I reformats government machine

• 1605 Portuguese garrison on Ambon surrenders to Admiral Van der Haghen
• 1623 Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria becomes monarch of Palts
• 1634 Irish captain Walter Devereaux kills Duke Wallenstein
• 1643 Dutch US colonists kill Algonquin-indians
• 1667 Abraham Crijnssens fleet reach Fort Willoughby on Suriname River
• 1746 The Duke of Cumberland's troops occupy Aberdeen
• 1751 1st performing monkey exhibited in America, NYC (admission 1 cent)
• 1791 1st Bank of US chartered

• 1795 French Politician and Educator Joseph Lakanal, defines on behalf of the French Revolution an “educational utopia” aiming to “put an end to inequalities of development that affected a citizen's capacities for judgment."


• 1797 Colonel William Tate and his force of 1,000-1,500 soldiers surrender after the Last Invasion of Britain (according to legend, to Welsh women in tall black hats, mistaken for elite guards regiment)
• 1799 1st federal forestry legislation authorizes purchase of timber land
• 1799 US Congress passes 1st federal quarantine legislation
• 1803 1,800 sovereign German states unite into 60 states

• 1836 US Showman Phineas Taylor Barnum exhibits African American slave Joice Heth, claiming she was 161 year-old nursemaid to George Washington
• 1837 1st US electric printing press patented by Thomas Davenport
• 1838 London pedestrian walks 20 miles backward then forward in 8 hours
• 1839 Seminoles & black allies shipped from Tampa Bay Florida, to the West
• 1847 State University of Iowa is approved

• 1859 1st use of "insanity plea" to prove innocence
• 1862 Congress forms US Bureau of Engraving & Printing

• 1863 Congress creates national banking system, comptroller of currency

• 1875 Kiowa Indians under Lone Wolf (Guipago) surrender at Ft Sill
• 1879 US Congress passed 1st Timberland Protection Act
• 1885 US Congress condemns barbed wire around government grounds
• 1892 James Barrie's "Walker London" premieres in London
• 1896 Italian government decides to attack governor Baratieri of Eritrea

• 1905 The Nederlands Verbond van Vakverenigingenwas, a Dutch social-democratic trade union, forms

• 1907 US proclaims protectorate over Dominican Republic
• 1908 1st tunnel under Hudson River (railway tunnel) opens
• 1910 Dalai Lama flees Tibet for British India to escape Chinese troops
• 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 US Constitution becomes law, providing the legal basis for the institution of a graduated income tax
• 1916 German troops conquer Fort Douaumont near Verdun
• 1919 Oregon is 1st state to tax gasoline (1 cent per gallon)
• 1921 Tbilisi, capital of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, occupied by Bolshevist Russia
• 1921 The Living Buddha, Hutuktu, is crowned King of Mongolia as the country declares independence from China
• 1923 Bread in Berlin rises to 2,000 marks
• 1925 Glacier Bay National Monument established in Alaska
• 1925 US Women's Figure Skating championship won by Beatrix Loughran
• 1925 US Men's Figure Skating championship won by Nathaniel Niles
• 1925 Diplomatic relations between Japan and the Soviet Union established

• 1926 Kwo-Min-Tang (Guomindang) declares war on government and warlords
• 1927 Gdanks & Polish accord concerning traffic through Polish corridor
• 1930 Check photographing device patented

• 1933 1st genuine US aircraft carrier named, USS Ranger
• 1938 Lord Halifax becomes British Foreign Secretary
• 1939 1st Anderson bomb shelter in Britain erected in an Islington garden
• 1941 February strike against persecution of Jews, in Amsterdam
• 1943 Vietminh forms Indo Chinese Democratic Front
• 1944 US 1st Army completes invasion plan
• 1945 US aircraft carriers attack Tokyo
• 1945 World War II: Turkey declares war on Germany.
• 1948 Communists seize Czechoslovakia and C Gottwald becomes premier
• 1949 WAC Corporal rocket achieves height of 400k (record)
• 1951 1st Pan American Games opens (Buenos Aires Argentina)
• 1954 Abdul Nasser appointed Egyptian premier

• 1960 Lillian Hellman's "Toys in the Attic" premieres in NYC
• 1961 Paul Bikle in glider climbs from 1208 m at release to record 14,10
• 1962 India Congress Party wins elections

• 1964 Austrian chancellor Alfons Gorbach resigns
• 1966 Syrian military coup under General Hafiz al-Assad
• 1968 430 Unification Church couples wed in Korea
• 1968 Makarios re-elected president of Cyprus
• 1969 Mariner 6 launched for fly-by of Mars
• 1969 West Germany gives $5 million to an Arab terrorist as ransom for the passengers and crew of a hijacked jumbo jet
• 1971 P Zindel's "And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little" premieres in NYC
• 1971 Northern Ireland Prime Minister James Chichester-Clark holds a meeting with Catholic Cardinal of Ireland William Conway, the first such meeting between men holding these offices since 1921
• 1972 Attempted assassination of Irish Minister of State for Home Affairs John Taylor who is shot a number of times (the Official Irish Republican Army later claimed responsibility)
• 1973 Juan Corona sentenced to 25 life sentences for 25 murders
• 1975 Ewen Chatfield flattened by Peter Lever & seriously injured
• 1977 Oil tanker explosion west of Honolulu spills 31 million gallons
• 1977 Soyuz 24 returns to Earth
• 1979 Soyuz 32 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station is launched
• 1980 Coup ousts PM Henck Arron of Suriname
• 1981 Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo elected premier of Spain
• 1981 Rita Jenrette (wife of Abscam congressman) appears on Donahue
• 1981 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1982 Final episode of "The Lawrence Welk Show" airs
• 1982 Record speed for a snowmobile (239 kph)
• 1984 Oil fire in Cubatao Brazil kills 500

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Birthdays 1 - 100 of 105

• 1398 Xuande, Emperor of China (d. 1435)
• 1591 Friedrich von Spee, German writer (d. 1635)
• 1635 Walraad, the Elder, Dutch fieldmarshall/earl of Nassau-Usingen
• 1643 Ahmed II, 21st sultan of Turkey (1691-95), born in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire (d. 1695) [or born Aug 1, 1642]
• 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 lawyer/playwright (Belisario, Love of 3 Oranges)
• 1714 Sir Hyde Parker, 5th Baronet, British admiral (d. 1782)
• 1714 René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, Chancellor of France (d. 1792)
• 1725 Karl Wilhelm Ramler, German poet (Geistliche Kantaten)
• 1731 Simon Stijl, Frisian physician/writer
• 1752 John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (d. 1806)

• 1794 Gerrit Schimmelpenninck, Dutch earl of Nijenhuis/Peckedam
• 1807 George Alfred Trenholm, Secy Treas (Confederacy), (d. 1876)
• 1808 James Bowen, American Major General (Union Army), born in Manhattan, New York (d. 1886)
• 1809 George Washington Cullom, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in NYC, New York (d. 1892)
• 1814 Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian national poet and painter, born in Moryntsi, Ukraine (d. 1861) [OS]
• 1815 Robert Hall Chilton, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1879)
• 1832 Theodorus J I Arnold, bibliographer (Bibliotheca Belgian)
• 1833 Clement Anselm Evans, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1911)
• 1840 Otto Liebmann, German philosopher (Climax of Theories)

• 1842 Karl May, German writer (Old Shatterhand/Winnetou)
• 1847 John Watson, Canadian philosopher (Objective Idealism)
• 1855 Cesário Verde, Portuguese poet (d. 1886)
• 1856 Charles Lang Freer, art collector; endowed Freer Gallery [or 1876]
• 1860 Menso Kamerlingh Onnes, painter/water colors painter
• 1860 William James Ashley, English economic-historian
• 1866 Benedetto Croce, Italian humanist/historian/editor/philosopher
• 1868 Anthony J Block, Dutch lawyer (strafproces)
• 1876 Charles Freer, art collector; endowed Freer Gallery [or 1856]
• 1881 William Foster, Mass, Communist Presidential candidate (1924,28,32)
• 1882 Jozef Goossenaerts, Flemish philologist (Language boundary)
• 1883 Princess Alice of Albany, Countess of Athlone (d. 1981)
• 1885 Sylvia Brett, Lady Brooke and Ranee of Sarawak, born in London, England (d. 1971)

• 1889 Homer S. Ferguson, United States Senator (d. 1982)
• 1894 Ernst Friedrich, Breslau Germany, pacifist (War Against War!)
• 1894 Meher Baba, Indian spiritual leader (d. 1969)
• 1896 John Little McClellan, Sheridan Arkansas, American lawyer and politician (Sen-D-Ark)
• 1898 William Thomas Astbury, English physicist/chemist (textiles)
• 1899 Leo J Weisgerber, German linguist
• 1902 Max Kommerell, German literary/author (Die Gefangenen)
• 1902 Oscar Cullmann, Swiss theologist (Das Petrusproblem)
• 1904 Adelle Davis, author (Lets Stay Healthy)/nutritionist (died of cancer)
• 1906 Domingo Ortega, Spanish bullfighter
• 1906 Howard Zahniser, Father of Wilderness Act
• 1907 Mary Coyle Chase, playwright (Harvey-Pulitzer Prize)
• 1907 Sabahattin Ali, Turkish poet, author and journalist (Esirler, Içimizdeki Şeytan), born in Eğridere, Gümülcine, Ottoman Empire (d. 1948)
• 1908 Frank G Slaughter, author (Sangaree)
• 1909 Edgar Pangborn, American sci-fi author (Judgment of Eve, Davy)
• 1909 John Evan "Jasper" Weston-Davies [pen name Berkley Mather], English writer, born in Gloucester (d. 1996)
• 1909 Geoffrey Dummer, electronics engineer, first to build integrated circuit / microchip, born in Hull England (d. 2002)
• 1910 Millicent Fenwick, American (Rep-R-NJ 1975-82) (Doonesbury), born in NYC, New York
• 1916 Ian Wallace, British CEO
• 1916 Reinhard Bendix, German sociologist (d. 1991)
• 1917 Alex Gordon, Welsh architect, born in Ayr, Scotland

• 1917 Asta E R Elstak, Suriname/Dutch social worker
• 1919 F de Jong Edz, Dutch historian
• 1919 Karl H. Pribram, Austrian neuroscientist
• 1920 Sun Myung Moon, South Korean evangelist (Unification Church), born in Chongju, Japanese Korea (d. 2012)
• 1920 Antony Duff, British diplomat, Head of MI5, advocate for the homeless (d. 2000)
• 1920 Gérard Bessette, Canadian author (d. 2005)
• 1923 Roger Parker, Lord Justice of Appeal
• 1924 Peg Ridge, peace campaigner
• 1926 Harvey McGregor, QC/warden (New College-Oxford)
• 1927 Rev. Bruce Ritter, Catholic priest and controversial founder of charity Covenant House, born in Trenton New Jersey (d. 1999)
• 1928 Keith Williamson, British RAF marshal
• 1928 Richard Stern, US writer
• 1929 Peter Bingham Hinchcliff, British church historian (1 Sided Reciprocity)
• 1930 Erica Pedretti, writer
• 1931 Edward Kellett-Bowman, British MEP
• 1931 J R Stephenson, Lt-col/secretary (MCC)
• 1932 Laurence New, Major-General
• 1934 Nicholas Edwards, Baron Crickhowell, British Conservative Party politician
• 1934 Michael Wheeler-Booth, Clerk of the Parliaments
• 1934 Robert Neame, British brewer (Shepherd Neame)
• 1937 Basia Johnson, maid (inherited Johnson & Johnson fortune)
• 1939 A C F Verity, master (Dulwich College)
• 1940 George Paul, CEO (Norwich Union Insurance Group)
• 1940 Hector MacKenzie, trade unionist
• 1941 Stewart Sutherland, Principal/Vice-Chancellor (Edinburgh University)

• 1945 Shivadhar Srinivasa Naipaul, Trinidad, novelist, essayist (Fireflies)
• 1946 F Xaver Kroetz, writer
• 1946 Jean Todt, French executive director of Scuderia Ferrari
• 1947 Lewis Moonie, British MP
• 1948 G B Warren, British biochemist
• 1948 Aldo Busi, Italian writer
• 1950 Anthony Lloyd, British MP
• 1950 Neil Jordan, Irish director (Crying Game) and novelist, born in Sligo
• 1950 Néstor Kirchner, Argentine politician, President of Argentina 2003-2007), born in Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz (d. 2010)
• 1950 Francisco Fernández Ochoa, Spanish alpine skier (d. 2006)
• 1952 James A Barcia, (Rep-D-Michigan)
• 1952 Inger Segelström, Swedish politician
• 1953 José María Aznar, former Prime Minister of Spain
• 1957 Jane Ackroyd, British sculptor

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• 1828 6th US President John Quincy Adam's son John marries in the White House

• 779 Walburgis, Anglo-Saxon abbess/saint (Walpurgis Night), dies
• 1246 Dafydd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd
• 1247 Hendrik IV, duke of Limburg/earl of Bergen (1226-47), dies
• 1495 Djem Sultan, son of Turkish sultan Mehmed II, dies at 35
• 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, executed for treason against Elizabeth I
• 1602 Everard van Reyd, Dutch historian, dies at about 51
• 1634 Albrecht von Wallenstein, German general and nobleman, murdered at 50
• 1634 Van Friedland/Mecklenburg, general-admiral, dies at 50
• 1655 Daniel Heinsius, Flemish scholar (b. 1580)
• 1713 Frederick I, King of Prussia (1701-13), dies at 55
• 1715 Pu Songling, Qing Dynasty Chinese writer (Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio), dies at 74

• 1798 Louis-Jules Mancini-Mazarini, Duc de Nivernais, French diplomat and writer (b. 1716)
• 1805 Thomas Pownall, British colonial statesman (b. 1722)
• 1826 Piotr A von der Pahlen, military governor of St Petersburg, dies at 60
• 1850 Daoguang, 8th Emperor of Qing Dynasty, dies at 67
• 1860 Chauncey Allen Goodrich, American clergyman, educator, and lexicographer (b. 1790)
• 1865 Otto Ludwig, German writer (Zwischen Himmel und Erde), dies at 47
• 1878 Townsend Harris, American diplomat (1st Western consul to reside in Japan), dies at 73
• 1899 Paul Julius von Reuter, German-born founder of Reuters news agency, dies at 82
• 1912 Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (b. 1852)
• 1914 John Tenniel, British illustrator (Alice in Wonderland), dies at 93
• 1915 George Mimot, physician (Nobel-1934), dies
• 1920 Aloys, Liechtenstein nobleman/politician, dies at 73
• 1922 Henri Désiré Landru, French sex murderer, guillotined at 52
• 1940 Mary Mills Patrick, American author and 1st President of Istanbul Woman's College, dies at 89
• 1945 Mário de Andrade, Brazilian writer, photographer and modernist, dies of a heart attack at 51
• 1947 Friedrich Paschen, German physicist, dies at 82
• 1950 George Minot, American physician, Nobel laureate (b. 1885)
• 1957 Mark Aldanov, Russian-French writer and critic (Novy Zhurnal), dies at 70

• 1960 Everhardus Jacobus van Romondt, Dutch Antillean minister, dies at 51
• 1962 Wilhelm Pessler, German sociologist, dies at 81
• 1964 Alexander Archipenko, sculptor, dies
• 1964 Grace Metalious, American writer (b. 1924)
• 1968 Camille Huysmans, Belgian premier (1946-47), dies at 96
• 1969 Jan Zajic, Czech student, self incinerates
• 1970 Mark Rothko [Marcus Rothkovich], American abstract expressionist (Green on Blue), dies at 66
• 1971 Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist, worked with colloids (Nobel 1926), dies at 86

• 1978 Daniel "Chappie" James Jr, retired Air Force general, dies at 58
• 1983 John Cowles Sr, US publisher, dies at 84

• 1991 Mhlabunzima Maphumulo, South African Kwazulu politician (first President of Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (CONTRALESA)), dies at 41
• 1992 Ollie O'Toole, dies after long illness at 79
• 1993 Jean G H "Sjeng" Tans, Dutch PM (social dem, 1965-69), dies
• 1994 Baruch Goldstein, physician/murderer (53 in mosque), lynched at 42
• 1994 Yann Piat, French MP (FN/PR), murdered at 44
• 1995 Jack Clayton, British director (Great Gatsby), dies at 73
• 1995 Oh Jin Woo, Korean minister of defense, dies
• 1996 Marion Farouk Political scientist-Sluglett, dies at 59
• 1996 Vehbi Koc, indistrialist/philanthropist, dies at 94
• 1997 Andrei Donatovich Sinyavsky, Russian writer and critic, dies at 71
• 1998 Luigi Veronesi, Italian abstract artist (Campo Grafico), dies at 90
• 1998 Umberto Mastroianni, Italian sculptor, dies at 87
• 1999 Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1912)
• 2003 Tom O'Higgins, Irish Chief Justice (b. 1916)
• 2004 Donald Hings, Canadian inventor (b. 1907)
• 2005 Peter Benenson, Britsh founder of Amnesty International, dies at 83
• 2007 William R. Anderson, CO USS Nautilus submarine, US Congressman (b. 1921)
• 2008 Hans Raj Khanna, Judge of the Supreme Court of India (b. 1912)
• 2009 Ivan Cameron, son of David Cameron UK politician
• 2009 Philip José Farmer, American sci-fi writer (Riverworld) dies aged 91
• 2010 İhsan Doğramacı, Turkish academic and the founder of YÖK (d. 1915)
• 2012 Lynn Compton, American jurist and commissioned officer, dies from heart attack at 90
• 2013 Charles Koop, American pediatric surgeon, health administrator and 13th US Surgeon General (1982-89), dies at 96
• 2017 Boaz Vaadia, Israeli-born sculptor who worked in America, dies of cancer at 65
• 2018 Penny Vincenzi [Hannaford], British novelist (An Absolute Scandal, Spoils of Time trilogy), dies at 78

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