February 25: On This Day

Events, births, deaths, holidays and observances for February 25.

Events 30

138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor.
628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II.
1705 – George Frideric Handel's opera Nero premieres in Hamburg.
1836 – Samuel Colt is granted a United States patent for his revolver firearm.
1843 – Lord George Paulet occupies the Kingdom of Hawaii in the name of Great Britain in the Paulet affair.
1870 – Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in Congress.
1875 – Guangxu Emperor of Qing dynasty China begins his reign, under Empress Dowager Cixi's regency.
1912 – Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
1916 – World War I: In the Battle of Verdun, a German unit captures Fort Douaumont, keystone of the French defences, without a fight.
1918 – World War I: German forces capture Tallinn to virtually complete the occupation of Estonia.
1921 – Georgian capital Tbilisi falls to the invading Russian forces after heavy fighting and the Russians declare the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.
1932 – Adolf Hitler, having been stateless for seven years, obtains German citizenship when he is appointed a Brunswick state official by Dietrich Klagges, a fellow Nazi. As a result, Hitler is able to run for Reichspräsident in the 1932 election.
1933 – Launch of the USS Ranger at Newport News, Virginia. It is the first purpose-built aircraft carrier to be commissioned by the US Navy.
1939 – As part of British air raid precautions, the first of 2.5 million Anderson shelters is constructed in a garden in Islington, north London.
1941 – The outlawed Communist Party of the Netherlands organises a general strike in German-occupied Amsterdam to protest against Nazi persecution of Dutch Jews.
1947 – The formal abolition of Prussia is proclaimed by the Allied Control Council, the Prussian government having already been abolished by the Preußenschlag of 1932.
1947 – Soviet NKVD forces in Hungary abduct Béla Kovács—secretary-general of the majority Independent Smallholders' Party—and deport him to the USSR in defiance of Parliament. His arrest is an important turning point in the Communist takeover of Hungary.
1948 – In a coup d'état led by Klement Gottwald, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia takes control of government in Prague to end the Third Czechoslovak Republic.
1951 – The first Pan American Games are officially opened in Buenos Aires by Argentine President Juan Perón.
1956 – In his speech On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences, Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union, denounces Stalin.
1980 – The government of Suriname is overthrown by a military coup led by Dési Bouterse.
1986 – People Power Revolution: President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos flees the nation after 20 years of rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the Philippines' first female president.
1991 – Disbandment of the Warsaw Pact at a meeting of its members in Budapest.
1994 – American-Israeli extremist Baruch Goldstein commits a mass shooting at the Cave of the Patriarchs mausoleum, leaving 29 dead and over 100 injured before he is disarmed and beaten to death by survivors.
1999 – Alitalia Flight 1553 crashes at Genoa Cristoforo Colombo Airport in Genoa, Italy, killing four.
2009 – Soldiers of the Bangladesh Rifles mutiny at their headquarters in Pilkhana, Dhaka, Bangladesh, resulting in 74 deaths, including 57 army officials.
2009 – Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 crashes during landing at the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Netherlands, primarily due to a faulty radio altimeter, resulting in the death of nine passengers and crew including all three pilots.
2015 – At least 310 people are killed in avalanches in northeastern Afghanistan.
2016 – Three people are killed and fourteen others injured in a series of shootings in the small Kansas cities of Newton and Hesston.
2026 – Four people are killed and several more are injured when Cuban Border Guard Troops confront and open fire on a US-registered speedboat violating Cuban waters.

Births 157

1259 – Infanta Branca of Portugal, daughter of King Afonso III of Portugal and Urraca of Castile (died 1321)
1337 – Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg (died 1383)
1475 – Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, last male member of the House of York (died 1499)
1540 – Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton, English aristocrat and courtier (died 1614)
1543 – Sharaf Khan Bidlisi, Emir of Bitlis (died 1603)
1591 – Friedrich Spee, German poet and author (died 1635)
1643 – Ahmed II, Ottoman sultan (died 1695)
1663 – Peter Anthony Motteux, French-English author, playwright and translator (died 1718)
1670 – Maria Margarethe Kirch, German astronomer and mathematician (died 1720)
1682 – Giovanni Battista Morgagni, Italian anatomist and pathologist (died 1771)
1707 – Carlo Goldoni, Italian playwright and composer (died 1793)
1714 – René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, French lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of France (died 1792)
1728 – John Wood, the Younger, English architect, designed the Royal Crescent (died 1782)
1752 – John Graves Simcoe, English-Canadian general and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (died 1806)
1755 – François René Mallarmé, French lawyer and politician (died 1835)
1778 – José de San Martín, Argentinian general and politician, 1st President of Peru (died 1850)
1806 – Emma Catherine Embury, American author and poet (died 1863)
1809 – John Hart, English-Australian politician, 10th Premier of South Australia (died 1873)
1812 – Carl Christian Hall, Danish lawyer and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Denmark (died 1888)
1816 – Giovanni Morelli, Italian historian and critic (died 1891)
1833 – John St. John, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Kansas (died 1916)
1841 – Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French painter and sculptor (died 1919)
1842 – Karl May, German author, poet, and playwright (died 1912)
1845 – George Reid, Scottish-Australian lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Australia (died 1918)
1855 – Cesário Verde, Portuguese poet and author (died 1886)
1856 – Karl Gotthard Lamprecht, German historian and academic (died 1915)
1856 – Mathias Zdarsky, Czech-Austrian skier, painter, and sculptor (died 1940)
1857 – Robert Bond, Canadian politician; first Prime Minister of Newfoundland (died 1927)
1860 – William Ashley, English historian and academic (died 1927)
1865 – Andranik, Armenian general (died 1927)
1866 – Benedetto Croce, Italian philosopher and politician (died 1952)
1869 – Phoebus Levene, Russian-American biochemist and physician (died 1940)
1871 – Lesya Ukrainka, Ukrainian poet and playwright (died1913)
1873 – Enrico Caruso, Italian-American tenor; the most popular operatic tenor of the early 20th century and the first great recording star. (died 1921)
1877 – Erich von Hornbostel, Austrian musicologist and scholar (died 1935)
1881 – William Z. Foster, American union leader and politician (died 1961)
1881 – Alexei Rykov, Russian politician, Premier of Russia (died 1938)
1883 – Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (died 1981)
1885 – Princess Alice of Battenberg, mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (died 1969)
1888 – John Foster Dulles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 52nd United States Secretary of State (died 1959)
1890 – Myra Hess, English pianist and educator (died 1965)
1894 – Meher Baba, Indian spiritual master (died 1969)
1896 – Ida Noddack, German chemist and physicist (died 1978)
1898 – William Astbury, physicist and molecular biologist (died 1961)
1901 – Vince Gair, Australian politician, 27th Premier of Queensland (died 1980)
1901 – Zeppo Marx, American comedian and theatrical agent (died 1979)
1903 – King Clancy, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and coach (died 1986)
1905 – Perry Miller, American historian, author, and academic (died 1963)
1906 – Mary Coyle Chase, American journalist and playwright (died 1981)
1907 – Sabahattin Ali, Turkish journalist, author, and poet (died 1948)
1908 – Mary Locke Petermann, American cellular biochemist (died 1975)
1908 – Frank G. Slaughter, American physician and author (died 2001)
1910 – Millicent Fenwick, American journalist and politician (died 1992)
1913 – Jim Backus, American actor and screenwriter (died 1989)
1913 – Gert Fröbe, German actor (died 1988)
1915 – S. Rajaratnam, Singaporean politician, 1st Senior Minister of Singapore (died 2006)
1917 – Anthony Burgess, English author, playwright, and critic (died 1993)
1918 – Bobby Riggs, American tennis player (died 1995)
1919 – Monte Irvin, American baseball player and executive (died 2016)
1920 – Philip Habib, American academic and diplomat, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (died 1992)
1921 – Pierre Laporte, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec (died 1970)
1921 – Andy Pafko, American baseball player and manager (died 2013)
1922 – Molly Reilly, Canadian aviator (died 1980)
1924 – Hugh Huxley, English-American biologist and academic (died 2013)
1925 – Lisa Kirk, American actress and singer (died 1990)
1925 – Shehu Shagari, Nigerian politician, 6th President of Nigeria (died 2018)
1926 – Masatoshi Gündüz Ikeda, Japanese-Turkish mathematician and academic (died 2003)
1927 – Ralph Stanley, American singer and banjo player (died 2016)
1928 – Paul Elvstrøm, Danish yachtsman (died 2016)
1928 – Larry Gelbart, American author and screenwriter (died 2009)
1928 – A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., American civil rights advocate, historian, and judge (died 1998)
1928 – Richard G. Stern, American author and academic (died 2013)
1930 – Wendy Beckett, British nun and art critic (died 2018)
1932 – Tony Brooks, English racing driver (died 2022)
1932 – Faron Young, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1996)
1934 – Tony Lema, American golfer (died 1966)
1935 – Tony Campolo, American sociologist and pastor (died 2024)
1935 – Oktay Sinanoglu, Turkish physical chemist and molecular biophysicist (died 2015)
1937 – Tom Courtenay, English actor
1937 – Bob Schieffer, American political author, journalist and TV interviewer
1938 – Diane Baker, American actress and producer
1938 – Herb Elliott, Australian athlete
1938 – Farokh Engineer, Indian cricketer
1940 – Ron Santo, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 2010)
1941 – David Puttnam, English film producer and academic
1942 – Karen Grassle, American actress
1943 – George Harrison, English singer-songwriter, guitarist and film producer (died 2001)
1944 – François Cevert, French racing driver (died 1973)
1946 – Jean Todt, French racing driver and team manager
1947 – Lee Evans, American sprinter and athletics coach (died 2021)
1949 – Ric Flair, American professional wrestler
1949 – Amin Maalouf, Lebanese-French journalist and author
1950 – Francisco Fernández Ochoa, Spanish skier (died 2006)
1950 – Neil Jordan, Irish film director, screenwriter and author
1950 – Néstor Kirchner, Argentine politician; 51st President of Argentina (died 2010)
1951 – Don Quarrie, Jamaican sprinter and coach
1952 – Joey Dunlop, Northern Irish motorcyclist (died 2000)
1953 – José María Aznar, Spanish politician; Prime Minister of Spain, 1996–2004
1953 – John Doe, American musician, singer-songwriter, actor, and poet
1957 – Raymond McCreesh, Irish Republican died on hunger strike (died 1981)
1957 – Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singaporean economist and politician; 5th Senior Minister and 9th President of Singapore
1958 – Kurt Rambis, Greek-American basketball player, coach, and executive
1962 – Birgit Fischer, German kayaker
1963 – Paul O'Neill, American baseball player and sportscaster
1965 – Carrot Top, American comedian
1965 – Veronica Webb, American model, actress, and writer
1966 – Alexis Denisof, American actor
1966 – Téa Leoni, American actress
1967 – Ed Balls, English politician; Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
1968 – Lesley Boone, American actress and producer
1968 – Danny Crnkovich, Australian rugby league player
1968 – Oumou Sangaré, Malian musician
1970 – Chris Barnes, American bowler and sportscaster
1971 – Sean Astin, American actor, director and producer
1971 – Stuart MacGill, Australian cricketer
1971 – Daniel Powter, Canadian singer-songwriter and musician
1973 – Anson Mount, American actor
1974 – Dominic Raab, English politician; First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
1975 – Chelsea Handler, American comedian, actress, author, and television host
1976 – Rashida Jones, American actress and writer
1976 – Samaki Walker, American basketball player
1979 – Napoleon Harris, American football player and politician
1980 – Kash Patel, American lawyer, former federal prosecutor and official
1981 – Park Ji-sung, South Korean footballer
1982 – Maria Kanellis, American professional wrestler, actress, and model
1982 – Flavia Pennetta, Italian tennis player
1982 – Anton Volchenkov, Russian ice hockey player
1985 – Joakim Noah, French-American basketball player
1986 – Justin Berfield, American actor, writer, and producer
1986 – Jameela Jamil, English actress and presenter
1986 – James Phelps, English actor
1986 – Oliver Phelps, English actor
1987 – Justin Abdelkader, American ice hockey player
1988 – Tom Marshall, English photo colouriser and artist
1988 – Gerald McCoy, American football player
1989 – Jimmer Fredette, American basketball player
1989 – Kana Hanazawa, Japanese voice actress and singer
1989 – E'Twaun Moore, American basketball player
1990 – Félix Peña, Dominican baseball player
1992 – Joakim Nordström, Swedish ice hockey player
1992 – Jorge Soler, Cuban baseball player
1993 – Erick Fedde, American baseball player
1993 – Lukáš Sedlák, Czech ice hockey player
1994 – Fred VanVleet, American basketball player
1995 – Mario Hezonja, Croatian basketball player
1995 – Viktoriya Tomova, Bulgarian tennis player
1997 – Isabelle Fuhrman, American actress
1997 – Thon Maker, South Sudanese-Australian basketball player
1997 – Brock Boeser, American ice hockey player
1999 – Gianluigi Donnarumma, Italian footballer
1999 – Matvey Safonov, Russian footballer
1999 – Rocky, South Korean singer, dancer and songwriter
2000 – Bo Nix, American football player
2001 – Vernon Carey Jr., American basketball player
2003 – Brandin Podziemski, American basketball player
2004 – Tyler Sanders, American actor (died 2022)
2005 – Noah Jupe, English actor

Deaths 74

806 – Tarasios, patriarch of Constantinople
891 – Fujiwara no Mototsune, Japanese regent (born 836)
1099 – Anselm of Ribemont, Frankish nobleman and participant of the First Crusade
1522 – William Lily, English scholar and educator (born 1468)
1536 – Berchtold Haller, German-Swiss theologian and reformer (born 1492)
1547 – Vittoria Colonna, marchioness of Pescara (born 1490)
1601 – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (born 1566)
1634 – Albrecht von Wallenstein, Austrian general and politician (born 1583)
1636 – Santorio Santorio, Italian biologist (born 1561)
1655 – Daniël Heinsius, Flemish poet and scholar (born 1580)
1682 – Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer (born 1639)
1710 – Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, French soldier and explorer (born 1639)
1713 – Frederick I of Prussia (born 1657)
1723 – Christopher Wren, English architect, designed St Paul's Cathedral (born 1632)
1756 – Eliza Haywood, English actress and poet (born 1693)
1796 – Samuel Seabury, American bishop (born 1729)
1805 – Thomas Pownall, English politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (born 1722)
1819 – Francisco Manoel de Nascimento, Portuguese-French poet and educator (born 1734)
1822 – William Pinkney, American politician and diplomat, 7th United States Attorney General (born 1764)
1841 – Philip P. Barbour, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 12th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (born 1783)
1850 – Daoguang Emperor of China (born 1782)
1852 – Thomas Moore, Irish poet and lyricist (born 1779)
1865 – Otto Ludwig, German author, playwright, and critic (born 1813)
1870 – Henrik Hertz, Danish poet and playwright (born 1797)
1877 – Jung Bahadur Rana, Nepalese ruler (born 1816)
1878 – Townsend Harris, American merchant, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Japan (born 1804)
1899 – Paul Reuter, German-English journalist and businessman, founded Reuters (born 1816)
1906 – Anton Arensky, Russian pianist and composer (born 1861)
1910 – Worthington Whittredge, American painter and educator (born 1820)
1911 – Friedrich Spielhagen, German author, theorist, and translator (born 1829)
1912 – William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (born 1852)
1914 – John Tenniel, English illustrator (born 1820)
1915 – Charles Edwin Bessey, American botanist, author, and academic (born 1845)
1920 – Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy, French archaeologist and engineer (born 1844)
1928 – William O'Brien, Irish journalist and politician (born 1852)
1934 – Elizabeth Gertrude Britton, American botanist and academic (born 1857)
1934 – John McGraw, American baseball player and manager (born 1873)
1945 – Mário de Andrade, Brazilian author, poet, and photographer (born 1893)
1950 – George Minot, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1885)
1953 – Sergei Winogradsky, Ukrainian-Russian microbiologist and ecologist (born 1856)
1954 – Joseph Beech, American Methodist missionary and educator (born 1867)
1957 – Mark Aldanov, Russian author and critic (born 1888)
1957 – Bugs Moran, American mob boss (born 1893)
1963 – Melville J. Herskovits, American anthropologist and academic (born 1895)
1964 – Alexander Archipenko, Ukrainian sculptor and illustrator (born 1887)
1964 – Grace Metalious, American author (born 1924)
1970 – Mark Rothko, Latvian-American painter and academic (born 1903)
1971 – Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1884)
1972 – Gottfried Fuchs, German-Canadian Olympic soccer player (born 1889)
1975 – Elijah Muhammad, American religious leader (born 1897)
1978 – Daniel James, Jr., American general and pilot (born 1920)
1980 – Robert Hayden, American poet and academic (born 1913)
1983 – Tennessee Williams, American playwright, and poet (born 1911)
1996 – Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian-American physician and author (born 1940)
1997 – Andrei Sinyavsky, Russian journalist and publisher (born 1925)
1998 – W. O. Mitchell, Canadian author and playwright (born 1914)
1999 – Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1912)
2001 – A. R. Ammons, American poet and critic (born 1926)
2001 – Don Bradman, Australian international cricketer; holder of world record batting average (born 1908)
2005 – Peter Benenson, English lawyer, founded Amnesty International (born 1921)
2008 – Hans Raj Khanna, Indian judge and advocate; upholder of civil liberties (born 1912)
2010 – Ihsan Dogramaci, Turkish pediatrician and academic (born 1915)
2012 – Louisiana Red, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1932)
2015 – Harve Bennett, American screenwriter and producer (born 1930)
2015 – Ariel Camacho, Mexican musician and singer-songwriter; (born 1992)
2015 – Eugenie Clark, American biologist and academic; noted ichthyologist (born 1922)
2017 – Bill Paxton, American actor and filmmaker (born 1955)
2020 – Dmitry Yazov, last Marshal of the Soviet Union (born 1924)
2022 – Farrah Forke, American actress (born 1968)
2022 – Shirley Hughes, English author and illustrator (born 1927)
2023 – Gordon Pinsent, Canadian actor, director and screenwriter (born 1930)
2025 – Henry Kelly, Irish radio and television broadcaster, actor and journalist (born 1947)
2025 – Roberto Orci, Mexican-American screenwriter and producer (born 1973)
2025 – Jane Reed, UK Magazine editor and media executive (born 1940)

Holidays and observances 16

Christian feast days: Æthelberht of Kent Blessed Ciriaco María Sancha y Hervás Gerland of Agrigento John Roberts, writer and missionary (Anglican Communion) Hamburg Matthiae-mahl, feast of Hanseatic League cities on the mediaeval first day of spring Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani Blessed Robert of Arbrissel, founder of Fontevraud Abbey Saint Walpurga (she was canonised on 1 May c. 870 and Walpurgis Night is celebrated 30 April) February 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Æthelberht of Kent
Blessed Ciriaco María Sancha y Hervás
Gerland of Agrigento
John Roberts, writer and missionary (Anglican Communion)
Hamburg Matthiae-mahl, feast of Hanseatic League cities on the mediaeval first day of spring
Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani
Blessed Robert of Arbrissel, founder of Fontevraud Abbey
Saint Walpurga (she was canonised on 1 May c. 870 and Walpurgis Night is celebrated 30 April)
February 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Kitano Baika-sai or "Plum Blossom Festival" (Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine, Kyoto, Japan)
Memorial Day for the Victims of the Communist Dictatorships (Hungary)
National Day (Kuwait)
People Power Day (Philippines)
Revolution Day in Suriname
Soviet Occupation Day (Georgia)