February 25

Events

138 - The Roman Emperors|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 (government)|Cabinet meeting as President of the United States.

1836 - Samuel Colt receives an American patent for the Colt Firearms|Colt revolver.

1837 - First US electric printing press patented by Thomas Davenport

1870 - Hiram Rhoades Revels, a United States Republican Party|Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in the Congress of the United States|U.S. Congress.

1901 - J.P. Morgan incorporates the United States Steel Corporation.

1912 - Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg|Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duke of Luxembourg|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 US gallon taxation|tax on gasoline, becoming the first U.S. state to levy a gasoline tax.

1921 - The Democratic Republic of Georgia is occupied by the Soviet 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 (CV-4)|USS ''Ranger'' is launched, becoming the first custom-built aircraft carrier.

1951 - The first Pan American Games are held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

1954 - Gamal Abdul Nasser is made premier of Egypt.

1964 - Cassius Clay beats Sonny Liston in Miami Beach, Florida, and is Ali versus Liston|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.

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 US Marines.

2004 - On Ash Wednesday, Mel Gibson's ''The Passion of the Christ is released in film|movie theaters across the United States'', grossing approximately $370 million domestically.

2005 - BTK suspect Dennis Rader arrested in Park City, Kansas.

Births

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 (Australian politician)|George Reid, fourth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1918)

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)

1901 - Zeppo Marx, American actor (d. 1979)

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 (assassinated) (d. 1970)

1925 - Edward Gorey, American illustrator (d. 2000)

1928 - Larry Gelbart, American comedy writer

1932 - Faron Young, American singer (d.1996)

1935 - Sally Jessy Raphaël, American talk show host

1937 - Tom Courtenay, British actor

1937 - Bob Schieffer, American broadcast journalist

1938 - Diane Baker, American actress

1938 - Herb Elliott, Australian runner

1940 - Billy Packer, American sports broadcaster

1940 - Ron Santo, baseball player

1942 - Karen Grassle, American actress

1943 - Wilson Piazza, Brazilian footballer

1943 - George Harrison, Lead guitarist of The Beatles (d. 2001)

1946 - Franz Xaver Kroetz, German dramatist

1947 - Lee Evans (athlete)|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, writer, and producer

1950 - Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina

1951 - Don Quarrie, Jamaican runner

1952 - Joey Dunlop, Irish motorcycle racer (d. 2000)

1953 - José María Aznar, Prime Minister of Spain

1954 - John Doe (musician)|John Doe, American musician

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 - Don Majkowski, American football player

1966 - Alexis Denisof, American actor

1966 - Samson Kitur, Kenyan athlete (d. 2003)

1966 - Téa Leoni, American actress

1969 - Paul Trimboli, Australian footballer

1971 - Sean Astin, American actor

1971 - Dave Harris, American disc jockey

1977 - Josh Wolff, American hockey player

1978 - Sara Sinha, English singer and guitarist

1981 - Park Ji-Sung, Korean footballer

1982 - Bert McCracken, American singer (The Used)

1986 - Justin Berfield, American actor

1998 - Brendon Baerg, American actor

Deaths

1246 - Dafydd ap Llywelyn, Prince of Kingdom of Gwynedd|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. 1644)

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)

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)

1957 - Bugs Moran|George "Bugs" Moran, American gangster (b. 1893)

1964 - Grace Metalious, American writer (b. 1924)

1971 - Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry|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)

1986 - Ezher"Bracko"Salihbasic, Illest Bosnian

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 in Chemistry|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)

Holidays and observances

Februaristaking (Netherlands) - strike against Nazi occupier, 1941

Kuwait | Kuwait's national day.

External links

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/25

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050225.html ---- February 24 - February 26 - January 25 - March 25 -- historical anniversaries|listing of all days