May 25

Historic Events

2018

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becomes enforceable in the European Union. ›

2018

Ireland votes to repeal the Eighth Amendment of their constitution that prohibits abortion in all but a few cases, choosing to replace it with the Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland. ›

2013

Suspected Maoist rebels kill at least 28 people and injure 32 others in an attack on a convoy of Indian National Congress politicians in Chhattisgarh, India. ›

2012

The SpaceX Dragon 1 becomes the first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station. ›

2011

Oprah Winfrey airs her last show, ending her 25-year run of The Oprah Winfrey Show. ›

2009

North Korea allegedly tests its second nuclear device, after which Pyongyang also conducts several missile tests, building tensions in the international community. ›

2008

NASA's Phoenix lander touches down in the Green Valley region of Mars to search for environments suitable for water and microbial life. ›

2002

China Airlines Flight 611 disintegrates in mid-air and crashes into the Taiwan Strait, with the loss of all 225 people on board. ›

2001

Erik Weihenmayer becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, in the Himalayas, with Dr. Sherman Bull. ›

2000

Liberation Day of Lebanon: Israel withdraws its army from Lebanese territory (with the exception of the disputed Shebaa farms zone) 18 years after the invasion of 1982. ›

1999

The United States House of Representatives releases the Cox Report which details China's nuclear espionage against the U.S. over the prior two decades. ›

1997

A military coup in Sierra Leone replaces President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah with Major Johnny Paul Koroma. ›

1986

The Hands Across America event takes place. ›

1985

Bangladesh is hit by a tropical cyclone and storm surge, which kills approximately 10,000 people. ›

1982

Falklands War: HMS Coventry is sunk by Argentine Air Force A-4 Skyhawks. ›

1981

In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. ›

1979

John Spenkelink, a convicted murderer, is executed in Florida; he is the first person to be executed in the state after the reintroduction of capital punishment in 1976. ›

1979

American Airlines Flight 191: A McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashes during takeoff at O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, killing all 271 on board and two people on the ground. ›

1978

The first of a series of bombings orchestrated by the Unabomber detonates at Northwestern University resulting in minor injuries. ›

1977

Star Wars (retroactively titled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) is released in US theaters. ›

1977

The Chinese government removes a decade-old ban on William Shakespeare's work, effectively ending the Cultural Revolution started in 1966. ›

1973

In protest against the dictatorship in Greece, the captain and crew on Greek naval destroyer Velos mutiny and refuse to return to Greece, instead anchoring at Fiumicino, Italy. ›

1971

Joetha Collier, a recent high school graduate, is killed in a shooting in Drew, Mississippi, attracting extensive attention from the media and civil rights activists. ›

1968

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, is dedicated. ›

1966

Explorer program: Explorer 32 launches. ›

1963

The Organisation of African Unity is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. ›

1961

Apollo program: U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces, before a special joint session of the U.S. Congress, that the United States "should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." ›

1955

In the United States, a night-time F5 tornado strikes the small city of Udall, Kansas as part of a larger outbreak across the Great Plains, killing 80 and injuring 273. It is the deadliest tornado ever to occur in the state and the 23rd deadliest in the U.S. ›

1955

First ascent of Mount Kangchenjunga: On the British Kangchenjunga expedition led by Charles Evans, Joe Brown and George Band reach the summit of the third-highest mountain in the world (8,586 meters); Norman Hardie and Tony Streather join them the following day. ›

1953

Nuclear weapons testing: At the Nevada Test Site, the United States conducts its first and only nuclear artillery test. ›

1953

The first public television station in the United States officially begins broadcasting as KUHT from the campus of the University of Houston. ›

1946

The Emirate of Transjordan becomes independent from the United Kingdom as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan after ratifying the Treaty of London and making their Amir, Abdullah I, their King. ›

1940

World War II: The German 2nd Panzer Division captures the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer; the surrender of the last French and British troops marks the end of the Battle of Boulogne. ›

1938

Spanish Civil War: The bombing of Alicante kills 313 people. ›

1935

Jesse Owens of Ohio State University breaks three world records and ties a fourth at the Big Ten Conference Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan. ›

1933

The Walt Disney Company cartoon Three Little Pigs premieres at Radio City Music Hall, featuring the hit song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" ›

1926

Sholom Schwartzbard assassinates Symon Petliura, the head of the government of the Ukrainian People's Republic, which is in government-in-exile in Paris. ›

1925

Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is indicted for teaching human evolution in Tennessee. ›

1914

The House of Commons of the United Kingdom passes the Home Rule Bill for devolution in Ireland. ›

1895

Playwright, poet and novelist Oscar Wilde is convicted of "committing acts of gross indecency with other male persons" and sentenced to serve two years in prison. ›

1895

The Republic of Formosa is formed, with Tang Jingsong as its president. ›

1878

Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore opens at the Opera Comique in London. ›

1865

In Mobile, Alabama, around 300 people are killed when an ordnance depot explodes. ›

1833

The Chilean Constitution of 1833 is promulgated. ›

1819

The Argentine Constitution of 1819 is promulgated. ›

1810

May Revolution: Citizens of Buenos Aires expel Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros during the "May Week", starting the Argentine War of Independence. ›

1809

Chuquisaca Revolution: Patriot revolt in Chuquisaca (modern-day Sucre) against the Spanish Empire, sparking the Latin American wars of independence. ›

1807

Outbreak of the Kabakçı Mustafa rebellion in response to intentions of sultan Selim III to reform the Ottoman army. ›

1798

United Irishmen Rebellion: Battle of Carlow begins; executions of suspected rebels at Carnew and at Dunlavin Green take place. ›

1787

After a delay of 11 days, the United States Constitutional Convention formally convenes in Philadelphia after a quorum of seven states is secured. ›

1763

First issue of Norske Intelligenz-Seddeler, the first regular Norwegian newspaper (1763–1920). ›

1738

A treaty between Pennsylvania and Maryland ends the Conojocular War with settlement of a boundary dispute and exchange of prisoners. ›

1660

Charles II lands at Dover at the invitation of the Convention Parliament, which marks the end of the Cromwell-proclaimed Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and begins the Restoration of the British monarchy. ›

1659

Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth of England. ›

1644

Ming general Wu Sangui forms an alliance with the invading Manchus and opens the gates of the Great Wall of China at Shanhaiguan pass, letting the Manchus through towards the capital Beijing. ›

1521

The Diet of Worms ends when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw. ›

1420

Henry the Navigator is appointed governor of the Order of Christ. ›

1085

Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo, Spain, back from the Moors after a siege. ›

240 BC

First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. ›

567 BC

Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans. ›