February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 309 days remaining, 310 in leap years.

Events

• 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.
• 1837 - First US electric printing press patented by Thomas Davenport
• 1870 - Hiram Rhoades 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 William 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 gallon 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.
• 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.
• 1951 - The first Pan American Games are held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• 1954 - Gamal Abdul Nasser is made premier of Egypt.
• 1964 - Ali versus Liston: Cassius Clay beat Sonny Liston in Miami Beach, Florida, and was crowned the heavyweight champion of the world.
• 1972 - Terrorism: 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 movie theaters across the United States, grossing approximately $370 million domestically.

Births

• 1707 - Carlo Goldoni, lyricist (d. 1793)
• 1752 - John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (d. 1806)
• 1778 - José de San Martín, Argentine general, liberator of Spanish South America along with Simón Bolívar.
• 1841 - Pierre-Auguste Renoir, painter, graphic artist and sculptor (d. 1919)
• 1842 - Karl May, writer (d. 1912)
• 1845 - George Reid, fourth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1918)
• 1848 - Edward Harriman , railroad entrepreneur
• 1877 - Erich von Hornbostel, musicologist (d. 1935)
• 1888 - John Foster Dulles, United States Secretary of State (d. 1959)
• 1890 - Dame Myra Hess, English pianist (d. 1965)
• 1890 - Vyacheslav Molotov, Soviet politician (d. 1986)
• 1901 - Zeppo Marx, actor (d. 1979)
• 1904 - Adelle Davis , nutritionist, writer (d. 1974)
• 1910 - Millicent Fenwick, American fashion editor, politician (d. 1992)
• 1913 - Jim Backus, actor (d. 1989)
• 1913 - Gert Fröbe , actor (d. 1988)
• 1917 - Anthony Burgess, author (d. 1993)
• 1918 - Bobby Riggs, tennis player (d. 1995)
• 1918 - Barney Ewell, American athlete (d. 1996)
• 1921 - Pierre Laporte, statesman, murdered by FLQ terrorists (d. 1970)
• 1925 - Edward Gorey, illustrator (d. 2000)
• 1928 - Larry Gelbart, American comedy writer
• 1929 - Christopher George , American actor (d. 1983)
• 1930 - Tommy Newsom , American musician, bandleader
• 1932 - Faron Young, country music singer (d.1996)
• 1934 - Linda Cristal , Argentine actress
• 1935 - Sally Jessy Raphaël, talk show host
• 1937 - Tom Courtenay, actor
• 1937 - Bob Schieffer, American broadcast journalist
• 1938 - Herb Elliott, Australian runner
• 1938 - Diane Baker , American actress
• 1940 - Ron Santo, baseball player
• 1940 - Billy Packer, American sports broadcaster
• 1942 - Karen Grassle , American actress
• 1946 - Franz Xaver Kroetz, dramatist
• 1947 - Lee Evans, American athlete
• 1949 - Ric Flair, professional wrestler
• 1950 - Neil Jordan, director, writer, producer
• 1950 - Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina
• 1951 - Don Quarrie, Jamaican sprinter
• 1952 - Joey Dunlop, Irish motorcycle racer (d. 2000)
• 1953 - José María Aznar, former Prime Minister of Spain
• 1954 - John Doe, musician
• 1961 - Davey Allison, NASCAR driver (d. 1993)
• 1966 - Samson Kitur, Kenyan athlete (d. 2003)
• 1966 - Téa Leoni, American actress
• 1966 - Alexis Denisof, American actor
• 1971 - Sean Astin, actor
• 1977 - Josh Wolff, Kansas City Wizards Striker
• 1986 - Justin Berfield, American actor
• 1998 - Brendon Baerg, actor

Deaths

• 1553 - Hirate Masahide, Japanese retainer and the tutor of Oda Nobunaga (d. 1492)
• 1577 - King Eric XIV of Sweden (b. 1533)
• 1723 - Sir Christopher Wren, architect (b. 1632)
• 1852 - Thomas Moore, poet (b. 1779)
• 1860 - Chauncey Allen Goodrich, American clergyman, educator and lexicographer (b. 1790)
• 1899 - Paul Julius Reuter, founder of the Reuters News Agency (b. 1816)
• 1957 - George "Bugs" Moran, Chicago gangster (b. 1893)
• 1964 - Grace Metalious, writer (b. 1924)
• 1975 - Elijah Muhammad, Black Muslim leader
• 1978 - Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr. , American general, Tuskegee Airman
• 1983 - Tennessee Williams, playwright (b. 1911)
• 1987 - James Coco, American actor
• 1993 - Toy Caldwell , American singer
• 1994 - Baruch Goldstein, Kahanist mass killer (b. 1956)
• 1994 - Jersey Joe Walcott, boxer (b. 1914)
• 1996 - Haing S. Ngor, actor
• 1997 - Scott Forbes , British actor
• 1999 - Glenn T. Seaborg, American atomic scientist (b. 1912)
• 2000 - Victoria Climbié, murder victim (b. 1991)
• 2001 - Sir Donald Bradman, cricketer (b. 1908)
• 2003 - Tom O'Higgins, Irish Chief Justice twice defeated as a presidential candidate
• 2003 - Alberto Sordi, Italian comedy film legend

Holidays and observances

• Februaristaking (Netherlands) - strike against Nazi occupier, 1941
• Kuwait's national day.

External links

• BBC: On This Day

February 24 - February 26 - January 25 - March 25 -- listing of all days