On this day in history

May 25

29 births · 12 deaths · 5 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

Murder of George Floyd

6 years ago

Born this day

1803

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Died aged 78

Photo (modified): User:Scewing derivative work: 2009 · Public domain

Oldest record

1040th

Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi

death anniversary

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Famous births29

1803 · 223 yrs

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyDied aged 78

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1818 · 208 yrs

Jacob Burckhardt

Carl Jacob Christoph Burckhardt (Swiss Standard German:; 25 May 1818 – 8 August 1897) was a Swiss historian of art and culture and an influential figure in the historiography of both fields. His best known work is The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (1860).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScholarshipDied aged 79

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1848 · 178 yrs

Helmuth von Moltke the Younger

Graf Helmuth Johannes Ludwig von Moltke (German:; 25 May 1848 – 18 June 1916), also known as Moltke the Younger, was a German general and Chief of the Great German General Staff, a member of the House of Moltke.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryDied aged 68

View profile Photo (modified): Agence Rol · Public domain

1865 · 161 yrs

Pieter Zeeman

Pieter Zeeman (25 May 1865 – 9 October 1943) was a Dutch experimental physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Hendrik Lorentz for their discovery and theoretical explanation of the Zeeman effect.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceDied aged 78

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1865 · 161 yrs

John Mott

John Raleigh Mott (May 25, 1865 – January 31, 1955) was an American evangelist and long-serving leader of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) and the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ReligionDied aged 89

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1887 · 139 yrs

Padre Pio

Pio of Pietrelcina (born Francesco Forgione; 25 May 1887 – 23 September 1968), widely known as St. Padre Pio (Italian for "Father Pius", Latin: Pater Pius) was an Italian friar of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, priest, stigmatist and mystic.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ReligionWould be 139

View profile Photo (modified): The original uploader was Manfredonia at Italian Wikipedia . · Public domain

1889 · 137 yrs

Igor Sikorsky

Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (25 May 1889 – 26 October 1972) was a Russian-American aviation pioneer in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. His first success came with the Sikorsky S-2, the second aircraft of his design and construction.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

TechnologyWould be 137

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1895 · 131 yrs

Dorothea Lange

Dorothea Lange (born Dorothea Margaretta Nutzhorn; May 26, 1895 – October 11, 1965) was an American documentary photographer and photojournalist, best known for her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MediaWould be 131

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1921 · 105 yrs

Jack Steinberger

Jack Steinberger (born Hans Jakob Steinberger; May 25, 1921 – December 12, 2020) was a German-born American physicist noted for his work with neutrinos, the subatomic particles considered to be elementary constituents of matter. He was a recipient of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics, along with Leon M.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 105

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1927 · 99 yrs

Robert Ludlum

Robert Ludlum (May 25, 1927 – March 12, 2001) was an American author of 27 thriller novels, best known as the creator of Jason Bourne from the original The Bourne Trilogy series. The number of copies of his books in print is estimated between 300 million and 500 million.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 99

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1938 · 88 yrs

Raymond Carver

Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 88

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1939 · 87 yrs

Ian McKellen

Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. Widely considered one of Britain’s greatest actors, he is noted for his versatile roles on stage and screen, in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmAge 87

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Showing 12 of 29

Famous deaths12

AD 986 · 1040 yrs

Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Ṣūfī (full name: Abū’l-Ḥusayn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿUmar ibn Sahl al-Ṣūfī al-Rāzī —Arabic: أَبُو الحُسَين عَبدُ اَلرَّحمَن بن عُمَر بن سَهل اَلصُّوفِي اَلرَّازِي; Persian: ابوالحسن عبدالرحمن صوفی رازی — 7 December 903 – 25 May 986) was a Persian astronomer.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceDied aged 82

View profile Photo (modified): Albrecht Dürer · CC BY-SA 4.0

1681 · 345 yrs

Pedro Calderón de la Barca

Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Henao (UK:, US:; Spanish:; 17 January 1600 – 25 May 1681) was a Spanish dramatist, poet, and writer. He is known as one of the most distinguished poets and writers of the Spanish Golden Age, especially for the many verse dramas he wrote for the theatre.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 81

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1693 · 333 yrs

Madame de Lafayette

Marie-Madeleine Pioche de La Vergne, Comtesse de La Fayette (baptized 18 March 1634 – 25 May 1693), better known as Madame de La Fayette, was a French writer; she authored La Princesse de Clèves, France's first historical novel and one of the earliest novels in literature.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 59

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1786 · 240 yrs

Pedro III of Portugal

Dom Peter III (Portuguese: Pedro III, pronounced; 5 July 1717 – 25 May 1786), nicknamed the Builder, was King of Portugal from 24 February 1777 to his death in 1786, by marriage to his niece Queen Dona Maria I.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 68

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1870 · 156 yrs

Ferdinand von Wrangel

Baron Ferdinand Friedrich Georg Ludwig von Wrangel (Russian: Фердинанд Петрович Врангель, romanized: Ferdinand Petrovich Vrangel; 9 January 1797 – 6 June 1870) was a Russian statesman, naval officer and explorer of Baltic German origin.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ExplorationDied aged 73

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1919 · 107 yrs

Madam C. J. Walker

Madam C. J. Walker (born Sarah Breedlove; December 23, 1867 – May 25, 1919), Mrs. Charles Joseph Walker upon her third marriage, was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

BusinessDied aged 51

View profile Photo (modified): Addison Norton Scurlock / Adam Cuerden · Public domain

1926 · 100 yrs

Symon Petliura

Symon Vasyliovych Petliura (Ukrainian: Симон Васильович Петлюра, Ukrainian pronunciation:; 22 May 1879 – 25 May 1926) was a Ukrainian revolutionary, politician and journalist.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryWould be 147

View profile Photo (modified): н. · Public domain

1934 · 92 yrs

Gustav Holst

Gustav Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, he composed many other works across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicDied aged 59

View profile Photo (modified): Herbert Lambert · Public domain

1954 · 72 yrs

Robert Capa

Robert Capa (born Endre Ernő Friedmann, Hungarian:; October 22, 1913 – May 25, 1954) was a Hungarian-American war photographer and photojournalist. He is considered by some to be the greatest combat and adventure photographer in history.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ArtWould be 113

View profile Photo (modified): Gerda Taro · Public domain

1983 · 43 yrs

Idris I of Libya

Idris (Arabic: إدريس, romanized: Idrīs, Muhammad Idris bin Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Sanusi; 13 March 1890 – 25 May 1983) was King of Libya from 24 December 1951 until his ousting in the 1969 Libyan revolution.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyWould be 137

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2014 · 12 yrs

Wojciech Jaruzelski

Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski (6 July 1923 – 25 May 2014) was a Polish military general, politician and de facto leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1990, serving as a military dictator from 13 December 1981 until 22 July 1983.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryWould be 103

View profile Photo (modified): Original: Unknown author Unknown author Derivative work: TharonXX · Public domain

2020 · 6 yrs

George Floyd

George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African American man who was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd had used a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicWould be 53

View profile Photo (modified): CCTV · Public domain

Events5

1787 · 239 yrs

Constitutional Convention

The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Politics

1810 · 216 yrs

May Revolution

The May Revolution (Spanish: Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from 18 to 25 May 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and parts of Brazil.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Politics

2005 · 21 yrs

2005 UEFA Champions League Final

The 2005 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Milan of Italy and Liverpool of England at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on 25 May 2005.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sports

2013 · 13 yrs

2013 UEFA Champions League Final

The 2013 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, the 58th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 21st season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sports

2020 · 6 yrs

Murder of George Floyd

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black American man, was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old White police officer, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Floyd had been arrested after a store clerk reported that he made a purchase using a counterfeit $20 bill.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Tragedy

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