# March 25

**March 25** is the 84th day of the year (85th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 281 days remaining until the end of the year.

## Events

### Up to 1900

* 421 – Venice is said to have been founded.
* 708 – Constantine is made Pope.
* 717 – Theodosius III resigns from the throne of the Byzantine Empire in order to enter the clergy.
* 1199 – King Richard I of England is wounded by a crossbow while fighting in France, leading to his death on April 6.
* 1306 – Robert the Bruce becomes King of Scotland.
* 1409 – The Council of Pisa opens.
* 1555 – The city of Valencia, Negros Oriental, Venezuela is founded.
* 1634 – The first settlers arrive in Maryland (led by Lord Baltimore).
* 1655 – Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is discovered by Christiaan Huygens.
* 1655 – Protestants take over Maryland at the Battle of the Severn.
* 1802 – The Treaty of Amiens is signed as a "Definitive Treaty of Peace" between France and the United Kingdom.
* 1807 – The Slave Trade Act becomes law, abolishing slavery in the United Kingdom.
* 1811 – Percy Bysshe Shelley is expelled by the University of Oxford for producing the pamphlet, *The Necessity of Atheism*.
* 1821 – Greece declares its independence from the Ottoman Empire, beginning the Greek War of Independence.
* 1865 – The "Claywater Meteorite" explodes just before reaching ground level in Vernon County, Wisconsin. Fragments having a combined mass of 1.5 kg are recovered.
* 1865 – American Civil War: In Virginia, Confederate forces capture Fort Stedman from the Union.
* 1894 – Coxey's Army, the first significant American protest march, departs Massillon, Ohio for Washington D.C..

### 1901 – 2000

* 1901 – At the five–day "Week of Nice" race in Nice, France, Mercedes wins its first racing victory.
* 1911 – In New York City the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire kills 146 garment workers.
* 1913 – Floods kill 300 people in Dayton, Ohio.
* 1918 – The Belarusian National Republic was established.
* 1924 – Greece proclaims itself a republic.
* 1931 – The Scottsboro Boys are arrested in Alabama and charged with rape.
* 1939 – Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli becomes Pope Pius XII.
* 1941 – Kingdom of Yugoslavia joins the Axis powers.
* 1947 – A explosion in a coalmine in Centralia, Illinois kills 111.
* 1949 – The extensive deportation campaign was conducted in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Soviet authorities deported more than 92,000 people from Baltics to remote areas of the Soviet Union.
* 1955 – United States Customs seizes Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" as obscene.
* 1957 – The European Economic Community is established (West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg). It later becomes the European Union.
* 1960 – In London, United Kingdom, Jacqueline Boyer wins the fifth Eurovision Song Contest for France singing "Tom Pillibi".
* 1961 – Sputnik 10 is launched into space.
* 1965 – Civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King, Jr. complete successfully their 4–day 50 mile march from Selma to the capitol in Montgomery.
* 1969 – During their honeymoon, John Lennon and Yoko Ono hold their first Bed-In for Peace in the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel (until March 31).
* 1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: Beginning of Operation Searchlight of Pakistan Army against East Pakistani civilians.
* 1972 – In Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, Vicky Leandros wins the seventeenth Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg singing "Après toi" (After you).
* 1975 – Faisal of Saudi Arabia is shot and killed by a mentally ill nephew.
* 1979 – The first fully functional space shuttle orbiter, *Columbia,* is delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center to be prepared for its first launch.
* 1980 – The UK announces that it will participate in the Summer Olympics in Moscow.
* 1988 – The Candle Demonstration in Bratislava is the first mass demonstration of the 1980s against the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
* 1990 – In New York City, a fire at an illegal social club called "Happy Land" kills 87.
* 1992 – Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev returns to Earth after a 10–month stay aboard the Mir space station.
* 1992 – The Pakistan national cricket team wins the Cricket World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.
* 1995 – Ward Cunningham opens the first wiki, the Portland Pattern Repository.
* 1996 – An 81–day long standoff between the antigovernment group Montana Freemen and law enforcement in Jordan, Montana begins.
* 1996 – The EU's Veterinarian Committee bans the export of British beef and its by–products as a result of mad cow disease (BSE).

### From 2001

* 2001 – Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland implement the Schengen Agreement.
* 2002 – An earthquake in Afghanistan kills 2,000 people.
* 2004 – Air Holland files for bankruptcy in response to unproven allegations of marijuana abuse by the their pilots.
* 2006 – Several anti–Government demonstrators are arrested in Belarus.
* 2012 – Hong Kong elects CY Leung as Chief Executive.
* 2014 – The first cases of the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa are officially reported in Guinea.
* 2015 – British Top Gear television presenter Jeremy Clarkson is fired by the BBC over a physical attack on a producer.
* 2015 – It is announced that Zayn Malik is leaving the boy band One Direction.

## Births

### Up to 1900

* 1157 – Alfonso II of Aragon (d. 1196)
* 1252 – Conradin, Duke of Swabia, King of Sicily and Jerusalem (d. 1268)
* 1259 – Andronikos II Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1332)
* 1297 – Andronikos III Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1341)
* 1345 – Blanche of Lancaster, wife of John of Gaunt (d. 1369)
* 1347 – Catherine of Siena, Italian saint (d. 1380)
* 1479 – Vasili III, Grand Prince of Moscow (d. 1533)
* 1539 – Christopher Clavius, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1612)
* 1541 – Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1587)
* 1545 – John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (d. 1622)
* 1593 – Jean de Brébeuf, French–Canadian missionary and saint (d. 1649)
* 1661 – Paul de Rapin, French historian (d. 1725)
* 1714 – Matthew Griswold, American politician, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1799)
* 1767 – Joachim Murat, King of Naples (d. 1815)
* 1782 – Caroline Bonaparte, Queen of Naples (d. 1839)
* 1786 – Giovanni Battista Amici, Italian astronomer and botanist (d. 1863)
* 1808 – José de Espronceda, Spanish writer and poet (d. 1842)
* 1819 – Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb, Faroese Lutheran minister and linguist (d. 1909)
* 1821 – Robert Bentley, English botanist (d. 1893)
* 1840 – Myles Keogh, American soldier of fortune (d. 1876)
* 1860 – Friedrich Naumann, German theologian and politician (d. 1919)
* 1865 – Alexej von Jawlensky, Russian–German painter (d. 1941)
* 1867 – Arturo Toscanini, Italian conductor (d. 1957)
* 1867 – Gutzon Borglum, American sculptor (d. 1941)
* 1868 – Bill Lockwood, English cricketer (d. 1932)
* 1871 – Louis Perée, French fencer (d. 1924)
* 1872 – Horatio Nelson Jackson, American racing driver and physician (d. 1955)
* 1873 – Rudolf Rocker, German anarchist (d. 1958)
* 1874 – Emperor Sunjong of Korea (d. 1926)
* 1876 – Irving Baxter, American jumper and pole vaulter (d. 1957)
* 1881 – Béla Bartók, Hungarian composer (d. 1945)
* 1884 – Georges Imbert, Alsatian chemist (d. 1950)
* 1886 – Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople (d. 1972)
* 1887 – Chuichi Nagumi, Japanese admiral (d. 1944)

### 1901 – 1950

* 1901 – Ed Begley, American actor (d. 1970)
* 1905 – Pote Sarasin, Thai politician (d. 2000)
* 1908 – David Lean, British movie director (d. 1991)
* 1910 – Magda Olivero, Italian operatic soprano (d. 2014)
* 1911 – Jack Ruby, assassin of Lee Harvey Oswald (d. 1967)
* 1914 – Norman Borlaug, American agronomist (d. 2009)
* 1920 – Patrick Troughton, English actor (d. 1987)
* 1920 – Paul Scott, British novelist (d. 1987)
* 1921 – Alexandra of Greece and Denmark, Queen of Yugoslavia (d. 1993)
* 1921 – Simone Signoret, French actress (d. 1985)
* 1921 – Nancy Kelly, American actress (d. 1995)
* 1922 – Eileen Ford, American model agency executive (d. 2014)
* 1924 – Machiko Kyo, Japanese actress
* 1926 – Laszlo Papp, Hungarian boxer (d. 2003)
* 1926 – Riz Ortolani, Italian composer (d. 2014)
* 1926 – Jaime Sabines, Mexican poet (d. 1999)
* 1926 – Gene Shalit, American journalist and critic (d. 2026)
* 1927 – P. Shanmugam, Indian politician, 13th Chief Minister of Puducherry
* 1928 – Roald Aas, Norwegian speed skater (d. 2012)
* 1928 – Jim Lovell, American astronaut
* 1930 – Carlo Mauri, Italian mountaineer (d. 1982)
* 1931 – Paul Motian, American jazz drummer and composer (d. 2011)
* 1932 – Roger Wilkins, American civil rights activist and journalist (d. 2017)
* 1934 – Gloria Steinem, American feminist and publisher
* 1934 – Karlheinz Schreiber, German–Canadian industrialist, lobbyist and arms dealer
* 1937 – Tom Monaghan, American businessman, founded Domino's Pizza
* 1938 – Hoyt Axton, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1999)
* 1938 – Daniel Buren, French sculptor and painter
* 1940 – Mina, Italian singer
* 1940 – Anita Bryant, American singer
* 1940 – Anker Buch, Danish violinist (d. 2014)
* 1942 – Aretha Franklin, American singer (d. 2018)
* 1942 – Richard O'Brien, English actor, writer and composer
* 1942 – Kim Woodburn, English television personality
* 1946 – Daniel Bensaïd, French philosopher (d. 2010)
* 1947 – Elton John, English singer and songwriter

### 1951 – 1975

* 1951 – Maizie Williams, Montserratian–English performer (Boney M.)
* 1952 – Stephen Dorrell, English politician
* 1952 – Antanas Mockus, Colombian mathematician, philosopher and politician, Mayor of Bogota
* 1955 – Lee Mazzilli, American baseball player, coach and manager
* 1955 – Jim Shannon, Northern Irish politician
* 1957 – Christina Boxer, English runner
* 1957 – Aleksandr Puchkov, Russian hurdler
* 1958 – John Ensign, American politician
* 1958 – James McDaniel, American actor and director
* 1960 – Steve Norman, English saxophonist, songwriter and producer (Spandau Ballet)
* 1960 – Brenda Strong, American actress
* 1962 – David Nuttall, English politician
* 1962 – Marcia Cross, American actress
* 1963 – Karen Bruce, English dancer and choreographer
* 1964 – Mike Henry, American voice actor, writer and producer
* 1964 – René Meulensteen, Dutch footballer and coach
* 1965 – Avery Johnson, American basketball coach
* 1965 – Sarah Jessica Parker, American actress
* 1965 – Frank Ordenewitz, German footballer
* 1966 – Frank Ferrer, American musician (Guns N' Roses)
* 1966 – Jeff Healey, Canadian guitarist (d. 2008)
* 1967 – Debi Thomas, American figure skater
* 1969 – Cathy Dennis, English singer-songwriter, producer and actress
* 1970 – Magnus Larsson, Swedish golfer
* 1971 – Sheryl Swoopes, American basketball player
* 1972 – Yuichi Yoshimoto, Japanese footballer
* 1972 – Phil O'Donnell, Scottish footballer (d. 2007)
* 1973 – Michaela Dorfmeister, Austrian skier
* 1973 – Anders Fridén, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
* 1974 – Kseniya Rappoport, Russian actress
* 1975 – Melanie Blatt, British singer

### From 1976

* 1976 – Reema Vakarua, New Zealand–Italian rugby player
* 1976 – Cha Tae-hyun, South Korean actor and singer
* 1976 – GiGi Leung, Hong Kong actress and singer
* 1976 – Wladimir Klitschko, Ukrainian boxer
* 1979 – Muriel Hurtis-Houari, French athlete
* 1981 – Casey Neistadt, American YouTube personality and filmmaker
* 1982 – Danica Patrick, American racecar driver
* 1984 – Katharine McPhee, American singer and actress
* 1985 – Carmen Rasmussen, Canadian–American singer-songwriter and actress
* 1987 – Jason Castro, American singer
* 1987 – Nobunari Oda, Japanese figure skater
* 1987 – Jacob Bagersted, Danish handball player
* 1987 – Victor Obinna, Nigerian footballer
* 1988 – Erik Knudsen, Canadian actor
* 1988 – Ryan Lewis, American DJ and producer
* 1989 – Scott Sinclair, English footballer
* 1989 – Alyson Michalka, American actress
* 1991 – Seychelle Gabriel, American actress
* 1991 – Samia Yusuf Omar, Somali sprinter (d. 2012)
* 2005 – Zack Raines,Great Canadian

## Deaths

### Up to 1900

* 752 – Pope-elect Stephen
* 1223 – Afonso II of Portugal (b. 1185)
* 1345 – Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster (b. 1281)
* 1558 – Marcos de Niza, French friar and explorer (b. 1495)
* 1583 – Juan de Garay, Spanish conquistador (b. 1528)
* 1620 – Johannes Nucius, German composer (b. 1556)
* 1732 – Lucy Filippini, Italian saint (b. 1672)
* 1751 – Frederick I of Sweden (b. 1676)
* 1801 – Novalis, German poet (b. 1772)
* 1818 – Caspar Wessel, Norwegian–Danish mathematician and cartographer (b. 1745)
* 1860 – James Braid, Scottish surgeon and physician (b. 1795)
* 1862 – John Peisley, first Australian born bushranger, hanged (b. 1835)
* 1873 – Wilhelm Marstrand, Danish painter (b. 1810)

### 1901 – 2000

* 1914 – Frédéric Mistral, French poet (b. 1830)
* 1917 – Spyridon Samaras, Greek composer (b. 1861)
* 1918 – Claude Debussy, French composer (b. 1862)
* 1919 – Wilhelm Lehmbruck, German sculptor and artist (b. 1881)
* 1931 – Ida B. Wells, American journalist and activist (b. 1862)
* 1932 – Harriet Backer, Norwegian painter (b. 1845)
* 1945 – Franz Oppenhoff, German jurist and Mayor of Aachen (b. 1902)
* 1957 – Max Ophüls, German director and screenwriter (b. 1902)
* 1967 – Renato Cellini, Italian conductor (b. 1913)
* 1969 – Max Eastman, American poet (b. 1883)
* 1973 – Edward Steichen, Luxembourg–American photographer (b. 1879)
* 1975 – Faisal of Saudi Arabia (b. 1906)
* 1975 – Juan Gaudino, Argentine racing driver (b. 1893)
* 1979 – Akinoumi Setsuo, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1914)
* 1980 – Roland Barthes, French literary critic and writer (b. 1915)
* 1980 – Walter Susskind, Czech conductor (b. 1913)
* 1988 – Robert Joffrey, American dancer, choreographer and director (b. 1931)
* 1991 – Marcel Lefebvre, French archbishop (b. 1905)
* 1992 – Nancy Walker, American actress (b. 1922)
* 1994 – Max Petitpierre, Swiss politician (b. 1899)
* 1999 – Cal Ripken, Sr., American baseball manager (b. 1936)

### From 2001

* 2002 – Kenneth Wolstenholme, British football commentator (b. 1920)
* 2005 – Paul Henning, American TV and movie producer (b. 1911)
* 2006 – Buck Owens, American singer and TV personality (b. 1926)
* 2007 – Andranik Margaryan, Armenian politician (b. 1951)
* 2008 – Abby Mann, American movie writer and producer (b. 1927)
* 2009 – Yukio Endo, Japanese gymnast (b. 1937)
* 2010 – Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, German political scientist (b. 1916)
* 2012 – Antonio Tabucchi, Italian writer (b. 1943)
* 2014 – Nanda, Indian actress (b. 1939)
* 2014 – Ralph Wilson, American businessman (b. 1918)
* 2014 – Jerry Roberts, British World War II code breaker (b. 1920)
* 2014 – Mohammad Ebrahim Bastani Parizi, Iranian historian and writer (b. 1924)
* 2014 – Jonathan Schell, American writer, journalist and activist (b. 1943)
* 2014 – Sonny Ruberto, American baseball player (b. 1946)
* 2015 – George Fischbeck, American weatherman (b. 1922)
* 2015 – Ivo Garrani, Italian actor (b. 1924)
* 2015 – Dick Bond, American politician (b. 1921)
* 2015 – Bill Slayback, American baseball player (b. 1948)
* 2015 – Ron Suart, English footballer (b. 1920)
* 2016 – Abu Ala al-Afri, Iraqi militant (b. 1958)
* 2016 – Clodomir Santos de Morais, Brazilian sociologist (b. 1928)
* 2016 – Paolo Poli, Italian actor (b. 1929)
* 2016 – Imre Pozsgay, Hungarian politician (b. 1933)
* 2016 – David Snellgrove, British Tibetologist (b. 1920)
* 2017 – Teodor Oizerman, Soviet–Russian philosopher (b. 1914)
* 2017 – Cuthbert Sebastian, Governor-General of Saint Kitts and Nevis (b. 1921)

## Observances

* Annunciation of Blessed Virgin Mary (Catholicism)
	+ Lady Day – Old official New Year's Day, before it was changed to January 1
	+ Mother's Day (Slovenia)
* Independence Day in Greece
* Maryland Day