April 25

Events
Up to 1900
775 - The Battle of Bagrevand ends Armenian rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate. Muslim control over Transcaucasus is solidified and its Islamization begins.
799 - After mistreatment and disfigurement by the citizens of Rome, Pope Leo III flees to the Frankish court of Charlemagne at Paderborn, present-day Germany, for protection.
1058 - Malcolm III of Scotland becomes King.
1134 - The name Zagreb is first mentioned in the Felician Charter.
1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar.
1644 - Chongzhen Emperor, the last Chinese Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, commits suicide.
1707 - The Habsburg Army is defeated by the Bourbon Army at Almansa, Spain, in the War of the Spanish Succession.
1792 - La Marseillaise, the current national anthem of France, is composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.
1792 - Highwayman Nicolas J. Pelletier becomes the first person to be executed by guillotine.
1804 - The western Georgian kingdom of Imereti accepts the suzerainty of the Russian Empire.
1829 - Charles Fremantle arrives on the HMS Challenger on the coast of present-day Western Australia, which he colonises as the British Swan River colony.
1846 - Open conflict begins on the disputed border of Texas, beginning the Mexican-American War.
1859 - British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal.
1861 - American Civil War: Union troops arrive in Washington, DC.
1862 - American Civil War: Forces under Union admiral David Farragut demand the surrender of the Confederate city of New Orleans, Louisiana.
1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Marks' Mills.
1898 - Spanish-American War: The US declares war on Spain.
1901 2000
1901 - New York becomes the first US State to use automobile license plates.
1915 - World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli in present-day Turkey begins, as Australian, French, British and New Zealand forces land at Anzac Cove and Cape Helles.
1916 - Easter Rebellion: The UK declares martial law in Ireland.
1916 - First observation of ANZAC Day, a year after the landings at Gallipoli.
1920 - At San Remo Conference, the principal Allied powers of World War I adopt a resolution to determine the allocation of Class "A" League of Nations mandates for administration of the former Ottoman Empire-ruled lands of the Middle East.
1945 - World War II: US and Soviet forces meet in Torgau on the River Elbe, a milestone in ending the war in Europe.
1945 - World War II: The Nazi occupation army in Northern Italy surrenders as the Puppet Fascist regime dissolves. Benito Mussolini tries to escape.
1945 - The Lapland War ends.
1945 - Representatives of 50 countries gather in San Francisco, California, to begin UN conferences on International Organisation.
1946 - The Naperville, Illinois train disaster kills 47 people.
1951 - Korean War: Assaulting Chinese forces are forced to withdraw after heavy fighting with UN forces, primarily made of Australian and Canadian troops, in the Battle of Kapyong.
1953 - Francis Crick and James D. Watson publish their paper describing their discovery of the double helix structure of DNA.
1959 - The St. Lawrence River seaway, linking North America's Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, opens.
1960 - United States Navy submarine USS Triton completes the first submerged circumnavigation (round-the-world journey) of the globe.
1961 - Robert Noyce is granted a patent for the integrated circuit.
1966 - The city of Tashkent in present-day Uzbekistan (then in the Soviet Union) is destroyed in an earthquake.
1967 - The current Flag of Swaziland is introduced.
1974 - Start of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal; A leftist coup ends Fascist rule.
1975 - The Australian Embassy is closed and evacuated as North Vietnamese forces close in on South Vietnamese capital Saigon.
1980 - A Boeing 727 of Dan Air Services crashes on approach to landing on Tenerife, hitting a mountain, killing all 146 people on board.
1981 - More than 100 workers are exposed to radiation during repairs to the nuclear power plant at Tsuruga, Japan.
1982 - Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai peninsula.
1983 - American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by Yuri Andropov after she sent him a letter expressing concern over a possible nuclear war.
1983 - The Pioneer 10 space probe travels beyond Pluto's orbit.
1986 - Mswati III is crowned King of Swaziland.
1990 - Violeta Chamorro becomes President of Nicaragua.
1998 - Danish-born American Christian Mortensen dies aged 115. Until 2012, he held the record of oldest man ever, after the claim of Japanese Shigechiyo Izumi is doubted. His record was surpassed in 2012 by Jiroemon Kimura of Japan.
From 2001
2002 - Mark Shuttleworth of South Africa becomes the first African in space.
2003 - The Human Genome Project comes to an end.
2004 - Heinz Fischer is elected President of Austria.
2005 - The Amagasaki rail crash in Japan kills 107 people.
2005 - After being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937, the final part of the obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia.
2005 - Bulgaria and Romania sign a treaty allowing them to join the European Union on January 1, 2007.
2007 - The funeral of Boris Yeltsin takes place.
2009 - The Left-Wing parties win Iceland's parliamentary election, confirming Johanna Sigurdardottir as Prime Minister.
2015 - 2015 Nepal earthquake: A magnitude 7.8 earthquake, followed by several aftershocks, strikes Nepal, and is also felt in nearby countries. Over 1,500 people are killed and many buildings destroyed.
2019 - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet for talks in Vladivostok.
Births
Up to 1900
32 - Marcus Salvius Otho, Roman Emperor (died 69)
1214 - King Louis IX of France (died 1270)
1228 - Conrad IV of Germany (died 1254)
1284 - King Edward II of England (died 1327)
1287 - Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March (died 1330)
1529 - Franciscus Patricius, Venetian philosopher (died 1597)
1599 - Oliver Cromwell, English statesman (died 1658)
1608 - Gaston, Duke of Orleans (died 1660)
1621 - Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, British soldier, statesman, and dramatist (died 1679)
1710 - James Ferguson, Scottish astronomer (died 1776)
1714 - Emer de Vattel, Swiss philosopher and diplomat (died 1767)
1723 - Giovanni Marco Ratini, Italian composer (died 1797)
1767 - Nicolas Oudinot, French marshal (died 1847)
1770 - Georg Sverdrup, Norwegian philologist (died 1850)
1775 - Charlotte of Spain (died 1830)
1776 - Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (died 1857)
1806 - William, Duke of Brunswick (died 1884)
1811 - William Henry Bissell, Governor of Illinois (died 1860)
1825 - Federico Errazuriz Zanartu, President of Chile (died 1877)
1839 - Roswell K. Colcord, Governor of Nevada (died 1939)
1840 - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer (died 1893) (O.S.)
1843 - Alice of the United Kingdom (died 1878)
1849 - Felix Klein, German mathematician (died 1925)
1852 - Leopoldo Alas, Spanish novelist (died 1901)
1857 - Giuseppe Gamba, Archbishop of Turin (died 1929)
1862 - Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, English politician (died 1933)
1873 - Walter de la Mare, English poet, short story writer and novelist (died 1956)
1873 - Felix d'Herelle, French-Canadian microbiologist (died 1949)
1874 - Guglielmo Marconi, Italian inventor, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics (died 1937)
1883 - Semyon Budyonny, Soviet marshal (died 1973)
1895 - Stanley Rous, English football official, 6th President of FIFA (died 1986)
1897 - Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (died 1956)
1900 - Wolfgang Ernst Pauli, Austrian-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1958)
1900 - Gladwyn Jebb, British diplomat (died 1996)
1901 1950
1902 - Werner Heyde, German psychiatrist (died 1964)
1903 - Andrey Nikolayevich Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician (died 1987)
1903 - Michele Pellegrino, Italian archbishop of Turin (died 1986)
1905 - George Nepia, New Zealand rugby player (died 1986)
1906 - William J. Brennan, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (died 1997)
1908 - Edward R. Murrow, American journalist (died 1965)
1909 - William Pereira, American architect (died 1985)
1911 - Connie Marrero, Cuban baseball player (died 2014)
1914 - Ross Lockridge, Jr., writer (died 1948)
1917 - Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (died 1996)
1918 - Gerard Henri de Vaucouleurs, French astronomer (died 1995)
1918 - Astrid Varnay, operatic soprano (died 2006)
1920 - Jean Carmet, French actor (died 1994)
1921 - Karel Appel, Dutch painter (died 2006)
1922 - Georges Cottier, Swiss cardinal (died 2016)
1923 - Albert King, American musician (died 1992)
1923 - Anita Bjork, Swedish actress (died 2012)
1924 - Ingemar Johansson, Swedish race walker (died 2009)
1924 - Franco Mannini, Italian composer, playwright and writer (died 2005)
1925 - Sammy Drechsel, journalist, movie director, and cabaretist (died 1986)
1927 - Albert Uderzo, French cartoonist
1928 - Vassar Clements, American musician
1928 - Cy Twombly, American painter (died 2011)
1928 - Yury Yakovlev, Russian actor (died 2013)
1929 - John S. Waugh, American chemist (died 2014)
1929 - Yvette Williams, New Zealand athlete (died 2019)
1930 - Paul Mazursky, American movie director and writer (died 2014)
1930 - Peter Schulz, Mayor of Hamburg (died 2013)
1931 - Felix Berezin, Russian mathematician and physicist (died 1980)
1932 - Meadowlark Lemon, American basketball player (died 2015)
1932 - Lia Manoliu, Romanian discus thrower (died 1998)
1932 - William Roache, English actor
1933 - Jerry Leiber, American composer (died 2011)
1934 - Denny Miller, American actor (died 2014)
1935 - Li Ao, Chinese-Taiwanese social commentator and historian (died 2018)
1935 - April Ashley, English model
1936 - Henck Arron, 1st Prime Minister of Suriname (died 2000)
1938 - Roger Boisjoly, American engineer (died 2012)
1939 - Tarcisio Burgnich, Italian footballer
1939 - Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield, English photographer (died 2005)
1940 - Al Pacino, American actor
1941 - Bertrand Tavernier, French director, screenwriter and actor
1941 - Princess Muna al-Hussein of Jordan
1941 - Walter Mixa, German bishop
1942 - Jon Kyl, American politician
1943 - Julio Montero Castillo, Uruguayan footballer
1943 - Angelo Anquilletti, Italian footballer (died 2015)
1943 - Tony Christie, British singer
1944 - Len Goodman, British dancer
1945 - Bjorn Ulvaeus, Swedish singer and songwriter (ABBA)
1945 - Stu Cook, English bass guitarist
1946 - Andrzej Seweryn, Polish actor
1946 - Talia Shire, American actress
1946 - Peter Sutherland, Irish lawyer, politician and businessman (died 2018)
1946 - Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian politician
1947 - Johan Cruyff, Dutch footballer (died 2016)
1948 - Mike Selvey, English cricketer
1948 - Yu Shyi-kun, 39th Premier of the Republic of China
1949 - Paul Judge, British businessman and political executive (died 2017)
1949 - Dominique Strauss-Kahn, French politician and economist, former head of the IMF
1950 - Peter Jurasik, American actor
1950 - Peter Hintze, German politician (died 2016)
1951 1975
1952 - Jacques Santini, French footballer and manager
1952 - Vladislav Tretiak, Russian ice hockey goaltender
1952 - Ketil Bjornstad, Norwegian pianist
1953 - Ron Clements, American animator, director, producer and screenwriter
1955 - Americo Gallego, Argentine footballer
1955 - Zev Siegel, American businessman
1956 - Dominique Blanc, French actress
1957 - Eric Bristow, English darts player (died 2018)
1957 - Roch Marc Kabore, former Prime Minister of Burkina Faso
1958 - Fish, Scottish singer, musician and actor
1959 - Paul Madden, English diplomat
1960 - Robert Peston, English journalist
1962 - Juha Sipila, Finnish politician, Prime minister of Finland
1963 - David Moyes, Scottish footballer and manager
1963 - Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, French actress
1964 - Hank Azaria, American actor
1964 - Andy Bell, British musician (Erasure)
1964 - Fiona Bruce, British journalist, newsreader and television presenter
1965 - John Henson, American puppeteer (d. 2014)
1965 - Simon Fowler, English singer and guitarist
1965 - Eric Avery, American musician (Jane's Addiction)
1969 - Joe Buck, baseball and American football broadcaster
1969 - Darren Woodson, American football player
1969 - Renee Zellweger, American actress
1969 - Gina Torres, American actress
1970 - Jason Lee, American actor
1970 - Jason Wiles, American actor
1972 - Sofia Helin, Swedish actress
1974 - Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou
1975 - Steven Paterson, Scottish politician
From 1976
1976 - Tim Duncan, American basketball player
1976 - Rainer Schuttler, German tennis player
1976 - Gilberto da Silva Melo, Brazilian footballer
1977 - Marguerite Moreau, American actress
1980 - Kazuhito Tadano, Japanese baseball player
1980 - Alejandro Valverde, Spanish cyclist
1980 - Ben Johnston, Scottish musician (Biffy Clyro)
1980 - James Johnston, Scottish musician (Biffy Clyro)
1980 - Lee Spick, English snooker player (died 2015)
1981 - Felipe Massa, Brazilian racing driver
1981 - Anja Parson, Swedish skier
1982 - Monty Panesar, English cricketer
1983 - Jonathan Thurston, Australian rugby league player
1986 - Alexei Emelin, Russian ice hockey player
1986 - Claudia Rath, German heptathlete
1986 - Daniel Sharman, British actor
1987 - Razak Boukari, Togolese footballer
1988 - James Sheppard, Canadian ice hockey player
1989 - Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, 11th Panchen Lama
1989 - Marie-Michele Gagnon, Canadian alpine ski racer
1989 - Michael van Gerwen, Dutch darts player
1996 - Allisyn Ashley Arm, American actress
1996 - Liam Henderson, Scottish footballer
Deaths
Up to 1900
68 - Saint Mark
487 - Emperor Kenzo of Japan (b. 450)
501 - Saint Rusticus, French archbishop (b. 455)
1077 - Geza I of Hungary (b. 1040)
1265 - Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester, English crusader (b. 1195)
1295 - King Sancho IV of Castile (b. 1258)
1472 - Leon Battista Alberti, Italian artist, poet and philosopher (b. 1404)
1516 - John Yonge, English diplomat (b. 1467)
1566 - Diane de Poitiers, mistress of Henry II of France (b. 1499)
1595 - Torquato Tasso, Italian poet (b. 1544)
1605 - Naresuan, King of Siam (b. 1555)
1644 - Chongzhen Emperor of China (b. 1611)
1744 - Anders Celsius, Swedish astronomer (b. 1701)
1770 - Jean-Antoine Nollet, French abbot and physicist (b. 1700)
1800 - William Cowper, English poet (b. 1731)
1840 - Simeon Denis Poisson, French mathematician (b. 1781)
1873 - Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, Russian painter (b. 1783)
1875 - Trinley Gyatso, 12th Dalai Lama (b. 1857)
1878 - Anna Sewell, English writer (b. 1820)
1878 - Coles Bashford, Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1816)
1901 2000
1911 - Emilio Salgari, Italian writer (b. 1862)
1915 - Frederick W. Seward, American lawyer, writer, editor and politician (b. 1830)
1923 - Louis-Olivier Taillon, 8th Premier of Quebec (b. 1840)
1928 - Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian counter-revolutionary (b. 1878)
1943 - Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Russian director, playwright and producer (b. 1858)
1944 - George Herriman, American writer (b. 1880)
1944 - William Stephens, American politician, 24th Governor of California (b. 1859)
1961 - Robert Garrett, American athlete (b. 1875)
1968 - Walter Tewksbury, American athlete (b. 1876)
1976 - Carol Reed, English director and producer (b. 1906)
1980 - Katia Mann, German writer (b. 1883)
1980 - Mario Bava, Italian movie director and screenwriter (b. 1914)
1982 - John Cody, American cardinal (b. 1907)
1984 - David Kennedy, son of Robert F. Kennedy (b. 1955)
1988 - Valerie Solanas, American author (b. 1936)
1990 - Dexter Gordon, American saxophonist, composer and actor (b. 1923)
1992 - Yutaka Ozaki, Japanese singer (b. 1965)
1993 - Rosita Moreno, Spanish-American actress (b. 1907)
1995 - Andrea Fortunato, Italian footballer (b. 1971)
1995 - Ginger Rogers, American actress and dancer (b. 1911)
1995 - Art Fleming, American game show host (b. 1925)
1996 - Saul Bass, American graphic designer, photographer and moviemaker (b. 1920)
1998 - Christian Mortensen, Danish-American supercentenarian (b. 1882)
1999 - Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, Irish Olympic official (b. 1914)
From 2001
2002 - Indra Devi, Latvian-born yoga teacher (b. 1899)
2002 - Lisa Lopes, American singer-songwriter, dancer and actress (b. 1971)
2007 - Alan Ball, Jr., English footballer (b. 1945)
2007 - Bobby Pickett, American singer and songwriter (b. 1938)
2008 - Humphrey Lyttelton, English jazz musician (b. 1921)
2009 - Beatrice Arthur, American actress (b. 1922)
2010 - Alan Sillitoe, British writer (b. 1928)
2011 - Poly Styrene, British singer (b. 1957)
2011 - Gonzalo Rojas, Chilean poet (b. 1917)
2013 - Anna Proclemer, Italian actress (b. 1923)
2013 - Virginia Gibson, American actress, singer and dancer (b. 1925)
2014 - Tito Vilanova, Spanish footballer and coach (b. 1968)
2014 - Stanko Lorger, Slovenian Olympic hurdler (b. 1931)
2014 - Stefanie Zweig, German writer (b. 1932)
2014 - Earl Morrall, American football player (b. 1934)
2015 - Dan Fredinburg, American executive (b. 1981)
2015 - Matthias Kuhle, German geographer (b. 1948)
2015 - Jim Fanning, American baseball player (b. 1927)
2015 - Don Mankiewicz, American screenwriter (b. 1922)
2015 - Mike Phillips, American basketball player (b. 1956)
2015 - Christine Stewart, Canadian politician (b. 1941)
2016 - Martin Gray, Polish Holocaust survivor and writer (b. 1922)
2016 - Michal Hornstein, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1920)
2016 - Tom Lewis, Australian politician, Premier of New South Wales (b. 1922)
2016 - Mei Baojiu, Chinese opera artist (b. 1934)
2017 - Sasha Lakovic, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1971)
2017 - Munyua Waiyaki, Kenyan politician (b. 1926)
2017 - Erik Martin, German songwriter and editor (b. 1936)
2017 - Philippe Mestre, French media executive and politician (b. 1927)
2018 - Abbas, Iranian photographer (b. 1944)
2018 - Shuhrat Abbosov, Uzbek actor, film director, producer and screenwriter (b. 1931)
2018 - Adebayo Adedeji, Nigerian economist and academic (b. 1930)
2018 - Inuka, Singapore-bred polar bear (b. 1990)
2018 - Hans-Reinhard Koch, German Roman Catholic prelate (b. 1929)
2018 - Michael Anderson, British film director (b. 1920)
2019 - Robert de Greef, Dutch cyclist (b. 1991)
2019 - John Havlicek, American basketball player (b. 1940)
2019 - Larry "Flash" Jenkins, American actor (b. 1955)
2019 - Manuel Lujan Jr., American politician (b. 1928)
2019 - Faty Papy, Burundiian footballer (b. 1990)
2019 - Feargal Quinn, Irish businessman and politician (b. 1936)
Observances
Saints of the Day: Saint Mark the Evangelist; Saint Franca of Piacenza
ANZAC Day - Australia, New Zealand, Tonga
DNA Day
World Malaria Day
Flag Day (Faroe Islands, Swaziland)
Liberation Day (Italy)
Freedom Day (Portugal)
Army Day (North Korea)
Latest date for Easter (March 22 is the earliest), last occurred on this date in 1943 and will next do so in 2038
Days of the year