February 25

## Events
### Up to 1950 
* 138 &ndash; Roman Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his heir.
* 493 &ndash; Odoacer surrenders Ravenna after a 3–year siege and agrees to a mediated peace with Theodoric the Great.
* 1336 &ndash; 4,000 defenders of the Pilenai commit mass suicide rather than be taken captive by the Teutonic Knights.
* 1489 &ndash; Charles VIII of France recognizes Monaco as an independent state.
* 1570 &ndash; Pope Pius V excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England.
* 1793 &ndash; George Washington holds the first cabinet meeting held by a President of the United States.
* 1831 &ndash; Battle of Oloynka Grochowska, part of the Polish November Uprising against the Russian Empire.
* 1836 &ndash; Samuel Colt is granted a US patent for the Colt revolver.
* 1837 &ndash; Thomas Davenport gets the first patent for an electric motor.
* 1843 &ndash; Provisional Cessation of the Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands is established by Lord George Paulet.
* 1848 &ndash; The Provisional Government in revolutionary France, by Louis Blanc's motion, guarantees workers right.
* 1856 &ndash; A peace conference begins in Paris after the Crimean War.
* 1866 &ndash; Miners at Calaveras County, California, discover what is now called the Calaveras Skull.
* 1870 &ndash; Hiram Rhodes Revels becomes the first African American to serve in the US Congress.
* 1875 &ndash; Guangxu Emperor of China begins his reign, under Empress Dowager Cixi's regency.
* 1901 &ndash; J. P. Morgan incorporates the United States Steel Corporation.
* 1912 &ndash; Marie-Adelaide, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, at age 17, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
* 1916 &ndash; World War I: The Germans capture Fort Douaumont during the Battle of Verdun.
* 1917 &ndash; The British steamship RMS *Laconia* is sunk by a German U–boat off the south coast of Ireland, killing 12 people.
* 1921 &ndash; Tbilisi, capital city of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, is occupied by Bolshevist Russia.
* 1932 &ndash; Adolf Hitler is given German citizenship.
* 1933 &ndash; The USS *Ranger* is launched. it is the first US ship built only as an aircraft carrier.
* 1941 &ndash; February Strike: In occupied Amsterdam, a general strike is declared in response to increased anti–Jewish measures by the Nazis.
* 1945 &ndash; World War II: Turkey declares war on Germany.
* 1947 &ndash; The State of Prussia ceases to exist.
* 1948 &ndash; The Communist Party takes control of Czechoslovakia.

### From 1951 
* 1951 &ndash; The first Pan American Games are held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
* 1954 &ndash; Gamal Abdel Nasser becomes President of Egypt.
* 1956 &ndash; Nikita Krushchev denounces the cult of personality of Joseph Stalin.
* 1964 &ndash; Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali, becomes heavyweight boxing champion, defeating Sonny Liston.
* 1968 &ndash; South Korean troops kill 135 people in Vietnam.
* 1969 &ndash; In Prague, Jan Zajic sets himself on fire in an act of protest against the Communist government. He dies of his injuries.
* 1975 &ndash; Muhammad Abdullah becomes Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.
* 1980 &ndash; Suriname's government is overthrown in a coup in the capital city Paramaribo.
* 1981 &ndash; Adolfo Suárez leaves office as Prime Minister of Spain.
* 1983 &ndash; The Statute of Autonomy for the Canary Islands is approved.
* 1986 &ndash; People Power Revolution: In the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos is forced to resign after a rule of over 20 years. Corazon Aquino becomes President, the first Asian woman in that position.
* 1988 &ndash; Roh Tae-woo becomes President of South Korea.
* 1990 &ndash; Violeta Chamorro is elected President of Nicaragua, defeating Daniel Ortega.
* 1991 &ndash; End of the Warsaw Pact.
* 1991 &ndash; Gulf War: An Iraqi scud missile hits a US military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 28 reservists from Pennsylvania.
* 1992 &ndash; Khojaly Massacre: Armenian forces kill 613 Azerbaijani civilians in Nagorno Karabakh.
* 1994 &ndash; In the West Bank town of Hebron, Baruch Goldstein kills 29 Palestinian worshippers, before being killed.
* 1995 &ndash; The first Screen Actors Guild Awards are given in Los Angeles, California.
* 1997 &ndash; Yi Han-yong, a North Korean defector, is murdered by unidentified assailants in Bundang, South Korea.
* 2001 &ndash; Non–reformed Communists win the election in Moldova.
* 2001 &ndash; Pedro Pires is elected President of the Cape Verde Islands.
* 2003 &ndash; Roh Moo-hyun becomes President of South Korea.
* 2008 &ndash; Lee Myung-bak becomes President of South Korea.
* 2009 &ndash; Bangladeshi Border Guards kill 74 people in Dhaka, including 57 army officers and family.
* 2009 &ndash; Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 crashes near Amsterdam, killing 9 people.
* 2010 &ndash; Viktor Yanukovych becomes President of Ukraine, succeeding Viktor Yushchenko.
* 2011 &ndash; The Fianna Fail–led government in the Republic of Ireland, under Brian Cowen, suffers a heavy defeat in the general election. Enda Kenny is elected to serve as the next Taoiseach.
* 2013 &ndash; Park Geunhye becomes the first female President of South Korea.
* 2015 &ndash; Avalanches in Northeastern Afghanistan kill 310 people.
* 2018 &ndash; The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, end.

## Births
### Up to 1900 
* 1337 &ndash; Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg (d. 1383)
* 1398 &ndash; Emperor Xuande of China (d. 1435)
* 1552 &ndash; Magdalene of Lippe (d. 1587)
* 1591 &ndash; Friedrich von Spee, German writer (d. 1635)
* 1643 &ndash; Ahmed II, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1695)
* 1651 &ndash; Johann Philipp Krieger, German baroque composer and organist (d. 1725)
* 1682 &ndash; Giovanni Battista Morgagni, Italian anatomist (d. 1771)
* 1707 &ndash; Carlo Goldoni, Italian writer (d. 1793)
* 1708 &ndash; Felix Benda, Bohemian composer and organist (d. 1768)
* 1714 &ndash; Rene Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, French chancellor (d. 1792)
* 1727 &ndash; Armand-Louis Couperin, French composer (d. 1789)
* 1728 &ndash; John Wood, the Younger, English architect (d. 1782)
* 1752 &ndash; John Graves Simcoe, British territorial governor of Upper Canada (d. 1806)
* 1755 &ndash; François René Mallarmé, French lawyer and politician (d. 1835)
* 1778 &ndash; Jose de San Martin, Argentine independence leader, hero in many South American countries (d. 1850)
* 1812 &ndash; Carl Christian Hall, Danish statesman (d. 1888)
* 1816 &ndash; Giovanni Morelli, Italian art critic and political figure (d. 1891)
* 1833 &ndash; John St. John, Governor of Kansas (d. 1916)
* 1841 &ndash; Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French impressionist painter (d. 1919)
* 1842 &ndash; Karl May, German writer (d. 1912)
* 1845 &ndash; George Reid, 4th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1918)
* 1848 &ndash; William II of Württemberg (d. 1921)
* 1856 &ndash; Karl Gotthard Lamprecht, German historian (d. 1915)
* 1857 &ndash; Robert Bond, 1st Prime Minister of Newfoundland (d. 1927)
* 1859 &ndash; John Burke, Governor of North Dakota (d. 1937)
* 1861 &ndash; Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher and educator (d. 1925)
* 1865 &ndash; Andranik Ozanian, Armenian general, rebel leader and activist (d. 1923)
* 1866 &ndash; Benedetto Croce, Italian philosopher, humanist, historian and politician (d. 1952)
* 1871 &ndash; Lesya Ukrainka, Ukrainian writer and poet (d. 1913)
* 1873 &ndash; Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor (d. 1921)
* 1881 &ndash; Alexei Rykov, Soviet politician (d. 1938)
* 1881 &ndash; William Z. Foster, American labour organiser and politician (d. 1961)
* 1883 &ndash; Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (d. 1981)
* 1885 &ndash; Princess Alice of Battenberg (d. 1969)
* 1888 &ndash; John Foster Dulles, 52nd United States Secretary of State (d. 1959)
* 1889 &ndash; Homer S. Ferguson, United States Senator for Michigan (d. 1982)
* 1890 &ndash; Myra Hess, English pianist (d. 1965)
* 1890 &ndash; Vyacheslav Molotov, Soviet politician (d. 1986)
* 1894 &ndash; Meher Baba, Indian spiritual figure (d. 1969)

### 1901 &ndash; 1950 
* 1901 &ndash; Zeppo Marx, American actor (d. 1979)
* 1902 &ndash; Virginio Rosetta, Italian footballer (d. 1975)
* 1903 &ndash; King Clancy, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1986)
* 1906 &ndash; Boris Papandopulo, Croatia composer and conductor (d. 1991)
* 1906 &ndash; Domingo Ortega, Spanish matador (d. 1988)
* 1910 &ndash; Millicent Fenwick, American politician (d. 1992)
* 1913 &ndash; Jim Backus, American actor (d. 1989)
* 1913 &ndash; Gert Fröbe, American actor (d. 1988)
* 1917 &ndash; Anthony Burgess, English writer (d. 1993)
* 1918 &ndash; Barney Ewell, American runner (d. 1996)
* 1918 &ndash; Bobby Riggs, American tennis player (d. 1995)
* 1919 &ndash; Monte Irvin, American baseball player (d. 2016)
* 1919 &ndash; Karl H. Pribram, Austrian–American professor (d. 2015)
* 1920 &ndash; Sun Myung Moon, Korean religious leader (d. 2012)
* 1921 &ndash; Pierre Laporte, Canadian statesman (d. 1970)
* 1922 &ndash; Molly Bobak, Canadian writer, painter and printmaker (d. 2014)
* 1924 &ndash; Hugh Huxley, British biologist
* 1927 &ndash; Dick Jones, American actor (d. 2014)
* 1927 &ndash; Ralph Stanley, American singer (d. 2016)
* 1928 &ndash; Larry Gelbart, American screenwriter (d. 2009)
* 1929 &ndash; Tommy Newsom, American bandleader (d. 2007)
* 1930 &ndash; Wendy Beckett, British nun, historian and broadcaster
* 1932 &ndash; Tony Brooks, British racing driver
* 1935 &ndash; Sally Jessy Raphael, American talk show host
* 1936 &ndash; Jorge Jacobson, Argentine journalist and writer (d. 2014)
* 1937 &ndash; Tom Courtenay, British actor
* 1937 &ndash; Bob Schieffer, American broadcast journalist
* 1938 &ndash; Malcolm Tierney, British actor (d. 2014)
* 1940 &ndash; Ron Santo, American baseball player (d. 2010)
* 1941 &ndash; Pierluigi Cera, Italian footballer (d. 2022)
* 1943 &ndash; George Harrison, English songwriter, guitarist and member of the Beatles (d. 2001)
* 1943 &ndash; Wilson da Silva Piazza, Brazilian footballer
* 1943 &ndash; Boediono, 11th Vice President of Indonesia
* 1946 &ndash; Jan Groth, Norwegian singer and keyboardist (d. 2014)
* 1946 &ndash; Jean Todt, French Formula One executive
* 1946 &ndash; Elkie Brooks, British singer
* 1947 &ndash; Giuseppe Betori, Archbishop of Florence
* 1947 &ndash; Marc Sautet, French writer, teacher, and philosopher (d. 1998)
* 1947 &ndash; Lee Evans, American athlete
* 1947 &ndash; Doug Yule, American musician
* 1950 &ndash; Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina (d. 2010)
* 1950 &ndash; Francisco Fernandez Ochoa, Spanish alpine skier (d. 2006)
* 1950 &ndash; Neil Jordan, Irish movie director, screenwriter and novelist

### 1951 &ndash; 1975 
* 1951 &ndash; Don Quarrie, Jamaican runner
* 1952 &ndash; Joey Dunlop, British motorcycle racer (d. 2000)
* 1953 &ndash; Jose Maria Aznar, Spanish politician, former Prime Minister of Spain
* 1953 &ndash; Kim Yeong-cheol, South Korean actor
* 1954 &ndash; Gerardo Pelusso, Uruguayan football manager
* 1955 &ndash; Camille Thériault, Canadian politician, 29th Premier of New Brunswick
* 1956 &ndash; Andres Ammas, Estonian politician (d. 2018)
* 1957 &ndash; Chuck Strahl, Canadian politician
* 1958 &ndash; Kevin Gray, American actor
* 1958 &ndash; Kurt Rambis, American basketball player
* 1959 &ndash; Mike Peters, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1961 &ndash; Chris Pitman, American keyboardist
* 1962 &ndash; Birgit Fischer, German kayaker
* 1962 &ndash; Mark Heenehan, British theatre actor
* 1964 &ndash; Lee Evans, British comedian
* 1964 &ndash; Luigi Troiani, Italian rugby player
* 1965 &ndash; Sylvie Guillem, French ballet dancer
* 1965 &ndash; Carrot Top, American comedian
* 1965 &ndash; Veronica Webb, American supermodel and actress
* 1967 &ndash; Jonathan Freedland, British journalist and writer
* 1967 &ndash; Ed Balls, British politician
* 1971 &ndash; Sean Astin, American actor
* 1971 &ndash; Sean O'Haire, American professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and kick boxer (d. 2014)
* 1971 &ndash; Christien Anholt, British actor
* 1973 &ndash; Julio Iglesias, Jr., Spanish singer
* 1974 &ndash; Kevin Skinner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1975 &ndash; Chelsea Handler, American comedienne and actress
* 1975 &ndash; Naga Munchetty, British television news presenter

### From 1976 
* 1976 &ndash; Rashida Jones, American actress
* 1977 &ndash; Sarah Jezebel Deva, English singer-songwriter
* 1978 &ndash; Yazid Mansouri, Algerian footballer
* 1978 &ndash; Yuji Nakazawa, Japanese footballer
* 1981 &ndash; Shahid Kapoor, Indian actor
* 1981 &ndash; Park Ji-Sung, South Korean footballer
* 1982 &ndash; Chris Baird, Northern Irish footballer
* 1982 &ndash; Bert McCracken, American musician
* 1982 &ndash; Flavia Pennetta, Italian tennis player
* 1982 &ndash; Maria Kanellis, American professional wrestler
* 1983 &ndash; Eduardo da Silva, Brazilian–Croatian footballer
* 1984 &ndash; Xing Huina, Chinese athlete
* 1984 &ndash; Craig Mackail-Smith, British footballer
* 1985 &ndash; Joakim Noah, American basketball player
* 1986 &ndash; Jameela Jamil, British television and radio presenter
* 1986 &ndash; James Phelps, British actor
* 1986 &ndash; Oliver Phelps, British actor
* 1987 &ndash; Justin Abdelkader, American ice hockey player
* 1987 &ndash; Mevlut Erdinc, Turkish footballer
* 1988 &ndash; Luca Di Matteo, Italian footballer
* 1989 &ndash; Kana Hanazawa, Japanese voice actress
* 1990 &ndash; Alejandra Andreu, Spanish model
* 1990 &ndash; Younès Belhanda, Moroccan footballer
* 1992 &ndash; Max Aaron, American figure skater
* 1993 &ndash; Christina Kirkman, American actress
* 1994 &ndash; Eugenie Bouchard, Canadian tennis player
* 1995 &ndash; Francesca Michielin, Italian singer
* 1997 &ndash; Isabelle Fuhrman, American actress
* 1998 &ndash; Brendon Baerg, American actor

## Deaths
### Up to 1900 
* 1246 &ndash; Dafydd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd
* 1495 &ndash; Sultan Cem, pretender to the throne of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1459)
* 1547 &ndash; Vittoria Colonna, Italian poet (b. 1492)
* 1553 &ndash; Hirate Masahide, Japanese diplomat (b. 1492)
* 1558 &ndash; Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Portugal and France (b. 1498)
* 1601 &ndash; Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, English politician (b. 1566)
* 1634 &ndash; Albrecht von Wallenstein, Austrian general (b. 1583)
* 1643 &ndash; Marco da Gagliano, Italian composer (b. 1582)
* 1655 &ndash; Daniel Heinsius, Flemish scholar (b. 1580)
* 1682 &ndash; Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer (b. 1639)
* 1713 &ndash; King Frederick I of Prussia (b. 1657)
* 1715 &ndash; Pu Songling, Chinese writer (b. 1640)
* 1723 &ndash; Christopher Wren, English architect (b. 1632)
* 1819 &ndash; Francisco Manoel de Nascimento, Portuguese poet (b. 1734)
* 1822 &ndash; William Pinkney, American statesman and diplomat (b. 1764) 
* 1831 &ndash; Friedrich Maximilian Klinger, German writer (b. 1752)
* 1841 &ndash; Philip Pendleton Barbour, American politician (b. 1783)
* 1850 &ndash; Daoguang, Emperor of China (b. 1782)
* 1852 &ndash; Thomas Moore, Irish poet (b. 1779)
* 1864 &ndash; Anna Harrison, shortest–serving First Lady of the United States (b. 1775)
* 1865 &ndash; Otto Ludwig, German writer (b. 1813)
* 1877 &ndash; Jang Bahadur Rana, Nepalese ruler (b. 1816)
* 1894 &ndash; Steele MacKaye, American playwright, actor and inventor (b. 1842)
* 1899 &ndash; Paul Julius Reuter, German journalist (b. 1816)

### 1901 &ndash; 2000 
* 1912 &ndash; Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (b. 1852)
* 1922 &ndash; Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (b. 1869)
* 1945 &ndash; Mario de Andrade, Brazilian writer and photographer (b. 1893)
* 1950 &ndash; George Minot, American physician (b. 1885)
* 1953 &ndash; Sergei Winogradsky, Russian scientist (b. 1856)
* 1957 &ndash; Bugs Moran, American gangster (b. 1893)
* 1964 &ndash; Kenneth Lee Spencer, American opera singer and actor (b. 1913)
* 1964 &ndash; Alexander Archipenko, Ukrainian artist and sculptor (b. 1887)
* 1969 &ndash; Jan Zajic, Czechoslovakian student (b. 1950)
* 1970 &ndash; Mark Rothko, Latvian–American painter (b. 1903)
* 1971 &ndash; Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist (b. 1884)
* 1975 &ndash; Elijah Muhammad, American Muslim leader, Nation of Islam (b. 1897)
* 1983 &ndash; Tennessee Williams, American playwright (b. 1911)
* 1993 &ndash; Eddie Constantine, American–born actor and singer (b. 1917)
* 1994 &ndash; Baruch Goldstein, Israeli army officer (b. 1956)
* 1997 &ndash; Cal Abrams, American baseball player (b. 1924)
* 1997 &ndash; Yi Han-yong, North Korean defector
* 1999 &ndash; Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist (b. 1912)

### From 2001 
* 2001 &ndash; Sir Donald Bradman, Australian cricketer (b. 1908)
* 2003 &ndash; Alberto Sordi, Italian actor (b. 1920)
* 2004 &ndash; Donald Hings, Canadian inventor (b. 1907)
* 2005 &ndash; Peter Benenson, English founder of Amnesty International (b. 1921)
* 2005 &ndash; Leo Labine, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1931)
* 2005 &ndash; Edward Patten, American singer (b. 1939)
* 2009 &ndash; Philip Jose Farmer, American writer (b. 1918)
* 2012 &ndash; Maurice André, French classical trumpeter (b. 1933)
* 2012 &ndash; Red Holloway, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1927)
* 2012 &ndash; Erland Josephson, Swedish actor (b. 1923)
* 2012 &ndash; Louisiana Red, American blues musician (b. 1932)
* 2013 &ndash; Ray O'Connor, 22nd Premier of Western Australia (b. 1926)
* 2013 &ndash; C. Everett Koop, American politician and spokesperson (b. 1916)
* 2014 &ndash; Chokwe Lumumba, American politician, Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi (b. 1947)
* 2014 &ndash; Mario Coluna, Brazilian footballer (b. 1935)
* 2014 &ndash; Paco de Lucia, Spanish flamenco guitarist, composer and producer (b. 1947)
* 2015 &ndash; Eugenie Clark, American zoologist and professor (b. 1922)
* 2015 &ndash; Terry Gill, Australian actor (b. 1939)
* 2015 &ndash; Marian Szeja, Polish footballer (b. 1941)
* 2016 &ndash; François Dupeyron, French movie director and screenwriter (b. 1950)
* 2016 &ndash; Alfred E. Mann, American entrepreneur and philanthropist (b. 1925)
* 2016 &ndash; Tony Burton, American actor (b. 1937)
* 2016 &ndash; Jim Clark, English movie editor (b. 1931)
* 2017 &ndash; Hassan Al-Jundi, Moroccan actor (b. 1939)
* 2017 &ndash; Neil Fingleton, English basketball player and actor (b. 1980)
* 2017 &ndash; Bill Paxton, American actor (b. 1955)
* 2017 &ndash; Jack Pope, American judge, attorney and writer (b. 1913)
* 2017 &ndash; Toshio Nakanishi, Japanese musician (b. 1956)
* 2017 &ndash; Boaz Vaadia, Israeli–born American sculptor (b. 1951)
* 2018 &ndash; Ainsley Gotto, Australian political staffer and interior designer (b. 1946)
* 2019 &ndash; Janet Asimov, American science fiction writer and psychoanalyst (b. 1926)

## Observances
* National Day (Kuwait)
* People Power Day (Philippines)
* Soviet Occupation Day (Republic of Georgia)
* Memorial Day for Victims of the Communist dictatorships (Hungary)