February 25

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

Template:FebruaryCalendar2008

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, Italian writer(d. 1793)
• 1752 – John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (d. 1806)
• 1778 – José de San Martín, Argentine general and liberator of South America
• 1841 – Pierre-Auguste Renoir, painter, graphic artist and sculptor (d. 1919)
• 1842 – Karl May, German 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, U.S. 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 and writer (d. 1974)
• 1910 – Millicent Fenwick, American fashion editor and politician (d. 1992)
• 1913 – Jim Backus, actor (d. 1989)
• 1913 – Gert Fröbe, actor (d. 1988)
• 1917 – Anthony Burgess, English author (d. 1993)
• 1918 – Bobby Riggs, tennis player (d. 1995)
• 1918 – Barney Ewell, American athlete (d. 1996)
• 1921 – Pierre Laporte, Canadian statesman (assassinated) (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 and 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, American race car driver (d. 1993)
• 1963 – Nancy O'Dell, reporter and television personality
• 1966 – Samson Kitur, Kenyan athlete (d. 2003)
• 1966 – Téa Leoni, American actress
• 1966 – Alexis Denisof, American actor
• 1971 – Sean Astin, actor
• 1977 – Josh Wolff, hockey player
• 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