February 25

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.
• 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 United States Congress.
• 1901 - J.P. Morgan incorporates the United States Steel Corporation[?].
• 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[?].
• 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.
• 1972 - Terrorism: Germany gives $5 million to an Arab terrorist as ransom for the passengers and crew of a hijacked jumbo jet.
• 1986 - President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines flees the nation after 20 years of rule.
• 1991 - Gulf War: An Iraqi Scud missile hits an American military barracks in Dhahran[?], Saudi Arabia killing 28 US Marines.
• 1999 - John William King is sentenced to the death penalty for murdering James Byrd Jr.[?] in Jasper, Texas.

Births

• 1500 - future emperor Charles V (+1558)
• 1707 - Carlo Goldoni, lyricist (+ 1793)
• 1752 - John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada (+ 1806)
• 1841 - Pierre-Auguste Renoir, painter, graphic artist and sculptor (+ 1919)
• 1842 - Karl May, writer (+ 1912)
• 1848 - Edward Harriman[?], railroad entrepreneur
• 1888 - John Foster Dulles, United States Secretary of State (+ 1959)
• 1890 - Vyacheslav Molotov, Soviet politician (+ 1986)
• 1901 - Zeppo Marx, actor (+ 1979)
• 1904 - Adelle Davis[?], nutritionist, writer (+ 1974)
• 1913 - Gert Fröbe[?], actor (+ 1988)
• 1913 - Jim Backus, actor (+ 1989)
• 1917 - Anthony Burgess, author of A Clockwork Orange (+ 1993)
• 1918 - Bobby Riggs[?], tennis player (+ 1995)
• 1921 - Pierre Laporte, statesman, murdered by FLQ terrorists (+ 1970)
• 1925 - Edward Gorey, illustrator (+ 2000)
• 1932 - Faron Young[?], country music singer (+ 1996)
• 1935 - Sally Jessy Raphael[?], talk show host
• 1937 - Tom Courtenay, actor
• 1940 - Ron Santo[?], baseball player
• 1946 - Franz Xaver Kroetz[?], dramatist
• 1950 - Neil Jordan[?], director, writer, producer
• 1950 - Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina
• 1953 - José María Aznar, Prime Minister of Spain
• 1954 - John Doe[?], musician
• 1971 - Sean Astin, actor

Deaths

• 1723 - Sir Christopher Wren, architect
• 1899 - Paul Julius Reuter[?], founder of the Reuters News Agency
• 1964 - Grace Metalious[?], writer
• 1975 - Elijah Muhammad[?], Black Muslim leader
• 1983 - Tennessee Williams, playwright
• 1994 - Jersey Joe Walcott, boxer
• 1996 - Hang S. Ngor[?], actor
• 2001 - Sir Donald Bradman, cricketer

Holidays and observances

February 24 - February 26 - January 25 - March 25 - more historical anniversaries