February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 309 days remain until the end of the year (310 in leap years).

Events

Pre-1600

• 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor.
• 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II.
• 1336 – Four thousand defenders of Pilenai commit mass suicide rather than be taken captive by the Teutonic Knights.

1601–1900

• 1705 – George Frideric Handel's opera Nero premiered in Hamburg.
• 1836 – Samuel Colt is granted a United States patent for his revolver firearm.
• 1843 – Lord George Paulet occupies the Kingdom of Hawaii in the name of Great Britain in the Paulet affair.
• 1870 – Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in Congress.
• 1875 – Guangxu Emperor of Qing dynasty China begins his reign, under Empress Dowager Cixi's regency.

1901–present

• 1912 – Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
• 1916 – World War I: In the Battle of Verdun, a German unit captures Fort Douaumont, keystone of the French defences, without a fight.
• 1918 – World War I: German forces capture Tallinn to virtually complete the occupation of Estonia.
• 1921 – Georgian capital Tbilisi falls to the invading Russian forces after heavy fighting and the Russians declare the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.
• 1932 – Adolf Hitler, having been stateless for seven years, obtains German citizenship when he is appointed a Brunswick state official by Dietrich Klagges, a fellow Nazi. As a result, Hitler is able to run for Reichspräsident in the 1932 election.
• 1933 – Launch of the USS Ranger at Newport News, Virginia. It is the first purpose-built aircraft carrier to be commissioned by the US Navy.
• 1939 – As part of British air raid precautions, the first of 2.5 million Anderson shelters is constructed in a garden in Islington, north London.
• 1941 – The outlawed Communist Party of the Netherlands organises a general strike in German-occupied Amsterdam to protest against Nazi persecution of Dutch Jews.
• 1947 – The formal abolition of Prussia is proclaimed by the Allied Control Council, the Prussian government having already been abolished by the Preußenschlag of 1932.
• 1947 – Soviet NKVD forces in Hungary abduct Béla Kovács—secretary-general of the majority Independent Smallholders' Party—and deport him to the USSR in defiance of Parliament. His arrest is an important turning point in the Communist takeover of Hungary.
• 1948 – In a coup d'état led by Klement Gottwald, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia takes control of government in Prague to end the Third Czechoslovak Republic.
• 1951 – The first Pan American Games are officially opened in Buenos Aires by Argentine President Juan Perón.
• 1956 – In his speech On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences, Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union, denounces Stalin.
• 1980 – The government of Suriname is overthrown by a military coup led by Dési Bouterse.
• 1986 – People Power Revolution: President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos flees the nation after 20 years of rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the Philippines' first female president.
• 1991 – Disbandment of the Warsaw Pact at a meeting of its members in Budapest.
• 1994 – American-Israeli extremist Baruch Goldstein commits a mass shooting at the Cave of the Patriarchs mausoleum, leaving 29 dead and over 100 injured before he was disarmed and beaten to death by survivors.
• 1999 – Alitalia Flight 1553 crashes at Genoa Cristoforo Colombo Airport in Genoa, Italy, killing four.
• 2009 – Soldiers of the Bangladesh Rifles mutiny at their headquarters in Pilkhana, Dhaka, Bangladesh, resulting in 74 deaths, including 57 army officials.
• 2009 – Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 crashed during landing at the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Netherlands, primarily due to a faulty radio altimeter, resulting in the death of nine passengers and crew including all three pilots.
• 2015 – At least 310 people are killed in avalanches in northeastern Afghanistan.
• 2016 – Three people are killed and fourteen others injured in a series of shootings in the small Kansas cities of Newton and Hesston.

Births

Pre-1600

• 1259 – Infanta Branca of Portugal, daughter of King Afonso III of Portugal and Urraca of Castile (d. 1321)
• 1337 – Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg (d. 1383)
• 1475 – Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, last male member of the House of York (d. 1499)
• 1540 – Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton, English aristocrat and courtier (d. 1614)
• 1543 – Sharaf Khan Bidlisi, Emir of Bitlis (d. 1603)
• 1591 – Friedrich Spee, German poet and author (d. 1635)

1601–1900

• 1643 – Ahmed II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1695)
• 1663 – Peter Anthony Motteux, French-English author, playwright and translator (d. 1718)
• 1670 – Maria Margarethe Kirch, German astronomer and mathematician (d. 1720)
• 1682 – Giovanni Battista Morgagni, Italian anatomist and pathologist (d. 1771)
• 1707 – Carlo Goldoni, Italian playwright and composer (d. 1793)
• 1714 – René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, French lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of France (d. 1792)
• 1728 – John Wood, the Younger, English architect, designed the Royal Crescent (d. 1782)
• 1752 – John Graves Simcoe, English-Canadian general and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (d. 1806)
• 1755 – François René Mallarmé, French lawyer and politician (d. 1835)
• 1778 – José de San Martín, Argentinian general and politician, 1st President of Peru (d. 1850)
• 1806 – Emma Catherine Embury, American author and poet (d. 1863)
• 1809 – John Hart, English-Australian politician, 10th Premier of South Australia (d. 1873)
• 1812 – Carl Christian Hall, Danish lawyer and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Denmark (d. 1888)
• 1816 – Giovanni Morelli, Italian historian and critic (d. 1891)
• 1833 – John St. John, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Kansas (d. 1916)
• 1841 – Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French painter and sculptor (d. 1919)
• 1842 – Karl May, German author, poet, and playwright (d. 1912)
• 1845 – George Reid, Scottish-Australian lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1918)
• 1855 – Cesário Verde, Portuguese poet and author (d. 1886)
• 1856 – Karl Gotthard Lamprecht, German historian and academic (d. 1915)
• 1856 – Mathias Zdarsky, Czech-Austrian skier, painter, and sculptor (d. 1940)
• 1857 – Robert Bond, Canadian politician; first Prime Minister of Newfoundland (d. 1927)
• 1860 – William Ashley, English historian and academic (d. 1927)
• 1865 – Andranik, Armenian general (d. 1927)
• 1866 – Benedetto Croce, Italian philosopher and politician (d. 1952)
• 1869 – Phoebus Levene, Russian-American biochemist and physician (d. 1940)
• 1873 – Enrico Caruso, Italian-American tenor; the most popular operatic tenor of the early 20th century and the first great recording star. (d. 1921)
• 1877 – Erich von Hornbostel, Austrian musicologist and scholar (d. 1935)
• 1881 – William Z. Foster, American union leader and politician (d. 1961)
• 1881 – Alexei Rykov, Russian politician, Premier of Russia (d. 1938)
• 1883 – Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (d. 1981)
• 1885 – Princess Alice of Battenberg, mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (d. 1969)
• 1888 – John Foster Dulles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 52nd United States Secretary of State (d. 1959)
• 1890 – Myra Hess, English pianist and educator (d. 1965)
• 1894 – Meher Baba, Indian spiritual master (d. 1969)
• 1898 – William Astbury, physicist and molecular biologist (d. 1961)

1901–present

• 1901 – Vince Gair, Australian politician, 27th Premier of Queensland (d. 1980)
• 1901 – Zeppo Marx, American comedian and theatrical agent (d. 1979)
• 1903 – King Clancy, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and coach (d. 1986)
• 1905 – Perry Miller, American historian, author, and academic (d. 1963)
• 1906 – Mary Coyle Chase, American journalist and playwright (d. 1981)
• 1907 – Sabahattin Ali, Turkish journalist, author, and poet (d. 1948)
• 1908 – Mary Locke Petermann, American cellular biochemist (d. 1975)
• 1908 – Frank G. Slaughter, American physician and author (d. 2001)
• 1910 – Millicent Fenwick, American journalist and politician (d. 1992)
• 1913 – Jim Backus, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1989)
• 1913 – Gert Fröbe, German actor (d. 1988)
• 1915 – S. Rajaratnam, Singaporean politician, 1st Senior Minister of Singapore (d. 2006)
• 1917 – Anthony Burgess, English author, playwright, and critic (d. 1993)
• 1918 – Bobby Riggs, American tennis player (d. 1995)
• 1919 – Monte Irvin, American baseball player and executive (d. 2016)
• 1920 – Philip Habib, American academic and diplomat, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (d. 1992)
• 1921 – Pierre Laporte, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec (d. 1970)
• 1921 – Andy Pafko, American baseball player and manager (d. 2013)
• 1922 – Molly Reilly, Canadian aviator (d. 1980)
• 1924 – Hugh Huxley, English-American biologist and academic (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Lisa Kirk, American actress and singer (d. 1990)
• 1925 – Shehu Shagari, Nigerian politician, 6th President of Nigeria (d. 2018)
• 1926 – Masatoshi Gündüz Ikeda, Japanese-Turkish mathematician and academic (d. 2003)
• 1927 – Ralph Stanley, American singer and banjo player (d. 2016)
• 1928 – Paul Elvstrøm, Danish yachtsman (d. 2016)
• 1928 – Larry Gelbart, American author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
• 1928 – A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., American civil rights advocate, historian, and judge (d. 1998)
• 1928 – Richard G. Stern, American author and academic (d. 2013)
• 1930 – Wendy Beckett, British nun and art critic (d. 2018)
• 1932 – Tony Brooks, English racing driver (d. 2022)
• 1932 – Faron Young, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
• 1934 – Tony Lema, American golfer (d. 1966)
• 1935 – Oktay Sinanoglu, Turkish physical chemist and molecular biophysicist (d. 2015)
• 1937 – Tom Courtenay, English actor
• 1937 – Bob Schieffer, American political author, journalist and TV interviewer
• 1938 – Diane Baker, American actress and producer
• 1938 – Herb Elliott, Australian athlete
• 1938 – Farokh Engineer, Indian cricketer
• 1940 – Ron Santo, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2010)
• 1941 – David Puttnam, English film producer and academic
• 1942 – Karen Grassle, American actress
• 1943 – George Harrison, English singer-songwriter, guitarist and film producer (d. 2001)
• 1944 – François Cevert, French racing driver (d. 1973)
• 1946 – Jean Todt, French racing driver and team manager
• 1947 – Lee Evans, American sprinter and athletics coach (d. 2021)
• 1949 – Ric Flair, American professional wrestler
• 1949 – Amin Maalouf, Lebanese-French journalist and author
• 1950 – Francisco Fernández Ochoa, Spanish skier (d. 2006)
• 1950 – Neil Jordan, Irish film director, screenwriter and author
• 1950 – Néstor Kirchner, Argentine politician; 51st President of Argentina (d. 2010)
• 1951 – Don Quarrie, Jamaican sprinter and coach
• 1952 – Joey Dunlop, Northern Irish motorcyclist (d. 2000)
• 1953 – José María Aznar, Spanish politician; Prime Minister of Spain, 1996–2004
• 1953 – John Doe, American musician, singer-songwriter, actor, and poet
• 1957 – Raymond McCreesh, Irish Republican, hunger striker (d. 1981)
• 1957 – Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singaporean economist and politician; 5th Senior Minister and 9th President of Singapore
• 1958 – Kurt Rambis, Greek-American basketball player, coach, and executive
• 1962 – Birgit Fischer, German kayaker
• 1963 – Paul O'Neill, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1965 – Carrot Top, American comedian
• 1965 – Veronica Webb, American model, actress, and writer
• 1966 – Alexis Denisof, American actor
• 1966 – Téa Leoni, American actress
• 1967 – Ed Balls, English politician; Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
• 1968 – Lesley Boone, American actress and producer
• 1968 – Oumou Sangaré, Malian musician
• 1971 – Sean Astin, American actor, director and producer
• 1971 – Daniel Powter, Canadian singer-songwriter and musician
• 1973 – Anson Mount, American actor
• 1974 – Dominic Raab, English politician; First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
• 1975 – Chelsea Handler, American comedian, actress, author, and television host
• 1976 – Rashida Jones, American actress and writer
• 1976 – Samaki Walker, American basketball player
• 1979 – Napoleon Harris, American football player and politician
• 1981 – Park Ji-sung, South Korean footballer
• 1982 – Maria Kanellis, American professional wrestler, actress, and model
• 1982 – Flavia Pennetta, Italian tennis player
• 1982 – Anton Volchenkov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1985 – Joakim Noah, French-American basketball player
• 1986 – Justin Berfield, American actor, writer, and producer
• 1986 – Jameela Jamil, English actress and presenter
• 1986 – James Phelps, English actor
• 1986 – Oliver Phelps, English actor
• 1987 – Justin Abdelkader, American ice hockey player
• 1988 – Tom Marshall, English photo colouriser and artist
• 1988 – Gerald McCoy, American football player
• 1989 – Jimmer Fredette, American basketball player
• 1989 – Kana Hanazawa, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1989 – E'Twaun Moore, American basketball player
• 1990 – Félix Peña, Dominican baseball player
• 1992 – Joakim Nordström, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1992 – Jorge Soler, Cuban baseball player
• 1993 – Erick Fedde, American baseball player
• 1993 – Lukáš Sedlák, Czech ice hockey player
• 1994 – Fred VanVleet, American basketball player
• 1995 – Mario Hezonja, Croatian basketball player
• 1995 – Viktoriya Tomova, Bulgarian tennis player
• 1997 – Isabelle Fuhrman, American actress
• 1997 – Thon Maker, South Sudanese-Australian basketball player
• 1999 – Gianluigi Donnarumma, Italian footballer
• 1999 – Rocky, South Korean singer, dancer and songwriter
• 2001 – Vernon Carey Jr., American basketball player
• 2003 – Brandin Podziemski, American basketball player
• 2005 – Noah Jupe, English actor

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 806 – Tarasios, patriarch of Constantinople
• 891 – Fujiwara no Mototsune, Japanese regent (b. 836)
• 1099 – Anselm of Ribemont, Frankish nobleman and participant of the First Crusade
• 1522 – William Lily, English scholar and educator (b. 1468)
• 1536 – Berchtold Haller, German-Swiss theologian and reformer (b. 1492)
• 1547 – Vittoria Colonna, marchioness of Pescara (b. 1490)

1601–1900

• 1601 – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1566)
• 1634 – Albrecht von Wallenstein, Austrian general and politician (b. 1583)
• 1636 – Santorio Santorio, Italian biologist (b. 1561)
• 1655 – Daniël Heinsius, Flemish poet and scholar (b. 1580)
• 1682 – Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer (b. 1639)
• 1710 – Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, French soldier and explorer (b. 1639)
• 1713 – Frederick I of Prussia (b. 1657)
• 1723 – Christopher Wren, English architect, designed St Paul's Cathedral (b. 1632)
• 1756 – Eliza Haywood, English actress and poet (b. 1693)
• 1796 – Samuel Seabury, American bishop (b. 1729)
• 1805 – Thomas Pownall, English politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (b. 1722)
• 1819 – Francisco Manoel de Nascimento, Portuguese-French poet and educator (b. 1734)
• 1822 – William Pinkney, American politician and diplomat, 7th United States Attorney General (b. 1764)
• 1841 – Philip P. Barbour, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 12th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1783)
• 1850 – Daoguang Emperor of China (b. 1782)
• 1852 – Thomas Moore, Irish poet and lyricist (b. 1779)
• 1865 – Otto Ludwig, German author, playwright, and critic (b. 1813)
• 1870 – Henrik Hertz, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1797)
• 1877 – Jung Bahadur Rana, Nepalese ruler (b. 1816)
• 1878 – Townsend Harris, American merchant, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Japan (b. 1804)
• 1899 – Paul Reuter, German-English journalist and businessman, founded Reuters (b. 1816)

1901–present

• 1906 – Anton Arensky, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1861)
• 1910 – Worthington Whittredge, American painter and educator (b. 1820)
• 1911 – Friedrich Spielhagen, German author, theorist, and translator (b. 1829)
• 1912 – William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (b. 1852)
• 1914 – John Tenniel, English illustrator (b. 1820)
• 1915 – Charles Edwin Bessey, American botanist, author, and academic (b. 1845)
• 1920 – Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy, French archaeologist and engineer (b. 1844)
• 1928 – William O'Brien, Irish journalist and politician (b. 1852)
• 1934 – Elizabeth Gertrude Britton, American botanist and academic (b. 1857)
• 1934 – John McGraw, American baseball player and manager (b. 1873)
• 1945 – Mário de Andrade, Brazilian author, poet, and photographer (b. 1893)
• 1950 – George Minot, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
• 1953 – Sergei Winogradsky, Ukrainian-Russian microbiologist and ecologist (b. 1856)
• 1954 – Joseph Beech, American Methodist missionary and educator (b. 1867)
• 1957 – Mark Aldanov, Russian author and critic (b. 1888)
• 1957 – Bugs Moran, American mob boss (b. 1893)
• 1963 – Melville J. Herskovits, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1895)
• 1964 – Alexander Archipenko, Ukrainian sculptor and illustrator (b. 1887)
• 1964 – Grace Metalious, American author (b. 1924)
• 1970 – Mark Rothko, Latvian-American painter and academic (b. 1903)
• 1971 – Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1884)
• 1972 – Gottfried Fuchs, German-Canadian Olympic soccer player (b. 1889)
• 1975 – Elijah Muhammad, American religious leader (b. 1897)
• 1978 – Daniel James, Jr., American general and pilot (b. 1920)
• 1980 – Robert Hayden, American poet and academic (b. 1913)
• 1983 – Tennessee Williams, American playwright, and poet (b. 1911)
• 1996 – Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian-American physician and author (b. 1940)
• 1997 – Andrei Sinyavsky, Russian journalist and publisher (b. 1925)
• 1998 – W. O. Mitchell, Canadian author and playwright (b. 1914)
• 1999 – Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1912)
• 2001 – A. R. Ammons, American poet and critic (b. 1926)
• 2001 – Don Bradman, Australian international cricketer; holder of world record batting average (b. 1908)
• 2005 – Peter Benenson, English lawyer, founded Amnesty International (b. 1921)
• 2008 – Hans Raj Khanna, Indian judge and advocate; upholder of civil liberties (b. 1912)
• 2010 – Ihsan Dogramaci, Turkish pediatrician and academic (b. 1915)
• 2012 – Louisiana Red, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1932)
• 2015 – Harve Bennett, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1930)
• 2015 – Ariel Camacho, Mexican musician and singer-songwriter; (b. 1992)
• 2015 – Eugenie Clark, American biologist and academic; noted ichthyologist (b. 1922)
• 2017 – Bill Paxton, American actor and filmmaker (b. 1955)
• 2020 – Dmitry Yazov, last Marshal of the Soviet Union (b. 1924)
• 2022 – Farrah Forke, American actress (b. 1968)
• 2022 – Shirley Hughes, English author and illustrator (b. 1927)
• 2023 – Gordon Pinsent, Canadian actor, director and screenwriter (b. 1930)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast days:
  • Æthelberht of Kent
  • Blessed Ciriaco María Sancha y Hervás
  • Gerland of Agrigento
  • John Roberts, writer and missionary (Anglican Communion)
  • Hamburg Matthiae-mahl, feast of Hanseatic League cities on the mediaeval first day of spring
  • Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani
  • Blessed Robert of Arbrissel, founder of Fontevraud Abbey
  • Saint Walpurga (she was canonised on 1 May c. 870 and Walpurgis Night is celebrated 30 April)
  • February 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Kitano Baika-sai or "Plum Blossom Festival" (Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine, Kyoto, Japan)
• Memorial Day for the Victims of the Communist Dictatorships (Hungary)
• National Day (Kuwait)
• People Power Day (Philippines)
• Revolution Day in Suriname
• Soviet Occupation Day (Georgia)