12 History Lessons + 6 Births & 5 Deaths for April 25, 2025
Today’s History:
- 404 BCE – Athens surrenders to Sparta, effectively ending the Peloponnesian War.
- 1719 – Daniel Defoe publishes Robinson Crusoe, considered one of the first English novels.
- 1792 – The guillotine is used for the first time in France, executing highwayman Nicolas Pelletier.
- 1859 – Ground is broken for the Suez Canal in Egypt.
- 1898 – The United States declares war on Spain, beginning the Spanish-American War.
- 1915 – Allied forces land at Gallipoli, beginning a grueling World War I campaign (commemorated as ANZAC Day).
- 1945 – U.S. and Soviet troops meet at the Elbe River near Torgau, Germany, marking a key moment in WWII.
- 1953 – Francis Crick and James Watson publish their findings on the double helix structure of DNA.
- 1954 – Bell Labs announces the first practical solar cell.
- 1974 – Portugal’s Carnation Revolution peacefully overthrows the Estado Novo dictatorship.
- 1983 – Pioneer 10 crosses the orbit of Pluto, becoming the first man-made object to do so.
- 2005 – Bulgaria and Romania sign accession treaties to join the European Union.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1940 – Al Pacino, legendary actor (The Godfather, Scarface) (85)
- 1969 – Renée Zellweger, actress and Academy Award winner (Chicago, Judy) (56)
- 1970 – Jason Lee, actor (My Name Is Earl) and former professional skateboarder (55)
- 1977 – Hank Azaria, voice actor (The Simpsons, The Birdcage) (48)
- 1980 – Jordana Brewster, actress (Fast & Furious series) (45)
- 1988 – Sara Paxton, actress and singer (Aquamarine, The Innkeepers) (37)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1744 – Anders Celsius, Swedish astronomer and creator of the Celsius temperature scale (42)
- 1945 – William J. “Wild Bill” Donovan, American general and head of the OSS (61)
- 1990 – Dexter Gordon, legendary American jazz saxophonist (67)
- 2002 – Lisa Lopes (Left Eye), rapper and TLC member (30)
- 2015 – M.H. Abrams, American literary critic and editor of The Norton Anthology of English Literature (102)
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