12 History Lessons + 7 Births & 7 Deaths for October 7, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1571 – Battle of Lepanto: Holy League fleet defeats the Ottoman Empire.
- 1763 – Royal Proclamation of 1763 issued by King George III, regulating westward expansion in North America.
- 1919 – KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is founded, becoming the world’s oldest airline still operating under its original name.
- 1944 – Prisoner uprising at Auschwitz-Birkenau’s Crematorium IV.
- 1949 – German Democratic Republic (East Germany) is officially established in the Soviet zone.
- 1950 – People’s Republic of China begins military operations to occupy Tibet.
- 1959 – Soviet probe Luna 3 transmits the first photos of the Moon’s far side.
- 1982 – “Cats” opens on Broadway, becoming one of the longest-running musicals in history.
- 1985 – Palestinian militants hijack the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro.
- 1996 – Fox News Channel launches in the United States.
- 2001 – U.S. and allies begin airstrikes in Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks.
- 2003 – California recall election removes Gov. Gray Davis; Arnold Schwarzenegger is elected governor.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1942 – Joy Behar, comedian/talk-show host (“The View”) (83)
- 1951 – John Mellencamp, rock singer-songwriter (“Jack & Diane”) (74)
- 1952 – Vladimir Putin, Russian political leader and president (73)
- 1955 – Yo-Yo Ma, cellist and cultural ambassador (70)
- 1959 – Simon Cowell, TV producer and talent judge (“American Idol,” “X Factor”) (66)
- 1967 – Toni Braxton, Grammy-winning R&B singer (58)
- 1968 – Thom Yorke, lead singer of Radiohead (57)
Today’s Deaths:
- 1849 – Edgar Allan Poe, American poet and author (“The Raven”) (40)
- 1956 – Clarence Birdseye, frozen-food innovator and entrepreneur (69)
- 1959 – Mario Lanza, American tenor and film star (38)
- 1967 – Norman Angell, British writer, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (94)
- 1992 – Allan Bloom, American philosopher and author (“The Closing of the American Mind”) (62)
- 1993 – Cyril Cusack, Irish stage and film actor (82)
- 2006 – Anna Politkovskaya, Russian journalist and human rights advocate (48)
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