On this day: April 25

Events on April 25

• 775 The Battle of Bagrevand puts an end to an Armenian rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate. Muslim control over the South Caucasus is solidified and its Islamization begins, while several major Armenian nakharar families lose power and their remnants flee to the Byzantine Empire. Wikipedia
• 799 Pope Leo III was attacked by partisans of his predecessor Adrian I, but was rescued and taken to Charlemagne, as described in the epic Karolus magnus et Leo papa. Wikipedia
• 799 After mistreatment and disfigurement by the citizens of Rome, Pope Leo III flees to the Frankish court of king Charlemagne at Paderborn for protection. Wikipedia
• 1607 Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. Wikipedia
• 1846 Thornton Affair: Open conflict begins over the disputed border of Texas, triggering the Mexican–American War. Wikipedia
• 1849 The Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal's English population and triggering the Montreal Riots. Wikipedia
• 1859 British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal. Wikipedia
• 1898 Spanish–American War: The United States Congress declares that a state of war between the U.S. and Spain has existed since April 21, when an American naval blockade of the Spanish colony of Cuba began. Wikipedia
• 1915 First World War: The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Anzac Cove while British and French troops landed at Cape Helles to begin the Allied invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire. Wikipedia
• 1915 World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli begins: The invasion of the Turkish Gallipoli Peninsula by British, French, Indian, Newfoundland, Australian and New Zealand troops begins with landings at Anzac Cove and Cape Helles. Wikipedia
• 1920 At the San Remo conference, the principal Allies of World War I passed a resolution allocating League of Nations mandates for the administration of former Ottoman territories in the Middle East. Wikipedia
• 1920 At the San Remo conference, the principal Allied Powers of World War I adopt a resolution to determine the allocation of Class "A" League of Nations mandates for administration of the former Ottoman-ruled lands of the Middle East. Wikipedia
• 1932 Gladys Elinor Watkins consecrated the carillon of the National War Memorial in Wellington, New Zealand (dedication pictured). Wikipedia
• 1933 Nazi Germany issues the Law Against Overcrowding in Schools and Universities limiting the number of Jewish students able to attend public schools and universities. Wikipedia
• 1945 United Nations Conference on International Organization: Founding negotiations for the United Nations begin in San Francisco. Wikipedia
• 1945 World War II: United States and Soviet reconnaissance troops meet in Torgau and Strehla along the River Elbe, cutting the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany in two. This would be later known as Elbe Day. Wikipedia
• 1953 Francis Crick and James Watson publish "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid" describing the double helix structure of DNA. Wikipedia
• 1964 109 individuals were arrested in a police raid on a gay bar near Chicago. Wikipedia
• 1980 One hundred forty-six people are killed when Dan-Air Flight 1008 crashes near Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, Canary Islands. Wikipedia
• 1982 Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula per the Camp David Accords. Wikipedia
• 1982 British prime minister Margaret Thatcher told journalists in Downing Street to "rejoice" upon hearing news of the successful recapture of South Georgia from Argentine forces in the Falklands War. Wikipedia
• 1983 Cold War: American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war. Wikipedia
• 2004 The March for Women's Lives brings over one million protesters, mostly pro-choice, to Washington D.C. to protest the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, and other restrictions on abortion. Wikipedia
• 2005 Bulgaria and Romania sign the Treaty of Accession 2005 to join the European Union. Wikipedia
• 2005 The final piece of the Obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia after being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937. Wikipedia
• 2026 Shots are fired outside of the White House Correspondents' Dinner in the Washington Hilton where U.S. President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet are attending. One injury is reported and a suspect is taken into custody. Wikipedia

Born on April 25

• 1214 Louis IX of France (died 1270) Wikipedia
• 1284 Edward II of England (died 1327) Wikipedia
• 1599 Oliver Cromwell, English general and politician, Lord Protector of Great Britain (died 1658) Wikipedia
• 1849 Felix Klein, German mathematician and academic (died 1925) Wikipedia
• 1874 Guglielmo Marconi, Italian businessman and inventor, developed Marconi's law, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1937) Wikipedia
• 1900 Wolfgang Pauli, Austrian-Swiss-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1958) Wikipedia
• 1900 Gladwyn Jebb, English politician and diplomat, Secretary-General of the United Nations (died 1996) Wikipedia
• 1903 Andrey Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician and academic (died 1987) Wikipedia
• 1917 Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (died 1996) Wikipedia
• 1927 Albert Uderzo, French author and illustrator (died 2020) Wikipedia
• 1940 Al Pacino, American actor and director Wikipedia
• 1945 Stu Cook, American bass player Creedence Clearwater Revival, songwriter, and producer Wikipedia
• 1945 Björn Ulvaeus, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer Wikipedia
• 1946 Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian colonel, lawyer, and politician (died 2022) Wikipedia
• 1947 Johan Cruyff, Dutch footballer and manager (died 2016) Wikipedia
• 1949 Dominique Strauss-Kahn, French economist, lawyer, and politician, French Minister of Finance Wikipedia
• 1955 Zev Siegl, American businessman, co-founded Starbucks Wikipedia
• 1963 David Moyes, Scottish footballer and manager Wikipedia
• 1969 Renée Zellweger, American actress and producer Wikipedia
• 1976 Tim Duncan, American basketball player Wikipedia
• 1981 Felipe Massa, Brazilian racing driver Wikipedia
• 1993 Raphaël Varane, French footballer Wikipedia

Died on April 25

• 1342 Pope Benedict XII (born 1285) Wikipedia
• 1472 Leon Battista Alberti, Italian author, poet, and philosopher (born 1404) Wikipedia
• 1566 Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henry II of France (born 1499) Wikipedia
• 1595 Torquato Tasso, Italian poet and songwriter (born 1544) Wikipedia
• 1605 Naresuan, Siamese King of Ayutthaya Kingdom (born c. 1555) Wikipedia
• 1744 Anders Celsius, Swedish astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (born 1701) Wikipedia
• 1800 William Cowper, English poet (born 1731) Wikipedia
• 1840 Siméon Denis Poisson, French mathematician and physicist (born 1781) Wikipedia
• 1911 Emilio Salgari, Italian journalist and author (born 1862) Wikipedia
• 1928 Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian general (born 1878) Wikipedia
• 1995 Ginger Rogers, American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1911) Wikipedia
• 2009 Bea Arthur, American actress and singer (born 1922) Wikipedia
• 2014 Tito Vilanova, Spanish footballer and manager (born 1968) Wikipedia
• 2023 Harry Belafonte, American singer, activist, and actor (born 1927) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Anzac Day (Australia, New Zealand, Tonga) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Mark the Evangelist Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Franca Visalta Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Giovanni Battista Piamarta Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Major Rogation (Western Christianity) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Maughold Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Philo and Agathopodes Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Anianus of Alexandria Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Blessed Robert Anderton Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: April 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Freedom Day (Portugal) Wikipedia
• Liberation Day (Italy) Wikipedia
• Military Foundation Day (North Korea) Wikipedia
• World Malaria Day Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “April 25” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.