On this day: February 25

Events on February 25

• 138 Roman emperor Hadrian adopted Antoninus Pius as his son and successor following the death of Hadrian's first adopted son Lucius Aelius. Wikipedia
• 138 Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor. Wikipedia
• 1705 George Frideric Handel's opera Nero premiered in Hamburg. Wikipedia
• 1705 George Frideric Handel's opera Nero premieres in Hamburg. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 1870 Mississippi senator Hiram Rhodes Revels became the first African American to be seated in the U.S. Congress. Wikipedia
• 1875 Guangxu Emperor of Qing dynasty China begins his reign, under Empress Dowager Cixi's regency. Wikipedia
• 1912 Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. Wikipedia
• 1916 World War I: In the Battle of Verdun, a German unit captures Fort Douaumont, keystone of the French defences, without a fight. Wikipedia
• 1918 World War I: German forces capture Tallinn to virtually complete the occupation of Estonia. Wikipedia
• 1921 Georgian capital Tbilisi falls to the invading Russian forces after heavy fighting and the Russians declare the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 1941 The outlawed Communist Party of the Netherlands organises a general strike in German-occupied Amsterdam to protest against Nazi persecution of Dutch Jews. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 1951 After being postponed due to World War II, the inaugural edition of the Pan American Games opened in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Wikipedia
• 1951 The first Pan American Games are officially opened in Buenos Aires by Argentine President Juan Perón. Wikipedia
• 1956 In his speech On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences, Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union, denounces Stalin. Wikipedia
• 1956 In a speech to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced the personality cult and dictatorship of his predecessor Joseph Stalin. Wikipedia
• 1980 The government of Suriname is overthrown by a military coup led by Dési Bouterse. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 1986 Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda were ousted from power by the non-violent People Power Revolution, with Corazon Aquino succeeding as president. Wikipedia
• 1991 Disbandment of the Warsaw Pact at a meeting of its members in Budapest. Wikipedia
• 1999 Alitalia Flight 1553 crashes at Genoa Cristoforo Colombo Airport in Genoa, Italy, killing four. Wikipedia
• 2009 Soldiers of the Bangladesh Rifles mutiny at their headquarters in Pilkhana, Dhaka, Bangladesh, resulting in 74 deaths, including 57 army officials. Wikipedia
• 2015 At least 310 people are killed in avalanches in northeastern Afghanistan. Wikipedia
• 2026 Four people are killed and several more are injured when Cuban Border Guard Troops confront and open fire on a US-registered speedboat violating Cuban waters. Wikipedia

Born on February 25

• 1643 Ahmed II, Ottoman sultan (died 1695) Wikipedia
• 1707 Carlo Goldoni, Italian playwright and composer (died 1793) Wikipedia
• 1778 José de San Martín, Argentinian general and politician, 1st President of Peru (died 1850) Wikipedia
• 1841 Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French painter and sculptor (died 1919) Wikipedia
• 1842 Karl May, German author, poet, and playwright (died 1912) Wikipedia
• 1845 George Reid, Scottish-Australian lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Australia (died 1918) Wikipedia
• 1866 Benedetto Croce, Italian philosopher and politician (died 1952) Wikipedia
• 1871 Lesya Ukrainka, Ukrainian poet and playwright (died1913) Wikipedia
• 1873 Enrico Caruso, Italian-American tenor; the most popular operatic tenor of the early 20th century and the first great recording star. (died 1921) Wikipedia
• 1881 Alexei Rykov, Russian politician, Premier of Russia (died 1938) Wikipedia
• 1885 Princess Alice of Battenberg, mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (died 1969) Wikipedia
• 1888 John Foster Dulles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 52nd United States Secretary of State (died 1959) Wikipedia
• 1917 Anthony Burgess, English author, playwright, and critic (died 1993) Wikipedia
• 1943 George Harrison, English singer-songwriter, guitarist and film producer (died 2001) Wikipedia
• 1949 Amin Maalouf, Lebanese-French journalist and author Wikipedia
• 1950 Néstor Kirchner, Argentine politician; 51st President of Argentina (died 2010) Wikipedia
• 1953 José María Aznar, Spanish politician; Prime Minister of Spain, 1996–2004 Wikipedia
• 1965 Carrot Top, American comedian Wikipedia
• 1966 Téa Leoni, American actress Wikipedia
• 1971 Sean Astin, American actor, director and producer Wikipedia
• 1981 Park Ji-sung, South Korean footballer Wikipedia
• 1999 Gianluigi Donnarumma, Italian footballer Wikipedia

Died on February 25

• 891 Fujiwara no Mototsune, Japanese regent (born 836) Wikipedia
• 1099 Anselm of Ribemont, Frankish nobleman and participant of the First Crusade Wikipedia
• 1713 Frederick I of Prussia (born 1657) Wikipedia
• 1723 Christopher Wren, English architect, designed St Paul's Cathedral (born 1632) Wikipedia
• 1852 Thomas Moore, Irish poet and lyricist (born 1779) Wikipedia
• 1899 Paul Reuter, German-English journalist and businessman, founded Reuters (born 1816) Wikipedia
• 1950 George Minot, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1885) Wikipedia
• 1970 Mark Rothko, Latvian-American painter and academic (born 1903) Wikipedia
• 1971 Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1884) Wikipedia
• 1983 Tennessee Williams, American playwright, and poet (born 1911) Wikipedia
• 1999 Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1912) Wikipedia
• 2001 Don Bradman, Australian international cricketer; holder of world record batting average (born 1908) Wikipedia
• 2005 Peter Benenson, English lawyer, founded Amnesty International (born 1921) Wikipedia
• 2017 Bill Paxton, American actor and filmmaker (born 1955) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

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

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “February 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.