On this day: March 25

Events on March 25

• 421 Italian city Venice is founded with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo di Rialto on the islet of Rialto. Wikipedia
• 717 Byzantine emperor Theodosius III abdicated in favour of Leo the Isaurian after he captured Theodosius's son. Wikipedia
• 717 Theodosius III resigns the throne to the Byzantine Empire to enter a monastery, allowing Leo III to take the throne and begin the Isaurian dynasty. Wikipedia
• 1584 Sir Walter Raleigh is granted a patent to colonize Virginia. Wikipedia
• 1655 Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is discovered by Christiaan Huygens. Wikipedia
• 1770 Daskalogiannis leads the people of Sfakia in the first Greek uprising against the Ottoman rule Wikipedia
• 1821 Greek War of Independence: Traditional date of the start of the Greek War of Independence. The war had actually begun on 23 February 1821 (Julian calendar). Wikipedia
• 1865 American Civil War: In Virginia during the Siege of Petersburg, Confederate forces temporarily capture Fort Stedman from the Union before being repulsed. Wikipedia
• 1878 Last issue of the Bulletin de la Fédération jurassienne, the first or one of the first anarchist newspapers. Wikipedia
• 1911 Andrey Yushchinsky is murdered in Kiev, leading to the Beilis affair. Wikipedia
• 1915 The appointment of Mehmed Reshid as governor of Diyarbekir, Turkey, intensified the genocide of Syriac Christians by pro-Ottoman forces. Wikipedia
• 1917 World War I: A delayed action bomb left by German troops exploded in the town hall of Bapaume, France, killing 24 soldiers and civilians. Wikipedia
• 1919 The Tetiev pogrom occurs in Ukraine, becoming the prototype of mass murder during the Holocaust. Wikipedia
• 1931 The Scottsboro Boys are arrested in Alabama and charged with rape. Wikipedia
• 1932 The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is unveiled in Athens. Wikipedia
• 1948 The first successful tornado forecast predicts that a tornado will strike Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Wikipedia
• 1949 The Soviet Union began mass deportations of more than 90,000 "undesirable" people from the Baltic states to Siberia. Wikipedia
• 1949 More than 92,000 kulaks are suddenly deported from the Baltic states to Siberia. Wikipedia
• 1957 The European Economic Community is established with West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg as the first members. Wikipedia
• 1959 Chain Island is sold by the State of California to Russell Gallaway III, a Sacramento businessman who plans to use it as a "hunting and fishing retreat", for $5,258.20 ($58,072 in 2025). Wikipedia
• 1965 Civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King Jr. successfully complete their four-day 50-mile (80 km) march from Selma to the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama. Wikipedia
• 1971 The Army of the Republic of Vietnam abandon an attempt to cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos. Wikipedia
• 1996 The European Union's Veterinarian Committee bans the export of British beef and its by-products as a result of mad cow disease (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy). Wikipedia
• 2006 Protesters demanding a new election in Belarus, following the rigged 2006 Belarusian presidential election, clash with riot police. Opposition leader Aleksander Kozulin is among several protesters arrested. Wikipedia
• 2006 A gunman in Seattle, Washington, U.S., entered a rave afterparty and opened fire, killing six and wounding two, before committing suicide. Wikipedia
• 2008 Invasion of Anjouan began as Comoros and African Union forces launched an assault to remove Mohamed Bacar from power in Anjouan. Wikipedia

Born on March 25

• 1347 Catherine of Siena, Italian philosopher, theologian, and saint (died 1380) Wikipedia
• 1479 Vasili III of Russia (died 1533) Wikipedia
• 1611 Evliya Çelebi, Ottoman Turk traveller and writer (died 1682) Wikipedia
• 1767 Joachim Murat, French general (died 1815) Wikipedia
• 1867 Gutzon Borglum, American sculptor, designed Mount Rushmore (died 1941) Wikipedia
• 1867 Arturo Toscanini, Italian-American cellist and conductor (died 1957) Wikipedia
• 1881 Béla Bartók, Hungarian pianist and composer (died 1945) Wikipedia
• 1908 David Lean, English director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1991) Wikipedia
• 1914 Norman Borlaug, American agronomist and humanitarian, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2009) Wikipedia
• 1921 Simone Signoret, French actress (died 1985) Wikipedia
• 1925 Flannery O'Connor, American short story writer and novelist (died 1964) Wikipedia
• 1928 Jim Lovell, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (died 2025) Wikipedia
• 1934 Gloria Steinem, American feminist activist, co-founded the Women's Media Center (died 2026) Wikipedia
• 1937 Tom Monaghan, American businessman, founded Domino's Pizza Wikipedia
• 1942 Aretha Franklin, American singer-songwriter and pianist (died 2018) Wikipedia
• 1947 Elton John, English singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor Wikipedia
• 1962 Marcia Cross, American actress Wikipedia
• 1965 Sarah Jessica Parker, American actress, producer, and designer Wikipedia
• 1972 Naftali Bennett, Israeli politician, 13th Prime Minister of Israel Wikipedia
• 1976 Wladimir Klitschko, Ukrainian boxer Wikipedia
• 1982 Jenny Slate, American comedian, actress and author Wikipedia
• 1999 Mikey Madison, American actress Wikipedia

Died on March 25

• 1005 Kenneth III, king of Scotland Wikipedia
• 1223 Alfonso II, king of Portugal (born 1185) Wikipedia
• 1625 Giambattista Marino, Italian poet and author (born 1569) Wikipedia
• 1801 Novalis, German poet and author (born 1772) Wikipedia
• 1857 William Colgate, English-American businessman and philanthropist, founded Colgate-Palmolive (born 1783) Wikipedia
• 1914 Frédéric Mistral, French lexicographer and poet, 1904 Nobel Prize laureate (born 1830) Wikipedia
• 1918 Claude Debussy, French composer (born 1862) Wikipedia
• 1931 Ida B. Wells, American journalist and activist (born 1862) Wikipedia
• 1975 Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian king (born 1906) Wikipedia
• 1976 Josef Albers, German-American painter and educator (born 1888) Wikipedia
• 1991 Marcel Lefebvre, French-Swiss archbishop (born 1905) Wikipedia
• 2012 Antonio Tabucchi, Italian author and academic (born 1943) Wikipedia
• 2014 Ralph Wilson, American businessman, founded the Buffalo Bills (born 1918) Wikipedia
• 2022 Taylor Hawkins, American drummer and singer (born 1972) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Anniversary of the Arengo and the Feast of the Militants (San Marino) Wikipedia
• Christian feast days: Feast of the Annunciation Wikipedia
• Christian feast days: March 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Christian Saints' days Ælfwold II of Sherborne Wikipedia
• Christian Saints' days Blessed Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas Wikipedia
• Christian Saints' days Omelyan Kovch (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church) Wikipedia
• Christian Saints' days Dismas, the "Good Thief" Wikipedia
• Christian Saints' days Hilary Paweł Januszewski Wikipedia
• Christian Saints' days Humbert of Maroilles Wikipedia
• Christian Saints' days Josaphata Hordashevska Wikipedia
• Christian Saints' days Margaret Clitherow Wikipedia
• Christian Saints' days Procopius of Sázava Wikipedia
• Christian Saints' days Quirinus of Tegernsee Wikipedia
• Commemoration Day for the Victims of Communist Genocide (Latvia) Wikipedia
• Cultural Workers Day (Russia) Wikipedia
• Empress Menen's Birthday (Rastafari) Wikipedia
• EU Talent Day (European Union) Wikipedia
• Freedom Day (Belarus) Wikipedia
• Independence Day, celebrates the start of Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire, in 1821. (Greece) Wikipedia
• International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (international) Wikipedia
• International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members (United Nations General Assembly) Wikipedia
• International Day of the Unborn Child (international) Wikipedia
• Maryland Day (Maryland, United States) Wikipedia
• Medal of Honor Day (United States) Wikipedia

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