# On this day: September 25

September 25 is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years), with 97 days left until the end of the year.

## September 25 in one line

Headline entries for September 25, from Wikipedia: in 1066, Harold Godwinson defeated King Harald III of Norway and his English ally Tostig Godwinson at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, ending the last Norse invasion of the British Isles; born 1897: William Faulkner, American novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1962); died 2011: Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1940). In 2026 it is a Friday, in 2027 a Saturday.

## Events on September 25

- 275 After the assassination of Aurelian, Tacitus was chosen by the Senate to succeed him as Roman emperor. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacitus_(emperor))
- 844 Viking expansion: A Viking fleet arrived near Seville, then part of the Emirate of Córdoba, and began a raid of the city that was eventually repelled by Muslim defenders. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_raid_on_Seville)
- 867 Basil I is crowned Byzantine emperor in the Hagia Sophia after he murdered the previous emperor Michael III in the night before. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia)
- 1066 Harold Godwinson defeated King Harald III of Norway and his English ally Tostig Godwinson at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, ending the last Norse invasion of the British Isles. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stamford_Bridge)
- 1237 Henry III of England and Alexander II of Scotland signed the Treaty of York, establishing the Anglo-Scottish border, which mostly remains the same today. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_York)
- 1396 Ottoman wars in Europe: Ottoman forces under Bayezid I defeated a Christian alliance led by Sigismund of Hungary near present-day Nikopol, Bulgaria. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Nicopolis)
- 1513 Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa reaches what would become known as the Pacific Ocean. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasco_N%C3%BA%C3%B1ez_de_Balboa)
- 1555 The Peace of Augsburg is signed by Emperor Charles V and the princes of the Schmalkaldic League. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_of_Augsburg)
- 1775 American Revolutionary War: Ethan Allen and a small force of American and Quebec militia failed to capture the city of Montreal from British forces. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Longue-Pointe)
- 1790 Peking opera was born with the introduction of Hui opera to Beijing by the "Four Great Anhui Troupes" in honour of the Qianlong Emperor's 80th birthday. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_opera)
- 1800 French Revolutionary Wars: After U.S. ships became involved, French forces abandoned their invasion of the Batavian island of Curaçao. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Cura%C3%A7ao_(1800))
- 1890 Sequoia National Park was established to conserve giant sequoia trees in an area affected by logging in the southern Sierra Nevada in California. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoia_National_Park)
- 1911 An explosion of badly degraded propellant charges on board the French battleship Liberté detonated the forward ammunition magazines and destroyed the ship. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_battleship_Libert%C3%A9)
- 1944 Second World War: British troops began their withdrawal from the Battle of Arnhem in the Netherlands, ending the Allies' Operation Market Garden in defeat. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arnhem)
- 1957 United States Army troops escorted nine students as Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas was integrated. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Nine)
- 1959 S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Ceylon, is mortally shot by a Buddhist monk, Talduwe Somarama, and dies the next day. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_S._W._R._D._Bandaranaike)
- 1962 The North Yemen Civil War began when Abdullah al-Sallal dethroned the newly crowned Imam al-Badr and declared Yemen to be a republic under his presidency. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Yemen_civil_war)
- 1962 The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria is formally proclaimed. Ferhat Abbas is elected President of the provisional government. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferhat_Abbas)
- 1964 The Mozambican War of Independence against Portugal begins. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozambican_War_of_Independence)
- 1969 The charter establishing the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation is signed. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisation_of_Islamic_Cooperation)
- 1977 About 4,200 people took part in the first modern Chicago Marathon. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Marathon)
- 1978 While on approach to San Diego International Airport, Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182, a Boeing 727, collided with a Cessna 172, killing all 137 people on board both aircraft, along with 7 more on the ground. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Southwest_Airlines_Flight_182)
- 1981 Sandra Day O'Connor became the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandra_Day_O'Connor)
- 1981 Belize joins the United Nations. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations)
- 1983 In one of the largest prison escapes in British history, 38 Provisional Irish Republican Army prisoners hijacked a meals lorry and broke out of HM Prison Maze in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maze_Prison_escape)
- 1990 The Ram Rath Yatra, a political–religious rally organised to erect a temple to the Hindu deity Rama on the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, began in the Indian state of Gujarat. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Rath_Yatra)

## Born on September 25

- 1599 Francesco Borromini, Swiss-Italian architect, designed the San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane and Sant'Agnese in Agone (died 1667) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Borromini)
- 1644 Ole Rømer, Danish astronomer and instrument maker (died 1710) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ole_R%C3%B8mer)
- 1683 Jean-Philippe Rameau, French composer and theorist (died 1764) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Philippe_Rameau)
- 1711 Qianlong Emperor of China (died 1799) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qianlong_Emperor)
- 1866 Thomas Hunt Morgan, American biologist, geneticist, and embryologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1945) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hunt_Morgan)
- 1881 Lu Xun, Chinese author and critic (died 1936) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu_Xun)
- 1896 Sandro Pertini, Italian journalist and politician, 7th President of Italy (died 1990) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandro_Pertini)
- 1897 William Faulkner, American novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1962) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Faulkner)
- 1903 Mark Rothko, Latvian-American painter and educator (died 1970) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Rothko)
- 1906 Dmitri Shostakovich, Russian pianist and composer (died 1975) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Shostakovich)
- 1920 Sergei Bondarchuk, Ukrainian-Russian actor, director, and screenwriter (died 1994) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Bondarchuk)
- 1929 Barbara Walters, American journalist, producer, and author (died 2022) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Walters)
- 1932 Adolfo Suárez, Spanish lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Spain (died 2014) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolfo_Su%C3%A1rez)
- 1944 Michael Douglas, American actor and producer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Douglas)
- 1949 Pedro Almodóvar, Spanish director, producer, and screenwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Almod%C3%B3var)
- 1951 Mark Hamill, American actor, singer, and producer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Hamill)
- 1952 Christopher Reeve, American actor, producer, and activist (died 2004) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Reeve)
- 1952 bell hooks, American author and activist (died 2021) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_hooks)
- 1955 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, German footballer and manager [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl-Heinz_Rummenigge)
- 1957 Michael Madsen, American actor and producer (died 2025) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Madsen)
- 1968 Will Smith, American actor, producer, and rapper [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Smith)
- 1969 Catherine Zeta-Jones, Welsh actress [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Zeta-Jones)

## Died on September 25

- 1066 Harald Hardrada, Norwegian king (born 1015) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harald_Hardrada)
- 1506 Philip I of Castile (born 1478) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_the_Handsome)
- 1534 Pope Clement VII (born 1478) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Clement_VII)
- 1777 Johann Heinrich Lambert, Swiss mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (born 1728) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Heinrich_Lambert)
- 1849 Johann Strauss I, Austrian composer (born 1804) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Strauss_I)
- 1958 John B. Watson, American psychologist and academic (born 1878) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Watson)
- 1970 Erich Maria Remarque, German-Swiss author and translator (born 1898) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Maria_Remarque)
- 1980 John Bonham, English drummer and songwriter (born 1948) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bonham)
- 1983 Leopold III of Belgium (born 1901) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_III_of_Belgium)
- 1986 Nikolay Semyonov, Russian physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1896) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolay_Semyonov)
- 1987 Mary Astor, American actress (born 1906) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Astor)
- 1991 Klaus Barbie, German SS captain, known as the "Butcher of Lyon" (born 1913) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Barbie)
- 2003 Franco Modigliani, Italian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco_Modigliani)
- 2011 Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1940) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wangar%C4%A9_Maathai)

## Holidays and observances

- Armed Forces Day or Revolution Day (Mozambique) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Forces_Day)
- Bangladeshi Immigration Day (United States) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheikh_Mujibur_Rahman's_1974_speech_at_the_United_Nations)
- Christian feast day: Abadir and Iraja and Companions (Coptic Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abadir_and_Iraja)
- Christian feast day: Aunarius (Aunacharius) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aunarius)
- Christian feast day: Anathalon (Archdiocese of Milan) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anathalon)
- Christian feast day: Cadoc [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadoc)
- Christian feast day: Ceolfrith [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceolfrith)
- Christian feast day: Cleopas [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopas)
- Christian feast day: Euphrosyne of Alexandria [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphrosyne_of_Alexandria)
- Christian feast day: Finbarr [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finbar_of_Cork)
- Christian feast day: Fermin of Amiens [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermin)
- Christian feast day: Lancelot Andrewes (Church of England) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelot_Andrewes)
- Christian feast day: Sergius of Radonezh (repose) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergius_of_Radonezh)
- Christian feast day: September 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_25_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “September 25”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_25) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/September 25”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/September_25) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“September 25”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_25) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_25?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for September 25 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## September 25 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Friday | 2026-W39 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2027 | Saturday | 2027-W38 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |
| 2028 | Monday | 2028-W39 | 🌓 First Quarter |
| 2029 | Tuesday | 2029-W39 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2030 | Wednesday | 2030-W39 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on September 25

- [🇨🇳 China](https://whathappen.today/holidays/china/): Mid-Autumn Festival (2026)
- [🇰🇷 South Korea](https://whathappen.today/holidays/south-korea/): Chuseok (2026)

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← September 24](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/september-24/) · [September 26 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/september-26/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/september-25/