April 25Birthdays & History

On this day: April 25 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 404 BCAdmiral Lysander and King Pausanias of Sparta blockade Athens and bring the Peloponnesian War to a successful conclusion.Europe
2. 775The 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.EuropeMiddle East
3. 799After mistreatment and disfigurement by the citizens of Rome, Pope Leo III flees to the Frankish court of king Charlemagne at Paderborn for protection.Europe
4. 1464A Yorkist army under the Baron Montagu defeats a Lancastrian army under the Duke of Somerset in the battle of Hedgeley Moor during the Wars of the Roses.Europe
5. 1607Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar.Europe
6. 1644Transition from Ming to Qing: The Chongzhen Emperor, the last Emperor of Ming China, commits suicide during a peasant rebellion led by Li Zicheng.Asia
7. 1707A coalition of Britain, the Netherlands and Portugal is defeated by a Franco-Spanish army at Almansa (Spain) in the War of the Spanish Succession.Europe
8. 1792Highwayman Nicolas J. Pelletier becomes the first person executed by guillotine.Europe
9. 1792"La Marseillaise" (the French national anthem) is composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.Europe
10. 1808Dano-Swedish War of 1808–1809: The Battle of Trangen takes place at Trangen in Flisa, Hedemarkens Amt, between Swedish and Norwegian troops.Europe
11. 1829Charles Fremantle arrives in HMS Challenger off the coast of modern-day Western Australia prior to declaring the Swan River Colony for the British Empire.OceaniaEurope
12. 1846Thornton Affair: Open conflict begins over the disputed border of Texas, triggering the Mexican–American War.North AmericaLatin America
13. 1849The Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal's English population and triggering the Montreal Riots.North AmericaEurope
14. 1859British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal.EuropeMiddle East
15. 1862American Civil War: Forces under U.S. Admiral David Farragut demand the surrender of the Confederate city of New Orleans, Louisiana.North America
16. 1864American Civil War: In the Battle of Marks' Mills, a force of 8,000 Confederate soldiers attacks 1,800 Union soldiers and a large number of wagon teamsters, killing or wounding 1,500 Union combatants.North America
17. 1882French and Vietnamese troops clash in Tonkin, when Commandant Henri Rivière seizes the citadel of Hanoi with a small force of marine infantry.EuropeAsia
18. 1892Véry bombing during the Ère des attentats (1892–1894).Europe
19. 1898Spanish–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.EuropeNorth AmericaLatin America
20. 1915World 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.Middle EastEuropeAsia
21. 1920At 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.Middle East
22. 1933Nazi Germany issues the Law Against Overcrowding in Schools and Universities limiting the number of Jewish students able to attend public schools and universities.Europe
23. 1938U.S. Supreme Court delivers its opinion in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins and overturns a century of federal common law.North America
24. 1944The United Negro College Fund is incorporated.North America
25. 1945World War II: The last German troops retreat from Finnish soil in Lapland, ending the Lapland War. Military actions of the Second World War end in Finland.Europe
26. 1945World 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.North AmericaEurope
27. 1945United Nations Conference on International Organization: Founding negotiations for the United Nations begin in San Francisco.North America
28. 1945World War II: Liberation Day (Italy): The National Liberation Committee for Northern Italy calls for a general uprising against the German occupation and the Italian Social Republic.Europe
29. 1951Korean War: Assaulting Chinese forces are forced to withdraw after heavy fighting with UN forces, primarily made up of Australian and Canadian troops, at the Battle of Kapyong.AsiaOceaniaNorth America
30. 1953Francis Crick and James Watson publish "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid" describing the double helix structure of DNA.Europe
31. 1954The first practical solar cell is publicly demonstrated by Bell Telephone Laboratories.North America
32. 1959The Saint Lawrence Seaway, linking the North American Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, officially opens to shipping.North America
33. 1961Robert Noyce is granted a patent for an integrated circuit.North America
34. 1972Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue Offensive: The North Vietnamese 320th Division forces 5,000 South Vietnamese troops to retreat and traps about 2,500 others northwest of Kontum.Asia
35. 1974Carnation Revolution: A leftist military coup in Portugal overthrows the authoritarian-conservative Estado Novo regime.Europe
36. 1980One hundred forty-six people are killed when Dan-Air Flight 1008 crashes near Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, Canary Islands.Europe
37. 1981More than 100 workers are exposed to radiation during repairs of at the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.Asia
38. 1982Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula per the Camp David Accords.Middle East
39. 1983Cold 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.North AmericaEurope
40. 1990Violeta Chamorro takes office as the President of Nicaragua, the first woman to hold the position.Latin America
41. 2004The 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.North America
42. 2005The final piece of the Obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia after being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937.AfricaEurope
43. 2005Bulgaria and Romania sign the Treaty of Accession 2005 to join the European Union.Europe
44. 2005A seven-car commuter train derails and crashes into an apartment building near Amagasaki Station in Japan, killing 107, including the driver.Asia
45. 2007Boris Yeltsin's funeral: The first to be sanctioned by the Russian Orthodox Church for a head of state since the funeral of Emperor Alexander III in 1894.Europe
46. 2014The Flint water crisis begins when officials at Flint, Michigan switch the city's water supply to the Flint River, leading to lead and bacteria contamination.North America
47. 2015At least 8,962 are killed in Nepal after a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake strikes Nepal.Asia
48. 2026Shots 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.North America

Source: Wikipedia "April 25" / CC BY-SA 4.0