Major Events
- 1720 The Ship "Le Grand St Antoine" reaches Marseille, bringing Europe's last major plague outbreak. Kills around 100,000.
- 1810 In the May Revolution, citizens of Buenos Aires expel the Spanish Viceroy Cisneros during Semana de Mayo
- 1914 British House of Commons passes the Irish Home Rule Bill
- 1961 JFK announces US goal of putting a man on the Moon before the end of decade
- 2020 Video of African American George Floyd's arrest and murder while restrained in Minneapolis police custody shows he was pinned to the ground by police officer Derek Chauvin's knee for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, ignites widespread condemnation and nationwide protests
- 2021 US CDC says half of all US adults are now fully vaccinated, with 61% having had their first shot
- More May 25 Events
May 25 in Film & TV
- 1977 Original "Star Wars" movie (Episode IV – A New Hope), directed by George Lucas and starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, premieres
May 25 in Music
- 1878 W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's comic opera "H.M.S. Pinafore" premieres in London, their first international success
May 25 in Sport
- 1935 Legendary American athlete Jesse Owens equals or breaks 4 world records in 45 minutes at a Big Ten meet at Ferry Field in Ann Arbor, Michigan; remembered as "the greatest 45 minutes ever in sport"
Did You Know?
Hands Across America - 6.5 million people hold hands from California to NY
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Igor Sikorsky
U Nu
Yahya Jammeh
Bill Robinson
Anne Heche
Ian McKellen
Mike Myers
Bill Sharman
Jonny Wilkinson
Fun Fact About May 25
32-year-old Erik Weihenmayer, of Boulder, Colorado, becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest
Famous Weddings
- 1553 Lady Jane Grey (15), later Queen for 9 days, marries Lord Guildford Dudley (18) in a triple wedding at Durham House, London
- 1661 English King Charles II marries Portuguese princess Catherina of Braganca
- 1898 Chocolatier Milton S. Hershey (40) weds Catherine Sweeney at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City
Famous Divorces
More May 25 Weddings
Madam C. J. Walker
Witold Pilecki
Robert Capa
Wojciech Jaruzelski
George Floyd
