Notable Deaths on February 25

Q: Who died on February 25?

Notable people who died on February 25 include: Tarasios, Fujiwara no Mototsune, Anselm of Ribemont, William Lily, Berchtold Haller.

Q: What is Theodor Svedberg known for?

Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1884)

74 people 806 – 2025

February 25 has seen 74 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 806 – 2025. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · February 25 — Wikipedia

1971 — Theodor Svedberg

Swedish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1884)

Did you know

Apart from his 1926 Nobel Prize, Svedberg was named a Foreign Member of the Royal Society in 1944 and became part of the National Academy of Sciences in 1945.

Did you know

Svedberg was active at Uppsala University from the mid-1900s to late 1940s

Did you know

While at Uppsala, Svedberg started as a docent before becoming the university's physical chemistry head in 1912

Did you know

After leaving Uppsala in 1949, Svedberg was in charge of the Gustaf Werner Institute until 1967

Did you know

Theodor Svedberg was a Swedish chemist and Nobel laureate for his research on colloids and proteins using the ultracentrifuge

Tarasios

patriarch of Constantinople

Tarasios of Constantinople was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 25 December 784 until his death on 25 February 806.

806

Fujiwara no Mototsune

Japanese regent (born 836)

Fujiwara no Mototsune , also known as Horikawa Daijin (堀川大臣), was a Japanese statesman, courtier and aristocrat of the early Heian period. He was the first kampaku, a regent of an adult emperor, in Japanese history.

891

Anselm of Ribemont

Frankish nobleman and participant of the First Crusade

Anselm of Ribemont was a Frankish noblemen from Flanders and a participant in the First Crusade. His letters to archbishop Manasses II of Reims are key pieces of eyewitness accounts to the First Crusade.

1099

William Lily

English scholar and educator (born 1468)

William Lily was an English classical grammarian and scholar. He was an author of the most widely used Latin grammar textbook in England and was the first high master of St Paul's School, London.

1522

Berchtold Haller

German-Swiss theologian and reformer (born 1492)

Berchtold Haller was a German Protestant reformer. He was the reformer of the city of Bern, Switzerland, where the Reformation received little to none opposition.

1536

Vittoria Colonna

marchioness of Pescara (born 1490)

Vittoria Colonna, Marchioness of Pescara, was an Italian noblewoman and poet. As an educated and married noblewoman whose husband was in captivity, Colonna was able to develop relationships within the intellectual…

1547

Robert Devereux

2nd Earl of Essex, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (born 1566)

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex was an English army officer who was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I.

1601

Albrecht von Wallenstein

Austrian general and politician (born 1583)

Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland, also von Waldstein, was a Bohemian military leader, statesman and a major figure of the Thirty Years' War, fighting on the Catholic side as supreme commander…

1634

Santorio Santorio

Italian biologist (born 1561)

Santorio Santorio whose real name was Santorio Santori better known in English as Sanctorius of Padua was an Italian physiologist, physician, and professor, who introduced the quantitative approach into the life…

1636

Daniël Heinsius

Flemish poet and scholar (born 1580)

Daniel Heinsius was one of the most famous scholars of the Dutch Renaissance.

1655

Alessandro Stradella

Italian composer (born 1639)

Antonio Alessandro Boncompagno Stradella was an Italian composer of the middle Baroque period. He enjoyed a dazzling career as a freelance composer, writing on commission, and collaborating with distinguished poets,…

1682

Daniel Greysolon

Sieur du Lhut, French soldier and explorer (born 1639)

Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut was a French soldier and explorer who is the first European known to have visited the area where the city of Duluth, Minnesota, United States, is now located and the head of Lake Superior…

1710

Frederick I of Prussia (born 1657)

Frederick I, of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union (Brandenburg–Prussia). The latter function he upgraded to royalty, becoming the first King in…

1713

Christopher Wren

English architect, designed St Paul's Cathedral (born 1632)

Sir Christopher Wren was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who is one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he…

1723

Eliza Haywood

English actress and poet (born 1693)

Eliza Haywood, was an English writer, actress and publisher. An increase in interest and recognition of Haywood's literary works began in the 1980s. Described as "prolific even by the standards of a prolific age",…

1756

Samuel Seabury

American bishop (born 1729)

Samuel Seabury was the first American Episcopal bishop, the second Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and the first Bishop of Connecticut. He was a leading Loyalist in the Province…

1796

Thomas Pownall

English politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (born 1722)

Thomas Pownall was a British colonial administrator and politician. He was governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1757 to 1760, and afterwards sat in the House of Commons from 1767 to 1780. He travelled…

1805

Francisco Manoel de Nascimento

Portuguese-French poet and educator (born 1734)

Francisco Manoel de Nascimento, better known by the literary name of Filinto Elísio, bestowed on him by the Marquise of Alorna, was a Portuguese poet and the reputed son of a Lisbon boat-owner.

1819

William Pinkney

American politician and diplomat, 7th United States Attorney General (born 1764)

William Pinkney was an American statesman and diplomat, and was appointed the seventh U.S. attorney general by President James Madison.

1822

Philip P. Barbour

American lawyer, judge, and politician, 12th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (born 1783)

Philip Pendleton Barbour was the tenth speaker of the United States House of Representatives and an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He is the only individual to serve in both positions.

1841

Daoguang Emperor of China (born 1782)

The Daoguang Emperor, also known by his temple name Emperor Xuanzong of Qing, personal name Minning, was the seventh emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the sixth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign was…

1850

Thomas Moore

Irish poet and lyricist (born 1779)

Thomas Moore was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist, widely regarded in his lifetime as Ireland's "national bard". The acclaim rested primarily on the popularity of his Irish Melodies. In these, Moore set to old Irish…

1852

Otto Ludwig

German author, playwright, and critic (born 1813)

Otto Ludwig was a German dramatist, novelist and critic born in Eisfeld in Thuringia. He was one of Germany's first modern realists and one of the most notable dramatists of the period.

1865

Henrik Hertz

Danish poet and playwright (born 1797)

Henrik Hertz was a Danish poet.

1870

Jung Bahadur Rana

Nepalese ruler (born 1816)

Jung Bahadur Rana,, was the Prime Minister of Nepal and the 1st Maharaja of Lamjung and Kaski. He was born Bir Narsingh Kunwar (1817–1877). His mother, Ganesh Kumari, was the daughter of Kaji Nain Singh Thapa, the…

1877

Townsend Harris

American merchant, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Japan (born 1804)

Townsend Harris was an American merchant and politician who served as the first United States Consul General to Japan. He negotiated the Harris Treaty between the US and Japan and is credited as the diplomat who first…

1878

Paul Reuter

German-English journalist and businessman, founded Reuters (born 1816)

Paul Julius Reuter, later ennobled as Freiherr von Reuter, was a German-born British entrepreneur who was a pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting. He was a reporter, media owner, and the founder of the Reuters news…

1899

Anton Arensky

Russian pianist and composer (born 1861)

Anton Stepanovich Arensky was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, a pianist and a professor of music.

1906

Worthington Whittredge

American painter and educator (born 1820)

Thomas Worthington Whittredge was an American artist of the Hudson River School. Whittredge was a highly regarded artist of his time, and was friends with several leading Hudson River School artists including Albert…

1910

Friedrich Spielhagen

German author, theorist, and translator (born 1829)

Friedrich Spielhagen was a German novelist, literary theorist and translator. He tried a number of careers in his early 20s, but at 25 began writing and translating. His best known novel is Sturmflut and his novel In…

1911

William IV

Grand Duke of Luxembourg (born 1852)

William IV was Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 17 November 1905 until his death in 1912. He succeeded his father, Adolphe. Like his father, William did not participate in politics, despite being vested with considerable…

1912

John Tenniel

English illustrator (born 1820)

Sir John Tenniel was an English illustrator, graphic humourist and political cartoonist prominent in the second half of the 19th century. An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, he was knighted for artistic…

1914

Charles Edwin Bessey

American botanist, author, and academic (born 1845)

Charles Edwin Bessey was an American botanist.

1915

Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy

French archaeologist and engineer (born 1844)

Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy was a French archaeologist, noted for his excavations at Susa in 1885 and for his work, L'Art antique de la Perse.

1920

William O'Brien

Irish journalist and politician (born 1852)

William O'Brien was an Irish nationalist, journalist, agrarian agitator, social revolutionary, politician, party leader, newspaper publisher, author and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United…

1928

Elizabeth Gertrude Britton

American botanist and academic (born 1857)

Elizabeth Gertrude Britton was an American botanist, bryologist, and educator. She and her husband, Nathaniel Lord Britton, played a significant role in the fundraising and creation of the New York Botanical Garden. She…

1934

John McGraw

American baseball player and manager (born 1873)

John Joseph McGraw was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 1890s Baltimore…

1934

Mário de Andrade

Brazilian author, poet, and photographer (born 1893)

Mário Raul de Morais Andrade was a Brazilian poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and critic, and photographer. He wrote one of the first and most influential collections of modern Brazilian poetry, Paulicéia…

1945

George Minot

American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1885)

George Richards Minot was an American medical researcher who shared the 1934 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with George Hoyt Whipple and William P. Murphy for their pioneering work on pernicious anemia.

1950

Sergei Winogradsky

Ukrainian-Russian microbiologist and ecologist (born 1856)

Sergei Nikolaevich Winogradsky (Russian: Сергей Николаевич Виноградский; Ukrainian: Сергій Миколайович Виноградський; 13 September [O.S. 1 September] 1856 – 24 February 1953), also published under the name Sergius…

1953

Joseph Beech

American Methodist missionary and educator (born 1867)

Joseph Beech, or Joe Beech as he was more commonly known, was an American Methodist missionary and educator, member of Psi Upsilon and Phi Beta Kappa, and founding president of the West China Union University. He was a…

1954

Mark Aldanov

Russian author and critic (born 1888)

Mark Aldanov was a Russian and later French writer and critic, known for his historical novels.

1957

Bugs Moran

American mob boss (born 1893)

George Clarence "Bugs" Moran was an American Chicago Prohibition-era gangster. He was incarcerated three times before his 21st birthday. Six to seven members of his gang were gunned down and killed in a warehouse in the…

1957

Melville J. Herskovits

American anthropologist and academic (born 1895)

Melville Jean Herskovits was an American anthropologist who helped to first establish African and African Diaspora studies in American academia. He is known for exploring the cultural continuity from African cultures as…

1963

Alexander Archipenko

Ukrainian sculptor and illustrator (born 1887)

Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko was a Ukrainian-American avant-garde artist, sculptor, and graphic artist, active in France and the United States. He was one of the first to apply the principles of Cubism to…

1964

Grace Metalious

American author (born 1924)

Marie Grace Metalious was an American author known for her novel Peyton Place, one of the best selling works in publishing history.

1964

Mark Rothko

Latvian-American painter and academic (born 1903)

Mark Rothko was a Latvian-born American abstract painter. He is best known for his color field paintings that depicted irregular and painterly rectangular regions of color, which he produced from 1949 to 1970. Although…

1970

Gottfried Fuchs

German-Canadian Olympic soccer player (born 1889)

Gottfried Erik Fuchs, also known as Godfrey Fuchs, was a German Olympic footballer. He scored a then-world record 10 goals for the Germany national team in a 16–0 win against Russia at the 1912 Olympics. He left Germany…

1972

Elijah Muhammad

American religious leader (born 1897)

Elijah Muhammad was an American religious leader who led the Nation of Islam from 1933 until his death in 1975. Under his leadership, the Nation of Islam grew from a small Detroit-based movement into a nationwide…

1975

Daniel James

Jr., American general and pilot (born 1920)

Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force who, in 1975, became the first African American to reach the rank of four-star general in the United States Armed Forces. Three years later,…

1978

Robert Hayden

American poet and academic (born 1913)

Robert Hayden was an American poet, essayist, and educator. He served as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1976 to 1978, a role today known as US Poet Laureate. He was the first African-American…

1980

Tennessee Williams

American playwright, and poet (born 1911)

Thomas Lanier Williams III, known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three foremost…

1983

Haing S. Ngor

Cambodian-American physician and author (born 1940)

Haing Somnang Ngor was a Cambodian and American actor, physician, and activist. He made his acting debut in the biographical drama film The Killing Fields (1984) as journalist Dith Pran, for which he won the Academy…

1996

Andrei Sinyavsky

Russian journalist and publisher (born 1925)

Andrei Donatovich Sinyavsky was a Russian writer and Soviet dissident known as a defendant in the Sinyavsky–Daniel trial of 1965.

1997

W. O. Mitchell

Canadian author and playwright (born 1914)

William Ormond Mitchell, was a Canadian writer and broadcaster. His "best-loved" novel is Who Has Seen the Wind (1947), which portrays life on the Canadian Prairies from the point of view of a small boy and sold almost…

1998

Glenn T. Seaborg

American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1912)

Glenn Theodore Seaborg was an American chemist whose involvement in the synthesis, discovery and investigation of ten transuranium elements earned him a share of the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His work in this area…

1999

A. R. Ammons

American poet and critic (born 1926)

Archibald Randolph Ammons was an American poet and professor of English at Cornell University. Ammons published nearly thirty collections of poems in his lifetime. Revered for his impact on American romantic poetry,…

2001

Don Bradman

Australian international cricketer; holder of world record batting average (born 1908)

Sir Donald George Bradman, nicknamed "the Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. His cricketing successes have been claimed by Shane Warne, among…

2001

Peter Benenson

English lawyer, founded Amnesty International (born 1921)

Peter Benenson was a British barrister, human rights activist and the founder of the human rights group Amnesty International (AI); a global movement of more than 10 million people, currently, and in over 150 countries…

2005

Hans Raj Khanna

Indian judge and advocate; upholder of civil liberties (born 1912)

Hans Raj Khanna was an Indian judge, jurist and advocate who propounded the basic structure doctrine in 1973 and attempted to uphold civil liberties during the time of Emergency in India in a lone dissenting judgement…

2008

Ihsan Dogramaci

Turkish pediatrician and academic (born 1915)

İhsan Doğramacı was a Turkish paediatrician, entrepreneur, philanthropist, educationalist and college administrator of Iraqi Turkmen descent born in modern Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq then part of the Ottoman Empire.

2010

Louisiana Red

American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1932)

Iverson Minter, known professionally as Louisiana Red, was an American blues guitarist, harmonica player, and singer, who recorded more than 50 albums. A master of slide guitar, he played both traditional acoustic and…

2012

Harve Bennett

American screenwriter and producer (born 1930)

Harve Bennett was an American television and film producer and screenwriter.

2015

Ariel Camacho

Mexican musician and singer-songwriter; (born 1992)

José Ariel Camacho Barraza was a Mexican musician and singer-songwriter. He predominantly performed regional Mexican music, mainly corridos. He was the lead singer and lead guitarist of his group, Ariel Camacho y Los…

2015

Eugenie Clark

American biologist and academic; noted ichthyologist (born 1922)

Eugenie Clark, popularly known as The Shark Lady, was an American ichthyologist known for both her research on shark behavior and her study of fish in the order Tetraodontiformes. Clark was a pioneer in the field of…

2015

Bill Paxton

American actor and filmmaker (born 1955)

William Paxton was an American actor, filmmaker and musician. A versatile character actor known for his distinctive Texan drawl and everyman screen persona, he was a four-time Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy…

2017

Dmitry Yazov

last Marshal of the Soviet Union (born 1924)

Dmitry Timofeyevich Yazov was a Marshal of the Soviet Union. A veteran of the Great Patriotic War, Yazov served as Minister of Defence from 1987 until he was arrested for his part in the 1991 August coup, four months…

2020

Farrah Forke

American actress (born 1968)

Farrah Rachael Forke was an American actress best known for her roles as Alex Lambert on the NBC sitcom Wings and Mayson Drake on Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. She also voiced the character Big Barda…

2022

Shirley Hughes

English author and illustrator (born 1927)

Winifred Shirley Hughes was an English author and illustrator. She wrote more than fifty books, which have sold more than 11.5 million copies, and illustrated more than two hundred.

2022

Gordon Pinsent

Canadian actor, director and screenwriter (born 1930)

Gordon Edward Pinsent was a Canadian actor, writer, director, and singer. He was known for his roles in numerous productions, including Away from Her, The Rowdyman, John and the Missus, A Gift to Last, Due South, The…

2023

Henry Kelly

Irish radio and television broadcaster, actor and journalist (born 1947)

Patrick Henry Kelly, better known as Henry Kelly, was an Irish radio and television broadcaster and journalist who was based in the United Kingdom.

2025

Roberto Orci

Mexican-American screenwriter and producer (born 1973)

Roberto Gaston Orcí was a Mexican film and television screenwriter and producer. He is best known for co-writing the scripts to Transformers (2007), Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), Star Trek (2009), Star…

2025

Jane Reed

UK Magazine editor and media executive (born 1940)

Jane Barbara Reed was a British publishing executive. During the 1970s she was the editor of Woman's Own magazine. She had leading positions with the Today newspaper and News International.

2025

February 25 in the Blog

The Battle of Orsha - February 25, 1514

1514 Battle of Orsha, Orsha, Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a surprising victory

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Notable deaths

Who died on February 25?

Theodor Svedberg — Swedish chemist (1884–1971)

FeaturedTheodor Svedberg

Death year1971

Known forSvedberg was active at Uppsala University from the mid-1900s to late 1940s

Deaths on this date74 (806 – 2025)

Explore February 25

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Also on February 25 in History

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 →

2016

Three people are killed and fourteen others injured in a series of shootings in the small Kansas cities of Newton and Hesston. Wikipedia →

2015

At least 310 people are killed in avalanches in northeastern Afghanistan. Wikipedia →

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Notable Deaths on February 25

1971 — Theodor Svedberg

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