Notable Deaths on May 25

May 25 has 105 recorded notable deaths across history, from 675 to 2026. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.

George Floyd

2020 — George Floyd

African American man murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin (born 1973)

By · Wikipedia

Notable Deaths 105 source records 675 – 2026

Major events on May 25

See what else happened on this day in history.

  1. 1971 Joetha Collier, a recent high school graduate, is killed in a shooting in Drew, Mississippi, attracting extensive attention from the media and civil rights activists. Source
  2. 1955 First ascent of Mount Kangchenjunga: On the British Kangchenjunga expedition led by Charles Evans, Joe Brown and George Band reach the summit of the third-highest mountain in the world (8,586 meters); Norman Hardie and Tony Streather join them the following day. Source

Did you know about George Floyd

George Floyd's dying words became a rallying slogan: "I can't breathe".

Did you know about Sunil Dutt

Regarded as one of the most successful and finest actors in the history of Indian cinema, Dutt was known for his unique style and delivering impactful messages through his films.

Did you know about John Warner

John William Warner III was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States senator from Virginia from 1979 to 2009.

Did you know about Gustav Holst

Gustav Holst's distinctive compositional style was the product of many influences, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss being most crucial early in his development.

Did you know about Wojciech Jaruzelski

Wojciech Jaruzelski was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party between 1981 and 1989, making him the last leader of the Polish People's Republic.


More major people who died on May 25

Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.

2005 Sunil Dutt

Sunil Dutt

Indian actor, director, producer, and politician (born 1929)
Balraj Raghunath Dutt, publicly known as Sunil Dutt, was an Indian actor, film producer, director, and politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He acted in more than 80 films over a career spanning five decades and was the recipient of three Filmfare Awards, including two for Best Actor. Regarded as one of the most successful and finest actors in the history of Indian cinema, Dutt was known for his unique style and delivering impactful messages through his films. In 1968, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, for his contribution to Indian cinema.
2021 John Warner

John Warner

American attorney and politician (born 1927)
John William Warner III was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States senator from Virginia from 1979 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the U.S. secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974. Warner is both the longest serving Republican Senator from Virginia, and the second longest serving Senator from Virginia behind Democrat Harry F. Byrd. He served as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee from 1999 to 2001, and from 2003 to 2007. Warner also served as the chairman of the Senate Rules Committee from 1995 to 1999.
1934 Gustav Holst

Gustav Holst

English trombonist, composer, and educator (born 1874)
Gustav Holst was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite The Planets, he composed many other works across a range of genres, although none achieved comparable success. His distinctive compositional style was the product of many influences, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss being most crucial early in his development. The subsequent inspiration of the English folksong revival of the early 20th century, and the example of such rising modern composers as Maurice Ravel, led Holst to develop and refine an individual style.
2014 Wojciech Jaruzelski

Wojciech Jaruzelski

Polish general and politician, 1st President of Poland (born 1923)
Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski was a Polish military general, politician and de facto leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989, serving as a military dictator from 13 December 1981 until 22 July 1983. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party between 1981 and 1989, making him the last leader of the Polish People's Republic. Jaruzelski served as Prime Minister from 1981 to 1985, the Chairman of the Council of State from 1985 to 1989 and briefly as President of Poland from 1989 to 1990, when the office of President was restored after 37 years. He was also the last commander-in-chief of the Polish People's Army, which in 1990 became the Polish Armed Forces.
2005 Ismail Merchant

Ismail Merchant

Indian-born film producer and director (born 1936)
Ismail Merchant was an Indian film producer. He worked for many years in collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions which included film director James Ivory as well as screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Together they made film adaptations from the novels of E.M. Forster and Henry James. Merchant received the BAFTA Award for Best Film for A Room with a View (1985), and Howards End (1992). He received Academy Award nominations for Best Live Action Short Film for The Creation of a Woman (1959) and for Best Picture for A Room with a View (1985), Howards End (1992), and The Remains of the Day (1993).
2013 Mahendra Karma

Mahendra Karma

Indian politician (born 1950)
Mahendra Karma was an Indian political leader belonging to Indian National Congress from Chhattisgarh. He was the leader of the opposition in the Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha from 2004 to 2008. In 2005, he played a top role in organising the Salwa Judum movement against Naxalites, a Maoist group in Chhattisgarh. He was a Minister of Industry and Commerce in the Ajit Jogi cabinet since the state formation in 2000 to 2004. He was assassinated by Naxalites on 25 May 2013 in the 2013 Naxal attack in Darbha valley while returning from a Parivartan Rally meeting organised by his party in Sukma.
1797 John Griffin

John Griffin

4th Baron Howard de Walden, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (born 1719)
Field Marshal John Griffin Griffin, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, 1st Baron Braybrooke, KB, was a British Army officer, politician and peer. He served as a junior officer with the Pragmatic Army in the Dutch Republic and Germany during the War of the Austrian Succession. He commanded a brigade at the Battle of Corbach and the Battle of Warburg in July 1760 during the Seven Years' War. He was wounded at the Battle of Kloster Kampen and retired from active service. Born John Whitwell, he changed his name to Griffin in 1749 under the terms of a settlement from his aunt, the countess of Portsmouth, from whom he inherited Audley End House in 1762. He held the seat of Andover in the House of Commons from 1749 to 1784, when he was elevated to the House of Lords as 4th Baron Howard de Walden. In 1789 he received the further title of 1st Baron Braybrooke. He was married twice but had no children.
1895 Ahmed Cevdet Pasha

Ahmed Cevdet Pasha

Ottoman sociologist, historian, and jurist (born 1822)
Ahmed Cevdet Pasha was an Ottoman scholar, intellectual, bureaucrat, administrator, and historian who was a prominent figure in the Tanzimat reforms of the Ottoman Empire. He was the head of the Mecelle commission that codified Islamic law for the first time in response to the Westernization of law. He is often regarded as a pioneer in the codification of a civil law based on the European legal system. The Mecelle remained intact in several modern Arab states in the early and mid-20th-century. In addition to Turkish, he was proficient in Arabic, Persian, French and Bulgarian. He wrote numerous books on history, law, grammar, linguistics, logic and astronomy.
1981 Fredric Warburg

Fredric Warburg

English author and publisher (born 1898)
Fredric John Warburg was a British publisher, who in 1935 founded the company Secker & Warburg. He is best known for his association with the author George Orwell. During a career spanning a large part of the 20th century and ending in 1971, Warburg published Orwell's major books Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), as well as works by other leading figures such as Thomas Mann and Franz Kafka. Other notable publications included The Third Eye by Lobsang Rampa, Pierre Boulle's The Bridge over the River Kwai, Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf and William Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.
1996 Renzo De Felice

Renzo De Felice

Italian historian and author (born 1929)
Renzo De Felice was an Italian historian who specialized in the Fascist era. Among other works, he authored a 6000-page biography of Mussolini. He argued that Mussolini was a revolutionary modernizer in domestic issues but a pragmatist in foreign policy who continued the Realpolitik policies of Italy from 1861 to 1922. Historian of Italy Philip Morgan has called De Felice's biography of Mussolini "a very controversial, influential and at the same time problematic re-reading of Mussolini and Fascism" and rejected the contention that his work rose above politics to "scientific objectivity", as claimed by the author and his defenders.
1983 Jack Stewart

Jack Stewart

Canadian-American ice hockey player (born 1917)
John Sherratt Stewart was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who was a defenceman for 12 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks. He won two Stanley Cup championships with the Red Wings and was named to the post-season NHL All-Star team on five occasions: three times on the first team and twice on the second. Stewart also played in the first four NHL All-Star Games. After completing his NHL career as captain of the Black Hawks, he went on to coach numerous teams at various levels of hockey.
1969 Elisabeth Geleerd

Elisabeth Geleerd

Dutch-American psychoanalyst (born 1909)
Elisabeth Rozetta Geleerd Loewenstein was a Dutch-American psychoanalyst. Born to an upper-middle-class family in Rotterdam, Geleerd studied psychoanalysis in Vienna, then London, under Anna Freud. Building a career in the United States, she became one of the nation's major practitioners in child and adolescent psychoanalysis throughout the mid-20th century. Geleerd specialized in the psychoanalysis of psychosis, including schizophrenia, and was an influential writer on psychoanalysis in childhood schizophrenia. She was one of the first writers to consider the concept of borderline personality disorder in childhood.
2009 Haakon Lie

Haakon Lie

Norwegian politician (born 1905)
Haakon Steen Lie was a Norwegian politician who served as party secretary for the Norwegian Labour Party from 1945 to 1969. Coming from humble origins, he became involved in the labour movement at an early age, and quickly rose in the party system. After actively working for the resistance movement and the exiled government during World War II, he was elected to the second-highest position in the party after the war, and his years in office were the most successful in the party's history.
2007 Charles Nelson Reilly

Charles Nelson Reilly

American actor, comedian, and director (born 1931)
Charles Nelson Reilly was an American actor, comedian, director and drama teacher. He performed in the original Broadway casts of Bye Bye Birdie; Hello, Dolly!; and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. His television credits include The Ghost & Mrs. Muir and Match Game. A recording of his autobiographical one-man play Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly was adapted into a 2006 independent film.
1990 Vic Tayback

Vic Tayback

American actor (born 1930)
Victor Tayback was an American actor. He was best known for his role as diner owner Mel Sharples in both the movie Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) and on the television sitcom Alice (1976–1985) that was based on it, as well as his multiple guest appearances on The Love Boat (1977–1987). The former earned him two consecutive Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
709 Aldhelm

Aldhelm

English-Latin bishop, poet, and scholar (born 639)
Aldhelm, Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey, Bishop of Sherborne, and a writer and scholar of Latin poetry, was born before the middle of the 7th century. He is said to have been the son of Kenten, who was of the royal house of Wessex. He was certainly not, as his early biographer Faritius asserts, the brother of King Ine. After his death he was venerated as a saint, his feast day being the day of his death, 25 May.
1899 Rosa Bonheur

Rosa Bonheur

French painter and sculptor (born 1822)
Rosa Bonheur was a French painter, sculptor and animalier. Her paintings include Ploughing in the Nivernais, first exhibited at the Salon of 1849, and now in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, and The Horse Fair, which was exhibited at the Salon of 1853 and is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Bonheur was widely considered to be the most famous female painter of the nineteenth century. She made sculptures in a realist style.
1919 Eliza Pollock

Eliza Pollock

American archer (born 1840)
Lida Peyton "Eliza" Pollock was an American archer who competed in the early twentieth century. She won two bronze medals in Archery at the 1904 Summer Olympics in Missouri in the double national and Columbia rounds and a gold medal with the US team. She was born in Hamilton, Ohio and died in Wyoming, Ohio. She is the oldest woman ever to win an Olympic Gold. She was aged 63 years and 333 days when she won gold.
2005 Zoran Mušič

Zoran Mušič

Slovene painter and illustrator (born 1909)
Zoran Mušič, baptised as Anton Zoran Musič, was a Slovene painter, printmaker, and draughtsman. He was the only painter of Slovene descent who managed to establish himself in the elite cultural circles of Italy and France, particularly Paris in the second half of the 20th century, where he lived for most of his later life. He painted landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and self-portraits, as well as scenes of horror from the Dachau concentration camp and vedute of Venice.

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