May 25 in History

Joetha Collier, a recent high school graduate, is killed in a shooting in Drew,

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

May 25 spans 60 recorded events across recorded history, from 567 BC to 2018. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

By · — Wikipedia

Historical Events 60 events 567 BC – 2018

More major events on May 25

The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.

  1. 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
  2. 1738 A treaty between Pennsylvania and Maryland ends the Conojocular War with settlement of a boundary dispute and exchange of prisoners. Source
  3. 1807 Outbreak of the Kabakçı Mustafa rebellion in response to intentions of sultan Selim III to reform the Ottoman army. Source

Did you know

In 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. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

Did you know

Joetha Collier was an American high school student who was shot and killed on the night of her graduation in Drew, Mississippi, United States. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Did you know

The killing, which was committed by a White American against an African American, drew widespread media attention and the attention of several civil rights activists. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.

Did you know

In 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 had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.

Did you know

In 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 had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.

-567 Servius_Tullius
Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans.
King of Rome from c. 578 to 535 BC
Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned from 578 to 535 BC.
Wikipedia source
-240 Apsis
First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
Either of two extreme points in a celestial object's orbit
An apsis is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. The line of apsides is the line connecting the two extreme values.
Wikipedia source
1085 Alfonso_VI_of_León_and_Castile
Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo, Spain, back from the Moors after a siege.
Iberian King (c. 1040 – 1109)
Alfonso VI, nicknamed the Brave or the Valiant, was king of León (1065–1109), Galicia (1071–1109), and Castile (1072–1109).
Wikipedia source
1420 Prince_Henry_the_Navigator
Henry the Navigator is appointed governor of the Order of Christ.
Portuguese prince and governor (1394–1460)
Prince Henry the Navigator, was a Portuguese prince, a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and often credited as one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery.
Wikipedia source
1521 Diet_of_Worms
The Diet of Worms ends when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw.
Imperial assembly of the Holy Roman Empire (1521)
The Diet of Worms of 1521 was an imperial diet of the Holy Roman Empire called by Emperor Charles V and conducted in the Imperial Free City of Worms.
Wikipedia source
1644 Ming_dynasty
Ming general Wu Sangui forms an alliance with the invading Manchus and opens the gates of the Great Wall of China at Shanhaiguan pass, letting the Manchus through towards the capital Beijing.
Imperial dynasty of China (1368–1644)
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.
Wikipedia source
1659 Richard_Cromwell
Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth of England.
English statesman (1626–1712)
Richard Cromwell was an English statesman who served as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1658 to 1659. He was the son of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell.
Wikipedia source
1660 Charles_II_of_England
Charles II lands at Dover at the invitation of the Convention Parliament, which marks the end of the Cromwell-proclaimed Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and begins the Restoration of the British monarchy.
King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1660 to 1685
Charles II was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
Wikipedia source
1738 Pennsylvania
A treaty between Pennsylvania and Maryland ends the Conojocular War with settlement of a boundary dispute and exchange of prisoners.
U.S. state
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States.
Wikipedia source
1763 Norske_Intelligenz-Seddeler
First issue of Norske Intelligenz-Seddeler, the first regular Norwegian newspaper (1763–1920).
Norwegian newspaper (1763–1920)
Norske Intelligenz-Seddeler is a former Norwegian newspaper issued in Oslo from 1763 to 1920. It was the first newspaper in Norway, and its first issue came out on 25 May 1763.
Wikipedia source
1787 Constitutional_Convention_(United_States)
After a delay of 11 days, the United States Constitutional Convention formally convenes in Philadelphia after a quorum of seven states is secured.
1787 meeting of U.S. state delegates
The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787.
Wikipedia source
1798 Irish_Rebellion_of_1798
United Irishmen Rebellion: Battle of Carlow begins; executions of suspected rebels at Carnew and at Dunlavin Green take place.
Part of the French Revolutionary Wars
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 was a popular insurrection against the British Crown in what was then the separate, but subordinate, Kingdom of Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen.
Wikipedia source
1807
Outbreak of the Kabakçı Mustafa rebellion in response to intentions of sultan Selim III to reform the Ottoman army.
Rebel leader in the Ottoman Empire
Kabakçı Mustafa was a rebel leader who caused the delay of Ottoman reformation in the early 19th century.
Wikipedia source
1809
Chuquisaca Revolution: Patriot revolt in Chuquisaca (modern-day Sucre) against the Spanish Empire, sparking the Latin American wars of independence.
1809 popular uprising against Spanish colonial rule in Chuquisaca (now Sucre, Bolivia)
The Chuquisaca Revolution was a popular uprising on 25 May 1809 against Ramón García de León y Pizarro, Governor-intendant of the Intendancy of Chuquisaca.
Wikipedia source
1810 May_Revolution
May Revolution: Citizens of Buenos Aires expel Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros during the "May Week", starting the Argentine War of Independence.
1810 revolution in Buenos Aires
The May Revolution was a week-long series of events that took place from 18 to 25 May 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.
Wikipedia source
1819 Argentine_Constitution_of_1819
The Argentine Constitution of 1819 is promulgated.
Proposed constitution of Argentina shortly after its independence from Spain
The Argentine Constitution of 1819 was a Constitution drafted by the Congress of Tucumán in 1819, shortly after the Argentine War of Independence.
Wikipedia source
1833 Chilean_Constitution_of_1833
The Chilean Constitution of 1833 is promulgated.
Fundamental law of Chile from 1833 to 1925
The Constitution of 1833 was the constitution used in Chile from 1833 to 1925 when it was replaced by the Constitution of 1925.
Wikipedia source
1865 Mobile,_Alabama
In Mobile, Alabama, around 300 people are killed when an ordnance depot explodes.
City in Alabama, United States
Mobile is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States.
Wikipedia source
1878 Gilbert_and_Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera H.M.S.
Pinafore opens at the Opera Comique in London.
Gilbert and Sullivan were a Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan. The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S.
Wikipedia source
1895 Oscar_Wilde
Playwright, poet and novelist Oscar Wilde is convicted of "committing acts of gross indecency with other male persons" and sentenced to serve two years in prison.
Irish writer (1854–1900)
Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish author, poet and playwright.
Wikipedia source
1895 Republic_of_Formosa
The Republic of Formosa is formed, with Tang Jingsong as its president.
1895 unrecognized state in Taiwan
The Republic of Formosa was a short-lived unrecognized state that existed on the island of Taiwan in 1895 during the interregnum between the formal cession of Taiwan by the Qing dynasty of China to the Empire of Japan…
Wikipedia source
1914 House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom
The House of Commons of the United Kingdom passes the Home Rule Bill for devolution in Ireland.
Lower house of the UK Parliament
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.
Wikipedia source
1925 Scopes_trial
Scopes Trial: John T.
Scopes is indicted for teaching human evolution in Tennessee.
The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, also known as the Scopes Monkey Trial, was an American legal case from July 10 to July 21, 1925, in which a high school teacher, John T.
Wikipedia source
1926 Sholem_Schwarzbard
Sholom Schwartzbard assassinates Symon Petliura, the head of the government of the Ukrainian People's Republic, which is in government-in-exile in Paris.
Russo-French anarchist poet and assassin (1886–1938)
Samuel "Sholem" Schwarzbard was a Bessarabian-born Russian-French Yiddish poet.
Wikipedia source
1933 The_Walt_Disney_Company
The Walt Disney Company cartoon Three Little Pigs premieres at Radio City Music Hall, featuring the hit song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?"
American media and entertainment conglomerate
The Walt Disney Company, commonly and globally known as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California.
Wikipedia source
1935 Jesse_Owens
Jesse Owens of Ohio State University breaks three world records and ties a fourth at the Big Ten Conference Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
American track and field athlete (1913–1980)
James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete who made history at the 1936 Olympic Games by winning four gold medals, setting individual Olympic records in each event, plus another as a member of…
Wikipedia source
1938 Spanish_Civil_War
Spanish Civil War: The bombing of Alicante kills 313 people.
1936–1939 civil war in Spain
The Spanish Civil War was fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republicans and the Nationalist rebels.
Wikipedia source
1940 World_War_II
World War II: The German 2nd Panzer Division captures the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer; the surrender of the last French and British troops marks the end of the Battle of Boulogne.
Global conflict (1939–1945)
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers.
Wikipedia source
1946 Emirate_of_Transjordan
The Emirate of Transjordan becomes independent from the United Kingdom as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan after ratifying the Treaty of London and making their Amir, Abdullah I, their King.
British protectorate from 1921 to 1946
The Emirate of Transjordan, officially the Amirate of Trans-Jordan, was a British protectorate under the League of Nations mandate established on 11 April 1921, which remained as such until achieving formal independence…
Wikipedia source
1953 Nuclear_weapons_testing
Nuclear weapons testing: At the Nevada Test Site, the United States conducts its first and only nuclear artillery test.
Controlled detonation of nuclear weapons for scientific or political purposes
Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of their explosion. Over 2,000 nuclear weapons tests have been carried out since 1945.
Wikipedia source
1953
The first public television station in the United States officially begins broadcasting as KUHT from the campus of the University of Houston.
Electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service
Public broadcasting is radio, television, and other electronic media whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence.
Wikipedia source
1955
In the United States, a night-time F5 tornado strikes the small city of Udall, Kansas as part of a larger outbreak across the Great Plains, killing 80 and injuring 273.
It is the deadliest tornado ever to occur in the state and the 23rd deadliest in the U.S.
The Fujita scale, or Fujita–Pearson scale, is a retired scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation.
Wikipedia source
1955 Kangchenjunga
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.
3rd-highest mountain on Earth
Kangchenjunga is the third-highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at 8,586 m (28,169 ft) in a section of the Himalayas, the Kangchenjunga Himal, which is bounded in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by…
Wikipedia source
1961 Apollo_program
Apollo program: U.S.
President John F. Kennedy announces, before a special joint session of the U.S. Congress, that the United States "should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."
The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo was conceived in 1960 in the Dwight D.
Wikipedia source
1963 Organisation_of_African_Unity
The Organisation of African Unity is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
African international body (1963–2002)
The Organisation of African Unity was an African intergovernmental organisation established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 33 signatory governments.
Wikipedia source
1966 Explorers_Program
Explorer program: Explorer 32 launches.
Ongoing NASA space exploration program
The Explorers Program is a NASA exploration program that provides flight opportunities for physics, geophysics, heliophysics, and astrophysics investigations from space.
Wikipedia source
1968 Gateway_Arch
The Gateway Arch in St.
Louis, Missouri, is dedicated.
The Gateway Arch is a 630-foot-tall (192 m) monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States.
Wikipedia source
1973 Greek_junta
In protest against the dictatorship in Greece, the captain and crew on Greek naval destroyer Velos mutiny and refuse to return to Greece, instead anchoring at Fiumicino, Italy.
Military rulers of Greece, 1967–1974
The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels was a right-wing military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974.
Wikipedia source
1977 Star_Wars_(film)
Star Wars (retroactively titled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) is released in US theaters.
1977 film by George Lucas
Star Wars is a 1977 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. Produced by Lucasfilm Ltd.
Wikipedia source
1977 William_Shakespeare
The Chinese government removes a decade-old ban on William Shakespeare's work, effectively ending the Cultural Revolution started in 1966.
English playwright and poet (1564–1616)
William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist.
Wikipedia source
1978 Ted_Kaczynski
The first of a series of bombings orchestrated by the Unabomber detonates at Northwestern University resulting in minor injuries.
American domestic terrorist (1942–2023)
Theodore John Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, was an American mathematician and domestic terrorist.
Wikipedia source
1979 American_Airlines_Flight_191
American Airlines Flight 191: A McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashes during takeoff at O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, killing all 271 on board and two people on the ground.
1979 aviation accident in Chicago, Illinois
American Airlines Flight 191 was a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago to Los Angeles International Airport.
Wikipedia source
1981 Riyadh
In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate.
Wikipedia source
1982 Falklands_War
Falklands War: HMS Coventry is sunk by Argentine Air Force A-4 Skyhawks.
1982 undeclared Argentina–United Kingdom war
The Falklands War was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial dependency, South…
Wikipedia source
1985 Bangladesh
Bangladesh is hit by a tropical cyclone and storm surge, which kills approximately 10,000 people.
Country in South Asia
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia.
Wikipedia source
1986 Hands_Across_America
The Hands Across America event takes place.
1986 American public fundraising event
Hands Across America was a public fundraising event held on Sunday, May 25, 1986, Memorial Day weekend, which attempted to create a continuous human chain of people holding hands across the contiguous United States.
Wikipedia source
1997 Coup_d'état
A military coup in Sierra Leone replaces President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah with Major Johnny Paul Koroma.
Illegal attempt to unseat an incumbent
A coup d'état, or simply a coup, is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent person or leadership.
Wikipedia source
1999 United_States_House_of_Representatives
The United States House of Representatives releases the Cox Report which details China's nuclear espionage against the U.S.
over the prior two decades.
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the United States Senate being the upper house.
Wikipedia source
2000 Resistance_and_Liberation_Day_(Lebanon)
Liberation Day of Lebanon: Israel withdraws its army from Lebanese territory (with the exception of the disputed Shebaa farms zone) 18 years after the invasion of 1982.
National holiday in Lebanon on 25 May
Resistance and Liberation Day is a Lebanese holiday celebrated on May 25.
Wikipedia source
2001 Erik_Weihenmayer
Erik Weihenmayer becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, in the Himalayas, with Dr.
Sherman Bull.
Erik Weihenmayer is an American athlete, adventurer, author, activist and motivational speaker. He was the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on May 25, 2001.
Wikipedia source
2002 China_Airlines_Flight_611
China Airlines Flight 611 disintegrates in mid-air and crashes into the Taiwan Strait, with the loss of all 225 people on board.
2002 aviation accident in the Taiwan Strait
China Airlines Flight 611 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight operated by a Boeing 747-200 from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taiwan to Hong Kong International Airport.
Wikipedia source
2008 NASA
NASA's Phoenix lander touches down in the Green Valley region of Mars to search for environments suitable for water and microbial life.
American space and aeronautics agency
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program, as well as research in aeronautics and space.
Wikipedia source
2009 North_Korea
North Korea allegedly tests its second nuclear device, after which Pyongyang also conducts several missile tests, building tensions in the international community.
Country in East Asia
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia.
Wikipedia source
2011 Oprah_Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey airs her last show, ending her 25-year run of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
American media personality and proprietor (born 1954)
Oprah Gail Winfrey is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor.
Wikipedia source
2012 SpaceX_Dragon_1
The SpaceX Dragon 1 becomes the first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station.
Partially reusable cargo space capsule
SpaceX Dragon 1 is a class of fourteen partially reusable cargo spacecraft developed by SpaceX, an American private space transportation company. The spacecraft flew 23 missions between 2010 and 2020.
Wikipedia source
2013 Naxalism
Suspected Maoist rebels kill at least 28 people and injure 32 others in an attack on a convoy of Indian National Congress politicians in Chhattisgarh, India.
Communist ideology
Naxalism is the communist ideology of the Naxalites or Naxals, a grouping of political and insurgent groups from India. It is influenced by Maoist political sentiment and ideology.
Wikipedia source
2018 General_Data_Protection_Regulation
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becomes enforceable in the European Union.
EU regulation on information privacy
The General Data Protection Regulation, abbreviated GDPR, is a European Union regulation on information privacy in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA).
Wikipedia source
2018 Republic_of_Ireland
Ireland votes to repeal the Eighth Amendment of their constitution that prohibits abortion in all but a few cases, choosing to replace it with the Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland.
Country in Northwestern Europe
Ireland, also known as the Republic of Ireland, is a country in Northwestern Europe. It consists of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million.
Wikipedia source

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