1449 – Anti-pope Felix V resigns
1684 – Patent granted for thimble
1849 – The Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal’s English population and triggering the Montreal Riots.
1966 – Rare daylight meteor observed from New Jersey, US to Quebec, Canada in the early evening
1970 – Lance Mulcahy and Paul Cherry’s musical “Park” closes at John Golden Theater, NYC, after 5 performances
1976 – Portugal adopts new constitution
1988 – American news program “Nightline” goes on location to Jerusalem Israel
1990 – Hubble space telescope is placed into orbit by space shuttle Discovery
2009 – Elijah Wood is honored with the Midnight Award by the San Francisco International Film Festival
2015 – 7.8-magnitude earthquake near Kathmandu in Nepal, killing 8000, leaving over 100,000 homeless, destroying many historic sites
Author: gil7
Today in History for 25th April 2025
Historical Events
1914 – US President Woodrow Wilson is persuaded by Argentina, Brazil, and Chile to accept mediation in the conflict with Mexico
1927 – Spain routes 20,000 soldiers to Morocco (uprising Rifkabylen)
1972 – Hans-Werner Grosse glides 907.7 miles (1,461 km) in an AS-W-12
1976 – Portugal adopts new constitution
2022 – First airport for electric flying cars and large drones, built by Urban-Air Port, begins operations in Coventry, England
Famous Birthdays
1840 – James Dearing, U.S. Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Campbell County, Virginia (d. 1865)
1862 – Edward Grey, British Liberal statesman and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1905-16), born in London (d. 1933)
1949 – James Fenton, English poet and journalist, born in Lincoln, England
1973 – Barbara Rittner, German tennis star (1992 Schenectady), born in Krefeld, West Germany
1980 – Bruce Martin, New Zealand cricketer, born in Whangarei, New Zealand
Famous Deaths
1840 – Siméon-Denis Poisson, French mathematician (Poisson distribution) and physicist, dies at 58
1875 – Trinley Gyatso, 12th Dalai Lama of Tibet, dies at 18
1939 – John Foulds, British cellist, musicologist, and composer (World Requiem; Three Mantras), dies in Calcutta of cholera at 58
1975 – Mike Brant, Israeli pop singer (“Laisse-moi t’aimer” (“Let Me Love You”)), commits suicide at 28
1988 – Clifford D. Simak, American sci-fi author (Hugo, Way Station), dies at 83
Famous Deaths for 24th April 2025
1843 – George Macfarren, British playwright, dies at 54
1948 – Jāzeps Vītols, Latvian composer, dies at 84
1962 – Emilio Prados, Spanish poet and editor, part of Generation of ’27, dies at 63
1971 – Lennie Hayton, American pianist, composer, conductor and arranger (Paul Whiteman; Bing Crosby; MGM), dies at of heart attack at 63
1980 – Alenjo Carpentier, Cuban-French writer (Guerra del Tiempo), dies at 75
2005 – Fei Xiaotong, Chinese sociologist (b. 1910)
2005 – Ezer Weizman, President of Israel (b. 1924)
2021 – Sarolta Monspart, Hungarian orienteering competitor (first non-Scandinavian female to win World C’ship 1972; 14 x national titles), dies at 76
2022 – (Wilhelm) “Willi” Resetarits, Austrian singer and human rights activist, dies at 73
2024 – Terry Hill, Australian rugby league utility (9 Tests; NSW 14 games; Manly 126 games), dies from a heart attack at 52
Historical Events for 24th April 2025
1942 – 2nd night Exeter bombed by German Luftwaffe
1950 – US President Harry Truman denies there are communists in the US government
1950 – Jordan formally annexes the West Bank
1954 – Australia and USSR break diplomatic relations
1959 – WICD TV channel 15 in Champaign, IL (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
1982 – 150 Khomeini followers assault student dormitory in West Germany
1993 – Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by George Branham
1994 – NY Rangers sweep NY Islanders in NHL playoffs
2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and takes the name Pope Benedict XVI
2024 – Gustav Klimt’s “Portrait of Fräulein Lieser”, previously though lost, sells for a record Austrian auction price of 30 million euros
Today in History for 24th April 2025
Historical Events
1877 – Last federal occupying troops withdraw from the South (New Orleans)
1967 – 21st NBA Championship: Philadelphia 76ers beat SF Warriors, 4 games to 2
1981 – US ends grain embargo against USSR
1982 – Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by Mike Durbin
1996 – “Jack-Night on Town with John Barrymore” opens at Belasco for 12 performances
Famous Birthdays
1804 – Thomas Oliver Selfridge, American naval officer who served during the Mexican-American War and the Civil War, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1902)
1897 – Manuel Ávila Camacho, 45th President of Mexico (1940-46), born in Teziutlán, Puebla, Mexico (d. 1955)
1942 – Valeri Abramovich Voloshin, Russian pilot cosmonaut, born in Yangiyul, Tashkent
1950 – Rob Hyman, American rock singer-songwriter, keyboardist, melodica and accordion player (The Hooters – “All You Zombies”; “And We Danced”), born in Meriden, Connecticut
1963 – Mano Solo [Emmanuel Cabut], French singer, born in Châlons-sur-Marne, France (d. 2010)
Famous Deaths
1617 – Carlo Concino, French marquis of Ancre/state advisor, murdered
1941 – Karin Boye, Swedish writer (Kallocain) commits suicide at 40
1947 – Willa Cather, American Pulitzer-Prize winning author (One of Ours; My Ántonia), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage while battling cancer at 73
1955 – Alfred Polgar, Austrian writer and theater critic (Yes and No!), dies at 79
1965 – Louise Dresser, actress (State Fair, Ship Comes In, Mammy), dies at 86
Famous Deaths for 23rd April 2025
1124 – Alexander I, King of Scots (1107-24), dies at 47
1728 – Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco, Spanish organist, composer (La púrpura de la rosa), and maestro de capilla (Catedral de Lima, Peru, 1676-1707), dies at 83
1792 – Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian and adventurer, dies at 50
1905 – Karel Komzák II, Bohemian-Viennese violinist, and composer of marches and dances (Bad’ner Mad’ln), dies when he falls under train at 54
1945 – Albrecht Haushofer, German geographer, writer and member of the German Resistance to Nazism, shot by Nazi SS troopers at 42
1993 – Daniel Jones, Welsh composer, dies at 80
1999 – Tullio Pandolfini, Italian water polo athlete (Olympic gold, 1948), dies at 84
2011 – Peter Lieberson, American composer, dies of cancer at 64
2018 – Béla Magyari, Hungarian pilot and cosmonaut, dies at 68
2020 – Bernardino Lombao, Spanish handballer (Atlético de Madrid 1967-69), coach (Nat basketball teams) and TV presenter (De Olimpia a Los Ángeles, Objetivo 92), dies at 81
Historical Events for 23rd April 2025
1795 – William Hastings acquitted in England of high treason
1962 – Ranger 4, 1st US satellite to reach Moon launched from Cape Canaveral
1964 – Houston Colt 45s Ken Johnson becomes 1st major league pitcher to lose a 9 inning no-hitter, Reds win 1-0
1965 – American composer Randall Thompson marks his retirement from the Harvard faculty conducting the debut of his orchestrated arrangement of “Frostiana: Seven Country Songs” with the Harvard Glee Club and Radcliffe Choral Society singing poetry of Robert Frost
1965 – Launch of 1st Soviet communications satellite
1969 – The Unionist Parliamentary Party votes by 28 to 22 to introduce universal adult suffrage in local government elections in Northern Ireland; the demand for ‘one man, one vote’ had been one of the most powerful slogans of the civil rights movement
1985 – Brooklyn College soccer team wins Nepal’s invitational
1991 – USSR grants republics right to secede under certain conditions
2012 – Rangers F.C. owner, Craig Whyte, is banned for life from any involvement in Scottish football
2024 – Details of ancient Greek philosopher Plato’s last night and burial place revealed by deciphering a carbonized scroll from Herculaneum, using new technologies including AI
Today in History for 23rd April 2025
Historical Events
1937 – New York Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell’s first start of season, a 3-0 win over the Boston Bees, is his 17th straight win; streak continues for league record 24 victories in a row
1950 – Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Pete Babando scores Cup-winning goal in double overtime of Game 7 as Detroit Red Wings beat NY Rangers, 4-3 for a 4-3 series win
1968 – Ernest Gold and Anne Croswell’s musical “I’m Solomon”, starring Dick Shawn, opens at Mark Hellinger Theater, NYC; runs for 7 performances
1977 – Dr Allen Bussey completes 20,302 yo-yo loops
2015 – Kawhi Leonard is named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the first time
Famous Birthdays
1889 – Charles Warrell, English schoolteacher and creator of the I-Spy books, born in Farmborough, Somerset (d. 1995)
1891 – Sergei Prokofiev, Russian composer (Peter and the Wolf; Alexander Nevsky), born in Sontsovka, Russian Empire (now Sontsivka, Ukraine) (d. 1953)
1960 – Steve Clark, English rock guitarist (Def Leppard), born in Hillsborough, England (d. 1991)
1981 – Lady Gabriella Kingston, British royal and writer, born in St Mary’s Hospital, London, United Kingdom
1995 – Gigi Hadid [Jelena Noura Hadid], American fashion model, born in Los Angeles, California
Famous Deaths
1933 – Tim Keefe, American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (Triple Crown 1888; MLB record 0.86 ERA, single season 1880; NY Giants), dies at 76
1984 – (William) “Red” Garland, American jazz pianist (Miles Davis Quintet), dies of a heart attack at 60
2007 – Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician and 1st President of Russian Federation (1991-99), dies of congestive heart failure at 76
2011 – Max van der Stoel, Dutch politician and Minister of Foreign Affairs (PvdA), dies at 86
2022 – Orrin Hatch, American politician (US Senator from Utah (R), 1977-2019) longest-serving Utah US Senator, dies at 88
Famous Deaths for 22nd April 2025
296 – Pope Caius, Bishop of Rome (283-296), dies at 51
1253 – Elias van Cortona, Italian vicar general for St. Francis of Assisi, dies at 72 or 73
1616 – Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra, Spanish author (Don Quixote), dies of likely diabetes at 68
1854 – Nicolás Bravo, Mexican politician and soldier, dies at 67
1984 – Ansel Adams, American landscape photographer and environmentalist (Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980), dies at 82
1986 – Mircea Eliade, Romanian religious historian (Le Yoga) and author, dies at 79
2003 – Martha Griffiths, U.S. Congresswoman, dies at 91
2005 – (John) Norman Bird, British stage, wireless, and screen character actor (Worzel Gummidge, 1979–81 – “Mr Braithwaite”), dies at 80
2005 – John Marshall, American filmmaker and activist (Ju/’hoan Bushman films), dies at 76
2011 – Moin Akhter, Pakistani actor, dies at 60
Historical Events for 22nd April 2025
1453 – Ottoman Turks transport their first ships overland into the Golden Horn, bypassing the chain barrier protecting Constantinople
1793 – President Washington attends opening of Rickett’s, 1st circus in US
1954 – USSR joins UNESCO
1959 – Chicago White Sox beat KC Athletics 20-6, in 1 inning Sox score 11 runs on 1 hit, 10 walks, and 3 errors
1981 – MLB Los Angeles Dodgers rookie pitcher Fernando Valenzuela tosses his 3rd shutout in 4 starts
1984 – CBS premiere of TV film “Pope John Paul II”, starring Albert Finney in title role
2006 – Nepali security forces open fire on Pro-democracy protesters demonstrating against King Gyanendra, injuring hundreds. The protesters go on to secure the restoration of Parliament and a federal state.
2012 – TV political comedy “Veep” created by Armando Iannucci, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Anna Chlumsky premieres on HBO
2014 – David Moyes is sacked as manager of Manchester United
2024 – Britain’s Parliament approves a controversial bill to send asylum seekers to Rwanda