1824 – Capel Lofft, English writer (b. 1751)
1881 – Jakob Bernays, German philologist (b. 1824)
1883 – Abdelkader El Djezairi, Algerian leader, scholar and national hero (b.1808)
1948 – Theodore Morell, German doctor, Hitler’s personal physician, dies at 61
1955 – Alberto Ascari, Italian auto racer (World F1 champion 1952, 53), dies in a testing accident at 36
1959 – Joe Kelly, American radio and television host (Quiz Kids, 1949-53), dies at 57
1967 – Antoon Spinoy, Belgian politician, dies at 60
1976 – Martin Heidegger, German philosopher (Being and Time), dies at 86
1996 – Halka Grossman, Israeli resistance fighter and politician, dies at 76
2022 – Ray Liotta, American actor (Goodfellas; Field of Dreams: Cop Land), dies of heart failure at 67
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 26th May 2025
1596 – England, France and Netherlands sign Drievoudig Covenant against Spain
1864 – Battle of Dallas, begins near Paulding County, Georgia (Atlanta Campaign), Union victory (US Civil War)
1955 – Conservatives led by Anthony Eden win British parliamentary election
1959 – MLB Pittsburgh Pirates Harvey Haddix pitches 12 perfect innings, loses in 13th to Braves at Milwaukee County Stadium
1967 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1973 – British composer Michael Tippett’s 3rd Piano Sonata premieres
1973 – Bahrain adopts its constitution
2014 – Narendra Modi becomes the 15th Prime Minister of India
2019 – Ken Wyatt becomes Australia’s first Aboriginal minister in government as the minister for indigenous Australians
2019 – Indianapolis 500: 2016 IndyCar Series champion Simon Pagenaud of France finishes just two-tenths of a second ahead of Alexander Rossi for Team Penske’s record-extending 18th victory in the event
Today in History for 26th May 2025
Historical Events
1796 – French garrison of Fort Charlotte on island of St Lucia surrenders to British forces, 2780 mostly black prisoners of war board ships to England
1930 – Supreme Court rules buying liquor does not violate the Constitution
1948 – South Africa elects a nationalist government under D. F. Malan with an apartheid policy
2012 – Pope Benedict XVI’s butler is arrested for allegedly leaking confidential documents
2014 – Protests across Thailand in response to military coup; General Prayuth warns of a crackdown in demonstrations continue
Famous Birthdays
1914 – Archie Duncan, Scottish actor (The Adventures of Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1979)
1925 – Alec McCowen, English actor (Never Say Never Again), born in Tunbridge Wells (d. 2017)
1926 – Miles Davis, American jazz musician, trumpeter and composer (Kinda Blue; Cookin’ with the Miles Davis Quintet; Sketches of Spain), born in Alton, Illinois (d. 1991)
1938 – Jaki Liebesit, German drummer (Can), born in Dresden, Germany (d. 2017)
1943 – John “Poli” Palmer, British Progressive rock keyboardist, and vibraphone player (Family -“In My Own Time”), born in Worcester, England
Famous Deaths
1946 – Friedrich German prince, last ruler of Waldeck and Pyrmont, dies at 81
1969 – Kathryn Minner (née White), American character actress (Little Old Lady from Pasadena), dies of a heart attack at 77
1978 – Cybele, Greek actress (b. 1887)
1993 – Carleton Morse, American radio dramatist (One Man’s Family), dies at 91
2010 – Jean Constantin, Romanian actor (b. 1928)
Famous Deaths for 25th May 2025
709 – Aldhelm, Abbot of Malmesbury, Bishop of Sherborne. English poet and scholar (b. cica 639)
1632 – Adam Tanner, Austrian mathematician and philosopher, dies at 60
1927 – Payne Whitney, American businessman (b. 1876)
1954 – Robert Capa, Hungarian war photographer and photojournalist, dies of injuries from a landmine explosion at 40
1964 – Vasily Andreyevich Zolotaryov, Russian composer (Rhapsodie hébraïque; Prince Lake), and teacher, dies at 92
1996 – David W. Howe, American test pilot (X-14) and WWII flying ace, dies at 77
2004 – Roger W. Straus, Jr., American publisher (b. 1917)
2006 – Otto Zykan, Austrian pianist and composer, dies at 71
2010 – Alexander Belostenny, Ukrainian basketball player (b. 1959)
2012 – Edoardo Mangiarotti, Italian fencer (6x Olympic gold, 1936-1960), dies at 93
Historical Events for 25th May 2025
1900 – Retired London fire master Eyre Massey Shaw aged 70 reputedly becomes oldest gold medalist in Olympics for sailing (disputed)
1915 – A British Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street on the failure of the Dardanelles offensive sacks Lord Kitchener as head of munitions and Winston Churchill as Lord of the Admiralty
1943 – Agnes Moorehead appears in “Sorry, Wrong Number” on the radio program “Suspense”, her most successful appearance
1964 – Frank Gilroy’s dramatic play “The Subject Was Roses”, starring Jack Albertson and Martin Sheen, opens at Royale Theatre, NYC; runs for 832 performances; wins Pulitzer Prize, and 2 Tony Awards
1966 – Peru and Argentina soccer fans fight in Lima; 248 die
1966 – “Au Hasard Balthazar”, French film directed by Robert Bresson, starring Anne Wiazemsky and François Lafarge, is released
1970 – 3rd ABA Championship: Indiana Pacers beat LA Stars, 4 games to 2
1972 – Heavyweight Joe Frazier KOs Ron Stander
1982 – Iranian troops reconquer Khorramshar
2011 – Oprah Winfrey airs her last show, ending her twenty five year run of The Oprah Winfrey Show
Today in History for 25th May 2025
Historical Events
1868 – Australian Aboriginal Cricket tour of England begins v Surrey Gentlemen
1878 – W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s comic opera “H.M.S. Pinafore” premieres in London, their first international success
1959 – Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev visits Angola
1967 – John Lennon takes delivery of his psychedelically painted Rolls Royce
1992 – Oscar Luigi Scalfaro elected President of Italy
Famous Birthdays
1886 – Rash Behari Bose, Indian revolutionary leader against the British Raj in India, born in Bengal, India (d. 1945)
1936 – Tom T. Hall, American country singer, songwriter (“Harper Valley PTA”), and author, born in Olive Hill, Kentucky (d. 2021)
1946 – David A. Hargrave, American game designer and writer known as The Dream Weaver (Arduin), born in United States (d. 1988)
1969 – Matt Borlenghi, Italian-American actor (Brian Bodine-All My Children), born in Los Angeles, California
1973 – Daz Dillinger [Delmar Drew Arnaud], American hip-hop performer, born in Long Beach, California
Famous Deaths
1789 – Anders Dahl, Swedish botanist (b. 1751)
1916 – Jack Marsh, Australian cricketer (Aboriginal bowler played for NSW 1900-03), dies in a pub brawl at 41 or 42
1948 – Witold Pilecki, Polish WWII resistance fighter (volunteered to go to Auschwitz, Witold’s Report), executed by communist secret police after a show trial at age 47
1965 – Sonny Boy Williamson II [Aleck Miller], American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, dies at 65
1996 – Bernard Sendall, British deputy director general of British Independent Television Authority and author (Independent Television in Britain), dies at 83
Famous Deaths for 24th May 2025
1734 – Georg Ernst Stahl, German physician and chemist (Vitalism), dies at 74
1826 – Friedrich Fesca, German violinist and composer, dies of tuberculosis at 37
1966 – Emil Fahrenkamp, German architect (Shell-Haus in Berlin), dies at 80
1987 – Hermione Ferdinanda Gingold, British actress (Gigi; The Music Man), dies at 89
2000 – Kurt Schork, American reporter (b. 1947)
2004 – Milton Shulman, Canadian author and critic (b. 1913)
2005 – Carl Amery [Christian Anton Mayer], German writer, dies at 83
2018 – Gudrun Burwitz [Himmler], German daughter of SS leader Heinrich Himmler, dies at 88
2021 – Samuel E. Wright, American stage and screen actor and singer (Jesus Christ Superstar; Ball Four; The Little Mermaid; The Lion King), dies of prostate cancer at 74
2022 – John Thompson, American football executive (GM Seattle Seahawks 1976-82; NFL Executive of the Year 1978), dies at 95
Historical Events for 24th May 2025
1928 – Italian aviator Umberto Nobile flies airship Italia over North Pole again (crashes onto ice pack a day later)
1928 – Record 12 future Baseball Hall of Famers take the field as NY Yankees beat Philadelphia A’s, 9-7 at Shibe Park; managers Miller Huggins and Connie Mack, umpire Tom Connolly also HOF’ers
1943 – Final entry in the Stroop Report, detailing the destruction of the Jewish Warsaw Ghetto, compiled by Nazi officers, later used as evidence in the Nuremberg trials
1957 – Anti-American riots breakout in Taipei, Taiwan
1960 – 1 millionth Dutch telephone installed
1961 – NASA Explorer Ionosphere research mission fails to reach Earth orbit
1968 – Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull arrested for drug possession in England
1978 – Dutch Investment bill (WIR) law goes into effect
1987 – Golden Gate Bridge 50th anniversary: Over 800K people show up, 300K walk on bridge at same time, span temporarily flattens from weight (San Francisco, California)
1989 – Weird Al Yankovic records three tracks for his UHF movie soundtrack
Today in History for 24th May 2025
Historical Events
1902 – Cleve’s Bill Bradley is 1st ALer to hit a HR run in 4 consecutive games, not duplicated until Babe Ruth does it June 25, 1918
1908 – Belgium Catholic socialist/liberal parliamentary election
1909 – Bristol University granted Royal Charter
1929 – Chicago WS pitcher Ted Lyons and Detroit’s George Uhle go 21 innings before Tigers get a run to win, 6-5; longest game (3 hours, 31 mins) ever at Comiskey Park, Chicago
1957 – Heavy earthquake strikes Colombia
Famous Birthdays
1863 – George Grey Barnard, American sculptor, born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania (d. 1938)
1905 – Mikhail Sholokhov, Soviet writer (And Quiet Flows the Don, Nobel 1965), born in Veshenskaya, Don Host Oblast, Russian Empire (d. 1984)
1910 – Jimmy Demaret, American golfer (US Masters 1940, 47, 50), born in Houston, Texas (d. 1983)
1922 – Sadao Bekku, Japanese classical and film composer (Matango), born in Tokyo (d. 2012)
1976 – Bob Maesen, Belgian flatwater canoer, born in Neerpelt, Pelt, Belgium
Famous Deaths
1543 – Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer who theorized that planets revolve around the sun (Heliocentric theory), dies at 70
1908 – Old Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (British Open 1861-62, 64, 67), dies as result of a fall at 86
1972 – Asta Nielsen, actress (Joyless Street), dies at 88
1986 – Gunnar Bjornstrand, Swedish actor (7th Seal, Devil’s Eye), dies at 76
2023 – Bill Lee, American session double-bassist, and film score composer (Do The Right Thing; She’s Gotta Have It), dies at 94
Famous Deaths for 23rd May 2025
1662 – John Gauden, English bishop and writer (b. 1605)
1887 – Ludwig Mathias Lindeman, Norwegian organist, composer, musical folklorist, dies at 74
1896 – Jose Asunción Silva, Colombian poet (Nocturno III), dies at 30
1973 – Athena Lorde, American actress (Fuzz, Skin Game, Firecreek), dies of cancer at 57
1992 – Giovanni Falcone, Italian magistrate, and organized crime prosecutor, assassinated by Sicilian mafia at 53
1995 – Mick Pyne, British touring and session jazz pianist (Tubby Hayes; Georgie Fame: Charlie Watts), dies at 54
1996 – Rob Hall, New Zealand high altitude climber, dies of exposure on Mount Everest at 35
1996 – Scott Fischer, American high altitude climber, dies of exposure on Mount Everest at 40
2006 – Clifford Antone, American businessman, dies at 56
2018 – Homer Neal, African-American particle physicist, dies of a stroke at 75