104 things happened on 25 February, from AD 138 to 2022. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1943 · 83 years ago
George Harrison was an English musician who became world famous as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Known as 'the quiet Beatle', he wrote songs including 'Something' and 'Here Comes the Sun'. He brought Indian music into the band's sound and played the sita…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
Royal Navy captain Lord George Paulet made the King of Hawaii, Kamehameha III, sign an agreement, then set himself up as part of a new government. He replaced Hawaiian flags with the British Union Flag. But the British government had not allowed this. In July a British admiral ended the occupation, and Hawaiians still celebrate the return of their independence as Restoration Day on 31 July.
UK story
As part of Britain's air raid precautions, the first Anderson shelter was built in a garden in Islington, north London. These small shelters were made from curved panels of corrugated steel, partly buried in the ground and covered with soil. Each could hold up to six people. Some families grew vegetables and flowers on top. About one and a half million were handed out before the Second World War began.
UK story
George Frideric Handel's opera Nero premiered in Hamburg.
Roman emperor Hadrian adopted Antoninus Pius as his son and chose him as the next emperor. Antoninus took over later that year, and his reign was a peaceful time for the Roman Empire. Under his orders, the Romans built the Antonine Wall across Scotland, from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde. At 37 miles long, it was about half the length of Hadrian's Wall.
Miners in Calaveras County, California, found a human skull. Some people claimed it proved that humans lived in North America millions of years ago, in a time called the Pliocene, alongside mastodons and mammoths. The skull was later shown to be a hoax. Humans did live alongside mastodons and mammoths, but much more recently. Funnily enough, 'calaveras' is the Spanish word for skulls.
Hiram Rhodes Revels took his seat in the United States Senate, representing the state of Mississippi. He became the first African American to serve in the US Congress, the country's law-making body. Revels was born free in North Carolina and was a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He served during the period after the American Civil War known as Reconstruction.
Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of Grand Duke William IV's six daughters, became ruler of Luxembourg. She was the first woman to reign as Grand Duchess of Luxembourg. She was also the first Luxembourg ruler to be born in the country since John the Blind, who lived in the 1300s. She reigned until 1919.
The first Pan American Games opened in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after being delayed by the Second World War. The Games are an Olympic-style sports competition for athletes from countries across the Americas. The idea began when officials from these countries met at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The Games are now held every four years, the year before the Summer Olympics.
At a meeting in Budapest, Hungary, the members of the Warsaw Pact agreed to end their alliance. The Warsaw Pact was a military alliance between the Soviet Union and seven other countries in Central and Eastern Europe. It had been set up in 1955, during the Cold War, a long period of tension between the Soviet Union and its allies and the United States and its allies.
Khosrow II, the last great king of the Sasanian Empire, was overthrown by his son Kavad II.
Samuel Colt is granted a United States patent for his revolver firearm.
Guangxu Emperor of Qing dynasty China begins his reign, under Empress Dowager Cixi's regency.
World War I: In the Battle of Verdun, a German unit captures Fort Douaumont, keystone of the French defences, without a fight.
World War I: German forces capture Tallinn to virtually complete the occupation of Estonia.
Georgian capital Tbilisi falls to the invading Russian forces after heavy fighting and the Russians declare the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.
USS Ranger (pictured), the United States Navy's first purpose-built aircraft carrier, was launched.
The formal abolition of Prussia is proclaimed by the Allied Control Council, the Prussian government having already been abolished by the Preußenschlag of 1932.
Fearful of civil war and Soviet intervention in recent unrest, President Edvard Beneš (pictured) ceded control of the government to the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
In a speech to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced the personality cult and dictatorship of his predecessor Joseph Stalin.
The first prime minister of independent Suriname, Henck Arron (pictured), was deposed in a military coup led by Dési Bouterse.
Hong Kong–based writer and publisher Gui Minhai, known for writing about Chinese Communist Party politicians, was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for intelligence violations.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “A British captain takes over Hawaii without permission”?
C: 1843. 1843 — that’s 183 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year was George Harrison born?
C: 1943. 1943 — that’s 83 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
B: Emperor Hadrian chooses Antoninus Pius to rule after him. 1939: The first Anderson shelter is put up in a London garden · AD 138: Emperor Hadrian chooses Antoninus Pius to rule after him · 1843: A British captain takes over Hawaii without permission Find it on the page
“The first Anderson shelter is put up in a London garden” happened in 1939. How many years ago was that?
C: 87 years. 2026 − 1939 = 87. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 25 February.
UK story
George Harrison was an English musician who became world famous as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Known as 'the quiet Beatle', he wrote songs including 'Something' and 'Here Comes the Sun'. He brought Indian music into the band's sound and played the sitar, an Indian instrument, on many Beatles songs. After the Beatles split up, he had a successful solo career.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a leading French Impressionist painter. He grew up in Paris near the Louvre and, as a boy, showed a talent for singing as well as drawing. His paintings include Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette and Luncheon of the Boating Party. In 1883 he spent a summer on Guernsey, painting fifteen pictures in just over a month. He kept painting even when arthritis made moving difficult.
Well-known people who died on 25 February.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 25 February somewhere in the world.
UK story
Some churches remember Saint Æthelberht, King of Kent, on this day. He was the first Anglo-Saxon king to become a Christian, soon after the missionary Augustine arrived from Rome in 597. Æthelberht gave the new church land in Canterbury. His laws for Kent are the earliest written laws in any Germanic language, the family of languages that English belongs to.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “February 25” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.