A Day in the Past

On this day: 25 August

150 things happened on 25 August, from AD 79 to 2026. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.

Printable worksheet Take the quiz

In the UK 7

UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

1814 212 years ago

UK story

War of 1812: On the second day of the burning of Washington, British troops torch the Library of Congress, United States Treasury, Department of War, and other public buildings.

War & peace Find out more: War of 1812 (Wikipedia)

Around the world 40

1914 112 years ago

World War I: The library of the Catholic University of Leuven is deliberately destroyed by the German Army. Hundreds of thousands of irreplaceable volumes and Gothic and Renaissance manuscripts are lost.

War & peace Find out more: Sack of Louvain (Wikipedia)
1989 37 years ago

The NASA spacecraft Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune and provided definitive proof of the existence of the planet's rings (pictured).

Space Find out more: NASA (Wikipedia)
1991 35 years ago

The Battle of Vukovar begins. An 87-day siege of Vukovar by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA), supported by various Serb paramilitary forces, between August and November 1991 (during the Croatian War of Independence).

War & peace Find out more: Battle of Vukovar (Wikipedia)

Quick quiz

Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!

  1. In which year did this happen: “The skeleton of King Richard III of England was discovered under a car park in”?

    1. 1900
    2. 1939
    3. 2012
    Show the answer

    C: 2012. 2012 — that’s 14 years ago. Find it on the page

  2. In which year did this happen: “The Honourable Artillery Company, now the oldest surviving regiment in the”?

    1. 1930
    2. 1537
    3. 1941
    Show the answer

    B: 1537. 1537 — that’s 489 years ago. Find it on the page

  3. Which of these happened first?

    1. Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel, doing
    2. The skeleton of King Richard III of England was discovered under a car park in
    3. The Honourable Artillery Company, now the oldest surviving regiment in the
    Show the answer

    C: The Honourable Artillery Company, now the oldest surviving regiment in the. 1875: Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel, doing · 2012: The skeleton of King Richard III of England was discovered under a car park in · 1537: The Honourable Artillery Company, now the oldest surviving regiment in the Find it on the page

  4. “Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel, doing” happened in 1875. How many years ago was that?

    1. 141 years
    2. 151 years
    3. 161 years
    Show the answer

    B: 151 years. 2026 − 1875 = 151. Find it on the page

Born on this day 40

Famous people whose birthday is 25 August.

Remembering 22

Well-known people who died on 25 August.

Special days 16

Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 25 August somewhere in the world.

For older readers 25 Show stories about war, disasters, crime and other difficult history

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.

Where these facts come from

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 “August 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.