131 things happened on 25 November, from 571 BC to 2023. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1952 · 74 years ago
The Mousetrap, a mystery play by Agatha Christie, opened at the Ambassadors Theatre in London's West End, after a first performance in Nottingham. It went on to have by far the longest run of any play in the world. It was performed without a break until March…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
Malcolm II, King of Scots, died at Glamis in Angus, and his grandson Duncan became king. Malcolm had ruled the kingdom of Alba, an old name for Scotland, since 1005. Duncan seems to have taken the throne without any opposition. He is the real king behind 'King Duncan' in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, although the real Duncan appears to have been a young man.
UK story
Elizabeth of York was crowned queen consort of England, which means she was the wife of the reigning king. She had married King Henry VII in 1486, after his victory at the Battle of Bosworth Field. That battle marked the end of the Wars of the Roses, a long civil war over the English throne. Elizabeth was the daughter of King Edward IV and the mother of King Henry VIII.
UK story
The last British soldiers left New York City at the end of the American Revolutionary War. In that war, American Patriots led by George Washington had fought Britain for their independence. Three months earlier, the Treaty of Paris had officially ended the war. In it, Britain accepted that the Thirteen Colonies were free and independent, and they became the United States.
UK story
The de Havilland Mosquito, a British aircraft with two engines, flew for the first time. Unusually, its frame was made mostly of wood, which earned it the nickname the 'Wooden Wonder'. In 1941 it was one of the fastest aircraft in service anywhere in the world. It became one of the most successful military aircraft of the Second World War.
UK story
The Mousetrap, a mystery play by Agatha Christie, opened at the Ambassadors Theatre in London's West End, after a first performance in Nottingham. It went on to have by far the longest run of any play in the world. It was performed without a break until March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to pause, and it reopened in May 2021. Christie is famous for her detective stories about Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
UK story
French and Indian War: British forces capture Fort Duquesne from French control. Later, Fort Pitt will be built nearby and grow into modern Pittsburgh.
UK story
World War I: German troops invaded Portuguese East Africa in an attempt to escape superior British forces to the north and resupply from captured Portuguese materiel.
UK story
New Zealand ratifies the Statute of Westminster and thus becomes independent of legislative control by the United Kingdom.
UK story
A group of Conservative members of Parliament wrote a letter outlining their opposition to the economic policy of Margaret Thatcher, leading to speculation over a split from the party.
UK story
English-Irish boy band One Direction released their third studio album Midnight Memories which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and became the best-selling album of 2013.
Banff National Park, the oldest national park in Canada, was established as the Banff Hot Springs Reserve. It lies in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, west of the city of Calgary. The park covers 6,641 square kilometres of mountains, glaciers, ice fields and thick forest. Its main town, also called Banff, is in the Bow River valley.
Albert Einstein presented the field equations of his theory of general relativity to the Prussian Academy of Sciences. The equations link the shape of space and time to the matter and energy inside it. In Einstein's theory, this bending of space and time is what causes gravity. He is also famous for E = mc², which has been called 'the world's most famous equation'.
Suriname, a country on the northern coast of South America, became independent from the Netherlands. Johan Ferrier, its last governor-general, became the country's first president. More than 90 per cent of Suriname is covered by rainforest, one of the highest amounts of forest cover in the world. It is the smallest independent country in South America, both by size and by population.
The King Fahd Causeway was officially opened. It is a 25-kilometre series of bridges and causeways across the Gulf of Bahrain. It links the city of Khobar in Saudi Arabia with Al Jasra in Bahrain. A causeway is a raised road built across water or wet ground, so people can drive between the two countries.
Servius Tullius, king of Rome, celebrates the first of his three triumphs for his victory over the Etruscans.
Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Raynald of Châtillon defeat Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard.
A tsunami, caused by an earthquake in the Tyrrhenian Sea, devastates Naples and the Maritime Republic of Amalfi, among other places.
King Minkhaung I becomes king of Ava.
Reconquista: The Granada War was effectively brought to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Granada between Castile-Aragon and the Emirate of Granada.
Adil Shahi–Portuguese conflicts: Afonso de Albuquerque, the governor of Portuguese India, led an armada to conquer Goa.
The Cudgel War begins in Finland (at the time part of Sweden), when peasants rebel against the imposition of taxes by the nobility.
Trunajaya rebellion: After a series of difficult marches, allied Mataram and Dutch troops successfully assaulted the rebel stronghold of Kediri in eastern Java.
King Ferdinand VI of Spain grants royal protection to the Beaterio de la Compañia de Jesus, now known as the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary.
The second of two strong earthquakes struck the Levant and destroyed all the villages in the Beqaa Valley.
Stanisław II Augustus (pictured), the last king of Poland, was forced to abdicate after the Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The Greek frigate Hellas arrives in Nafplion to become the first flagship of the Hellenic Navy.
A massive undersea earthquake, estimated magnitude between 8.7 and 9.2, rocks Sumatra, producing a massive tsunami all along the Indonesian coast.
American Civil War: Confederate forces were defeated at the Battle of Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, Tennessee, opening the door to the Union's invasion of the Deep South.
The United States Greenback Party is established as a political party consisting primarily of farmers affected by the Panic of 1873.
American Indian Wars: In retaliation for the American defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, United States Army troops sack the sleeping village of Cheyenne Chief Dull Knife at the headwaters of the Powder River.
Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 4 premiered in Munich.
Prince Carl of Denmark arrives in Norway to become King Haakon VII of Norway.
Românul de la Pind, the longest-running newspaper by and about Aromanians prior to World War II, ceases its publications.
Vojvodina, formerly Austro-Hungarian crown land, proclaims its secession from Austria-Hungary to join the Kingdom of Serbia.
World War II: Statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina is re-established at the State Anti-fascist Council for the National Liberation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
McCarthyism: Executives from movie studios agreed to blacklist ten screenwriters and directors who were jailed for refusing to give testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee.
Korean War: After 42 days of fighting, the Battle of Triangle Hill ended as American and South Korean units abandoned their attempt to capture the "Iron Triangle".
French Sudan gains autonomy as a self-governing member of the French Community.
State funeral of John F. Kennedy; after lying in state at the United States Capitol, a Requiem Mass takes place at Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle and the President is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Old Student House in Helsinki, Finland is occupied by a large group of University of Helsinki students.
Upon Suriname's independence from the Netherlands, Johan Ferrier (pictured) became its first president.
Sangoulé Lamizana, president of Upper Volta, is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Colonel Saye Zerbo.
Pope John Paul II appoints Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia votes to split the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with effect from January 1, 1993.
A five-year-old Cuban boy, Elián González, is rescued by fishermen while floating in an inner tube off the Florida coast.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap opens in London”?
B: 1952. 1952 — that’s 74 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “Duncan becomes King of Scots after the death of Malcolm II”?
B: 1034. 1034 — that’s 992 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
A: Duncan becomes King of Scots after the death of Malcolm II. 1034: Duncan becomes King of Scots after the death of Malcolm II · 1952: Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap opens in London · 1940: The de Havilland Mosquito aircraft makes its first flight Find it on the page
“The de Havilland Mosquito aircraft makes its first flight” happened in 1940. How many years ago was that?
C: 86 years. 2026 − 1940 = 86. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 25 November.
UK story
Andrew Carnegie was born in a one-room weaver's cottage in Dunfermline, Scotland. When he was 12, his family moved to the United States. There he built up a huge steel business and became one of the richest Americans in history. He gave away almost 90 per cent of his fortune, paying for public libraries, education and science.
UK story
Catherine of Braganza became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland when she married King Charles II in 1662. She was queen until Charles died in 1685. Afterwards she went home to Portugal, where she twice served as regent for her brother, King Peter II. A regent is someone who rules on behalf of a monarch.
Well-known people who died on 25 November.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 25 November somewhere in the world.
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 “November 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.