Historical events on May 25

MAY 25, 1967
Having purged a group of rivals, Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Il-sung delivered the "May 25 teaching", entrenching his son Kim Jong-il as his designated successor.
The Kapsan faction incident was an unsuccessful attempt to undermine the power of Kim Il Sung, the leader of North Korea, around Read More
MAY 25, 1979
Six-year-old Etan Patz disappeared on his way to school in New York City, and later became one of the first missing children to have his picture featured on milk cartons.
Etan Kalil Patz was a six-year-old American boy who disappeared on May 25, 1979, on his way to his school bus stop Read More
MAY 25, 1962
The Baltimore Steam Packet Company, the last overnight steamboat service in the United States, went out of business.
The Baltimore Steam Packet Company, nicknamed the Old Bay Line, was an American steamship line from 1840 to 1962 that provided overnight Read More
MAY 25, 2009
North Korea conducted a nuclear test and several other missile tests that were widely condemned internationally and led to sanctions from the United Nations Security Council.
The 2009 North Korean nuclear test was the underground detonation of a nuclear device conducted on Monday, 25 May 2009 by North Read More
MAY 25, 1782
American Revolutionary War: US Colonel William Crawford began a failed expedition to destroy British-allied American Indian towns along the Sandusky River in the Ohio Country.
The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the Read More
MAY 25, 1644
Ming–Qing transition: Ming general Wu Sangui allowed the invading Manchu to cross the Great Wall of China (pictured), enabling them to capture Beijing and establish the Qing dynasty.
The transition from Ming to Qing or the Manchu conquest of China from 1618 to 1683 saw the transition between two major Read More
MAY 25, 1787
The Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia with the intention of revising the Articles of Confederation of the United States.
The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. While the convention was initially intended to revise Read More
MAY 25, 2011
The final episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, the highest-rated daytime talk show in U.S. television history, was broadcast.
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five Read More
MAY 25, 2013
Naxalite insurgents of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) attacked a convoy of Indian National Congress leaders in the state of Chhattisgarh, causing at least 27 deaths.
The Naxalite–Maoist insurgency is an ongoing conflict between the Indian government and left-wing extremist groups. The Naxalites are a group of communist Read More
MAY 25, 1878
Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore (poster featured) premiered at the Opera Comique in London.
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) Read More
MAY 25, 1936
Employees of the Remington Rand company began an 11-month strike action, during which time the company executives developed the notorious "Mohawk Valley formula" to intimidate the strikers.
Remington Rand, Inc. was an early American business machine manufacturer, originally a typewriter manufacturer and in a later incarnation the manufacturer of Read More
MAY 25, 2012
In a test flight, SpaceX's Dragon became the first commercial spacecraft to rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station.
SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 2, also known as Dragon C2+, was the second test-flight for SpaceX's uncrewed Cargo Dragon spacecraft. It launched Read More
MAY 25, 1961
A fire broke out at a squatter settlement in Bukit Ho Swee, Singapore, rendering approximately 16,000 people homeless.
The Bukit Ho Swee fire was a conflagration that broke out in the squatter settlement of Bukit Ho Swee, Singapore on 25 Read More
MAY 25, 1961
In an address to Congress, U.S. president John F. Kennedy announced his support for the Apollo program, with "the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth".
A joint session of the United States Congress is a gathering of members of the two chambers of the bicameral legislature of Read More
MAY 25, 1979
During takeoff from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, an engine detached from American Airlines Flight 191, causing a crash that killed 273 people in the deadliest aviation accident in United States history.
Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately 17 Read More
MAY 25, 1944
The Wehrmacht and their collaborationist allies launched Operation Rösselsprung, a failed attempt to assassinate the Yugoslav Partisan leader Josip Broz Tito.
The Wehrmacht were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer (army), the Kriegsmarine Read More
MAY 25, 1810
The Primera Junta, the first independent government in Argentina, was established in an open cabildo in Buenos Aires, marking the end of the May Revolution.
The Primera Junta or Junta Provisional Gubernativa de las Provincias del Río de la Plata, is the most common name given to Read More
MAY 25, 1895
Oscar Wilde was sentenced by Alfred Wills to two years of hard labor for gross indecency.
Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he Read More
MAY 25, 1816
The poems Kubla Khan and Christabel by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (pictured) were published.
"Kubla Khan: or A Vision in a Dream" is a poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, completed in 1797 and published in Read More
MAY 25, 1955
Joe Brown and George Band, members of the British Kangchenjunga expedition, made the first ascent of the world's third-highest mountain but deliberately did not set foot on the summit.
Joseph Brown was an English mountaineer who was regarded as an outstanding pioneer of rock climbing during the 1950s and early 1960s. Read More
MAY 25, 1940
Second World War: German troops captured Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, forcing British forces to evacuate via Dunkirk.
World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all Read More

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