Major Events
- 1609 Galileo Galilei demonstrates his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers, including the Doge (ruler) of Venice, Leonardo Donato
- 1619 Slavery begins in mainland British colonies of North America when the first known African captives (approximately 20) land at Point Comfort, Virginia, before being sold or traded into servitude [1]
- 1718 Hundreds of French colonists arrive in Louisiana and found New Orleans
- 1768 Captain James Cook departs from Plymouth, England, bound for the Pacific Ocean on his first voyage aboard the Endeavour
- 1894 Japanese scientist Shibasaburo Kitasato discovers the infectious agent of the bubonic plague and publishes his findings in The Lancet
- 1944 German commander Dietrich von Choltitz surrenders Paris to the Free French forces of Philippe Leclerc, disobeying Adolf Hitler‘s orders to destroy the city. President of the Provisional Government of the French Republic Charles de Gaulle gives a famous speech at the Hôtel de Ville.
- 1990 UN Security Council authorizes military action against Iraq for invading Kuwait
- 1991 Linux is born when Linus Torvalds sends an email announcing his project to create a new computer operating system
Aug 25 in Film & TV
- 1955 16th Venice Film Festival: “Ordet” directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer wins Golden Lion
Aug 25 in Music
- 1998 “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” debut album by Lauryn Hill is released (5 Grammy Awards including Album of the Year, Billboard Album of the Year 1998)
Aug 25 in Sport
Did You Know?
Alicia Thornton becomes the first female jockey in England, riding at Knavesmire in Yorkshire
Famous Weddings
- 1749 British admiral Samuel Hood (24) weds Susannah Linzee in Portsmouth, England
- 1870 German composer Richard Wagner (57) weds Franz Liszt’s daughter Cosima Liszt (32) at a Protestant church in Lucerne, Switzerland, until his death in 1883
- 1885 American “Little House On The Prairie” author Laura Ingalls (18) weds Almonzo James Wilder (28) in De Smet, South Dakota, until his death in 1949
Famous Divorces
- 1987 British actress Joan Collins (54) divorces Swedish former pop singer Peter Holm (40) due to irreconcilable differences after 20 months of marriage
- 1994 American ‘Piano Man’ Billy Joel (45) and American supermodel Christie Brinkley (40) divorce after 9 years of marriage
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