On This Day: 25 April

25 April in world history

• 2015Nepal was struck by a magnitude-7.8 earthquake, killing more than 8,000 people.
• 2012Daniel Chong is discovered in a holding room in San Diego, having been incarcerated for five days without food or water.
• 2004The March for Women's Lives brings over one million protesters, mostly pro-choice, to Washington D.C. to protest the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, and other restrictions on abortion.
• 1983Cold War: American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war.
• 1982British prime minister Margaret Thatcher told journalists in Downing Street to "rejoice" upon hearing news of the successful recapture of South Georgia from Argentine forces in the Falklands War.
• 1980One hundred forty-six people are killed when Dan-Air Flight 1008 crashes near Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, Canary Islands.
• 1972Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue Offensive: The North Vietnamese 320th Division forces 5,000 South Vietnamese troops to retreat and traps about 2,500 others northwest of Kontum.
• 1960The U.S. Navy submarine Triton completed the first submerged circumnavigation of the world.
• 1945World War II: United States and Soviet reconnaissance troops meet in Torgau and Strehla along the River Elbe, cutting the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany in two. This would be later known as Elbe Day.
• 1945United Nations Conference on International Organization: Founding negotiations for the United Nations begin in San Francisco.
• 1920At the San Remo conference, the principal Allies of World War I passed a resolution allocating League of Nations mandates for the administration of former Ottoman territories in the Middle East.
• 1915First World War: The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed at Anzac Cove while British and French troops landed at Cape Helles to begin the Allied invasion of the Gallipoli peninsula in the Ottoman Empire.
• 1898Spanish–American War: The United States Congress declares that a state of war between the U.S. and Spain has existed since April 21, when an American naval blockade of the Spanish colony of Cuba began.
• 1862American Civil War: Forces under U.S. Admiral David Farragut demand the surrender of the Confederate city of New Orleans, Louisiana.
• 1849The Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal's English population and triggering the Montreal Riots.
• 1644Ming–Qing transition: The Ming dynasty of China fell when the Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide during a peasant rebellion led by Li Zicheng.
• 1643First English Civil War: Despite being vastly outnumbered, a Parliamentarian force under James Chudleigh defeated a Royalist army near Okehampton, Devon, at the Battle of Sourton Down.
• 1464A Yorkist army under the Baron Montagu defeats a Lancastrian army under the Duke of Somerset in the battle of Hedgeley Moor during the Wars of the Roses.

Born on 25 April

• 1998Satou Sabally, German-American basketball player
• 1991Alex Shibutani, American ice dancer
• 1989Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama
• 1961Dinesh D'Souza, Indian-American journalist and authorIndia
• 1949Dominique Strauss-Kahn, French economist, lawyer, and politician, French Minister of Finance
• 1940Al Pacino, American actor and director

Died on 25 April

• 2014Earl Morrall, American football player and coach (born 1934)
• 2005Swami Ranganathananda, Indian monk and educator (born 1908)India
• 1936Wajed Ali Khan Panni, Bengali aristocrat and philanthropist (born 1871)India
• 1890Crowfoot, Canadian tribal chief (born 1830)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 25 April in history?

2015: Nepal was struck by a magnitude-7.8 earthquake, killing more than 8,000 people. 2012: Daniel Chong is discovered in a holding room in San Diego, having been incarcerated for five days without food or water. 2004: The March for Women's Lives brings over one million protesters, mostly pro-choice, to Washington D.C. to protest the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, and other restrictions on abortion. 1983: Cold War: American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war.

Which famous people were born on 25 April?

Satou Sabally, German-American basketball player (1998); Alex Shibutani, American ice dancer (1991); Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama (1989); Dinesh D'Souza, Indian-American journalist and author (1961).

Which day is observed on 25 April?

Anzac Day (Australia, New Zealand, Tonga); Freedom Day (Portugal); Liberation Day (Italy); Military Foundation Day (North Korea); World Malaria Day.