On This Day: 25 February

25 February in world history

• 2009Soldiers of the Bangladesh Rifles mutiny at their headquarters in Pilkhana, Dhaka, Bangladesh, resulting in 74 deaths, including 57 army officials.
• 1999Alitalia Flight 1553 crashes at Genoa Cristoforo Colombo Airport in Genoa, Italy, killing four.
• 1994Israeli physician Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Palestinian Muslims praying at the mosque in Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs, killing 29 people and wounding 125 others.
• 1986Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda were ousted from power by the non-violent People Power Revolution, with Corazon Aquino succeeding as president.
• 1980The first prime minister of independent Suriname, Henck Arron, was deposed in a military coup led by Dési Bouterse.
• 1956In a speech to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced the personality cult and dictatorship of his predecessor Joseph Stalin.
• 1951After being postponed due to World War II, the inaugural edition of the Pan American Games opened in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• 1948In a coup d'état led by Klement Gottwald, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia takes control of government in Prague to end the Third Czechoslovak Republic.
• 1947Soviet NKVD forces in Hungary abduct Béla Kovács—secretary-general of the majority Independent Smallholders' Party—and deport him to the USSR in defiance of Parliament. His arrest is an important turning point in the Communist takeover of Hungary.
• 1947The formal abolition of Prussia is proclaimed by the Allied Control Council, the Prussian government having already been abolished by the Preußenschlag of 1932.
• 1941The outlawed Communist Party of the Netherlands organises a general strike in German-occupied Amsterdam to protest against Nazi persecution of Dutch Jews.
• 1933USS Ranger, the United States Navy's first purpose-built aircraft carrier, was launched.
• 1932Adolf Hitler, having been stateless for seven years, obtains German citizenship when he is appointed a Brunswick state official by Dietrich Klagges, a fellow Nazi. As a result, Hitler is able to run for Reichspräsident in the 1932 election.
• 1921Georgian capital Tbilisi falls to the invading Russian forces after heavy fighting and the Russians declare the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.
• 1918World War I: German forces capture Tallinn to virtually complete the occupation of Estonia.
• 1916World War I: In the Battle of Verdun, a German unit captures Fort Douaumont, keystone of the French defences, without a fight.
• 1843Royal Navy captain Lord George Paulet began a five-month occupation of the Hawaiian Islands.
• 138Roman emperor Hadrian adopted Antoninus Pius as his son and successor following the death of Hadrian's first adopted son Lucius Aelius.

Born on 25 February

• 1982Flavia Pennetta, Italian tennis player
• 1938Farokh Engineer, Indian cricketerIndia
• 1928A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., American civil rights advocate, historian, and judge (died 1998)
• 1915S. Rajaratnam, Singaporean politician, 1st Senior Minister of Singapore (died 2006)
• 1894Meher Baba, Indian spiritual master (died 1969)India
• 1833John St. John, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Kansas (died 1916)

Died on 25 February

• 2008Hans Raj Khanna, Indian judge and advocate; upholder of civil liberties (born 1912)India
• 1971Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1884)
• 1953Sergei Winogradsky, Ukrainian-Russian microbiologist and ecologist (born 1856)
• 1852Thomas Moore, Irish poet and lyricist (born 1779)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 25 February in history?

2009: Soldiers of the Bangladesh Rifles mutiny at their headquarters in Pilkhana, Dhaka, Bangladesh, resulting in 74 deaths, including 57 army officials. 1999: Alitalia Flight 1553 crashes at Genoa Cristoforo Colombo Airport in Genoa, Italy, killing four. 1994: Israeli physician Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Palestinian Muslims praying at the mosque in Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs, killing 29 people and wounding 125 others. 1986: Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda were ousted from power by the non-violent People Power Revolution, with Corazon Aquino succeeding as president.

Which famous people were born on 25 February?

Flavia Pennetta, Italian tennis player (1982); Farokh Engineer, Indian cricketer (1938); A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., American civil rights advocate, historian, and judge (died 1998) (1928); S. Rajaratnam, Singaporean politician, 1st Senior Minister of Singapore (died 2006) (1915).

Which day is observed on 25 February?

Kitano Baika-sai or "Plum Blossom Festival" (Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine, Kyoto, Japan); Memorial Day for the Victims of the Communist Dictatorships (Hungary); National Day (Kuwait); People Power Day (Philippines); Revolution Day in Suriname.