History of Today in India – 25 April

Explore the history of today 25 April in India, including important events, famous personalities, and milestones for UPSC SSC,Banking & PSC exams.

Last updated on 25 April 2026, 04:23 AM

📜 Important Events on 25 April in World History

25 Apr 2015: At least 8,962 are killed in Nepal after a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake strikes Nepal. Read more
25 Apr 2014: The Flint water crisis begins when officials at Flint, Michigan switch the city's water supply to the Flint River, leading to lead and bacteria contamination. Read more
25 Apr 2007: Boris Yeltsin's funeral: The first to be sanctioned by the Russian Orthodox Church for a head of state since the funeral of Emperor Alexander III in 1894. Read more
25 Apr 2005: The final piece of the Obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia after being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937. Read more
25 Apr 2005: A seven-car commuter train derails and crashes into an apartment building near Amagasaki Station in Japan, killing 107, including the driver. Read more
25 Apr 2005: Bulgaria and Romania sign the Treaty of Accession 2005 to join the European Union. Read more
25 Apr 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. Read more
25 Apr 2001: President George W. Bush pledges U.S. military support in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan. Read more
25 Apr 1990: Violeta Chamorro takes office as the President of Nicaragua, the first woman to hold the position. Read more
25 Apr 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. Read more
25 Apr 1983: Pioneer 10 travels beyond Pluto's orbit. Read more
25 Apr 1982: Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula per the Camp David Accords. Read more
25 Apr 1981: More than 100 workers are exposed to radiation during repairs of at the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. Read more
25 Apr 1980: One hundred forty-six people are killed when Dan-Air Flight 1008 crashes near Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, Canary Islands. Read more
25 Apr 1974: Carnation Revolution: A leftist military coup in Portugal overthrows the authoritarian-conservative Estado Novo regime. Read more
25 Apr 1972: Vietnam 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. Read more
25 Apr 1961: Robert Noyce is granted a patent for an integrated circuit. Read more
25 Apr 1960: The United States Navy submarine USS Triton completes the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe. Read more
25 Apr 1959: The Saint Lawrence Seaway, linking the North American Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, officially opens to shipping. Read more
25 Apr 1954: The first practical solar cell is publicly demonstrated by Bell Telephone Laboratories. Read more
25 Apr 1953: Francis Crick and James Watson publish "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid" describing the double helix structure of DNA. Read more
25 Apr 1951: Korean War: Assaulting Chinese forces are forced to withdraw after heavy fighting with UN forces, primarily made up of Australian and Canadian troops, at the Battle of Kapyong. Read more
25 Apr 1945: World 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. Read more
25 Apr 1945: World War II: Liberation Day (Italy): The National Liberation Committee for Northern Italy calls for a general uprising against the German occupation and the Italian Social Republic. Read more
25 Apr 1945: United Nations Conference on International Organization: Founding negotiations for the United Nations begin in San Francisco. Read more
25 Apr 1945: World War II: The last German troops retreat from Finnish soil in Lapland, ending the Lapland War. Military actions of the Second World War end in Finland. Read more
25 Apr 1944: The United Negro College Fund is incorporated. Read more
25 Apr 1938: U.S. Supreme Court delivers its opinion in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins and overturns a century of federal common law. Read more
25 Apr 1933: Nazi Germany issues the Law Against Overcrowding in Schools and Universities limiting the number of Jewish students able to attend public schools and universities. Read more
25 Apr 1920: At the San Remo conference, the principal Allied Powers of World War I adopt a resolution to determine the allocation of Class "A" League of Nations mandates for administration of the former Ottoman-ruled lands of the Middle East. Read more
25 Apr 1916: Anzac Day is commemorated for the first time on the first anniversary of the landing at ANZAC Cove. Read more
25 Apr 1915: World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli begins: The invasion of the Turkish Gallipoli Peninsula by British, French, Indian, Newfoundland, Australian and New Zealand troops, begins with landings at Anzac Cove and Cape Helles. Read more
25 Apr 1901: New York becomes the first U.S. state to require automobile license plates. Read more
25 Apr 1898: Spanish–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. Read more
25 Apr 1892: Véry bombing during the Ère des attentats (1892–1894) Read more
25 Apr 1882: French and Vietnamese troops clashed in Tonkin, when Commandant Henri Rivière seized the citadel of Hanoi with a small force of marine infantry. Read more
25 Apr 1864: American Civil War: In the Battle of Marks' Mills, a force of 8,000 Confederate soldiers attacks 1,800 Union soldiers and a large number of wagon teamsters, killing or wounding 1,500 Union combatants. Read more
25 Apr 1862: American Civil War: Forces under U.S. Admiral David Farragut demand the surrender of the Confederate city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Read more
25 Apr 1859: British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal. Read more
25 Apr 1849: The Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal's English population and triggering the Montreal Riots. Read more
25 Apr 1846: Thornton Affair: Open conflict begins over the disputed border of Texas, triggering the Mexican–American War. Read more
25 Apr 1829: Charles Fremantle arrives in HMS Challenger off the coast of modern-day Western Australia prior to declaring the Swan River Colony for the British Empire. Read more
25 Apr 1808: Dano-Swedish War of 1808–1809: The Battle of Trangen took place at Trangen in Flisa, Hedemarkens Amt, between Swedish and Norwegian troops. Read more

🎂 Important Births on 25 April in World History

25 Apr 2000: Dejan Kulusevski, Swedish footballer Dejan Kuluševski is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and the Sweden national team. Read more
25 Apr 1998: Satou Sabally, German-American basketball player Isatou "Satou" Sabally is a German-American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for the Phantom of Unrivaled. She started playing as an amateur in the German second division, and later in the 1. Damen-Basketball-Bundesliga. Retaining her NCAA eligibility, she moved to the US in 2017 and played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks. During her three years with Oregon, Sabally contributed to the Ducks winning three regular-season and two tournament Pac-12 championships, and reaching their first-ever NCAA tournament Final Four in 2019. After her junior season, she entered the 2020 WNBA draft and was selected second overall by the Dallas Wings. Sabally spent five seasons with the Wings, winning the WNBA Most Improved Player Award and earning an All-WNBA First Team nomination in 2023, and becoming a two-time All-Star. In 2025, she was traded to the Phoenix Mercury. Read more
25 Apr 1996: Mack Horton, Australian swimmer Mackenzie James Horton is an Australian retired freestyle swimmer. He is an Olympic gold medallist, World Championships gold medallist, and 4-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist. At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he took the gold in the 400m freestyle, and became the first male swimmer from the state of Victoria to win an Olympic swimming gold in the Games' history. Read more
25 Apr 1995: Lewis Baker, English footballer Lewis Renard Baker is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Stoke City. Read more
25 Apr 1995: Packy Hanrahan, American bowler Patrick "Packy" Hanrahan is an American professional ten-pin bowler who joined the Professional Bowlers Association in 2018 after a collegiate career at Wichita State University. Born in Greenwich, Connecticut, he currently resides in Wichita, Kansas. He also competes internationally as a multi-year and current member of Team USA. Read more
25 Apr 1994: Omar McLeod, Jamaican hurdler Omar McLeod is a Jamaican professional hurdler and sprinter competing in the 60 m hurdles and 110 m hurdles. In the latter event, he is the 2016 Olympic champion and 2017 World champion. He was NCAA indoor champion in the 60 m hurdles in 2014 and 2015 and outdoor champion in the 110 m hurdles in 2015; he turned professional after the 2015 collegiate season, forgoing his two remaining years of collegiate eligibility. His personal best in the 110 m hurdles ranks him equal 7th on the world all-time list. Read more
25 Apr 1994: Maggie Rogers, American musician Margaret Debay Rogers is an American singer-songwriter and record producer from Easton, Maryland. She received widespread recognition after her song "Alaska" was played to artist-in-residence Pharrell Williams during a master class at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts in Manhattan in 2016. She has released two independent albums, The Echo (2012) and Blood Ballet (2014), and three studio albums, Heard It in a Past Life (2019), Surrender (2022), and Don't Forget Me (2024). She was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2020. Read more
25 Apr 1994: Sam Fender, English singer-songwriter and musician Samuel Thomas Fender is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Born and raised in North Shields, Fender released several singles independently beginning in 2017. His sound relies primarily on his traditional American musical upbringing combined with a British rock sensibility. He is known for his high tenor voice and Geordie accent. Recognised for his songwriting style, Fender is the recipient of five Brit Awards. Read more
25 Apr 1993: Alex Bowman, American race car driver Alexander Michael Warren Bowman is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports and part-time in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro SS for JR Motorsports. He owns a Dirt Midget and Sprint car racing team, Alex Bowman Racing. He is known for a record six consecutive front-row starts in the Daytona 500, from 2018 to 2023, winning the pole in 2018, 2021, and 2023. Read more
25 Apr 1993: Daniel Norris, American baseball player Daniel David Norris is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Guardians. Read more
25 Apr 1993: Raphaël Varane, French footballer Raphaël Xavier Varane is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Read more
25 Apr 1991: Jordan Poyer, American football player Jordan Lynn-Baxter Poyer is an American professional football safety. He played college football for the Oregon State Beavers, where he was a consensus All-American. Poyer was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2013 NFL draft, but was waived only a few months into his rookie season. After becoming a backup safety for the Cleveland Browns, Poyer later became a starter for the Buffalo Bills, where he formed one of the league's top safety tandems alongside Micah Hyde. Poyer earned All-Pro and Pro Bowl accolades while on the Bills. He has also played for the Miami Dolphins. Read more
25 Apr 1991: Alex Shibutani, American ice dancer Alex Hideo Shibutani is an American ice dancer. Partnered with his sister Maia Shibutani, he is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist (2018), a three-time World medalist, the 2016 Four Continents champion, and a two-time U.S. national champion. The Shibutanis have also won six titles on the Grand Prix series. At the junior level, they are 2009 World Junior silver and 2009–10 JGP Final bronze medalists. They are two-time members of the US Olympic team, competing at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. In 2018, they became the first ice dancers who are both of Asian descent to medal at the Olympics. They are the second sibling duo to ever share an ice dancing Olympic medal, and the first from the United States. Read more
25 Apr 1990: Jean-Éric Vergne, French racing driver Jean-Éric Serge Raymond Vergne, also known by his initials JEV, is a French racing driver, who currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot and in Formula E for the Citroën Formula E Team. Vergne also competed in Formula One from 2012 to 2014, and has won a record two Formula E Championship titles with Techeetah. Read more
25 Apr 1990: Taylor Walker, Australian footballer Taylor Walker is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted with pick 75 in the 2007 national draft and captained Adelaide from 2015 to 2019. Read more
25 Apr 1989: Marie-Michèle Gagnon, Canadian skier Marie-Michèle Gagnon is a Canadian former alpine ski racer. Read more
25 Apr 1989: Michael van Gerwen, Dutch darts player Michael van Gerwen is a Dutch professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he is ranked world number four; he was ranked world number one from 2014 to 2021. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, van Gerwen is a three-time PDC world champion, having won the title in 2014, 2017 and 2019, and has won 48 PDC major singles titles, placing him second in the all-time list behind Phil Taylor. He is the reigning World Series Finals champion. Read more
25 Apr 1989: Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is the 11th Panchen Lama belonging to the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, as recognized and announced by the 14th Dalai Lama on 14 May 1995. Three days later, on 17 May, the six-year-old Panchen Lama was kidnapped and forcibly disappeared by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), after the Chinese government failed in its efforts to install a substitute. A Chinese substitute is seen as a political tool to undermine the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, which traditionally is recognized by the Panchen Lama. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima remains forcibly detained by the CCP, along with his family, in an undisclosed location since 1995. His khenpo, Chadrel Rinpoche, and another Gelugpa monk, Jampa Chungla, were also arrested. The United Nations, with the support of numerous states, organizations, and private individuals continue to call for the 11th Panchen Lama's release. Read more
25 Apr 1988: Jonathan Bailey, English actor Jonathan Stuart Bailey is an English actor known for his dramatic, comedic, and musical roles on stage and screen. His accolades include a Laurence Olivier Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award as well as a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award and four Actor Awards. He was included by Time magazine in their Time 100 Next list of the world's most influential artists and was named as People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2025. Read more
25 Apr 1988: Sara Paxton, American actress Sara Paxton is an American actress and singer. She began acting at an early age, appearing in minor roles in both films and television shows before rising to fame in early October 2002. She played Sarah Tobin from Greetings from Tucson (2002–2003), the titular role in the television series Darcy's Wild Life (2004–2006) and Sarah Borden in Summerland (2004). Her other films include Aquamarine (2006), Return to Halloweentown (2006), Sydney White (2007), Superhero Movie (2008), The Last House on the Left (2009), The Innkeepers (2011), and The Front Runner (2018). Read more
25 Apr 1988: James Sheppard, Canadian ice hockey player James Sheppard is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for Vienna Capitals of the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, and New York Rangers. Read more
25 Apr 1987: Razak Boukari, Togolese footballer Abdoul-Razak "Razak" Boukari is a Togolese professional footballer who plays as a winger. Read more
25 Apr 1987: Jay Park, American-South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer Jay Park, Korean name Park Jae-beom (박재범), is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and dancer based in South Korea. He is a member of the Seattle-based b-boy crew Art of Movement (AOM), and founder and former CEO of the independent hip hop record labels AOMG and H1ghr Music, as well as the founder of the record label More Vision. Park returned to South Korea in June 2010 for the filming of Hype Nation, and in July, Park signed a contract with SidusHQ, one of the largest entertainment agencies in South Korea. Rebranding and re-debuting as both a solo singer and a rapper, Park has participated in the underground hip hop culture scene in South Korea, a rarity for both active and former K-Pop idols. Read more
25 Apr 1986: Alexei Emelin, Russian ice hockey player Alexei Vyacheslavovich Emelin is a Russian professional ice hockey defenceman who plays for the Dubai Red Stars of the Emirates Ice Hockey League. He was selected in the third round, 84th overall, by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2004 NHL entry draft. Emelin has also previously played for the Nashville Predators. Read more
25 Apr 1986: Gwen Jorgensen, American triathlete Gwen Rosemary Jorgensen is an American distance runner and professional triathlete. She was the champion of the 2014 and 2015 ITU World Triathlon Series. She was named USA Triathlon's 2013 and 2014 Olympic/ITU Female Athlete of the Year. She was a member of the 2012 Olympic Team and again represented the United States in triathlon at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where she won the USA's first ever triathlon gold medal with a time of 1 hour, 56 minutes, and 16 seconds. Read more
25 Apr 1986: Claudia Rath, German heptathlete Claudia Salman-Rath is a German athlete who specialises in the heptathlon. Read more
25 Apr 1985: Giedo van der Garde, Dutch racing driver Giedo Gijsbertus Gerrit van der Garde is a Dutch former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One in 2013, and the FIA World Endurance Championship between 2016 and 2023. In sportscar racing, Van der Garde won the European Le Mans Series in 2016 with G-Drive. Read more
25 Apr 1983: Johnathan Thurston, Australian rugby league player Johnathan Dean Thurston is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Thurston was an Australian international, Queensland State of Origin and Indigenous All Stars representative, playing at halfback or five-eighth, and was a noted goal-kicker. Thurston has been an assistant coach of the Queensland rugby league team since 2021. Read more
25 Apr 1983: DeAngelo Williams, American football player DeAngelo Chondon Williams is an American professional wrestler and former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football for the Memphis Tigers, earning first-team All-American honors in 2005. Williams was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the first round of the 2006 NFL draft. He starred in a dual role in Carolina alongside Jonathan Stewart until being released in the 2014 offseason. Williams then played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2015 to 2016. Read more
25 Apr 1982: Monty Panesar, English cricketer Mudhsuden Singh "Monty" Panesar is a former English international cricketer. A left-arm spinner, Panesar made his Test cricket debut in 2006 against India in Nagpur and One Day International debut for England in 2007. In English county cricket, he last played for Northamptonshire in 2016, and has previously played for Northamptonshire until 2009, Sussex from 2010 to 2013 and Essex from 2013 to 2015. He has also played for the Lions in South Africa. Read more
25 Apr 1981: Felipe Massa, Brazilian racing driver Felipe Massa is a Brazilian racing driver, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for TMG and in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Riley. Massa competed in Formula One from 2002 to 2017, and was runner-up in the World Drivers' Championship in 2008 with Ferrari; he won 11 Grands Prix across 15 seasons. Read more
25 Apr 1981: John McFall, English sprinter John McFall is a British Paralympic sprinter, a surgeon, and the first disabled astronaut. Read more
25 Apr 1981: Anja Pärson, Swedish skier Anja Sofia Tess Pärson is a Swedish former alpine skier. She is an Olympic gold medalist, seven-time gold medalist at the World Championships, and two-time overall Alpine Skiing World Cup champion. This included winning three gold medals in the 2007 World Championship in her native Sweden. She has won a total of 42 World Cup races. Read more
25 Apr 1980: Daniel MacPherson, Australian actor and television host Daniel MacPherson is an Australian actor and television presenter, known for his roles as Joel Samuels in Neighbours, PC Cameron Tait in The Bill, Sergeant Samuel Wyatt in Sky and Cinemax's Strike Back, Whit Carmichael in the Shane Abbess sci-fi film Infini, Arion Elessedil in The Shannara Chronicles and Hugo Crast in the first filmed adaptation of Isaac Asimov's long running Foundation novel series, loosely adapted as Foundation. He also co-hosted Dancing with the Stars for six years while simultaneously starring in a number of Australian dramas such as Wild Boys. Read more
25 Apr 1980: Alejandro Valverde, Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde Belmonte is a Spanish cyclist, who competed as a professional in road bicycle racing from 2002 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2022, and now competes in gravel cycling for the Movistar Team Gravel Squad. Since March 2025, he has been the coach of the men's Spanish national team. Read more
25 Apr 1978: Matt Walker, English swimmer Matthew "Matt" Benedict Walker MBE is a British swimmer who has participated in four Paralympic Games, winning eleven medals. He competes in the S7, SM7 (medley) and SB7 (breaststroke) classifications. Read more
25 Apr 1977: Constantinos Christoforou, Cypriot singer-songwriter Constantinos Christophorou is a Greek Cypriot singer. He represented Cyprus in Eurovision Song Contest as a solo singer with "Mono Yia Mas" (1996) and "Ela Ela " (2005) and as part of the boy band formation One with "Gimme" (2002). Read more
25 Apr 1977: Marguerite Moreau, American actress and producer Marguerite Moreau is an American actress. She is known for her role as Jesse Reeves in the fantasy horror film Queen of the Damned, Katie in the comedy Wet Hot American Summer, and her role as Connie in The Mighty Ducks series of films. She has also made appearances on the television series Smallville, Lost, Cupid and The O.C. Read more
25 Apr 1977: Matthew West, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor Matthew Joseph West is an American contemporary Christian singer-songwriter. He has released five studio albums and is known for his songs "More", "You Are Everything", and "The Motions". He was nominated for five Dove Awards in 2005, two of which were for his major-label debut album, Happy. West won the 2013 American Music Award for Best Contemporary Inspirational Artist. Read more
25 Apr 1976: Gilberto da Silva Melo, Brazilian footballer Gilberto da Silva Melo, more commonly known as Gilberto, is a Brazilian former professional footballer. He played at left-back for the majority of his career. Gilberto's brothers Nenei and Nélio are also former footballers. Read more
25 Apr 1976: Tim Duncan, American basketball player Timothy Theodore Duncan is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Big Fundamental", he is widely considered to be the greatest power forward of all time and one of the greatest players in NBA history, and was a central contributor to the franchise's success during the 2000s and 2010s. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020 and named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. Read more
25 Apr 1976: Breyton Paulse, South African rugby player Breyton Paulse is a South African former rugby union player who played on the wing for the national team, the Springboks, from 1999 to 2007. He played 64 test matches for South Africa, scoring 26 tries. Read more
25 Apr 1976: Rainer Schüttler, German tennis player and coach Rainer Schüttler is a German former professional tennis player. Schüttler was the runner-up at the 2003 Australian Open and a semifinalist at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. He won an Olympic silver medal in doubles at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 5 in April 2004. Read more
25 Apr 1975: Jacque Jones, American baseball player and coach Jacque Dewayne Jones is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers and Florida Marlins. He also coached for the Washington Nationals. Read more
25 Apr 1973: Carlota Castrejana, Spanish triple jumper María Carlota Castrejana Fernández is a female triple jumper from Spain. Her personal best jump is 14.60 metres, achieved at the 2005 Mediterranean Games in Almería. This is the current national record. Read more
25 Apr 1973: Barbara Rittner, German tennis player Barbara Rittner is a German former professional tennis player. She currently is the captain of the German Fed Cup team.
Her career-high singles ranking was No. 24 in the world, achieved on 1 February 1993. Read more
25 Apr 1971: Sara Baras, Spanish dancer Sara Pereyra Baras is a Spanish flamenco dancer and choreographer born in San Fernando (Cádiz) who has established her own dance company. Read more
25 Apr 1970: Jason Lee, American skateboarder, actor, comedian and producer Jason Michael Lee is an American actor, filmmaker, photographer, and former professional skateboarder. He is known for playing Earl Hickey in the television comedy series My Name Is Earl, for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy in 2005 and 2006. He is also known for his roles in Kevin Smith films such as Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Jersey Girl (2004), Clerks II (2006), Cop Out (2010), and Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019). Lee won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in Chasing Amy. Read more
25 Apr 1969: Joe Buck, American sportscaster Joseph Francis Buck is an American sportscaster who serves as the lead play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football on ESPN and ABC. Buck previously worked for Fox Sports from its 1994 inception through 2022, serving as the lead play-by-play announcer for Fox's National Football League and Major League Baseball coverage. Read more
25 Apr 1969: Martin Koolhoven, Dutch director and screenwriter Martinus Wouter "Martin" Koolhoven is a Dutch film director and screenwriter. Internationally he is most known for Schnitzel Paradise (2005), Winter in Wartime (2008) and Brimstone (2016), which was his first film in English. It was released in 2017, after it premiered in the competition of the Venice Film Festival in 2016. Read more
25 Apr 1969: Jon Olsen, American swimmer Jon C. Olsen is an American former competition swimmer, four-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Olsen was a successful relay swimmer for the U.S. national team in the late 1980s and 1990s. He has won a total of 27 medals in major international competition, 20 gold, 5 silver, and 2 bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, Pan Pacific, and the Pan American championships. Read more
25 Apr 1969: Darren Woodson, American football player and sportscaster Darren Raye Woodson is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as a safety for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) from 1992 to 2003. He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils, and was selected by the Cowboys in the second round of the 1992 NFL draft with the 37th overall pick. He finished his career with six Pro Bowl selections, including three first-team All-Pro selections, and won three Super Bowls. Read more
25 Apr 1969: Renée Zellweger, American actress and producer Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. Read more
25 Apr 1968: Thomas Strunz, German footballer Thomas Strunz is a German former professional footballer who played mostly as a defensive midfielder. Read more
25 Apr 1967: Angel Martino, American swimmer Angelina Myers Martino, now known as Angel Sims, is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Over her career, she won three Olympic gold medals and three bronze medals. Read more
25 Apr 1966: Diego Domínguez, Argentinian-Italian rugby player Diego Dominguez is a former rugby union fly-half. After playing a couple of matches for Argentina, he spent the vast majority of his career with the Italy national rugby union team, winning 74 caps for the latter. Read more
25 Apr 1966: Femke Halsema, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician Femke Halsema is a Dutch politician and filmmaker serving as Mayor of Amsterdam since 2018. She is the first woman to hold the position on a non-interim basis. She was previously a member of the House of Representatives for the leftist green party, GroenLinks (1998–2011), and served as the party's parliamentary leader (2002–2010). Read more
25 Apr 1966: Darren Holmes, American baseball player and coach Darren Lee Holmes is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Holmes played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1990 to 2003 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, and Atlanta Braves. Read more
25 Apr 1965: Eric Avery, American bass player and songwriter Eric Adam Avery is an American musician. He is best known as the founding bass guitarist and co-songwriter of the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, with whom he has recorded two studio albums. From 2005 to 2022, Avery was the bassist for Garbage, which he joined as sideman and with whom he recorded three studio albums. Read more
25 Apr 1965: Mark Bryant, American basketball player and coach Mark Craig Bryant is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach for the New York Knicks. As a player, he played collegiately at Seton Hall University from 1984 to 1988, and was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 1988 NBA draft. Bryant played for 10 NBA teams during his career, averaging 5.4 ppg and appeared in the 1990 and 1992 NBA Finals as a member of the Blazers. Read more
25 Apr 1965: John Henson, American puppeteer and voice actor (died 2014) John Paul Henson was an American puppeteer. He was best known for his association with the Muppets. Read more
25 Apr 1964: Hank Azaria, American actor, voice artist, comedian and producer Henry Albert Azaria is an American actor and producer. He is known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom The Simpsons since 1989, including Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Superintendent Chalmers, Comic Book Guy, Snake, Professor Frink, Kirk Van Houten, Duffman, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Lou, and Carl Carlson, among others. Azaria joined the show with little voice acting experience, but became a regular in its second season. For his work on the show, he has won four Primetime Emmy Awards. Read more
25 Apr 1964: Andy Bell, English singer-songwriter Andrew Ivan Bell is an English singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the synth-pop duo Erasure. The band achieved mainstream success and are popular within the LGBTQ communities, for whom he has become an icon. Read more
25 Apr 1963: Joy Covey, American businesswoman (died 2013) Joy Covey was an American business executive, best known as Amazon's first chief financial officer. Read more
25 Apr 1963: David Moyes, Scottish footballer and manager David William Moyes is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Premier League club Everton. He was the 2003, 2005 and 2009 League Managers Association Manager of the Year. He is on the committee for the League Managers Association in an executive capacity. Read more
25 Apr 1963: Paul Wassif, English singer-songwriter and guitarist Paul Wassif is a British musician, guitarist, and singer songwriter. Read more
25 Apr 1962: Foeke Booy, Dutch footballer and manager Foeke Booy is a Dutch former professional footballer player and manager who is the head of scouting for Eerste Divisie club Almere City. A forward during a sixteen-year playing career in the Netherlands and Belgium, he is best known for his successful managerial spell at Utrecht, where he won back-to-back KNVB Cups and the Johan Cruyff Shield between 2003 and 2004. Read more
25 Apr 1961: Dinesh D'Souza, Indian-American journalist and author Dinesh Joseph D'Souza is an Indian-born American right-wing political commentator, conspiracy theorist, author, and filmmaker. He has made several films and written over a dozen books, several of them New York Times best-sellers. Read more
25 Apr 1961: Miran Tepeš, Slovenian ski jumper Miran Tepeš is a Slovenian former ski jumper and current ski jumping official who competed for Yugoslavia and Slovenia from 1979 to 1992. He won a silver medal in the team large hill competition at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. He finished fourth in the normal hill individual competition, and tenth in the large hill competition. Read more
25 Apr 1960: Paul Baloff, American singer (died 2002) Paul Nicholas Baloff was an American singer, best known as the original lead vocalist of the thrash metal band Exodus. He was fired from Exodus shortly after the release of the band's 1985 debut album Bonded by Blood, which is considered one of the most influential thrash metal albums of all time. He sang with various other bands before rejoining Exodus in 1997. Baloff died of a stroke in 2002. Read more
25 Apr 1960: Robert Peston, English journalist Robert James Kenneth Peston is an English journalist, presenter, and author. He is the Political Editor of ITV News and host of the weekly political discussion show Peston alongside Guardian Newspaper Political Editor Pippa Crerar.
From 2006 until 2014, he was the Business Editor of BBC News and its Economics Editor from 2014 to 2015. He became known to the wider public with his reporting on the 2008 financial crisis, especially with his exclusive information on the Northern Rock crisis. He is the founder of the education charity Futures for All, and the presenter, with Stephanie McGovern, of the Goalhanger podcast, The Rest is Money. Read more
25 Apr 1959: Paul Madden, English diplomat, British High Commissioner to Australia Paul Damian Madden is a retired British diplomat, who was High Commissioner to Singapore and to Australia, and Ambassador to Japan between 2017 and 2021. Read more
25 Apr 1959: Daniel Kash, Canadian actor and director Daniel Joshua Kash is a Canadian actor and film director. He is known for his appearances in films such as Aliens, The Hunt for the BTK Killer, and The Path to 9/11, and in television series such as Law & Order, Orphan Black, and The Expanse. Read more
25 Apr 1959: Tony Phillips, American baseball player (died 2016) Keith Anthony Phillips was an American professional baseball utility player who had an 18-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1982 to 1999. He played regularly at second base, but also had significant time as a shortstop and third baseman. In addition, Phillips showed his versatility with over 100 game appearances in the outfield corners and as a designated hitter. Read more
25 Apr 1958: Mike DeVault, American politician Mike DeVault is an American politician who served as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from the 74th district. He owns two businesses. He resigned from the West Virginia House in January 2026. Read more
25 Apr 1958: Fish, Scottish singer-songwriter Derek William Dick, better known by his stage name Fish, is a retired Scottish singer, songwriter and occasional actor. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the neo-prog band Marillion from 1981 until 1988. He released 11 UK Top 40 singles with the band, including the Top 10 singles "Kayleigh", "Lavender" and "Incommunicado", and five Top 10 albums, including a number one with Misplaced Childhood. In his solo career, Fish explored contemporary pop and traditional folk, and released a further five Top 40 singles and a Top 10 album. Read more
25 Apr 1958: Misha Glenny, British journalist Michael V. E. "Misha" Glenny is an English journalist and broadcaster, specialising in southeast Europe, global organised crime, and cybersecurity. He has been Rector of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna since 2022. Read more
25 Apr 1957: Theo de Rooij, Dutch cyclist and manager Theo de Rooij is a retired Dutch former bicycle racer and former manager of the Rabobank cycling team – a position from which he resigned after the 2007 Tour de France. De Rooij was a professional rider from 1980 to 1990. He started his career in Belgian teams and the last eight years of his careers he served teams managed by Peter Post. He currently lives in Holten. Read more
25 Apr 1956: Dominique Blanc, French actress, director, and screenwriter Dominique Blanc is a French actress. She is known for her roles in the films May Fools (1990), Indochine (1992), La Reine Margot (1994), Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train (1998), and The Other One (2008). In a career spanning nearly four decades, Blanc has won four César Awards from nine nominations. Read more
25 Apr 1956: Abdalla Uba Adamu, Nigerian professor, media scholar Abdalla Uba Adamu is a Nigerian academic, educator, publisher, filmmaker, ethnomusicologist, media scholar and former vice-chancellor of National Open University of Nigeria. He hold double professorships in Science Education (1997) and Media and Cultural Communication (2012). Read more
25 Apr 1955: Américo Gallego, Argentinian footballer and coach Américo Rubén "El Tolo" Gallego is an Argentine football coach and former player. As a midfielder, he played 73 times for the Argentina national team during his playing career. Read more
25 Apr 1955: Parviz Parastui, Iranian actor and singer Parviz Parastui is an Iranian actor. He has received various accolades, including four Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor–making him the only actor to have four wins in that category–four Hafez Awards, two Iran Cinema Celebration Awards and an Iran's Film Critics and Writers Association Awards. Read more
25 Apr 1955: Zev Siegl, American businessman, co-founded Starbucks Zev Siegl is an American keynote speaker and presenter. He co-founded Starbucks, with Gordon Bowker and Jerry Baldwin, in 1971, and was a director of the company during its first decade. Read more
25 Apr 1954: Melvin Burgess, English author Melvin Burgess is a British writer of children's fiction. He became famous in 1996 with the publication of Junk, about heroin-addicted teenagers on the streets of Bristol. In Britain, Junk became one of the best-known young adult books of the decade. Burgess won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British author. For the 10th anniversary in 2007 it was named one of the top ten Medal-winning works, selected by a panel to compose the ballot for a public election of the all-time favourite. Read more
25 Apr 1954: Randy Cross, American football player and sportscaster Randall Laureat Cross is an American football analyst and former player. He played as a guard and center in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011. Read more
25 Apr 1954: Róisín Shortall, Irish educator and politician Róisín Shortall is an Irish former Social Democrats politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North-West constituency from 1992 to 2024. She was previously founding joint leader of the Social Democrats from 2015 to 2023 and served as Minister of State for Primary Care from 2011 to 2012. Read more
25 Apr 1953: Ron Clements, American animator, producer, and screenwriter Ronald Francis Clements is an American animator and filmmaker. He often collaborates with fellow director John Musker and is best known for writing and directing the Disney animated films The Great Mouse Detective (1986), The Little Mermaid (1989), Aladdin (1992), Hercules (1997), Treasure Planet (2002), The Princess and the Frog (2009), and Moana (2016). Read more
25 Apr 1953: Gary Cosier, Australian cricketer Gary John Cosier is a former Australian international cricketer who played in 18 Test matches and nine One Day Internationals between 1975 and 1979. Cosier's star shone very briefly following a sensational debut, when he became only the ninth Australian to post a century in his first Test. Read more
25 Apr 1953: Anthony Venables, English economist, author, and academic Anthony James Venables, CBE,, is a British economist and the BP Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics, University of Oxford. Read more
25 Apr 1952: Ketil Bjørnstad, Norwegian pianist and composer Ketil Bjørnstad is a Norwegian pianist, composer and author. Initially trained as a classical pianist, Bjørnstad discovered jazz at an early age and has embraced the emergence of "European jazz". Read more
25 Apr 1952: Vladislav Tretiak, Russian ice hockey player and coach Vladislav Aleksandrovich Tretiak MP is a Russian former goaltender for the Soviet Union national ice hockey team. He was inducted into the inaugural class of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Hall of Fame in 1997. Considered to be one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the sport, he was voted one of six players to the IIHF Centennial All-Star Team in a poll conducted by a group of 56 experts from 16 countries. Tretiak is the current president of the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia and was the general manager of the Russian 2010 Winter Olympic team. Read more
25 Apr 1952: Jacques Santini, French footballer and coach Jacques Jean Claude Santini is a French former professional footballer and manager. He played for Saint-Étienne during the 1970s, and reached the European Cup final with them in 1976. He has coached the France national team – winning the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup and reaching the quarter-finals of Euro 2004 – and clubs including Lyon. Read more
25 Apr 1951: Ian McCartney, Scottish politician, Minister of State for Trade Sir Ian McCartney is a British Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Makerfield from 1987 to 2010. McCartney served in Tony Blair's Cabinet from 2003 until 2007, when Gordon Brown became Prime Minister. He was made a Knight Bachelor in the 2010 Dissolution Honours List. Read more
25 Apr 1950: Donnell Deeny, Northern Irish lawyer and judge Sir Donnell Justin Patrick Deeny, KC, SC, styled as the Rt Hon Sir Donnell Deeny, is a mediator and arbitrator (ACIArb) and a former member of the Court of Appeal of Northern Ireland.
Sir Donnell is also member of the Court of Arbitration for Art at The Hague. Read more
25 Apr 1950: Steve Ferrone, English drummer Stephen Arthur Anthony Ferrone is an English drummer. He was a member of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from 1994 to 2017, replacing original drummer Stan Lynch, and was part of the "classic lineup" of the Average White Band in the 1970s. Ferrone has recorded and performed with Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, George Harrison, Duran Duran, Stevie Nicks, Laura Pausini, Christine McVie, Rick James, Slash, Chaka Khan, Bee Gees, Scritti Politti, Howard Jones, Aerosmith, Al Jarreau, Mick Jagger, Johnny Cash, Todd Rundgren and Pat Metheny. Ferrone also hosts The New Guy radio show on Sirius XM's Tom Petty Radio. Read more
25 Apr 1950: Peter Hintze, German politician (died 2016) Peter Hintze was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as a member of the German Bundestag from 1990 until his death in 2016. Read more
25 Apr 1950: Valentyna Kozyr, Ukrainian high jumper Valentyna Kozyr is a former Soviet athlete who competed mainly in the high jump. Read more
25 Apr 1949: Vicente Pernía, Argentinian footballer and race car driver Vicente Alberto Pernía, known as El Tano, is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a defender. He then went on to a second career as a car racing driver. Read more
25 Apr 1949: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, French economist, lawyer, and politician, French Minister of Finance Dominique Gaston André Strauss-Kahn, also known as DSK, is a French economist and politician who served as the tenth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and was a member of the French Socialist Party. He attained notoriety due to his involvement in several sex scandals. Strauss-Kahn was a professor of economics at Paris West University Nanterre La Défense and Sciences Po, and was Minister of Economy and Finance from 1997 to 1999, as part of Lionel Jospin's Plural Left government. He sought the nomination in the Socialist Party presidential primary of 2006, but was defeated by Ségolène Royal. Read more
25 Apr 1949: James Fenton, English poet, journalist and literary critic James Martin Fenton is an English poet, journalist and literary critic. He is a former Oxford Professor of Poetry. Read more
25 Apr 1948: Mike Selvey, English cricketer and sportscaster Michael Walter William Selvey is an English former Test and county cricketer, and now a cricket writer and commentator. Read more
25 Apr 1948: Yu Shyi-kun, Taiwanese politician, 39th Premier of the Republic of China You Si-kun, also romanized Yu Shyi-kun, is a Taiwanese politician. He was one of the founding members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and is known to be a strong advocate of Taiwan independence. He led the DPP as chairman from 2006 to 2007 and served as Premier from 2002 to 2005. Read more
25 Apr 1947: Johan Cruyff, Dutch footballer and manager (died 2016) Hendrik Johannes Cruijff, or Johan Cruyff, was a Dutch professional football player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest players in history and as the greatest Dutch footballer ever, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973, and 1974. Cruyff was a proponent of the football philosophy known as Total Football developed by Rinus Michels, which Cruyff also employed as a manager. Because of the far-reaching impact of his playing style and his coaching ideas, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern football, and he is also regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time. Read more
25 Apr 1947: Jeffrey DeMunn, American actor Jeffrey P. DeMunn is an American actor. He is known for his collaborations with director Frank Darabont, having appeared in The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Green Mile (1999), The Majestic (2001), and The Mist (2007). Read more
25 Apr 1947: Cathy Smith, Canadian singer and drug dealer (died 2020) Catherine Evelyn Smith, also known as Silverbag, was a Canadian backup singer, groupie, drug dealer, and legal secretary. Smith served 15 months in the California Institution for Women for injecting actor John Belushi with a fatal dose of heroin and cocaine in 1982. Read more
25 Apr 1946: Talia Shire, American actress Talia Rose Shire is an American actress and member of the Coppola family. She is best known for her roles as Connie Corleone in The Godfather trilogy and Adrian Pennino Balboa in the Rocky series. For her work in The Godfather Part II and Rocky, Shire was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress, respectively, and for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama for her role in Rocky. Read more
25 Apr 1946: Peter Sutherland, Irish lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Ireland (died 2018) Peter Denis Sutherland was an Irish businessman, barrister and Fine Gael politician who served as UN Special Representative for International Migration from 2006 to 2017. He was known for serving in various international organisations, political and business roles. Read more
25 Apr 1946: Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian colonel, lawyer, and politician (died 2022) Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky was a Russian right-wing populist politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) from its creation in 1992 until his death in 2022. Read more
25 Apr 1945: Stu Cook, American bass player Creedence Clearwater Revival, songwriter, and producer Stuart Alden Cook is an American retired bass guitarist, best known for being a member of the rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Read more
25 Apr 1945: Richard C. Hoagland, American theorist and author Richard Charles Hoagland is an American author, former science advisor for CBS News and a proponent of various conspiracy theories about NASA, lost alien civilizations on the Moon, and on Mars and other related topics. Hoagland has been documented to misappropriate others' professional achievements and has been described as a conspiracy theorist and pseudoscientist. Read more
25 Apr 1945: Björn Ulvaeus, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish musician, singer, songwriter, and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA. He is also the co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia! He co-produced the films Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again with fellow ABBA member and close friend Benny Andersson. He is the oldest member of the group. Read more
25 Apr 1944: Len Goodman, English dancer (died 2023) Leonard Gordon Goodman was an English professional ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance competition adjudicator. He appeared as head judge on the British television programme Strictly Come Dancing – in which various celebrities compete for the glitterball trophy – from its beginning in 2004 until 2016, and on the American television programme Dancing with the Stars from 2005 until 2022. He also ran a ballroom dance school in Dartford, Kent. Read more
25 Apr 1944: Mike Kogel, German singer-songwriter Michael Volker Kogel, also known as Mike Kennedy and Mike Keller, is a German-born Spanish singer. He was the lead singer for Los Bravos. Read more
25 Apr 1944: Stephen Nickell, English economist and academic Sir Stephen John Nickell, is a British economist and former warden of Nuffield College, Oxford, noted for his work in labour economics with Richard Layard and Richard Jackman. Nickell and Layard hypothesised that the tendency for reduced unemployment to lead to inflation resulted from its effect on competitive bargaining in the labour market He is currently a member of the Office for Budget Responsibility's Budget Responsibility Committee. Read more
25 Apr 1944: Bruce Ponder, English geneticist and cancer researcher Sir Bruce Anthony John Ponder FMedSci FAACR FRS FRCP is an English geneticist and cancer researcher. He is Emeritus Professor of Oncology at the University of Cambridge and former director of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute and of the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Cancer Centre. Read more
25 Apr 1943: Tony Christie, English singer-songwriter and actor Anthony Fitzgerald, known professionally as Tony Christie, is an English musician and singer. He found prominence in the early 1970s with successful singles including "Las Vegas", "I Did What I Did for Maria" and "Avenues and Alleyways". In 2005, he achieved a UK number 1 album and single after his 1971 hit "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo" was reissued in aid of Comic Relief. Read more
25 Apr 1942: Jon Kyl, American lawyer and politician Jon Llewellyn Kyl is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator for Arizona from 1995 to 2013. Following the death of John McCain in 2018, Kyl briefly returned to the Senate; his resignation led to the appointment of Martha McSally in 2019. A Republican, he held both of Arizona's Senate seats at different times, serving alongside McCain during his first stint. Kyl was Senate Minority Whip from 2007 until 2013. He first joined the lobbying firm Covington & Burling after retiring in 2013, then rejoined in 2019. Read more
25 Apr 1941: Bertrand Tavernier, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2021) Bertrand Tavernier was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. Read more
25 Apr 1941: Dorothy Shea, Australian librarian (died 2024) Dorothy Shea was an Australian librarian who was the Librarian of the Supreme Court of Tasmania from 1988 to 2016, president of the Australian Law Librarians' Association (ALLA) from 2004 to 2005, and the editor of the organisation's journal Australian Law Librarian from 2008 to 2012. She notably discovered and helped to preserve a large amount of original Tasmanian legislation. Read more
25 Apr 1940: Al Pacino, American actor and director Alfredo James Pacino is an American actor. Known for his intense performances on stage and screen, Pacino is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. His career spans more than five decades, during which he has earned many accolades, including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, achieving the Triple Crown of Acting. He has also received four Golden Globe Awards, a BAFTA, two Actor Awards, and he was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2001, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2007, the National Medal of Arts in 2011, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2016. Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $3 billion worldwide. Read more
25 Apr 1939: Tarcisio Burgnich, Italian footballer and manager (died 2021) Tarcisio Burgnich was an Italian football manager and player, who played as a defender. Read more
25 Apr 1939: Michael Llewellyn-Smith, English academic and diplomat Sir Michael John Llewellyn-Smith is a retired British diplomat and academic. He served as Ambassador to Poland from 1991 to 1996 and Ambassador to Greece from 1996 to 1999. He is visiting professor at the Centre for Hellenic Studies, King's College London. Read more
25 Apr 1939: Robert Skidelsky, Baron Skidelsky, English historian and academic (died 2026) Robert Jacob Alexander Skidelsky, Baron Skidelsky, was a British economic historian, author and crossbench life peer in the House of Lords. He is best known for his award-winning three-volume biography of John Maynard Keynes, regarded as the definitive study of the economist's life and work. Educated at Jesus College, Oxford, he held academic posts in history and political economy at several universities and was Emeritus Professor of Political Economy at the University of Warwick. Beyond academia, Skidelsky was influential in British public policy debates, serving as the founding chairman of the Social Market Foundation and writing extensively on economics, fiscal policy, and the political implications of technological change. Read more
25 Apr 1939: Veronica Sutherland, English academic and British diplomat Dame Veronica Evelyn Sutherland, DBE, CMG is a former British career diplomat who served in the Diplomatic Service of the United Kingdom from 1965 until 1999, including a stint as Ambassador to Ireland. After retirement, she was appointed President of the Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge from 2001 until 2008. Read more
25 Apr 1938: Roger Boisjoly, American aerodynamicist and engineer (died 2012) Roger Mark Boisjoly was an American mechanical engineer, fluid dynamicist, and an aerodynamicist. He is best known for having raised strenuous objections to the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger months before the loss of the spacecraft and its crew in January 1986. Boisjoly correctly predicted, based on earlier flight data, that the O-rings on the rocket boosters would fail if the shuttle launched in cold weather. Morton Thiokol's managers decided to launch the shuttle despite his warnings, leading to the catastrophic failure. He was considered a high-profile whistleblower. Read more
25 Apr 1938: Ton Schulten, Dutch painter and graphic designer Ton Schulten was a Dutch painter who mainly painted landscapes using bright blocks of colour. Read more
25 Apr 1936: Henck Arron, Surinamese banker and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Republic of Suriname (died 2000) Henck Alphonsus Eugène Arron was a Surinamese politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Suriname after it gained independence in 1975. A member of the National Party of Suriname, he served from 24 December 1973 with the transition government, to 25 February 1980. He was overthrown in a coup d'état by the military, led by Dési Bouterse. Released in 1981 after charges of corruption were dropped, he returned to banking, his previous career. In 1987, Arron was elected as Vice President of Suriname and served until another coup in 1990 overthrew the government. Read more
25 Apr 1935: Bob Gutowski, American pole vaulter (died 1960) Robert Allen Gutowski was an American athlete who competed mainly in the pole vault. He competed for the United States in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, Australia in the Pole Vault where he won the silver medal behind Bob Richards' second consecutive gold medal, after finishing fourth in the US Olympic Trials and only getting to the games on the withdrawal of Jim Graham. Read more
25 Apr 1935: Reinier Kreijermaat, Dutch footballer (died 2018) Reinier Kreijermaat was a Dutch footballer who was active as a midfielder in the 1960s. Read more
25 Apr 1934: Peter McParland, Northern Irish footballer and manager Peter James McParland was a Northern Irish footballer who played as an outside left. He was the last surviving member of the Aston Villa team which won the 1957 FA Cup, in which game he scored twice. McParland was the first player to score in and win both English major domestic cup finals. Read more
25 Apr 1933: Jerry Leiber, American songwriter and producer (died 2011) Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record-production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber and composer Michael Stoller. As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wrote numerous standards for Broadway. Read more
25 Apr 1933: Joyce Ricketts, American baseball player (died 1992) Joyce Ricketts was a right fielder who played from 1953 through 1954 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). She batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Read more
25 Apr 1932: Nikolai Kardashev, Russian astrophysicist (died 2019) Nikolai Semyonovich Kardashev was a Soviet and Russian astrophysicist best known for the Kardashev scale, which measures a civilization's status in technological evolution based on the amount of energy it is capable of harnessing and using. He was also the deputy director of the Astro Space Center of the Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Read more
25 Apr 1932: Meadowlark Lemon, African-American basketball player and minister (died 2015) Meadowlark Lemon was an American basketball player, actor, and Christian minister. For 22 years, he was known as the "Clown Prince" of the touring Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. He was a 2003 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Ordained in 1986, in 1994 he started Meadowlark Lemon Ministries in Scottsdale, Arizona. Read more
25 Apr 1932: Lia Manoliu, Romanian discus thrower and politician (died 1998) Lia Manoliu was a Romanian discus thrower who won one gold and two bronze Olympic medals. She was the first track and field athlete to compete at six Olympics (1952–1972). Read more
25 Apr 1931: Felix Berezin, Russian mathematician and physicist (died 1980) Felix Alexandrovich Berezin was a Soviet Russian mathematician and physicist known for his contributions to the theory of supersymmetry and supermanifolds as well as to the path integral formulation of quantum field theory. Read more
25 Apr 1931: David Shepherd, English painter and author (died 2017) Richard David Shepherd CBE FRSA FGRA was a British artist and one of the world's most outspoken conservationists. Read more
25 Apr 1930: Paul Mazursky, American actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2014) Irwin Lawrence "Paul" Mazursky was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. Known for his dramatic comedies that often dealt with modern social issues, he was nominated for five Academy Awards for Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), Harry and Tonto (1974), An Unmarried Woman (1978), and Enemies, A Love Story (1989). He is also known for directing the autobiographical Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976), Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), Moon over Parador (1988), and Scenes from a Mall (1991). Read more
25 Apr 1930: Godfrey Milton-Thompson, English admiral and surgeon (died 2012) Surgeon Vice Admiral Sir Godfrey James Milton-Thompson was a senior Royal Navy officer. From 1988 to 1990, he was Surgeon-General, senior medical officer of the British Armed Forces. Read more
25 Apr 1930: Peter Schulz, German lawyer and politician, Mayor of Hamburg (died 2013) Peter Schulz was a German politician, member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and First Mayor of Hamburg. Read more
25 Apr 1929: Yvette Williams, New Zealand long jumper, shot putter, and discus thrower (died 2019) Dame Yvette Winifred Corlett was a New Zealand track-and-field athlete who was the first woman from her country to win an Olympic gold medal and to hold the world record in the women's long jump. Williams was named "Athlete of the Century" on the 100th anniversary of Athletics New Zealand, in 1987. Read more
25 Apr 1928: Cy Twombly, American-Italian painter and sculptor (died 2011) Edwin Parker "Cy" Twombly Jr. was an American painter, sculptor, and photographer. Read more
25 Apr 1927: Corín Tellado, Spanish author (died 2009) María del Socorro Tellado López, known as Corín Tellado, was a Spanish writer of romantic novels and photonovels that were best-sellers in several Spanish-language countries. She published more than 4,000 titles and sold more than 400 million books which have been translated into several languages. She was listed in the 1994 Guinness World Records as having sold the most books written in Spanish, and earlier in 1962 UNESCO declared her the most read Spanish writer after Miguel de Cervantes. Read more
25 Apr 1927: Albert Uderzo, French author and illustrator (died 2020) Alberto Aleandro Uderzo, better known as Albert Uderzo, was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the Astérix series in collaboration with René Goscinny. He also drew other comics such as Oumpah-pah, again with Goscinny.
Uderzo retired in September 2011. Read more
25 Apr 1926: Johnny Craig, American author and illustrator (died 2001) John Thomas Alexis Craig, was an American comic book artist notable for his work with the EC Comics line of the 1950s. He sometimes used the pseudonyms Jay Taycee and F. C. Aljohn. Read more
25 Apr 1926: Gertrude Fröhlich-Sandner, Austrian politician (died 2008) Gertrude Fröhlich-Sandner was an Austrian politician for the SPÖ. Read more
25 Apr 1926: Patricia Castell, Argentine actress (died 2013) Patricia Castell, born Ovidia Amanda Paramidani Padín, was an Argentine actress, appearing on radio, television and in films. Born in Avellaneda in 1926, her career began in the 1940s and lasted for more than fifty years. Read more
25 Apr 1925: Tony Christopher, Baron Christopher, English trade union leader and businessman Anthony Martin Grosvenor Christopher, Baron Christopher of Leckhampton, is a British businessman, trade unionist, tax official, and Labour life peer. As of 2025, he is the oldest serving British parliamentarian and the only current parliamentarian to have served in the Second World War. Read more
25 Apr 1925: Sammy Drechsel, German comedian and journalist (died 1986) Sammy Drechsel, born Karl-Heinz Kamke, was a German political comedian, journalist and sports reporter. In 1956, together with Dieter Hildebrandt, he founded the Münchner Lach- und Schießgesellschaft, one of Germany's most successful and influential sites of political kabarett, for which he was producer and director up to his death. From 1950 to his death he also worked as a sports reporter for the Bavarian "Bayrischer Rundfunk". He also became well known for his 1955 book "Elf Freunde müsst ihr sein", which targeted an adolescent audience. One of Drechsel's last appearances was in the German TV series Kir Royal, directed by Helmut Dietl, which was completed shortly before his death. Read more
25 Apr 1925: Louis O'Neil, Canadian academic and politician (died 2018) Louis O'Neill was a Canadian university professor, writer, priest and politician. O'Neill was a member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1976–1981 and held two cabinet posts. Read more
25 Apr 1924: Ingemar Johansson, Swedish race walker (died 2009) Bror Ingemar Ture Johansson was a Swedish race walker who won a silver medal in the 10 km at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He was also an accomplished speed skater. Read more
25 Apr 1924: Franco Mannino, Italian pianist, composer, director, and playwright (died 2005) Franco Mannino was an Italian film composer, pianist, opera director, playwright and novelist. Read more
25 Apr 1924: Paulo Vanzolini, Brazilian singer-songwriter and zoologist (died 2013) Paulo Emilio Vanzolini was a Brazilian scientist and music composer. He was best known for his samba compositions, including the famous "Ronda", "Volta por Cima", and "Boca da Noite", and for his scientific works in herpetology. He is considered one of the greatest samba composers from São Paulo. Until his death, he still conducted research at the University of São Paulo (USP). Read more
25 Apr 1923: Francis Graham-Smith, English astronomer and academic (died 2025) Sir Francis Graham-Smith was a British astronomer. He was the 13th Astronomer Royal from 1982 to 1990 and was knighted in 1986.
Read more
25 Apr 1923: Melissa Hayden, Canadian ballerina (died 2006) Melissa Hayden was a Canadian ballerina at the New York City Ballet. Read more
25 Apr 1923: Albert King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (died 1992) Albert King was an American guitarist and singer, who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists ever. He is perhaps best known for his popular and influential album Born Under a Bad Sign (1967) and its title track. B. B. King, Freddie King, and he, all unrelated, were known as the "Three Kings of the Blues". The left-handed Albert King was known for his "deep, dramatic sound that was widely imitated by both blues and rock guitarists". Read more
25 Apr 1921: Karel Appel, Dutch painter and sculptor (died 2006) Christiaan Karel Appel was a Dutch painter, sculptor, and poet. He started painting at the age of fourteen and studied at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam in the 1940s. He was one of the founders of the avant-garde movement CoBrA in 1948. He was also an avid sculptor and has had works featured in MoMA and other museums worldwide. Read more
25 Apr 1919: Finn Helgesen, Norwegian speed skater (died 2011) Finn Helgesen was a speed skater from Norway. Read more
25 Apr 1918: Graham Payn, South African-born English actor and singer (died 2005) Graham Payn was a South African-born actor and singer, also known for being the life partner of the playwright Noël Coward. Beginning as a boy soprano, Payn later made a career as a singer and actor in the works of Coward and others. After Coward's death, Payn ran the Coward estate for 22 years. Read more
25 Apr 1918: Gérard de Vaucouleurs, French-American astronomer and academic (died 1995) Gérard Henri de Vaucouleurs was a French astronomer best known for his studies of galaxies. Read more
25 Apr 1918: Astrid Varnay, Swedish-American soprano and actress (died 2006) Ibolyka Astrid Maria Varnay was a Swedish-born American dramatic soprano of Hungarian descent. She spent most of her career in the United States and Germany. She was one of the leading Wagnerian heroic sopranos of her generation. Read more
25 Apr 1917: Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (died 1996) Ella Jane Fitzgerald was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing. Read more
25 Apr 1917: Jean Lucas, French racing driver (died 2003) Jean Lucas was a French racing driver. He participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, on 11 September 1955. Lucas was then manager of the Gordini team, and when regular driver Robert Manzon was unable to race, he stepped in to take his place. His retired his car with engine failure and scored no championship points. Read more
25 Apr 1916: Jerry Barber, American golfer (died 1994) Carl Jerome Barber was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour. He had seven wins on tour, including a major title, the PGA Championship in 1961. Read more
25 Apr 1915: Mort Weisinger, American journalist and author (died 1978) Mortimer Weisinger was an American magazine and comic book editor best known for editing DC Comics' Superman during the mid-1950s to 1960s, in the Silver Age of comic books. He also co-created such features as Aquaman, Green Arrow, Johnny Quick, and the original Vigilante, served as story editor for the Adventures of Superman television series, and compiled the often-revised paperback 1001 Valuable Things You Can Get Free. Read more
25 Apr 1914: Ross Lockridge Jr., American author and academic (died 1948) Ross Franklin Lockridge Jr. was an American writer known for his novel Raintree County (1948). The novel became a bestseller and has been praised by readers and critics alike. Some have considered it a "Great American Novel". Lockridge died by suicide at the peak of his novel's success at age 33. Read more
25 Apr 1913: Nikolaos Roussen, Greek captain (died 1944) Nikolaos Roussen was a Greek naval officer who distinguished himself during World War II. He served in the two most successful Greek submarines of the war as executive officer and captain. He died during the suppression of the Navy mutiny in April 1944. Read more
25 Apr 1912: Earl Bostic, American saxophonist (died 1965) Eugene Earl Bostic was an American alto saxophonist. Bostic's recording career was diverse, his musical output encompassing jazz, swing, jump blues and the post-war American rhythm and blues style, which he pioneered. He had a number of popular hits such as "Flamingo", "Harlem Nocturne", "Temptation", "Sleep", "Special Delivery Stomp", and "Where or When", which featured his characteristic growl on the horn. He was a major influence on John Coltrane. Read more
25 Apr 1911: Connie Marrero, Cuban baseball player and coach (died 2014) Conrado Eugenio Marrero Ramos, nicknamed "Connie", was a Cuban professional baseball pitcher. The right-handed Marrero pitched in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1954 for the Washington Senators. Read more
25 Apr 1911: George Roth, American gymnast (died 1997) George Helm Roth was an American gymnast and Olympic champion who competed at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He was a member of the United States men's national artistic gymnastics team and won a gold medal in club swinging, or Indian Clubs as they were often known. He later became a petroleum geologist who in 1954 founded the petroleum consulting company George H. Roth and Associates in Hollywood, California. Managing the company for nearly thirty years, he and his associates helped discover many new California oil fields. Read more
25 Apr 1910: Arapeta Awatere, New Zealand interpreter, military leader, politician, and murderer (died 1976) Arapeta Marukitepua Pitapitanuiarangi Awatere was a scholar, decorated military leader, Māori welfare officer, writer, linguist, and local politician. He served in the Māori Battalion from 1940 to 1945, commanding C Company at the Battle of Tebaga Gap in 1943 and later leading the battalion in Italy. He was awarded the Military Cross and the Distinguished Service Order for bravery and leadership. Read more
25 Apr 1909: William Pereira, American architect, designed the Transamerica Pyramid (died 1985) William Leonard Pereira was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois, who was noted for his futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco. He worked out of Los Angeles and was known for his love of science fiction and expensive cars, but mostly for his style of architecture, which helped define the look of the mid-20th century United States. Read more
25 Apr 1908: Edward R. Murrow, American journalist (died 1965) Edward Roscoe Murrow was an American broadcast journalist and war correspondent. Read more
25 Apr 1906: Joel Brand, member of the Budapest Aid and Rescue Committee (died 1964) Joel Brand was a member of the Budapest Aid and Rescue Committee, an underground Zionist group in Budapest, Hungary, that smuggled Jews out of German-occupied Europe to the relative safety of Hungary, during the Holocaust. When Germany invaded Hungary in March 1944, Brand became known for his efforts to save the Jewish community from deportation to the Auschwitz concentration camp in occupied Poland and the gas chambers there. Read more
25 Apr 1906: William J. Brennan Jr., American colonel and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (died 1997) William Joseph Brennan Jr. was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1956 to 1990. He was the eighth-longest serving justice in Supreme Court history, and was known for being a leader of the Court's liberal wing. Read more
25 Apr 1905: George Nēpia, New Zealand rugby player and referee (died 1986) George Nēpia was a New Zealand Māori rugby union and rugby league player. He is remembered as an exceptional full-back and one of the most famous Māori rugby players. He was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. In 2004 he was selected as number 65 by the panel of the New Zealand's Top 100 History Makers television show. Nēpia was featured in a set of postage stamps from the New Zealand post office in 1990. Historian Philippa Mein Smith described him as "New Zealand rugby's first superstar". Read more
25 Apr 1903: Andrey Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician and academic (died 1987) Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov was a Soviet mathematician who played a central role in the creation of modern probability theory. He also gave fundamental contributions to the mathematics of topology, intuitionistic logic, turbulence, classical mechanics, functional analysis, algorithmic information theory and computational complexity. Read more
25 Apr 1902: Werner Heyde, German psychiatrist and academic (died 1964) Werner Heyde was a German psychiatrist. He was one of the main organizers of Nazi Germany's T-4 Euthanasia Program. Read more
25 Apr 1902: Mary Miles Minter, American actress (died 1984) Mary Miles Minter was an American actress, and one of the leading ladies who established the early Hollywood star system. She appeared in 53 silent films from 1912 to 1923. Read more
25 Apr 1900: Gladwyn Jebb, English politician and diplomat, Secretary-General of the United Nations (died 1996) Hubert Miles Gladwyn Jebb, 1st Baron Gladwyn, was a prominent British civil servant, diplomat and politician who served as the acting secretary-general of the United Nations between 1945 and 1946. Read more
25 Apr 1900: Wolfgang Pauli, Austrian-Swiss-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1958) Wolfgang Ernst Pauli was an Austrian–Swiss theoretical physicist and a pioneer of quantum mechanics. In 1945, after having been nominated by Albert Einstein, Pauli received the Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of the Exclusion Principle, also called the Pauli Principle". The discovery involved spin theory, which is the basis of a theory of the structure of matter. Read more
25 Apr 1897: Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (died 1965) Mary, Princess Royal, was a member of the British royal family. She was the only daughter of King George V and Queen Mary, the sister of kings Edward VIII and George VI, and the aunt of Queen Elizabeth II. During the First World War, she undertook extensive charity work in support of servicemen and their families. In 1922, she married Henry Lascelles, Viscount Lascelles, and they had two sons, George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, and Gerald David Lascelles. Mary was granted the title Princess Royal in 1932. During the Second World War, she served as Controller Commandant of the Auxiliary Territorial Service. Read more
25 Apr 1896: Fred Haney, American baseball player, coach, and manager (died 1977) Fred Girard Haney was an American third baseman, manager, coach and executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). As a manager, he won two pennants and a world championship with the Milwaukee Braves. He later served as the first general manager of the expansion Los Angeles Angels in the American League. For years, Haney was one of the most popular baseball figures in Los Angeles. In 1974 he was presented with the King of Baseball award given by Minor League Baseball. Read more
25 Apr 1892: Maud Hart Lovelace, American author (died 1980) Maud Hart Lovelace was an American writer best known for the Betsy-Tacy series. Read more
25 Apr 1887: Kojo Tovalou Houénou, Beninese lawyer and critic (died 1936) Kojo Tovalou Houénou was a prominent African critic of the French colonial empire in Africa. Born in Porto-Novo to a wealthy father and a mother who belonged to the royal family of the Kingdom of Dahomey, he was sent to France for education at the age of 13. There he received a law degree, medical training, and served in the French armed forces as an army doctor during World War I. Following the war, Houénou became a minor celebrity in Paris; dating actresses, writing books as a public intellectual, and making connections with many of the elite of French society. Read more
25 Apr 1882: Fred McLeod, Scottish golfer (died 1976) Frederick Robertson McLeod was a Scottish-born golfer who played primarily in the United States. He had a distinguished career in the United States, which included a victory in the 1908 U.S. Open. Read more
25 Apr 1878: William Merz, American gymnast and triathlete (died 1946) William G. Merz was an American gymnast and track and field athlete who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. He died in Overland, Missouri. Read more
25 Apr 1876: Jacob Nicol, Canadian publisher, lawyer, and politician (died 1958) Jacob Nicol, was a Canadian lawyer, newspaper publisher, and politician. He became Senator under Prime Minister of Canada, William Lyon Mackenzie King. Read more
25 Apr 1874: Guglielmo Marconi, Italian businessman and inventor, developed Marconi's law, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1937) Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquess, was an Italian radio-frequency engineer, inventor, and politician known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based wireless telegraph system. This led to his being largely credited as the inventor of radio and sharing the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics with Ferdinand Braun "in recognition of their contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy."
His work laid the foundation for the development of radio, television, and all modern wireless communication systems. Read more
25 Apr 1874: Ernest Webb, English-Canadian race walker (died 1937) Ernest James Webb was a British athlete who competed mainly in the 10-mile walk and competed for Great Britain in the 1908 Summer Olympics held in London and the 1912 Summer Olympics in Sweden. Read more
25 Apr 1873: Walter de la Mare, English poet, short story writer, and novelist (died 1956) Walter John de la Mare was an English poet, short story writer and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for his psychological horror short fiction, including "Seaton's Aunt", "The Green Room" and "All Hallows". In 1921, his novel Memoirs of a Midget won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction, and his post-war Collected Stories for Children won the 1947 Carnegie Medal for British children's books. Read more
25 Apr 1873: Howard Garis, American author, creator of the Uncle Wiggily series of children's stories (died 1962) Howard Roger Garis was an American author, best known for a series of books that featured the character of Uncle Wiggily Longears, an engaging elderly rabbit. Many of his books were illustrated by Lansing Campbell. Garis and his wife, Lilian Garis, were possibly the most prolific children's authors of the early 20th century. Read more
25 Apr 1872: C. B. Fry, English cricketer, footballer, educator, and politician (died 1956) Charles Burgess Fry was an English sportsman, teacher, writer, editor and publisher, who is best remembered for his career as a cricketer. John Arlott described him with the words: "Charles Fry could be autocratic, angry and self-willed: he was also magnanimous, extravagant, generous, elegant, brilliant – and fun … he was probably the most variously gifted Englishman of any age." Read more
25 Apr 1871: Lorne Currie, French-English sailor (died 1926) Lorne Campbell Currie was a British sailor who represented his country at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Meulan, France. With crew John Gretton, Linton Hope and Algernon Maudslay. Currie, as helmsman, took first place in race of the .5 to 1 ton. He was born and died in Le Havre, France. His father, John Martin Currie, was a younger brother of Donald Currie, the ship owner, and acted as agent for the firm in Le Havre. Read more
25 Apr 1868: John Moisant, American pilot and engineer (died 1910) John Bevins Moisant was an American aviator, aeronautical engineer, flight instructor, businessman, and revolutionary. He was the first pilot to conduct passenger flights over a city (Paris), as well as across the English Channel, from Paris to London. He co-founded an eponymous flying circus, the Moisant International Aviators. Read more
25 Apr 1862: Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, English ornithologist and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (died 1933) Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, better known as Sir Edward Grey, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who was the main force behind British foreign policy in the era of the First World War. Read more
25 Apr 1854: Charles Sumner Tainter, American engineer and inventor (died 1940) Charles Sumner Tainter was an American scientific instrument maker, engineer and inventor, best known for his collaborations with Alexander Graham Bell, Chichester Bell, Alexander's father-in-law Gardiner Hubbard, and for his significant improvements to Thomas Edison's phonograph, resulting in the Graphophone, one version of which was the first Dictaphone. Read more
25 Apr 1851: Leopoldo Alas, Spanish author, critic, and academic (died 1901) Leopoldo Enrique García-Alas y Ureña, also known as Clarín, was a Spanish realist novelist and journalist born in Zamora. His inflammatory articles, known as paliques (“chitchat”), as well as his advocacy of liberalism and anti-clericalism, made him a formidable and controversial critical voice. He died in Oviedo. Read more
25 Apr 1850: Luise Adolpha Le Beau, German composer and educator (died 1927) Luise Adolpha Le Beau was a German composer of classical music. She studied with noted musicians Clara Schumann and Franz Lachner, but her primary instructor was Josef Gabriel Rheinberger. Like many other 19th century female composers, Le Beau began her career in music as a pianist, and later earned her living teaching, critiquing, and performing music. Read more
25 Apr 1849: Felix Klein, German mathematician and academic (died 1925) Felix Christian Klein was a German mathematician, mathematics educator and historian of mathematics, known for his work in group theory, complex analysis, non-Euclidean geometry, and the associations between geometry and group theory. His 1872 Erlangen program classified geometries by their basic symmetry groups and was an influential synthesis of much of the mathematics of the time. Read more
25 Apr 1843: Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (died 1878) Princess Alice was Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine from 13 June 1877 until her death in 1878 as the wife of Grand Duke Louis IV. She was the third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Alice was the first of Queen Victoria's nine children to die and one of three to predecease their mother. Read more

🕊️ Important Deaths on 25 April in World History

25 Apr 2024: Marla Adams, American television actress (born 1938) Marla Vene Adams was an American actress. She was best known for playing the roles of Belle Clemens on the CBS soap opera The Secret Storm and Dina Abbott Mergeron on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. She won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role on The Young and the Restless in 2021. She had been nominated in the same category in 2018. Read more
25 Apr 2024: Laurent Cantet, French director, cinematographer and screenwriter (born 1961) Laurent Cantet was a French director, cinematographer and screenwriter. His film Entre les murs won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008. Read more
25 Apr 2023: Harry Belafonte, American singer, activist, and actor (born 1927) Harry Belafonte was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Belafonte's career breakthrough album Calypso (1956) was the first million-selling LP by a single artist. Read more
25 Apr 2019: John Havlicek, American basketball player (born 1940) John Joseph Havlicek was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire career with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Read more
25 Apr 2018: Madeeha Gauhar, Pakistani actress, playwright and director of social theater, and women's rights activist (born 1956) Madeeha Gauhar was a Pakistani TV and stage actress, playwright, director of social theater, and women's rights activist. In 1984, she founded Ajoka Theatre where social themes were staged in theaters, on the street and in public places. With Ajoka Theater, she performed in Asia and Europe. She was one of the leading actresses on Pakistan's Television screens in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Read more
25 Apr 2016: Tom Lewis, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of New South Wales (born 1922) Thomas Lancelot Lewis was a New South Wales politician who served as the 33rd Premier of New South Wales from 1975 to 1976, and served as a minister in the cabinets of Sir Robert Askin and Sir Eric Willis. He became Premier following Askin's retirement from politics and held the position until he was replaced by Willis in a party vote. Lewis was first elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the Electoral district of Wollondilly for the Liberal Party in 1957, and served until his resignation in 1978. Read more
25 Apr 2015: Jim Fanning, American-Canadian baseball player and manager (born 1927) William James Fanning was an American-Canadian catcher, manager and front office executive in Major League Baseball. Often called "Gentleman Jim", Fanning was the first general manager of the Montreal Expos of the National League, and served the Expos in a number of capacities for almost 25 years. As their field manager in 1981, he guided Montreal into the playoffs for the only time in the 36-year history of the franchise. Read more
25 Apr 2015: Matthias Kuhle, German geographer and academic (born 1948) Matthias Kuhle was a German geographer and professor at the University of Göttingen. He edited the book series Geography International published by Shaker Verlag. Read more
25 Apr 2015: Don Mankiewicz, American screenwriter and novelist (born 1922) Don Martin Mankiewicz was an American screenwriter and novelist best known for his novel Trial. Read more
25 Apr 2015: Mike Phillips, American basketball player (born 1956) Michael Charles Phillips was an American professional basketball player. At a height of 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 m), he played at the center position. He played professionally for eleven years in Spain, including six years in Spain's top-tier level league, the Liga ACB. Read more
25 Apr 2014: Dan Heap, Canadian priest and politician (born 1925) Daniel James Macdonnell Heap was a Canadian activist and politician. Heap served as a Member of Parliament with the New Democratic Party, a Toronto City Councillor, a political activist and an Anglican worker-priest. He represented the Toronto, Ontario, riding of Spadina from 1981 to 1993 and Ward 6 on Toronto City Council from 1972 to 1981. As an activist he was involved in the peace movement, community issues around housing, homelessness, poverty and refugee rights among other social justice issues. Read more
25 Apr 2014: William Judson Holloway Jr., American soldier, lawyer, and judge (born 1923) William Judson Holloway Jr. was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Read more
25 Apr 2014: Earl Morrall, American football player and coach (born 1934) Earl Edwin Morrall was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons, both a starter and reserve. He was the last remaining player from the 1950s still active in NFL football. He started for six teams, most notably with the Baltimore Colts and the Miami Dolphins. He became known as one of the greatest backup quarterbacks in NFL history, having served in the capacity for two Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Johnny Unitas and Bob Griese. An injury to Unitas in 1968 saw Morrall step in to become the starter; he guided the Colts to a 13–1 record and won league MVP. He also led them to their first NFL Championship win in nine years before ineffective play in Super Bowl III saw him benched for Unitas. Two years later, in Super Bowl V, Morrall came off the bench for an injured Unitas and kept the Colts in the game before they ultimately won on a last-second field goal. In his first season with Miami in 1972, he came off the bench when Griese became injured early in the year, with Morrall winning all nine starts; Morrall started the first two playoff games, with Griese playing in each game before being named the starter for Super Bowl VII, where the Dolphins completed the only perfect season in NFL history. Read more
25 Apr 2014: Tito Vilanova, Spanish footballer and manager (born 1968) Francesc "Tito" Vilanova Bayó was a Spanish professional football central midfielder and manager. Read more
25 Apr 2014: Stefanie Zweig, German journalist and author (born 1932) Stefanie Zweig was a German Jewish writer and journalist. She is best known for her autobiographical novel, Nirgendwo in Afrika (1995), which was a bestseller in Germany. The novel is based on her early life in Kenya, where her family had fled to escape persecution in Nazi Germany. The film adaptation of the novel (2001) won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Her books have sold more than seven million copies, and have been translated into fifteen languages. Read more
25 Apr 2013: Brian Adam, Scottish biochemist and politician (born 1948) Brian James Adam was a Scottish politician and biochemist who served as Minister for Parliamentary Business and Chief Whip from 2011 to 2012. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2013. Read more
25 Apr 2013: Jacob Avshalomov, American composer and conductor (born 1919) Jacob Avshalomov was a composer and conductor. Read more
25 Apr 2013: György Berencsi, Hungarian virologist and academic (born 1941) György Berencsi 3rd was a Hungarian virologist. He was the Head of the Department of Virology at the "Béla Johan" National Centre for Epidemiology and professor at the Semmelweis University in Budapest. Read more
25 Apr 2013: Rick Camp, American baseball player (born 1953) Rick Lamar Camp was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for a total of nine seasons with the Atlanta Braves between 1976 and 1985. Read more
25 Apr 2012: Gerry Bahen, Australian footballer (born 1929) Gerald Edmund "Gerry" Bahen was a businessman and Australian rules football player and administrator who played for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the South Fremantle Football Club in the Western Australian National Football League (WANFL), as well as representing Western Australia in three interstate matches. After the conclusion of his playing career, Bahen became involved in the entertainment and hospitality areas, also serving as a committeeman and vice-president of the South Fremantle Football Club. Read more
25 Apr 2012: Denny Jones, American rancher and politician (born 1910) Denzil Eugene Jones was an American rancher and Republican politician. Jones is remembered as a 13-term member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly in which he represented citizens from four counties in the sparsely populated Eastern part of the state. Read more
25 Apr 2012: Moscelyne Larkin, American ballerina and educator (born 1925) Edna Moscelyne Larkin Jasinski was an American ballerina and one of the "Five Moons", Native American ballerinas from Oklahoma who gained international fame in the 20th century. After dancing with the Original Ballet Russe and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, she and her husband settled in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where in 1956 they founded the Tulsa Ballet and its associated school. It became a major regional company in the American Southwest and made its New York City debut in 1983. She is portrayed in the mural Flight of Spirit displayed in the Rotunda of the Oklahoma State Capitol building. Read more
25 Apr 2012: Louis le Brocquy, Irish painter and illustrator (born 1916) Louis le Brocquy HRHA was an Irish painter born in Dublin to Albert and Sybil le Brocquy. Louis' sister is the sculptor Melanie Le Brocquy. His work received many accolades in a career that spanned some seventy years of creative practice. In 1956, he represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale, winning the Premio Acquisito Internationale with A Family, subsequently included in the historic exhibition Fifty Years of Modern Art Brussels, World Fair 1958. The same year he married the Irish painter Anne Madden and left London to work in the French Midi. Read more
25 Apr 2011: Poly Styrene, British musician (born 1957) Marianne Joan Elliott-Said, known by the stage name Poly Styrene, was an English musician, singer-songwriter, and frontwoman for the punk rock band X-Ray Spex. She is considered a pioneer for the feminist punk movement. Read more
25 Apr 2010: Dorothy Provine, American actress and singer (born 1935) Dorothy Michelle Provine was an American singer, dancer and actress. Born in 1935 in Deadwood, South Dakota, she grew up in Seattle, Washington, and was hired in 1958 by Warner Bros., after which she first starred in The Bonnie Parker Story and played many roles in TV series. During the 1960s, Provine starred in series such as The Alaskans and The Roaring Twenties, and her major film roles included It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Good Neighbor Sam (1964), The Great Race (1965), That Darn Cat! (1965), Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die (1966), Who's Minding the Mint? (1967), and Never a Dull Moment (1968). Read more
25 Apr 2010: Alan Sillitoe, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet (born 1928) Alan Sillitoe FRSL was an English writer and one of the so-called "angry young men" of the 1950s. He disliked the label, as did most of the other writers to whom it was applied. He is best known for his debut novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and his early short story "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner", both of which were adapted into films. Read more
25 Apr 2009: Bea Arthur, American actress and singer (born 1922) Beatrice Arthur was an American actress, comedian, and singer. She began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving worldwide recognition for her work on television beginning in the 1970s as Maude Findlay in the popular sitcoms All in the Family (1971–1972) and Maude (1972–1978) and later in the 1980s and 1990s as Dorothy Zbornak on The Golden Girls (1985–1992). Read more
25 Apr 2008: Humphrey Lyttelton, English trumpet player, composer, and radio host (born 1921) Humphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton, also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster from the Lyttelton family. Read more
25 Apr 2007: Alan Ball Jr., English footballer and manager (born 1945) Alan James Ball was an English professional football player and manager. He won the 1966 World Cup with England and scored more than 180 league goals in a career spanning 22 years. After retiring as a player, he had a 15-year career as a manager which included spells in the top flight of English football with Portsmouth, Southampton and Manchester City. One of the best midfielders of his generation, he was inducted in the English Football Hall of Fame in 2003. Read more
25 Apr 2007: Arthur Milton, English footballer and cricketer (born 1928) Clement Arthur Milton was an English cricketer and footballer. He played County cricket for Gloucestershire from 1948 to 1974, playing six Test matches for England in 1958 and 1959. He also played domestic football for Arsenal between 1951 and 1955, and then for a brief period for Bristol City. He played one match for England in 1951, against Austria at Wembley. He was the last man, and the last survivor, of the twelve people to have played at the highest international level for both England's football and cricket teams. Read more
25 Apr 2007: Bobby Pickett, American singer-songwriter (born 1938) Robert George Pickett, better known as Bobby "Boris" Pickett, was an American singer-songwriter and comedian. He is best known for co-writing and performing the 1962 smash hit novelty song "Monster Mash". Read more
25 Apr 2006: Jane Jacobs, American-Canadian journalist, author, and activist (born 1916) Jane Isabel Jacobs was an American-Canadian journalist, author, theorist, and activist who influenced urban studies, sociology, and economics. Her book The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961) argued that "urban renewal" and "slum clearance" did not respect the needs of city-dwellers. Read more
25 Apr 2006: Peter Law, Welsh politician and independent member of parliament (born 1948) Peter John Law was a Welsh politician. For most of his career Law sat as a Labour councillor and subsequently Labour Co-operative Assembly member (AM) for Blaenau Gwent. Latterly he sat as an independent member of Parliament (MP) and AM for the same constituency. Read more
25 Apr 2005: Jim Barker, American politician (born 1935) Jim L. Barker was an Oklahoma politician. During his tenure he was the only state representative to be elected four times as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Read more
25 Apr 2005: Swami Ranganathananda, Indian monk and educator (born 1908) Swami Ranganathananda was a Hindu swami of the Ramakrishna Math order. He served as the 13th president of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. Read more
25 Apr 2004: Thom Gunn, English-American poet and academic (born 1929) Thomson William "Thom" Gunn was an English poet who was praised for his early verses in England, where he was associated with The Movement, and his later poetry in America, where he adopted a looser, free-verse style. He wrote about his experience moving to San Francisco from England. He received numerous literary honours. His poems are reputed to possess a restrained elegance of philosophy. Read more
25 Apr 2003: Samson Kitur, Kenyan runner (born 1966) Samson Kitur was a Kenyan athlete, and an Olympic medalist in 1992. Read more
25 Apr 2002: Lisa Lopes, American rapper and dancer (born 1971) Lisa Nicole Lopes, also known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper and singer-songwriter. She was a member of the R&B girl group TLC, alongside Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Besides rapping on TLC recordings, Lopes was the creative force behind the group, receiving more co-writing credits than the other members. She also designed some of their outfits and the stage for their FanMail Tour and contributed to the group's image, album titles, artworks, and music videos. Through her work with TLC, Lopes won four Grammy Awards. Read more
25 Apr 2001: Michele Alboreto, Italian racing driver (born 1956) Michele Alboreto was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1981 to 1994. Alboreto was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1985 with Ferrari, and won five Grands Prix across 14 seasons. In endurance racing, Alboreto won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1997 with Joest, as well as the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2001 with Audi. Read more
25 Apr 2000: Lucien Le Cam, French mathematician and statistician (born 1924) Lucien Marie Le Cam was a mathematician and statistician. Read more
25 Apr 2000: David Merrick, American director and producer (born 1911) David Merrick was an American theatrical producer who won a number of Tony Awards. Read more
25 Apr 1999: Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, Irish journalist and author (born 1914) Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, was an Irish journalist, author, sports official, and the sixth president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), serving from 1972 to 1980. He succeeded his uncle as Baron Killanin in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1927, when he was 12, which allowed him to sit in the House of Lords at the Palace of Westminster as Lord Killanin upon turning 21. Read more
25 Apr 1999: Roger Troutman, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1951) Roger Troutman, also known simply as Roger, was an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the founder of the band Zapp who helped spearhead the funk movement and influenced West Coast hip-hop due to the scene's heavy sampling of his music. Read more
25 Apr 1998: Wright Morris, American author and photographer (born 1910) Wright Marion Morris was an American novelist, photographer, and essayist. He is known for his portrayals of the people and artifacts of the Great Plains in words and pictures, as well as for experimenting with narrative forms. Read more
25 Apr 1996: Saul Bass, American graphic designer and director (born 1920) Saul Bass was an American graphic designer and filmmaker, best known for his design of motion-picture title sequences, film posters, and corporate logos. Read more
25 Apr 1995: Art Fleming, American game show host (born 1925) Arthur Fleming Fazzin, more well known as Art Fleming, was an American actor and television host. He was the original host of the television game show Jeopardy!, hosting its first 3 versions as both a network show on NBC and a weekly syndicated show (1974-1975). Read more
25 Apr 1995: Ginger Rogers, American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1911) Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role in Kitty Foyle (1940), and performed during the 1930s in RKO's musical films with Fred Astaire. Her career continued on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century. Read more
25 Apr 1995: Lev Shankovsky, Ukrainian military historian (born 1903) Lev Shankovsky, was a Ukrainian military historian and former Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) soldier, a leading member of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. He was a full member of the Shevchenko Scientific Society. Read more
25 Apr 1992: Mamoru Nakamura, Palauan jurist (born 1939/1940) Mamarou Nakamura was a Palauan jurist. Nakamura was a founder of Palau's court system—which he based on the judiciary of the United States—and served as the first chief justice of Palau from 1981 to his death in 1992. He was the first Micronesian person appointed to serve as a justice of the High Court of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, from 27 October 1977 to 1988. Read more
25 Apr 1992: Yutaka Ozaki, Japanese singer-songwriter (born 1965) Yutaka Ozaki was a Japanese singer-songwriter. His hit debut single "Jūgo no Yoru" and debut album Jūnanasai no Chizu were released in 1983. He died in 1992 at the age of 26. Read more
25 Apr 1990: Dexter Gordon, American saxophonist, composer, and actor (born 1923) Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians. Gordon's height was 6 feet 6 inches (198 cm), so he was also known as "Long Tall Dexter" and "Sophisticated Giant". His studio and performance career spanned more than 40 years. Read more
25 Apr 1988: Carolyn Franklin, American singer-songwriter (born 1944) Carolyn Ann Franklin was an American singer-songwriter. Read more
25 Apr 1988: Clifford D. Simak, American journalist and author (born 1904) Clifford Donald Simak was an American science fiction writer and journalist. He won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award. The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master, and the Horror Writers Association made him one of three inaugural winners of the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. He is associated with the pastoral science fiction subgenre. Read more
25 Apr 1983: William S. Bowdern, American priest and author (born 1897) William S. Bowdern was a Catholic priest of the Society of Jesus in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the author of The Problems of Courtship and Marriage printed by Our Sunday Visitor in 1939. He was a graduate of and taught at St. Louis University High School; he also taught at Saint Louis University. Read more
25 Apr 1982: John Cody, American cardinal (born 1907) John Patrick Cody was an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Kansas City–Saint Joseph (1956–1961), Archbishop of New Orleans (1964–1965), and Archbishop of Chicago (1965–1982). He was named a cardinal in 1967. Read more
25 Apr 1976: Carol Reed, English director and producer (born 1906) Sir Carol Reed was an English film director and producer, best known for Odd Man Out (1947), The Fallen Idol (1948), The Third Man (1949), and Oliver! (1968), for which he was awarded the Academy Award for Best Director. Read more
25 Apr 1976: Markus Reiner, Israeli engineer and educator (born 1886) Markus Reiner was an Israeli scientist and a major figure in rheology. Read more
25 Apr 1975: Mike Brant, Israeli singer and songwriter (born 1947) Mike Brant was an Israeli singer and songwriter who achieved fame after moving to France. His most successful hit was Laisse-moi t'aimer. He was known for his vocal range going from baritone to high tenor and also a very high and powerful falsetto. Brant died by suicide at the height of his career by jumping from a window of an apartment in Paris. Read more
25 Apr 1974: Gustavo R. Vincenti, Maltese architect and developer (born 1888) Gustavo Romeo Vincenti was a Maltese architect and developer. Born into a wealthy and business-oriented family in Valletta and Floriana, he was able to purchase land and design and build buildings which he would then sell to clients. He was interested in architecture from a young age, and he graduated as an architect from the University of Malta in 1911, at the age of 23. Read more
25 Apr 1973: Olga Grey, Hungarian-American actress (born 1896) Olga Grey was an American silent film actress, sometimes billed with the alternate spelling of her last name, Olga Gray. Read more
25 Apr 1972: George Sanders, English actor (born 1906) George Henry Sanders was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous characters. He is remembered for his roles as the wicked Jack Favell in Rebecca (1940), Scott ffolliott in Foreign Correspondent, The Saran of Gaza in Samson and Delilah, theater critic Addison DeWitt in All About Eve, Sir Brian De Bois-Guilbert in Ivanhoe (1952), King Richard the Lionheart in King Richard and the Crusaders (1954), Mr. Freeze in a two-part episode of Batman (1966), and the voice of Shere Khan in Disney's The Jungle Book (1967). He also starred as Simon Templar, in five of the eight films in The Saint series (1939–1941), and as a suave Saint-like crimefighter in the first four of the sixteen The Falcon films (1941–1942). Read more
25 Apr 1970: Anita Louise, American actress (born 1915) Anita Louise was an American film and television actress best known for her performances in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), The Story of Louis Pasteur (1935), Anthony Adverse (1936), Marie Antoinette (1938), and The Little Princess (1939). She was named as a WAMPAS Baby Star. Read more
25 Apr 1961: Robert Garrett, American discus thrower and shot putter (born 1875) Robert S. Garrett was an American athlete, as well as investment banker and philanthropist in Baltimore, Maryland and financier of several important archeological excavations. Garrett was the first modern Olympic champion in discus throw as well as shot put. With six Olympic medals, he is one of the most successful track and field Olympiansof all time. Read more
25 Apr 1950: John Ernest Adamson, English educationalist and Director of Education of the Colony of Transvaal (born 1867) Sir John Ernest Adamson CMG was an English educationalist. He was director of education in Transvaal, modern day South Africa from 1905 to 1924 and played an important role in developing that territory's education system. Read more
25 Apr 1945: Huldreich Georg Früh, Swiss composer (born 1903) Huldreich Georg Früh was a Swiss composer. Read more
25 Apr 1944: George Herriman, American cartoonist (born 1880) George Joseph Herriman III was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip Krazy Kat (1913–1944). More influential than popular, Krazy Kat had an appreciative audience among those in the arts. Gilbert Seldes' article "The Krazy Kat Who Walks by Himself" was the earliest example of a critic from the high arts giving serious attention to a comic strip. The Comics Journal placed the strip first on its list of the greatest comics of the 20th century. Herriman's work has been a primary influence on cartoonists such as Elzie C. Segar, Will Eisner, Charles M. Schulz, Robert Crumb, Art Spiegelman, Bill Watterson, Chris Ware and Walt Kelly. Read more
25 Apr 1944: Tony Mullane, Irish-American baseball player (born 1859) Anthony John Mullane, nicknamed "Count" and "the Apollo of the Box", was an Irish professional baseball player who pitched for seven major-league teams during 1881–1894. He is best known as a switch pitcher who could throw with either hand, and for having one of the highest career win totals of pitchers not in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Read more
25 Apr 1944: William Stephens, American engineer and politician, 24th Governor of California (born 1859) William Dennison Stephens was an American federal and state politician. A three-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1911 to 1916, Stephens was the 24th governor of California from 1917 to 1923. Prior to becoming Governor, Stephens served as the 27th lieutenant governor of California from 1916 to 1917, due to the death of John Morton Eshleman, and served a brief time as Mayor of Los Angeles in 1909 due to the resignation of Arthur C. Harper. He served as the 27th Mayor of Los Angeles in 1909. Read more
25 Apr 1943: Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Russian director, producer, and playwright (born 1858) Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko was a Soviet and Russian theatre director, writer, pedagogue, playwright, producer and theatre administrator, who founded the Moscow Art Theatre with his colleague, Konstantin Stanislavski, in 1898. Read more
25 Apr 1941: Salih Bozok, Turkish commander and politician (born 1881) Salih Bozok was an officer of the Ottoman Army, later the Turkish Army and a politician of the Republic of Turkey. He was the chief aide-de-camp of Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), the founder of modern Turkey. Read more
25 Apr 1936: Wajed Ali Khan Panni, Bengali aristocrat and philanthropist (born 1871) Wajed Ali Khan Panni, also known by his daak naam Chand Mian, was a Bengali politician, educationist and the zamindar of Karatia. Read more
25 Apr 1928: Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian general (born 1878) Baron Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel was a Russian military officer of Baltic German descent. He served as a general in the anti-Bolshevik Volunteer Army during the Russian Civil War, and in 1920 became the last commander-in-chief of the White forces in Southern Russia, which he reorganized as the Russian Army. Read more
25 Apr 1923: Louis-Olivier Taillon, Canadian lawyer and politician, 8th Premier of Quebec (born 1840) Sir Louis-Olivier Taillon was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was the eighth premier of Quebec, serving two separate terms. Read more
25 Apr 1921: Emmeline B. Wells, American journalist and women's rights advocate (born 1828) Emmeline Blanche Woodward Harris Whitney Wells was an American journalist, editor, poet, women's rights advocate, and diarist. She served as the fifth Relief Society General President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1910 until her death. She represented the state of Utah at both the National and American Women's Suffrage conventions and was president of the Utah Woman's Suffrage Association. She was the editor of the Woman's Exponent for 37 years. She was a plural wife to Newel K. Whitney, then Daniel H. Wells. Read more
25 Apr 1919: Augustus D. Juilliard, American businessman and philanthropist (born 1836) Augustus D. Juilliard was an American businessman and philanthropist, born at sea as his parents were emigrating to the United States from France. Making a successful career in New York City, he bequeathed much of his estate to the advancement of music in the United States. Read more
25 Apr 1915: Frederick W. Seward, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 6th United States Assistant Secretary of State (born 1830) Frederick William Seward was an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served twice as the Assistant Secretary of State. He served as Assistant Secretary from 1861 to 1869 when his father, William H. Seward, was the Secretary of State under both Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, and then from 1877 to 1879 in the administration of Rutherford B. Hayes. Read more
25 Apr 1913: Joseph-Alfred Archambeault, Canadian bishop (born 1859) Joseph-Alfred Archambeault was a Roman Catholic priest and bishop in Canada. He was the first bishop of Joliette, Quebec. Read more
25 Apr 1911: Emilio Salgari, Italian journalist and author (born 1862) Emilio Salgari was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction. Read more
25 Apr 1906: John Knowles Paine, American composer and educator (born 1839) John Knowles Paine was the first American-born composer to achieve fame for large-scale orchestral music. The senior member of a group of composers collectively known as the Boston Six, Paine was one of those responsible for the first significant body of concert music by composers from the United States. The Boston Six's other five members were Amy Beach, Arthur Foote, Edward MacDowell, George Chadwick, and Horatio Parker. Read more
25 Apr 1892: Henri Duveyrier, French explorer (born 1840) Henri Duveyrier was a French explorer and geographer, known for his exploration of the Sahara. Duveyrier was a son of the French playwright Charles Duveyrier, while his mother was English. During his late teens in 1857, he decided to take a five-week trip from Kandouri to Laghouat and back. He took an interest in the Tuaregs which he met in this trip, and later presented an account of Tuareg customs to the Berlin Oriental Society. In December 1861, he returned from a failed expedition to Tuat while being delirious with fever. In 1864, he published a memoir about the exploration of Sahara with an emphasis on the Tuaregs. Read more
25 Apr 1892: Karl von Ditmar, Estonian-German geologist and explorer (born 1822) Karl Bernhard Woldemar Ferdinand von Ditmar was a Baltic German geologist and explorer, who travelled in and contributed to the scientific understanding of Kamchatka. Read more
25 Apr 1891: Nathaniel Woodard, English priest and educator (born 1811) Nathaniel Woodard was a priest in the Church of England. He founded 11 schools for the middle classes in England whose aim was to provide education based on "sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly grounded in the Christian faith". His educational principles are promoted today through the Woodard Corporation, a registered charity. Read more
25 Apr 1890: Crowfoot, Canadian tribal chief (born 1830) Crowfoot was a chief of the Siksika. His father, Istowun-ehʼpata, and mother, Axkahp-say-pi, were Kainai. He was five years old when Istowun-ehʼpata was killed during a raid on the Crow tribe, and, a year later, his mother remarried to Akay-nehka-simi of the Siksika people among whom he was brought up. Crowfoot was a warrior who fought in as many as nineteen battles and sustained many injuries, but he tried to obtain peace instead of warfare. Crowfoot is well known for his involvement in Treaty Number 7 and did much negotiating for his people. While many believe Chief Crowfoot had no part in the North-West Rebellion, he did in fact participate to an extent due to his son's connection to the conflict. Crowfoot died of tuberculosis at Blackfoot Crossing on April 25, 1890. Eight hundred of his tribe attended his funeral, along with government dignitaries. In 2008, Chief Crowfoot was inducted into the North America Railway Hall of Fame where he was recognized for his contributions to the railway industry. Crowfoot is well known for his contributions to the Blackfoot nation, and has many memorials to signify his accomplishments. Read more
25 Apr 1883: Adolph Strauch, Prussian American landscape architect (born 1822) Adolph Strauch was a Prussian American landscape architect who conceived the "landscape lawn" design. He applied his thinking to the layout of Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Ohio, which won him international acclaim. Strauch also advised and helped design several other parks and cemeteries, and laid out Eden Park, Burnet Woods, and Lincoln Park in Cincinnati. Read more
25 Apr 1878: Anna Sewell, English author (born 1820) Anna Sewell was an English novelist who is known for her only book, Black Beauty, a novel about a horse. She was born into a Quaker family in Norfolk and moved to London as a baby. Her mother, Mary Wright Sewell, was the author of popular children's books. Sewell never married and always lived with her parents, in Sussex, Gloucestershire and Norfolk. A chronic illness left her leading a life of invalidism, with trips to spa resorts in England and continental Europe. She joined her mother in carrying out charitable work and also edited her mother's books. Black Beauty was written between 1871 and 1877 and published a few months before Sewell's death. Read more
25 Apr 1875: 12th Dalai Lama (born 1857) Trinley Gyatso also spelled: Thinle Gyatso was the 12th Dalai Lama of Tibet. Read more
25 Apr 1873: Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, Russian painter and sculptor (born 1783) Count Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy was a Russian artist who served as Vice-President of the Imperial Academy of Arts for forty years (1828–1868). His works – wax-reliefs, watercolours, medallions, and silhouettes – are distinguished by a cool detachment and spare and economical classicism. Read more
25 Apr 1840: Siméon Denis Poisson, French mathematician and physicist (born 1781) Baron Siméon Denis Poisson was a French mathematician and physicist who worked on statistics, complex analysis, partial differential equations, the calculus of variations, analytical mechanics, electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics, elasticity, and fluid mechanics. Moreover, he predicted the Arago spot in his attempt to disprove the wave theory of Augustin-Jean Fresnel. Read more
25 Apr 1800: William Cowper, English poet (born 1731) William Cowper was an English poet and Anglican hymnwriter. Read more

Why is 25 April Important in World History?

Several significant political, cultural, educational, and sporting events took place on 25 April, making it an important topic for general knowledge and competitive examinations.

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On 25 April, several important historical events, notable births, and major milestones occurred in World history.

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