Live Updates
Latest jobs, admit cards, results and state-wise updates in a cleaner format.
Page

History of Today 25 July: Important Events, Births and Deaths

Updated on 25 Jul 2026

History of Today 25 July: Important Events, Births and Deaths

Welcome to History of Today 25 July. On this page, you can read important historical events, famous births, notable deaths and general knowledge facts related to 25 July. This information is useful for UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, State PSC and other competitive exams.

Last updated on 25 July 2026, 01:00 AM


Important Events on 25 July in History

  • 25 Jul 2019: National extreme heat records set this day in the UK, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany during the July 2019 European heat wave. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2018: As-Suwayda attacks: Coordinated attacks occur in Syria. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2010: WikiLeaks publishes classified documents about the War in Afghanistan, one of the largest leaks in U.S. military history. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2007: Pratibha Patil is sworn in as India's first female president. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2001: Phoolan Devi, a serving Member of Parliament, was assassinated by shooting in New Delhi, India. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2000: Concorde Air France Flight 4590 crashes outside of Paris shortly after taking off at Charles de Gaulle Airport, killing 113 people. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1996: In a military coup in Burundi, Pierre Buyoya deposes Sylvestre Ntibantunganya. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1995: A gas bottle explodes in Saint Michel station of line B of the RER (Paris regional train network). Eight are killed and 80 wounded. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1994: Israel and Jordan sign the Washington Declaration, that formally ends the state of war that had existed between the nations since 1948. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1993: Israel launches a massive attack against Lebanon in what the Israelis call Operation Accountability, and the Lebanese call the Seven-Day War. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1993: The Saint James Church massacre occurs in Kenilworth, Cape Town, South Africa. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1984: Salyut 7 cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya becomes the first woman to perform a space walk. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1983: Black July: Thirty-seven Tamil political prisoners at the Welikada high security prison in Colombo are massacred by the fellow Sinhalese prisoners. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1979: In accord with the Egypt–Israel peace treaty, Israel begins its withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1978: Puerto Rican police shoot two nationalists in the Cerro Maravilla murders. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1978: Birth of Louise Joy Brown, the first human to have been born after conception by in vitro fertilisation, or IVF. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1976: Viking program: Viking 1 takes the famous Face on Mars photo. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1973: Soviet Mars 5 space probe is launched. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1971: The Sohagpur massacre is perpetrated by the Pakistan Army. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1969: Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon declares the Nixon Doctrine, stating that the United States now expects its Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This is the start of the "Vietnamization" of the war. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1965: Bob Dylan goes electric at the Newport Folk Festival, signaling a major change in folk and rock music. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1961: Cold War: In a speech John F. Kennedy emphasizes that any attack on Berlin is an attack on NATO. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1958: The African Regroupment Party holds its first congress in Cotonou. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1957: The Tunisian King Muhammad VIII al-Amin is replaced by President Habib Bourguiba. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1956: Forty-five miles south of Nantucket Island, the Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria collides with the MS Stockholm in heavy fog and sinks the next day, killing 51. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1946: The Crossroads Baker device is the first underwater nuclear weapon test. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1944: World War II: Operation Spring near Caen is one of the bloodiest days for the First Canadian Army during the war. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1943: World War II: Benito Mussolini is forced out of office by the King (encouraged by the Grand Council of Fascism) and is replaced by Pietro Badoglio. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1943: World War II: 136 Greek civilians are murdered by soldiers of the German 1st Mountain Division in the village of Mousiotitsa, Greece. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1942: The Norwegian Manifesto calls for nonviolent resistance to the German occupation. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1940: General Henri Guisan orders the Swiss Army to resist German invasion and makes surrender illegal. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1934: The Nazis assassinate Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss in a failed coup attempt. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1925: Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS) is established. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1917: Sir Robert Borden introduces the first income tax in Canada as a "temporary" measure (lowest bracket is 4% and highest is 25%). Read more
  • 25 Jul 1915: The British capture Nasiriyah from the Ottomans during the Mesopotamian campaign. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1915: RFC Captain Lanoe Hawker becomes the first British pursuit aviator to earn the Victoria Cross. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1909: Louis Blériot makes the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air machine from Calais to Dover, England, United Kingdom in 37 minutes. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1909: Begin of the Tragic Week in Barcelona in response to troop mobilisations for the Rif War. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1908: Ajinomoto is founded. Kikunae Ikeda of the Tokyo Imperial University discovers that a key ingredient in kombu soup stock is monosodium glutamate (MSG), and patents a process for manufacturing it. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1898: Spanish–American War: The American invasion of Spanish-held Puerto Rico begins, as United States Army troops under General Nelson A. Miles land and secure the port at Guánica. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1897: American author Jack London embarks on a sailing trip to take part in the Klondike's gold rush, from which he wrote his first successful stories. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1894: The First Sino-Japanese War begins when the Japanese fire upon a Chinese warship. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1869: The Japanese daimyōs begin returning their land holdings to the emperor as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms. (Traditional Japanese Date: June 17, 1869). Read more
  • 25 Jul 1868: The Wyoming Territory is established. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1866: The United States Congress passes legislation authorizing the rank of General of the Army. Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant becomes the first to be promoted to this rank. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1861: American Civil War: The United States Congress passes the Crittenden–Johnson Resolution, stating that the war is being fought to preserve the Union and not to end slavery, in the wake of the defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1853: Joaquin Murrieta, the famous Californio bandit known as the "Robin Hood of El Dorado", is killed. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1837: The first commercial use of an electrical telegraph is successfully demonstrated in London by William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1835: James Bowman Lindsay demonstrates a constant electric light at a public meeting in Dundee, Scotland. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1824: Costa Rica annexes Guanacaste from Nicaragua. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1814: War of 1812: An American attack on Canada is repulsed. Read more

Famous Births on 25 July

  • 25 Jul 2002: Alperen Şengün, Turkish basketball player Alperen Şengün is a Turkish professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the senior Turkish national team. Known for his post skills and creative playmaking abilities, Şengün was selected with the 16th overall pick in the first round of the 2021 NBA draft. He was named to his first NBA All-Star Game in 2025. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2002: Adam Hložek, Czech footballer Adam Hložek is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club TSG Hoffenheim and the Czech Republic national team. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2001: Bryce Young, American football player Bryce Christopher Young is an American professional football quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he set the school single-game passing yards record with 559 yards and won the Heisman Trophy in 2021. Young was selected first overall by the Panthers in the 2023 NFL draft. In the 2025 season, he set the Panthers' single-game passing yards record and helped Carolina win its first NFC South title since 2015. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2000: Meg Donnelly, American actress Meg Elizabeth Donnelly is an American actress, singer, songwriter, dancer, and model. She played Taylor Otto in the ABC sitcom American Housewife (2016–2021), Addison Wells in the Disney Channel film series Zombies (2018–2025), and Mary Campbell in the CW television series The Winchesters (2022–2023). Read more
  • 25 Jul 2000: Zhang Hao, Chinese singer Zhang Hao is a Chinese singer based in South Korea and signed under YH Entertainment. He was a member of the South Korean boy band Zerobaseone from its debut in July 2023 until his contract expired in March 2026. He re-debuted as a member of the boy group And2ble under YH Entertainment in 2026. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2000: Shakira Austin, American basketball player Shakira Austin is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for the Rose of Unrivaled. She played college basketball at Maryland and Ole Miss. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1997: Nat Butcher, Australian rugby league player Nathaniel Zane Butcher is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-rower and lock for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League (NRL). He won an NRL premiership with the Roosters in 2019. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1996: Jaafar Jackson, American actor and singer Jaafar Jeremiah Jackson is an American actor and singer. A member of the Jackson family, he released his debut single "Got Me Singing" in 2019 but gained popularity after portraying his late uncle Michael Jackson in the record-breaking biographical film Michael (2026). Read more
  • 25 Jul 1995: Alvin Kamara, American football player Alvin Mentian Kamara is an American professional football running back for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers after transferring from Hutchinson Community College and was selected by the Saints in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft. Kamara was named the NFL Rookie of the Year in 2017, was named a Pro Bowler in his first five NFL seasons, and is a two-time second-team All-Pro. In 2020, Kamara became the second player in NFL history to score six rushing touchdowns and 36 points in a single game. Four years later, he became the Saints' all-time rushing leader. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1995: Maria Sakkari, Greek tennis player Maria Sakkari is a Greek professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 3 by the WTA, which she first achieved on 21 March 2022, making her the highest-ranked Greek women's tennis player. Her career-best doubles ranking is world No. 169, achieved on 9 September 2019. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1994: Natalija Stevanović, Serbian tennis player Natalija Stevanović is a Serbian inactive tennis player. She reached her best singles ranking of world No. 145 on 17 July 2023. On 6 May 2024, she peaked at No. 152 in the WTA doubles rankings. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1994: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Russian ice hockey player Andrei Andreyevich Vasilevskiy is a Russian professional ice hockey player who is a goaltender for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the first round, 19th overall, by the Lightning at the 2012 NHL entry draft. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1994: Mathew Dumba, Canadian ice hockey player Mathew Dumba is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who last played for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the American Hockey League (AHL). Dumba was selected with the seventh overall pick by the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the 2012 NHL entry draft, with whom he spent his first ten seasons. He has also played for the Arizona Coyotes, Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars, and Pittsburgh Penguins. Dumba previously played junior with the Red Deer Rebels and briefly for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Read more
  • 25 Jul 1992: Sergei Simonov, Russian ice hockey player (died 2016) Sergei Sergeevich Simonov was a Russian professional ice hockey player. He played with HC Lipetsk of the Russian Hockey League. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1992: Jordan Martinook, Canadian ice hockey player Jordan Martinook is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a left winger and alternate captain for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Phoenix Coyotes in the second round of the 2012 NHL entry draft. Martinook won the Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2026. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1991: Toni Duggan, English footballer Toni Duggan is an English former footballer who played as a winger or forward. During her career, she played in England for Everton and Manchester City, and in Spain for Barcelona and Atlético Madrid. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1991: Hasan Piker, American Twitch streamer Hasan Doğan Piker, often referred to mononymously as Hasan, or HasanAbi, is an American Twitch streamer, influencer, and left-wing political commentator. His livestreams usually include discussions on current affairs and lifestyle stories, playing video games, reacting to memes and media clips, and interacting with his viewers. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1990: Thodoris Karapetsas, Greek footballer Thodoris "Theodoros" Karapetsas is a Greek footballer. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1989: Natalia Vieru, Russian basketball player Natalia Stanislavovna Vieru is a Russian former basketball player. She is a member of the Russia women's national basketball team and competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Vieru played last for the Russian club UMMC Ekaterinburg as a center from 2015 to 2020. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1988: Sarah Geronimo, Filipino singer and actress Sarah Asher Tua Geronimo-Guidicelli is a Filipina singer, record producer and actress. Known for her vocal versatility, genre-spanning repertoire, and commanding stage presence, Geronimo is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures and one of the defining voices in Philippine pop music. Credited with shaping pop music in the Philippines, Geronimo became a staple of Pinoy pop culture and is considered one of the greatest pop stars of all time in the country. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1988: John Goossens, Dutch footballer John Goossens is a Dutch former professional footballer who mainly played as a defensive midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several positions in midfield, and even as a left winger. Since his retirement from football in 2022, he has worked as a financial counsellor for professional footballers. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1988: Tom Hiariej, Dutch footballer Tom Jan Hiariej is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder or right-back. He is of Moluccan descent. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1988: Stacey Kemp, English skater Stacey King is an English former competitive pair skater who represented Great Britain. With her husband David King, she is an eight-time British national champion. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1988: Paulinho, Brazilian footballer José Paulo Bezerra Maciel Júnior, known as Paulinho, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was known for his physicality, stamina, late attacking runs into the penalty area and ability to contribute both defensively and offensively. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1988: Anthony Stokes, Irish footballer Anthony Christopher Stokes is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1987: Richard Bachman, American ice hockey player Richard Harrison Bachman is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently the goaltending coach for the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL). He played two seasons of college ice hockey at Colorado College before enjoying a career in the National Hockey League with the Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks. Bachman was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, but grew up in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1987: Mitchell Burgzorg, Dutch footballer and rapper Mitchell Burgzorg is a Dutch retired footballer and a rapper under the name Priester. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1987: Fernando, Brazilian footballer Fernando Francisco Reges, known simply as Fernando, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1987: Jax Jones, English DJ, singer and songwriter Timucin Lam, known professionally as Jax Jones, is an English DJ and record producer. He rose to prominence in 2014 by featuring on Duke Dumont's number-one single "I Got U". He followed this with his own singles, "You Don't Know Me" featuring Raye in 2016, and "Instruction" featuring Demi Lovato and Stefflon Don in 2017. Jax's debut studio album, Snacks (Supersize) was released in 2019. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1987: Eran Zahavi, Israeli footballer Eran Zahavi is an Israeli former professional footballer who played as a forward. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1986: Abraham Gneki Guié, Ivorian footballer Abraham Gneki Guié Guié is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a winger or striker. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1986: Hulk, Brazilian footballer Givanildo Vieira de Sousa, mononymously known as Hulk, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Fluminense. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1985: James Lafferty, American actor and athlete James Martin Lafferty is an American actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Nathan Scott on The WB/CW drama series One Tree Hill (2003–2012). Read more
  • 25 Jul 1985: Nelson Piquet Jr., Brazilian race car driver Nelson Ângelo Tamsma Piquet Souto Maior, also known as Nelson Piquet Jr. or Nelsinho Piquet, is a Brazilian stock car racing driver and former Formula One and Formula E driver where he was champion in the 2014–15 season. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 33 Toyota Corolla E210 for Motul TMG Racing. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1985: Hugo Rodallega, Colombian footballer Hugo Rodallega Martínez is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Categoría Primera A club Santa Fe. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1985: Shantel VanSanten, American actress and model Shantel VanSanten is an American actress and model. As a model, she has been featured in the magazines Teen Vogue and Seventeen. On television, she played Quinn James in the CW teen drama series One Tree Hill; recurred as Becca Butcher in the Amazon Prime Original The Boys; and starred as Julie Swagger, the wife of lead character Bob Lee Swagger on the USA Network series Shooter. On film, she has appeared in The Final Destination, You and I, and Something Wicked. From 2019 to 2026, VanSanten starred as Karen Baldwin in the Apple TV+ science fiction space drama series For All Mankind. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1984: Loukas Mavrokefalidis, Greek basketball player Loukas Mavrokefalidis is a Greek former professional basketball player. He has also represented the senior Hellenic national team. Born in Jeseník, Czechoslovakia, he is a 2.10 m, 120 kg (265 lbs.) power forward and center. He was selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2nd round of the 2006 NBA draft. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1984: Robert Clardy, American football coach Robert Ira Clardy is an American high school football coach. He is the head football coach at Bolivar High School in Bolivar, Missouri, a position he has held since 2025. Clardy served as the head football coach at Southwest Baptist University from 2015 to 2024, compiling a record of 39–60 in ten seasons. He was an assistant coach at Southwest Baptist for seven seasons prior to his head-coaching tenure. He played college football for Southwest Baptist as a quarterback. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1984: Zawe Ashton, British actress Zawedde Emma Muwanga-Ashton is a British actress and playwright. She gained recognition for her roles in the comedy dramas Fresh Meat and Not Safe for Work, the Netflix horror thriller film Velvet Buzzsaw, and for her portrayal of Joyce Carol Vincent in Dreams of a Life (2011). She also portrayed Dar-Benn in The Marvels (2023). Read more
  • 25 Jul 1983: Nenad Krstić, Serbian basketball player Nenad Krstić is a Serbian basketball executive and former professional player. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1982: Jason Dundas, Australian TV host Jason Dundas is an Australian-born television presenter, actor, producer and director, known for his roles as special correspondent for CBS's Entertainment Tonight, the host of The X Factor Australia in 2016, host of America's Best Dance Crew on MTV, VH1's Big Morning Buzz Live, travel series Getaway in Australia, and the founder and director of Dundas Media. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1982: Brad Renfro, American actor and musician (died 2008) Brad Barron Renfro was an American actor. He made his film debut at age 11 with a starring role in The Client (1994). Renfro went on to appear in 21 feature films, winning several awards. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1981: Finn Bálor, Irish wrestler Fergal Devitt is an Irish professional wrestler. As of May 2014, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Finn Bálor. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1981: Conor Casey, American soccer player Conor Patrick Casey is an American former soccer player. He played for 16 seasons as a forward, finishing his career with Columbus Crew SC, before turning to coaching with his former club Colorado Rapids. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1981: Constantinos Charalambidis, Cypriot footballer Constantinos Charalambidis is a Cypriot former professional footballer. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1981: Yūichi Komano, Japanese footballer Yuichi Komano is a former Japanese professional footballer who last played as a defender. He played for Japan national team until 2013. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1981: Mac Lethal, American rapper and producer David McCleary Sheldon, known professionally as Mac Lethal, is an American rapper, songwriter and author from Kansas City, Missouri. He is the founder of Black Clover Records and formerly a radio host on KRBZ 96.5 the Buzz show Black Clover Radio. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1981: Jani Rita, Finnish ice hockey player Jani Markus Rita is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger who last played with Jokerit of the Russian KHL, for whom he played most of his career. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1980: Shawn Riggans, American baseball player Shawn Willis Riggans is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2006 to 2009 for the Tampa Bay Rays. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1980: Toni Vilander, Finnish race car driver Toni Markus Vilander is a Finnish professional racing driver who currently drives for the Risi Competizione Ferrari team in various categories of sports car racing. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1980: David Wachs, American actor and producer David Wachs is an American actor and musician. He was born and raised in Palm Desert, California to parents who were both musicians. He has appeared in several TV shows, including ER, Living with Fran, and Still Standing, as well as in films such as Hotel California (2008), and The Last Hurrah (2009), among others. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1980: Scott Waldrom, New Zealand rugby player Scott Waldrom is a New Zealand former rugby union player. When Waldroms playing career finished in 2012 due to injury he was playing for the Waikato Chiefs in Super Rugby and Taranaki in the ITM Cup. He played in the openside flanker position. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1979: Ali Carter, English snooker player Allister Carter is an English professional snooker player. He has twice been a World Championship finalist, in 2008 and 2012, losing both finals to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He has won six ranking titles and briefly reached number two in the world rankings in 2010. His nickname, "The Captain", comes from his hobby of piloting aeroplanes. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1979: Tom Lungley, English cricketer and umpire Tom Lungley is an English first-class cricketer and umpire. He is a left-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1979: Ahmed Tantawi, Egyptian politician and journalist Ahmed Mohamed Ramadan Tantawi known as Ahmed Tantawi also: Al-Tantawy is an Egyptian politician and journalist. As of July 2022, he was the former head of the Dignity Party and a former member of the Egyptian House of Representatives. In 2023, Tantawi announced his potential candidacy for the 2023 Egyptian presidential election but repressive tactics, including retaliatory detentions of his family members, supporters and campaign members, prevented his campaign from collecting the 25,000 voters' endorsements required to officially file his candidacy. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1979: Juan Pablo Di Pace, Argentine actor Juan Pablo Di Pace is an Argentine actor. He began his career in the United Kingdom, performing in a number of musicals and appearing in films like Survival Island (2005) and Mamma Mia! (2008). He later moved to Spain, starring in several television series from 2009 to 2012. In 2013, Di Pace moved to Los Angeles where he starred as Nicolas Treviño in the TNT drama series Dallas. And in 2014, he was cast as Jesus Christ in the NBC limited series A.D. The Bible Continues which earned him a Movieguide Award for Best Male Performance. From 2016 to 2020, he played the role of Kimmy Gibbler's estranged husband, Fernando, on Fuller House, a spin-off series of Full House. In 2024, Juan Pablo wrote, co-directed and starred in the film Duino, his directorial debut feature alongside Andres P. Estrada (co-director) and executive produced by Norman Lear. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1978: Gerard Warren, American football player Gerard Thurston Warren is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. He played college football for the University of Florida. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns third overall in the 2001 NFL draft, and also played professionally for the Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots of the NFL. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1977: Kenny Thomas, American basketball player Kenneth Cornelius Thomas is an American former professional basketball player who played eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Read more
  • 25 Jul 1976: Marcos Assunção, Brazilian footballer Marcos dos Santos Assunção is a Brazilian former professional footballer. A central midfielder, he was renowned as a world-class free kick specialist. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1976: Jovica Tasevski-Eternijan, Macedonian poet and critic Jovica Tasevski-Eternijan is a Macedonian poet, essayist and literary critic. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1976: Javier Vázquez, Puerto Rican-American baseball player Javier Carlos Vázquez is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball starting pitcher. He played for the Montreal Expos (1998–2003), New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks (2005), Chicago White Sox (2006–2008), Atlanta Braves (2009), and Florida Marlins (2011). Read more
  • 25 Jul 1975: Jody Craddock, English footballer and coach Jody Darryl Craddock is an English former professional footballer and artist who played as a centre back in the Premier League for Sunderland and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1975: Jean-Claude Darcheville, Guianan-French footballer Jean-Claude Jacques Ducan Darcheville is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played for various clubs in France, England, Scotland, and Greece. He represented French Guiana at the 2012 Caribbean Cup. He is currently the manager of the Saint Martin national team. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1975: El Zorro, Mexican wrestler Jesús Cristóbal Martínez Rodriguez is a Mexican professional wrestler who is best known as El Zorro. His gimmick started out very similar to the fictional character Zorro complete with mask, but in recent years it has evolved and the mask has been eliminated. He is best known for his work in the Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) promotion in Mexico, where he is a former AAA Mega Champion. He has in the past worked both in Europe, Japan and made a few brief appearances for the World Wrestling Federation show WWF Super Astros. He was the "Deputy leader" of the La Legión Extranjera faction headed by Konnan. In December 2012, Martínez was repackaged as La Parka Negra, the storyline nemesis of La Parka. He returned as El Zorro in October 2013, before departing the company in February 2017. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1975: Brian Gibson, American bass player Brian Gibson is an American musician, artist, and video game designer based in Providence, Rhode Island. Gibson is best known as the bassist for the band Lightning Bolt. In the summer of 2015 he co-founded the game development company Drool. At Drool, he created the art and music for the video game Thumper and co-designed the game alongside Marc Flury. Thumper was released with critical acclaim in October 2016. He was previously a lead artist working at video game company Harmonix since 2001, but quit in the summer of 2015. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1975: Evgeni Nabokov, Russian ice hockey player Yevgeni Viktorovich Nabokov is a Kazakh-born Russian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders, and Tampa Bay Lightning of National Hockey League (NHL) and for Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk, Dynamo Moscow, Metallurg Magnitogorsk and SKA Saint Petersburg of the Russian Super League (RSL) and Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) from 1991 to 2015. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1974: Lauren Faust, American animator, producer, and screenwriter Lauren J. Faust is an American animator, writer, director, and producer. She is known for developing the animated series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and DC Super Hero Girls. Faust has collaborated with her husband Craig McCracken on his four animated series The Powerpuff Girls, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Wander Over Yonder, and Kid Cosmic. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1974: Julia Laffranque, Estonian lawyer and judge Julia Laffranque, is an Estonian jurist, judge, and legal scientist. She is a visiting professor of European law, justice at the Supreme Court of Estonia, judge at the European Court of Human Rights (2011-2020). Read more
  • 25 Jul 1974: Kenzo Suzuki, Japanese rugby player and wrestler Kenzo Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), in Mexico with Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) and in the United States with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he was a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion in the latter company. He currently performs for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) under the ring name Kenso, where he is a one-time World Tag Team Champion and a one-time Gaora TV Champion. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1973: David Denman, American actor David Denman is an American actor. He played Roy Anderson on the NBC sitcom The Office, which earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1973: Dani Filth, English singer-songwriter Daniel Lloyd Davey, known professionally as Dani Filth, is an English singer who is the lead vocalist, lyricist and founding member of the extreme metal band Cradle of Filth. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1973: Kevin Phillips, English footballer Kevin Mark Phillips is an English former professional footballer who was most recently the head coach of National League club AFC Fylde. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1973: Igli Tare, Albanian footballer Igli Tare is an Albanian football executive and former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was most recently the sporting director of Serie A club Milan. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1972: David Penna, Australian rugby league player and coach David Penna is an Australian rugby league coach and former footballer who played for the Parramatta Eels and the South Sydney Rabbitohs during his long professional career. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1971: Roger Creager, American singer-songwriter Roger Creager is an American Texas country music singer and songwriter from Corpus Christi, Texas. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1971: Tracy Murray, American basketball player Tracy Lamont Murray is an American former professional basketball player who works as an analyst with the UCLA Sports Network for all of the games during the UCLA Bruins' basketball season. Tracy is also a part-time analyst on the Slam Dunk Show on ABC7 Los Angeles. He worked as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the 2015–16 NBA season. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1971: Billy Wagner, American baseball player and coach William Edward Wagner, nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Braves from 1995 to 2010. A seven-time All-Star and the 1999 National League (NL) Rolaids Relief Man Award winner, Wagner is one of only eight major league relief pitchers to reach 400 career saves. A left-handed batter and thrower, Wagner stands 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighs 180 pounds (82 kg). Read more
  • 25 Jul 1969: Jon Barry, American basketball player and sportscaster Jon Alan Barry is an American former professional basketball player and television analyst for ABC and ESPN. Barry is currently the lead analyst for ESPN Radio's coverage of the NBA. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1969: Annastacia Palaszczuk, Australian politician, 39th Premier of Queensland Annastacia Palaszczuk is an Australian politician who served as the 39th premier of Queensland from 2015 to 2023. She held office as the leader of the Queensland branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 2012 until her resignation, and was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland (MLA) for the division of Inala from 2006 to 2023. Palaszczuk is the fifth-most-tenured premier in Queensland state history and the first woman to win the premiership from opposition, she also presided over the first majority female cabinet in Australian state and federal history. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1969: D. B. Woodside, American actor David Bryan Woodside is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as the bass singer Melvin Franklin in The Temptations, Robin Wood in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Malcolm Franks in Single Ladies, Jeff Malone in Suits, Dr. Joseph Prestridge in Parenthood, the angel Amenadiel in Lucifer, and Wayne Palmer in the thriller series 24. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1968: Rudi Bryson, South African cricketer Rudi Edwin Bryson is a former South African cricketer who played seven One Day Internationals in 1997. He also played in 96 first-class and 155 List A matches during his career. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1968: Shi Tao, Chinese journalist and poet Shi Tao is a Chinese journalist, writer and poet, who in 2005 was sentenced to 10 years in prison for releasing a document of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to an overseas Chinese democracy site. Yahoo! China was later discovered to have facilitated his arrest by providing his personal details to the Chinese government. Yahoo! was subsequently rebuked by a panel of the U.S. Congress, settled a lawsuit by Shi's family out of court, and pledged to reform its practices. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1967: Matt LeBlanc, American actor and producer Matthew Steven LeBlanc is an American actor. He gained global recognition with his portrayal of Joey Tribbiani in the NBC sitcom Friends (1994–2004), and in its spin-off series Joey (2004–2006). For his work on Friends, LeBlanc received three nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards. He has also starred as a fictionalized version of himself in Episodes (2011–2017), for which he won a Golden Globe Award and received four additional Emmy Award nominations. He co-hosted Top Gear from 2016 to 2019. From 2016 to 2020, he played patriarch Adam Burns in the CBS sitcom Man with a Plan. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1967: Ruth Peetoom, Dutch minister and politician Gerhardine Ruth Peetoom is a Dutch politician of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). She was the party chair of the Christian Democratic Appeal between 2 April 2011 and 9 February 2019. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1967: Tommy Skjerven, Norwegian footballer and referee Tommy Skjerven is a Norwegian football referee from Kaupanger. He debuted as a referee in 1984, and served as a FIFA referee from 2001 until 2012. He is no longer included on the FIFA list as of 2013, because he reached the international retirement age of 45 in 2012. Skjerven represents Kaupanger IL. Skjerven was the main referee in the cup final between Odd Grenland and Vålerenga in 2002. His day job is working for noreg.no in Hermansverk in Leikanger Municipality. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1967: Wendy Raquel Robinson, American actress Wendy Raquel Robinson is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as high school principal Regina "Piggy" Grier on The WB comedy sitcom The Steve Harvey Show (1996–2002), and as sports agent Tasha Mack on The CW/BET/Paramount+ comedy-drama The Game. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1966: Daryl Halligan, New Zealand rugby player and sportscaster Daryl John Halligan is a rugby league commentator and former professional rugby player. A New Zealand international winger, he was the preeminent goal-kicker of his era, retiring as the highest point scorer in Australian premiership history. Halligan played club football in Australia for the North Sydney Bears and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, winning the 1995 ARL Premiership with the latter. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1966: Maureen Herman, American bass player Maureen Herman is an American musician and writer. She rose to prominence as the second bassist of the alternative rock band Babes in Toyland, which she joined in 1992, replacing original bassist Michelle Leon. After Herman quit the band in 1996, she became a writer and remained out of the public light for several years. In 2015, she reunited with Babes in Toyland and embarked on an international tour before she was fired later that year. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1966: Diana Johnson, English politician Dame Diana Ruth Johnson is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kingston upon Hull North since the 2005 general election. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as Minister of State in the Department for Health and Social Care since 2026. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1965: Marty Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist Dennis Martin Brown is an American country music artist. Active between 1991 and 1996, he has released six studio albums and has charted one single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Marty Brown and his wife, Shellie, currently reside in Simpson County, Franklin, Kentucky, since July 2004. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1965: Illeana Douglas, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter Illeana Hesselberg, known professionally as Illeana Douglas, is an American actress and filmmaker. Following her screen debut with a small part in Hello Again (1987), she went on to appear in a variety of mainstream and independent features throughout the 1990s, such as Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991), Alive (1993), To Die For (1995), Grace of My Heart (1996), Chasing Amy, Picture Perfect, Happy, Texas; Message in a Bottle; and Stir of Echoes. Her other credits include The Next Best Thing (2000), Ghost World (2001), Dummy (2002), Factory Girl (2006), She's Funny That Way (2014), and Return to Sender (2015). Read more
  • 25 Jul 1965: Torey Lovullo, American baseball player and coach Salvatore Anthony "Torey" Lovullo is an American former professional baseball infielder and the current manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). Read more
  • 25 Jul 1965: Dale Shearer, Australian rugby league player Dale Shearer, also known by the nickname of "Rowdy", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative of Aboriginal heritage, he played club football in Queensland, New South Wales and England. His playing career included a NSWRL Premiership win with Manly-Warringah in 1987 and a Rugby League World Cup Final win in 1988. Ten years after his retirement, Shearer was still the all-time top try-scorer in State of Origin and he was named on the wing of the Indigenous Australian team of the century. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1964: Anne Applebaum, American journalist and author Anne Elizabeth Applebaum is an American journalist and historian. She has written about the history of Communism and the development of civil society in Central and Eastern Europe. She became a Polish citizen in 2013. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1964: Tony Granato, American ice hockey player and coach Anthony Lewis Granato is an American former professional ice hockey left winger and former head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey team. He served as head coach of the United States men's national ice hockey team at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Previously, he was the head coach of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Colorado Avalanche, as well as an assistant coach for the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1964: Breuk Iversen, American designer and journalist Breuk Iversen is an American designer and writer. He is known for launching 11211 Magazine and creating 2003 site-specific exhibit "Offal: Salon des Refuses", with Jan McLaughlin, at the Dam, Stuhltrager Gallery, that explored issues of economy, aesthetics, politics and popular culture through society's byproducts. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1963: Denis Coderre, Canadian politician, 44th Mayor of Montreal Denis Coderre is a Canadian politician who served as the 44th mayor of Montreal from 2013 to 2017. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1963: Julian Hodgson, Welsh chess player Julian Michael "Jules" Hodgson is a British chess player, grandmaster, and former British chess champion. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1962: Carin Bakkum, Dutch tennis player Carin Bakkum is a Dutch former tennis player. During her career, Bakkum won two ITF singles titles as well as one WTA and 11 ITF doubles titles. She reached a singles ranking high of world number 141 on 27 March 1989, and on 22 June 1987, she reached a doubles ranking high of world number 69. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1962: Doug Drabek, American baseball player and coach Douglas Dean Drabek is an American former professional baseball pitcher, and a current minor league baseball coach. He is the pitching coach for the Reno Aces, the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros, Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles between 1986 and 1998. Drabek batted and threw right-handed. Known for his fluid pitching motion and sound mechanics, he won the National League Cy Young Award in 1990. Drabek was an MLB All-Star in 1994. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1961: Illeana Douglas, American actress Illeana Hesselberg, known professionally as Illeana Douglas, is an American actress and filmmaker. Following her screen debut with a small part in Hello Again (1987), she went on to appear in a variety of mainstream and independent features throughout the 1990s, such as Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991), Alive (1993), To Die For (1995), Grace of My Heart (1996), Chasing Amy, Picture Perfect, Happy, Texas; Message in a Bottle; and Stir of Echoes. Her other credits include The Next Best Thing (2000), Ghost World (2001), Dummy (2002), Factory Girl (2006), She's Funny That Way (2014), and Return to Sender (2015). Read more
  • 25 Jul 1961: Katherine Kelly Lang, American actress Katherine Kelly Lang is an American actress. She has portrayed Brooke Logan in the CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful since 1987. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1960: Alain Robidoux, Canadian snooker player Alain Robidoux is a Canadian retired professional snooker player. Robidoux played on the sport's main tour from 1987 to 2004 and reached the final of the 1996 German Open, which he lost 7–9 to Ronnie O'Sullivan. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1960: Justice Howard, American photographer Justice Howard is an American photographer whose work includes shooting erotica, pin-up and celebrities. Her work has appeared in over 50 hardcover books and in thousands of magazines including Vogue Paris, Esquire, Easyriders, Playboy, Cosmopolitan, People, In Touch Weekly, Skin Two, and a 25-page spread in Bound by Ink, as well as being displayed in over 60 art gallery exhibits and numerous museum shows. She has also been featured in DankLook's "On Women in Black and White Fine Art Photography." Her photography features themes of female empowerment, freedom, and inner strength. She was previously a model before "graduating to photography" and training under a German master photographer. Her work has been compared to that of Annie Leibovitz and Herb Ritts. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1960: Māris Martinsons, Latvian film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor Māris Martinsons is a Latvian film director, producer, screenwriter and film editor. From 1991 he has lived and worked in Lithuania, but moved back to his homeland Latvia in 2010. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1959: Fyodor Cherenkov, Russian footballer and manager (died 2014) Fyodor Fyodorovich Cherenkov was a Soviet and Russian football midfielder who played for Spartak Moscow and Red Star Football Club (1990–91). Read more
  • 25 Jul 1959: Geoffrey Zakarian, American chef and author Geoffrey Zakarian is an American chef, restaurateur, television personality, and author. He is the executive chef of several restaurants in New York City, Atlantic City, and Miami. He is featured on several television shows on the Food Network, including Chopped and The Next Iron Chef. In 2011, on The Next Iron Chef he won an opportunity to join Iron Chef America. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1958: Alexei Filippenko, American astrophysicist and academic Alexei Vladimir "Alex" Filippenko is an American astrophysicist and professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley. Filippenko graduated from Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, California. He received a Bachelor of Arts in physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1979 and a Ph.D. in astronomy from the California Institute of Technology in 1984, where he was a Hertz Foundation Fellow. He was a postdoctoral Miller Fellow at Berkeley from 1984 to 1986 and was appointed to Berkeley's faculty in 1986. In 1996 and 2005, he was a Miller Research Professor, and he is currently a Senior Miller Fellow. His research focuses on supernovae and active galaxies at optical, ultraviolet, and near-infrared wavelengths, as well as on black holes, gamma-ray bursts, and the expansion of the Universe. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1958: Thurston Moore, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer Thurston Joseph Moore is an American musician, best known as guitarist and vocalist of alternative rock band Sonic Youth. He has participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moore was ranked 34th in Rolling Stone's 2004 edition of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Read more
  • 25 Jul 1957: Mark Hunter, English politician Mark James Hunter is a British Liberal Democrat politician and former leader of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council who became Member of Parliament (MP) for Cheadle at a 2005 by-election. At the 2015 general election, Hunter lost his seat to Mary Robinson of the Conservative Party. Hunter then returned to Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, and served as the leader of from 19 May 2022 to 21 May 2025. As leader he was also a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and was the combined authority's portfolio holder for Children and Young People. He has continued to serve as Councillor for Cheadle Hulme South. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1957: Steve Podborski, Canadian skier Stephen Gregory Podborski is a Canadian former World Cup and Olympic downhill ski racer. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1956: Frances Arnold, American scientist and engineer (Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2018) Frances Hamilton Arnold is an American chemical engineer and Nobel Laureate. She is the Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). In 2018, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering the use of directed evolution to engineer enzymes. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1955: Iman, Somalian-English model and actress Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid, known mononymously as Iman, is a Somali-American model and actress. A muse of the designers Gianni Versace, Thierry Mugler, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, and Yves Saint Laurent, she is also noted for her philanthropic work. Since her debut in 1975, she rose to the pinnacle of global fashion, establishing herself as one of the world’s most iconic models. She was married to athlete Spencer Haywood from 1977 to 1987 and musician David Bowie from 1992 until his death in 2016. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1955: Randall Bewley, American guitarist and songwriter (died 2009) Randall Eugene Bewley was the guitarist for the Athens, Georgia-based band Pylon. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1954: Ken Greer, Canadian guitarist, keyboard player, and producer Kenneth William Greer is a Canadian guitarist and keyboardist. He is one of the founding members of the Canadian rock band Red Rider. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1954: Sheena McDonald, Scottish journalist Sheena Elizabeth McDonald is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1954: Jochem Ziegert, German footballer and manager Jochem Ziegert is a former German footballer. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1953: Walter Payton, American football player and race car driver (died 1999) Walter Jerry Payton was an American professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Chicago Bears. Nicknamed "Sweetness", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1953: Joseph A. Tunzi, Chicago based author, foremost expert on Elvis Presley Joseph Anthony Tunzi is an American author, publisher, and producer, based in Chicago, Illinois. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1953: Robert Zoellick, American banker and politician, 14th United States Deputy Secretary of State Robert Bruce Zoellick is an American lawyer and government official who was the 11th president of the World Bank Group from 2007 to 2012. He was previously chairman of international advisors at Goldman Sachs from 2006 to 2007, United States Deputy Secretary of State from 2005 to 2006, and U.S. Trade Representative from 2001 to 2005. Prior to those posts, from 1985 to 2001, he served in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, and the presidential campaign of George W. Bush, in addition to positions in various think tanks and academia. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1952: Eduardo Souto de Moura, Portuguese architect, designed the Estádio Municipal de Braga Eduardo Elísio Machado Souto de Moura, better known as Eduardo Souto de Moura, is a Portuguese architect who was the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2011 and the Wolf Prize in Arts in 2013. Along with Fernando Távora and Álvaro Siza, he is one of the alumni of the Porto School of Architecture, where he was appointed a Professor. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1951: Jack Thompson, American lawyer and activist John Bruce Thompson is an American activist and disbarred attorney. As an attorney, Thompson focused his legal efforts against what he perceives as obscenity in modern culture. He gained recognition as an anti-video game activist, criticizing the content of games and their alleged effects on children. He also targeted rap music and radio personality Howard Stern. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1951: Verdine White, American bass player and producer Verdine Adams White is an American musician, best known as a founding member and bassist for the band Earth, Wind & Fire. White was placed at No. 19 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 50 Greatest Bassists of All Time". Read more
  • 25 Jul 1950: Mark Clarke, English singer-songwriter and bass player Mark Clarke is an English bassist and singer, best known for his work with Colosseum and Mountain, as well as brief stints with Uriah Heep and Rainbow. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1948: Steve Goodman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1984) Steven Benjamin Goodman was an American folk and country singer-songwriter from Chicago. He wrote the song "City of New Orleans", which was recorded by artists including Arlo Guthrie, John Denver, Willie Nelson, and Judy Collins. In 1985, Goodman received the Grammy songwriter award for best country song. Goodman co-wrote "You Never Even Call Me by My Name", which became the best-selling song of country musician David Allan Coe. A lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, Goodman wrote "Go Cubs Go". Goodman died of leukemia in September 1984. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1946: José Areas, Nicaraguan drummer José Octavio "Chepito" Areas Dávila is a Nicaraguan percussionist best known for having played timbales and Conga drums in the Latin rock group Santana in 1969–1977 and 1987–1989. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1946: Nicole Farhi, French fashion designer and sculptor Nicole Farhi, Lady Hare, CBE is a French former fashion designer. In mid-career in London, she took up sculpture and, on retirement from the fashion industry, became a sculptor. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1946: John Gibson, American radio host John David Gibson is an American radio talk show host. As of September 2008, he hosts the syndicated radio program The John Gibson Show. He formerly co-hosted the weekday edition of The Big Story on Fox News. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1946: Rita Marley, Cuban-Jamaican singer Alfarita Constantia "Rita" Marley is a Jamaican reggae singer. She is the widow of reggae musician Bob Marley. Along with Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt, Rita was a member of the reggae vocal group the I Threes, and the backing vocalists for Bob Marley and the Wailers. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1946: P. Selvarasa, Sri Lankan politician Ponnambalam Selvarasa is a Sri Lankan Tamil politician and former Member of Parliament. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1946: Ljupka Dimitrovska, Macedonian-Croatian pop singer (died 2016) Ljupka Dimitrovska was a Macedonian-born Croatian singer. Internationally, she was best known for "Adio," written by Nikica Kalogjera and Ivica Krajač, which won the first prize at the 1970 Athens pop song festival. She died in Zagreb, aged 70. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1944: Sally Beauman, English journalist and author (died 2016) Sally Vanessa Beauman was an English journalist and writer. She was the author of eight widely translated and best-selling novels. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1943: Jim McCarty, English singer and drummer James Stanley McCarty is an English drummer, best known as a member of the Yardbirds and Renaissance. McCarty has performed and recorded as a drummer and occasional singer with the Yardbirds, Together, Renaissance, Shoot, Illusion, Box of Frogs, the British Invasion All-Stars, and Pilgrim. He was also a keyboardist for Stairway and, under his own name, a guitarist in the Jim McCarty Band. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1943: Erika Steinbach, Polish-German politician Erika Steinbach is a German right-wing politician. She previously served as a member of the Bundestag from 1990 until 2017. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1942: Bruce Woodley, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist Bruce William Woodley is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. He was a founding member of the successful folk-pop group the Seekers, and co-composer of the songs "I Am Australian," "Red Rubber Ball," and Simon & Garfunkel's "Cloudy." Read more
  • 25 Jul 1941: Manny Charlton, Spanish-born Scottish rock musician and songwriter (died 2022) Manuel Charlton was a Scottish musician, record producer and founding member of the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth. He was the band's lead guitarist from 1968 to 1990. He also produced Nazareth albums in the 1970s, including Hair of the Dog. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1941: Nate Thurmond, American basketball player (died 2016) Nathaniel Thurmond was an American professional basketball player who spent the majority of his 14-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Golden State Warriors franchise. He played the center and power forward positions. Thurmond was a seven-time All-Star and the first player in NBA history to record an official quadruple-double. In 1965, he grabbed 42 rebounds in a game; only Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell recorded more rebounds in an NBA game. Thurmond was named a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985, one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, and part of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1941: Emmett Till, African-American lynching and kidnapping victim (died 1955) Emmett Louis Till was an African-American boy who, at 14 years old, was abducted and lynched in Mississippi in 1955. The brutality of his murder and the acquittal of his killers drew attention to the long history of violent persecution of African Americans in the United States. Till posthumously became an icon of the civil rights movement. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1940: Richard Ballantine, American-English journalist and author (died 2013) Richard Ballantine was a cycling writer, journalist and cycling advocate. Born in America, the son of Ian and Betty Ballantine of Ballantine Books, and educated at the Browning School in New York and Columbia University, he principally resided in London, England. He wrote the popular Richard's Bicycle Book (1972) and its subsequent editions. He was an editor at Rufus Publications and founded several magazines including Bicycle magazine. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1939: S. Ramadoss, Indian politician S. Ramadoss is an Indian politician from Tamil Nadu. He is the founder and president of the Pattali Makkal Katchi. In 2025, following a months long dispute with his son, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss, he formed Anaithindhiya Jananayaka Padhugappu Kazhagam, a splinter faction of the original PMK party. The dispute ended with both of them getting reunited and thereby, disbanding the splinter faction. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1937: Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn, English archaeologist and academic Andrew Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn was a British archaeologist, paleolinguist and Conservative peer noted for his work on radiocarbon dating, the prehistory of languages, archaeogenetics, neuroarchaeology, and the prevention of looting at archaeological sites. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1936: Gerry Ashmore, English race car driver (died 2021) Joseph Frederick Harold Gerald "Gerry" Ashmore was a British motor racing driver from England. He participated in four Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, scoring no championship points. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1936: Glenn Murcutt, English-Australian architect and academic Glenn Marcus Murcutt is an Australian architect. He has been the recipient of the 1992 Alvar Aalto Medal, the 2002 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the 2009 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the 2021 Praemium Imperiale. Glenn Murcutt works as a sole practitioner without staff, builds only within Australia and is known to be very selective with his projects. Being the only Australian winner of the prestigious Pritzker Prize, he is often referred to as Australia's most famous architect. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1935: Barbara Harris, American actress and singer (died 2018) Barbara Densmoor Harris was an American Tony Award-winning Broadway stage star and Academy Award-nominated motion picture actress. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1935: Adnan Khashoggi, Saudi Arabian businessman (died 2017) Adnan Khashoggi was a Saudi businessman and arms dealer known for his business dealings, extensive geopolitical influence, and opulent lifestyle, which earned him the moniker "The Great Gatsby of the Middle East." During his peak in the early 1980s, Khashoggi's net worth was estimated at around $4 billion, amassed through his pivotal role as an intermediary between Western defense companies and the Saudi government. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1935: Gilbert Parent, Canadian educator and politician, 33rd Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (died 2009) Gilbert "Gib" Parent was a Canadian member of Parliament. He is best known in his role as speaker of the House of Commons between 1994 and 2001. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1935: John Robinson, American football player and coach (died 2024) John Alexander Robinson was an American football coach best known for his two stints as head coach of the USC Trojans and for his tenure as the head coach for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) from 1983 to 1991. Robinson's USC teams won four Rose Bowls and captured a share of the national championship in the 1978 season. Robinson is one of the few college football head coaches to have non-consecutive tenure at the same school. In 2009, he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1935: Larry Sherry, American baseball player and coach (died 2006) Lawrence Sherry was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed relief pitcher from 1958 to 1968, most prominently as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1959 World Series as the Dodgers won their first championship since relocating from Brooklyn just two years earlier. After his playing career, Sherry managed in the minor leagues before serving as a major league coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the California Angels. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1935: Lars Werner, Swedish lawyer and politician (died 2013) Lars Helge Werner was a Swedish socialist politician. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1934: Don Ellis, American trumpet player and composer (died 1978) Donald Johnson Ellis was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer, and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures. Later in his life he worked as a film composer, contributing a score to 1971's The French Connection and 1973's The Seven-Ups. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1934: Claude Zidi, French director and screenwriter Claude Zidi is a French film director and screenwriter. From 1971, he became known as a director of comedies, the majority of which were box-office hits in France. He was one of France's most commercially successful directors between the 1970s and the 1990s. In 1985, he won the César Award for Best Director for his film My New Partner. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1932: Paul J. Weitz, American astronaut (died 2017) Paul Joseph Weitz was an American naval officer and aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, who flew into space twice. He was a member of the three-man crew who flew on Skylab 2, the first crewed Skylab mission. He was also commander of the STS-6 mission, the maiden flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1931: James Butler, English sculptor and educator (died 2022) James Walter Butler MBE RA was a British sculptor most famous for his 1980 statue of Richard III in Leicester. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1930: Murray Chapple, New Zealand cricketer and manager (died 1985) Murray Ernest Chapple was a New Zealand cricketer. He played 14 Test matches over 13 years, scoring three fifties with a highest score of 76. He captained New Zealand in one Test in 1966. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1930: Maureen Forrester, Canadian actress and singer (died 2010) Maureen Kathleen Stewart Forrester, was a Canadian operatic contralto. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1930: Alice Parizeau, Polish-Canadian journalist and criminologist (died 1990) Alice Parizeau was a Polish-Canadian writer, essayist, journalist and criminologist. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1930: Herbert Scarf, American economist and academic (died 2015) Herbert Eli "Herb" Scarf was an American mathematical economist and Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1930: Annie Ross, Scottish-American singer and actress (died 2020) Annie Ross was a British-born American singer and actress, best known as a member of the influential jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. She helped pioneer the vocalese style of jazz singing, with a style described by critic Dave Gelly as "a kind of dreamy watchfulness that is a definition of 1950s hip." In 2010, she was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1929: Judd Buchanan, Canadian businessman and politician, 36th Canadian Minister of Public Works Julian Judd Buchanan is a Canadian former politician and businessman. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1929: Somnath Chatterjee, Indian lawyer and politician, 14th Speaker of the Lok Sabha (died 2018) Somnath Chatterjee was an Indian politician who was associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for most of his life, though he had been a non affiliated independent during his last decade. He was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2009. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1929: Eddie Mazur, Canadian ice hockey player (died 1995) Edward Joseph "Spider" Mazur was a Canadian ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Black Hawks between 1951 and 1956. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1948 to 1966, was spent in the minor leagues. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1928: Dolphy, Filipino actor, singer, and producer (died 2012) Rodolfo Vera Quizon Sr., known professionally as Dolphy, was a Filipino comedian and actor. Widely regarded by Philippine media as the country's "King of Comedy", he starred in a long list of comedy films and television series over a career spanning more than six decades. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1928: Mario Montenegro, Filipino actor (died 1988) Mario Montenegro was a Filipino actor and painter. He rose to stardom during the Golden Age of Philippine cinema as a heroic lead in historical and adventure films. He was dubbed "Brown Adonis" for his physique and portraying a number of culturally important Philippine figures, including Diego Silang, Andres Bonifacio, Macario Sakay, Ramon Magsaysay, Francisco Dagohoy, and Lapulapu. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1928: Nils Taube, Estonian-English businessman (died 2008) Baron Nils Taube was Britain's longest serving fund manager. A colleague of George Soros and advisor to Lord Rothschild, he also anticipated the 1987 stockmarket crash, while delivering an annual return of 15 percent for over 35 years while he ran his own fund. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1927: Daniel Ceccaldi, French actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2003) Daniel Ceccaldi was a French actor. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1927: Midge Decter, American journalist and author (died 2022) Midge Decter was an American journalist and author. Originally a liberal, she was one of the pioneers of the neoconservative movement in the 1970s and 1980s. She was a critic of feminism and the women's liberation movement. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1927: Sadiq Hussain Qureshi, Pakistani politician, 10th Governor of Punjab (died 2000) Nawab Sadiq Hussain Qureshi was a Pakistani politician who served as the eighth chief minister of Punjab from 1975 till Zia-ul-Haq's military coup in 1977. He also served as the governor of Punjab from 1974 to 1975. He was a close aide of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and retired from all active politics after Bhutto's overthrow in the 1977 coup. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1927: Jean-Marie Seroney, Kenyan activist and politician (died 1982) Jean-Marie Seroney was a Kenyan human rights advocate, legislator, and an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience. He was detained as a prisoner of conscience for 1,155 days. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1926: Whitey Lockman, American baseball player, coach, and manager (died 2009) Carroll Walter "Whitey" Lockman was an American left-handed hitting first baseman and outfielder, coach, manager and front office executive in Major League Baseball. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1926: Bernard Thompson, British television producer and director (died 1998) Bernard Thompson was a British television producer and director most famous for his work on Last of the Summer Wine and Are You Being Served?. Thompson served as producer and director during Last of the Summer Wine's second series. Thompson also served as a director on Are You Being Served?. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1926: Beatriz Segall, Brazilian actress (died 2018) Beatriz Segall was a Brazilian actress. One of her most notable works is the role of Odete Roitman on the telenovela Vale Tudo (1988), considered the greatest villain in the history of Brazilian television. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1925: Benny Benjamin, American R&B drummer (died 1969) William "Benny" Benjamin, nicknamed Papa Zita, was an American musician, most notable as the primary drummer for the Motown Records studio band The Funk Brothers. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 and was named the eleventh best drummer of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in 2016. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1925: Jerry Paris, American actor and director (died 1986) William Gerald Paris was an American actor and director best known for playing Jerry Helper, the dentist and next-door neighbor of Rob and Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show, and for directing the majority of the episodes of the sitcom Happy Days. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1925: Dick Passwater, American race car driver (died 2020) Richard Passwater was an American racecar driver who raced in NASCAR and USAC Stock Cars. He won the fifth race of the 1953 NASCAR Grand National Series at Charlotte Speedway. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1925: Jutta Zilliacus, Finnish journalist and politician (died 2026) Jutta Armelle Zilliacus was a Finnish-Estonian journalist and author in the Swedish language. She was also a politician, and served as a Member of Parliament for the Swedish People's Party for Helsinki from 1975 to 1987 and a member of the Helsinki City Council from 1968 to 1984. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1924: Frank Church, American lawyer and politician (died 1984) Frank Forrester Church III was an American politician and lawyer. From 1957 to 1981, he served as a U.S. senator from Idaho, and is currently the last Democrat to do so. He was the longest serving Democratic senator from the state and the only Democrat from the state who served more than two terms in the Senate. Church was a prominent figure in American foreign policy and established a reputation as a member of the party's liberal wing. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1924: Scotch Taylor, South African cricketer and hockey player (died 2004) Alistair Innes "Scotch" Taylor was a South African sportsman who played first-class cricket and hockey for Transvaal, and captained the Transvaal cricket team for four seasons. Taylor represented South Africa in one cricket Test in 1956. He was an alumnus of the King Edward VII School, set up a squash section in the Old Edwardians club, and was elected president of the South African Hockey Union. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1923: Estelle Getty, American actress (died 2008) Estelle Gettleman, known professionally as Estelle Getty, was an American actress and comedian. She was best known for her portrayal of Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls (1985–1992), for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She reprised the role in Empty Nest (1993–1995), The Golden Palace (1992–1993), Blossom (1990–1995), and Nurses (1991–1994). Read more
  • 25 Jul 1923: Edgar Gilbert, American mathematician and theorist (died 2013) Edgar Nelson Gilbert was an American mathematician and coding theorist, a longtime researcher at Bell Laboratories. His accomplishments include the Gilbert–Varshamov bound in coding theory, the Gilbert–Elliott model of bursty errors in signal transmission, the Erdős–Rényi–Gilbert model for random graphs, the Gilbert disk model of random geometric graphs, the Gilbert–Shannon–Reeds model of card shuffling, Gilbert tessellations, and the formulation of the Gilbert–Pollak conjecture on the Steiner ratio. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1923: Maria Gripe, Swedish journalist and author (died 2007) Maria Gripe, born Maja Stina Walter, was a Swedish author of books for children and young adults, which were often written in magical and mystical tone. She has written almost forty books, with many of her characters presented in short series of three or four books. For her lasting contribution to children's literature, she received the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Writing in 1974. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1922: John B. Goodenough, American materials scientist, physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2023) John Bannister Goodenough was an American materials scientist, a solid-state physicist, and a Nobel laureate in chemistry. From 1986 he was a professor of Materials Science, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, at the University of Texas at Austin. He is credited with
    identifying the Goodenough–Kanamori rules of the sign of the magnetic superexchange in materials, with developing materials for computer random-access magnetic memory and with inventing cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1921: Adolph Herseth, American soldier and trumpet player (died 2013) Adolph Sylvester "Bud" Herseth was principal trumpet in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1948 until 2001, and served as principal trumpet emeritus from 2001 until his retirement in 2004. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1921: Lionel Terray, French mountaineer (died 1965) Lionel Terray was a French climber who made many first ascents, including on the 1955 French Makalu expedition in the Himalaya and Cerro Fitz Roy in the Patagonian Andes. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1920: Rosalind Franklin, English biophysicist, chemist, and academic. Contributor to basic research of DNA. (died 1958) Rosalind Elsie Franklin was an English chemist and X-ray crystallographer. Her work was central to the understanding of the molecular structures of DNA, RNA, viruses, coal, and graphite. Although her works on coal and viruses were appreciated in her lifetime, Franklin's contributions to the discovery of the structure of DNA were largely unrecognised during her life, for which Franklin has been variously referred to as the "wronged heroine", the "dark lady of DNA", the "forgotten heroine", a "feminist icon", and the "Sylvia Plath of molecular biology". James Watson believed that, had she not died, ideally, Franklin would have been awarded a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1918: Jane Frank, American painter and sculptor (died 1986) Jane Schenthal Frank was an American multidisciplinary artist, known as a painter, sculptor, mixed media artist, illustrator, and textile artist. Her landscape-like, mixed-media abstract paintings are included in public collections, including those of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. She studied with artists, Hans Hofmann and Norman Carlberg. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1917: Fritz Honegger, Swiss lawyer and politician (died 1999) Fritz Honegger was a Swiss politician. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1916: Lucien Saulnier, Canadian lawyer and politician (died 1989) Lucien Saulnier, was a Canadian politician. He was chair of the Montreal Urban Community during the October Crisis. He was also chairman and chief executive officer of the Société de développement industriel du Québec. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1915: S. U. Ethirmanasingham, Sri Lankan businessman and politician (date of death unknown) Somasunderam Udayar Ethirmanasingham MBE was a Ceylon Tamil businessman and politician who served as a Member of Parliament. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1915: Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., American lieutenant and pilot (died 1944) Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. was an American naval aviator who was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy. He was a member of the Kennedy family and the oldest of the nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. During World War II, Kennedy was killed in action while serving as a land-based patrol bomber pilot, and posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1914: Woody Strode, American football player and actor (died 1994) Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode was an American athlete, actor, and author. He was a decathlete and football star who was one of the first Black American players in the National Football League (NFL) in the postwar era. After football, he went on to become a film actor, where he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Spartacus in 1960. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1909: Elizabeth Francis, American centenarian (died 2024) Elizabeth Francis was an American supercentenarian who was the oldest-living person in the United States from the death of Edith Ceccarelli on February 22, 2024, until her own death on October 22, 2024. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1908: Bill Bowes, English cricketer (died 1987) William Eric Bowes was an English professional cricketer active from 1929 to 1947 who played in 372 first-class matches as a right arm fast bowler and a right-handed tail end batsman. He took 1,639 wickets with a best performance of nine for 121 and completed ten wickets in a match 27 times. He scored 1,531 runs with a highest score of 43* and is one of very few major players whose career total of wickets taken exceeded his career total of runs scored. He did not rate himself as a fielder but he nevertheless held 138 catches. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1908: Ambroise-Marie Carré, French priest and author (died 2004) Ambroise-Marie Carré OP was a Catholic priest, author and member of the Académie française. Born in Fleury-les-Aubrais in Loiret, France, Carré studied at l'école Saint-Joseph and the collège Sainte-Croix de Neuilly before entering the Dominican order in 1926 and being ordained a priest in 1933. Not long thereafter, he was to edit, from 1936 until 1939, the Revue des Jeunes. Under the German Occupation, following the capitulation of the French government to the Nazis during the Second World War, Carré aided those persecuted by the Vichy government, regardless of their religion or ethnicity; for this, he was awarded the Légion d'honneur and the Croix de Guerre. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1908: Jack Gilford, American actor (died 1990) Jack Gilford was an American Broadway, film, and television actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Save the Tiger (1973). Read more
  • 25 Jul 1906: Johnny Hodges, American saxophonist and clarinet player (died 1970) John Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano saxophone, but refused to play soprano after 1940. Along with Benny Carter, Hodges is considered to be one of the definitive alto saxophone players of the big band era. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1905: Elias Canetti, Bulgarian-Swiss novelist, playwright, and memoirist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1994) Elias Canetti was a German-language writer, known as a modernist novelist, playwright, memoirist, and nonfiction writer. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1905: Georges Grignard, French race car driver (died 1977) Auguste Georges Paul Grignard was a racing driver from France. He raced in Formula One from 1947 to 1953, participating in one World Championship Grand Prix on 28 October 1951. He also participated in numerous non-Championship races, including winning the 1950 Paris Grand Prix. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1905: Denys Watkins-Pitchford, English author and illustrator (died 1990) Denys James Watkins-Pitchford MBE was an English naturalist, artist and author under the pen name 'BB'. He won the 1942 Carnegie Medal for The Little Grey Men. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1902: Eric Hoffer, American philosopher and author (died 1983) Eric Hoffer was an American philosopher and social critic. A moderate with an atypical working-class background, Hoffer wrote ten books over his career and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983. His first book, The True Believer (1951), was widely recognized as a classic, receiving critical acclaim from both scholars and laymen, although Hoffer believed that The Ordeal of Change (1963) was his finest work. The Eric Hoffer Book Award is an international literary prize established in his honor. The University of California, Berkeley awards an annual literary prize named jointly for Hoffer. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1901: Ruth Krauss, American author and poet (died 1993) Ruth Ida Krauss was an American writer of children's books, including The Carrot Seed, and of theatrical poems for adult readers. Many of her books are still in print. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1901: Mohammed Helmy, Egyptian physician and Righteous Among the Nations (died 1982) Mohammed ″Mod″ Helmy was an Egyptian-German physician who was recognized by Israel as one of the Righteous Among the Nations in 2013, with his name being listed at Yad Vashem in the city of Jerusalem. Born in Sudan, he moved to Berlin to study medicine and was later involved in saving many Jews from being exterminated by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. After World War II he was finally allowed to marry his love Emmi. In 2013 Helmy was the first Arab to be recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations; his nephews were summoned by Yad Vashem to receive the honour on his behalf, but were reluctant to do so because of the Arab–Israeli conflict, though they eventually attended the ceremony at the German foreign ministry. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1901: Lila Lee, American actress and singer (died 1973) Lila Lee was a prominent screen actress, primarily a leading lady, of the silent film and early sound film eras. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1896: Jack Perrin, American actor and stuntman (died 1967) Jack Perrin was an American actor specializing in Westerns. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1896: Josephine Tey, Scottish author and playwright (died 1952) Elizabeth MacKintosh, known by the pen name Josephine Tey, was a Scottish author. She is known for her Inspector Alan Grant series, which started with The Man in the Queue (1929). Her 1951 novel The Daughter of Time, from the same series, a detective work investigating the death of the Princes in the Tower, was chosen by the Crime Writers' Association in 1990 as the greatest crime novel of all time. Her first play Richard of Bordeaux, written under another pseudonym, Gordon Daviot, starred John Gielgud in its successful West End run. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1895: Ingeborg Spangsfeldt, Danish actress (died 1968) Ingeborg Spangsfeldt was a Danish film actress whose career began in the early 1910s until her retirement upon getting married in 1924. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1894: Walter Brennan, American actor (died 1974) Walter Andrew Brennan was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Come and Get It (1936), Kentucky (1938) and The Westerner (1940), making him the only person to win three awards in the supporting actor category. Brennan was also nominated for his performance in Sergeant York (1941). Other noteworthy performances were in To Have and Have Not (1944), My Darling Clementine (1946), Red River (1948) and Rio Bravo (1959). On television, he starred in the sitcom The Real McCoys (1957–1963). Read more
  • 25 Jul 1894: Gavrilo Princip, Bosnian Serb revolutionary and assassin of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife (died 1918) Gavrilo Princip was a Bosnian Serb student who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. The assassination set off the July Crisis, a series of events that within one month led to the outbreak of World War I. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1886: Edward Cummins, American golfer (died 1926) Edward McClellan Cummins was an American golfer who competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics. In 1904 he was part of the American team which won the gold medal. He finished 25th in this competition. In the individual competition he finished 25th in the qualification and was eliminated in the first round of the match play. He died in a car accident in 1926. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1883: Alfredo Casella, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1947) Alfredo Casella was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1882: George S. Rentz, American commander (died 1942) George Snavely Rentz was a United States Navy chaplain who served during World War I and World War II. For selfless heroism following the loss of USS Houston (CA-30) in the Battle of Sunda Strait, he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross— the only Navy Chaplain to be so honored during World War II. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1878: Masaharu Anesaki, Japanese philosopher and scholar (died 1949) Masaharu Anesaki , also known under his pen name "Chōfū Anesaki" , was a leading Japanese intellectual and scholar of the Meiji period. Anesaki is credited as being the father of religious studies in Japan, but also wrote on a variety of subjects including culture, literature, and politics. He was also a member of the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation of the League of Nations. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1875: Jim Corbett, Indian hunter, environmentalist, and author (died 1955) Edward James Corbett was an Anglo-Indian hunter and author. He gained fame through hunting and killing several man-eating tigers and leopards in Northern India, as detailed in his bestselling 1944 memoir Man-Eaters of Kumaon. In his later years, he became an outspoken advocate of the nascent conservation movement. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1870: Maxfield Parrish, American painter and illustrator (died 1966) Maxfield Parrish was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. His works featured distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. The National Museum of American Illustration deemed his painting Daybreak (1922) to be the most successful art print of the 20th century. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1869: Platon, Estonian bishop and saint (died 1919) Platon, born Paul Kulbusch, was an Estonian bishop and the first Orthodox saint of Estonian ethnicity. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1867: Max Dauthendey, German author and painter (died 1918) Max Dauthendey was a German author and painter of the impressionist period. He was born in Würzburg and died in Malang. Together with Richard Dehmel and Eduard von Keyserling, he is regarded as one of the most influential authors of that period.
    Dauthendey was stranded in Java at the outbreak of World War One. Attempts to provide him with a safe passage back to Germany failed. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1867: Alexander Rummler, American painter (died 1959) Alexander Joseph Rummler was an American painter best known for his work on murals and billboards. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1866: Frederick Blackman, English physiologist and academic (died 1947) Frederick Frost Blackman FRS was a British plant physiologist. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1865: Jac. P. Thijsse, Dutch botanist and conservationist (died 1945) Jacobus Pieter Thijsse was a Dutch conservationist and botanist. He founded the Society for Preservation of Nature Monuments in the Netherlands. Along with Eli Heimans and Johannes Bernink, he was active in a period of revival of biological education known as biologisch reveil. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1857: Frank J. Sprague, American naval officer and inventor (died 1934) Frank Julian Sprague was an American inventor who contributed to the development of the electric motor, electric railways, and electric elevators. His contributions were especially important in promoting urban development by increasing the size cities could reasonably attain and by allowing greater concentration of business in commercial sections. He became known as the "father of electric traction". Demonstrating an aptitude for science and mathematics, Sprague secured an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1874 and, after graduation in 1878 and 2 years at sea, resigned to pursue his career in electrical engineering. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1848: Arthur Balfour, Scottish-English lieutenant and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1930) Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. He also later served as foreign secretary in the Lloyd George ministry, from 1916 to 1919. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1847: Paul Langerhans, German pathologist, physiologist and biologist (died 1888) Paul Langerhans was a German pathologist, physiologist and biologist, credited with the discovery of the cells that secrete insulin, named after him as the islets of Langerhans. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1844: Thomas Eakins, American painter, sculptor, and photographer (died 1916) Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important American artists. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1839: Francis Garnier, French captain and explorer (died 1873) Marie Joseph François Garnier was a French officer, inspector of Indigenous Affairs of Cochinchina and explorer. He eventually became mission leader of the Mekong Exploration Commission in 19th century Southeast Asia. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1806: Maria Weston Chapman, American abolitionist (died 1885) Maria Weston Chapman was an American abolitionist. She was elected to the executive committee of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1839 and from 1839 until 1842, she served as editor of the anti-slavery journal The Non-Resistant. Read more

Notable Deaths on 25 July

  • 25 Jul 2024: Shafin Ahmed, Bangladeshi bassist and singer-songwriter (born 1961) Shafin Ahmed was a Bangladeshi rock bassist, singer-songwriter, record producer and politician. He was the lead singer, songwriter and bassist for the Bangladeshi rock band Miles, where he and his elder brother Hamin Ahmed joined in 1979 and have led the band. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2024: Martin Indyk, American diplomat (born 1951) Martin Sean Indyk was an Australian-American diplomat and foreign relations analyst with expertise in the Middle East. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2022: Paul Sorvino, American actor (born 1939) Paul Anthony Sorvino was an American actor. He often portrayed authority figures on both the criminal and the law enforcement sides of the law. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2020: Regis Philbin, American actor and television host (born 1931) Regis Francis Xavier Philbin was an American television presenter, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest-working man in show business", he held the Guinness World Record for the most hours spent on US television. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2020: Peter Green, English blues rock guitarist, singer-songwriter and founder of Fleetwood Mac (born 1946) Peter Allen Greenbaum, known professionally as Peter Green, was an English blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist who was the founder and original leader of the band Fleetwood Mac. Green formed the group in 1967 after a stint in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and quickly established the new band as a popular live act in addition to a successful recording act, before departing in 1970. Green's songs, such as "Albatross", "Black Magic Woman", "Oh Well", "The Green Manalishi " and "Man of the World", appeared on singles charts and several have been adapted by a variety of musicians. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2020: Lou Henson, American college basketball coach (born 1932) Louis Ray Henson was an American college basketball coach. He retired as the all-time leader in victories at the University of Illinois with 423 victories and New Mexico State with 289 victories. Overall, Henson won 779 games putting him in sixteenth place on the all-time list. Henson was also one of only four NCAA coaches to have amassed at least 200 total wins at two institutions. On February 17, 2015, Henson was selected as a member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. In August 2015, prior to the reopening of the newly renovated State Farm Center at the University of Illinois, the hardwood floor was dedicated and renamed Lou Henson Court in his honor. The court at the Pan American Center at New Mexico State University is also named in his honor. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2019: Beji Caid Essebsi, 4th President and 9th Prime Minister of Tunisia (born 1926) Beji Caid Essebsi was a Tunisian politician who served as the fourth president of Tunisia from 2014 until his death in 2019. Previously, he served as minister of foreign affairs from 1981 to 1986 and prime minister from February to December 2011. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2018: Sergio Marchionne, Italian-Canadian businessman (born 1952) Sergio Marchionne was an Italian-Canadian businessman, widely known for his turnarounds of the automakers Fiat and Chrysler, his business acumen and his outspoken and often frank approach, especially when dealing with unpalatable issues related to his companies and the automotive industry. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2017: Michael Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1944) Michael Jay Johnson was an American pop, country, and folk singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best remembered for his 1978 hit song "Bluer Than Blue". He charted four hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and nine more on Hot Country Songs, including two number one country hits in 1986's "Give Me Wings" and "The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder". He also co-wrote "Cain's Blood", the debut single of 1990s country group 4 Runner. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2016: Tim LaHaye, American Christian minister and author (born 1926) Timothy Francis LaHaye was an American Baptist evangelical Christian minister and political activist who wrote more than 85 books, both non-fiction and fiction, including the Left Behind series of novels depicting apocalypse events after a pre-tribulation rapture. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2016: Tom Peterson, American television personality (born 1930) Thomas Howard Peterson was an American retailer, pitchman, and television personality from Portland, Oregon. Peterson opened his first store in 1964, which grew to a regional consumer electronics, home appliance, and furniture chain in the 1970s. His memorable television commercials and unusual promotions made him a widely recognized personality in the Portland area by the 1980s, leading to several cameo appearances in the films of Gus Van Sant. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2015: Jacques Andreani, French diplomat, French ambassador to the United States (born 1929) Jacques Andreani was French ambassador to Egypt, Italy and the United States. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2015: R. S. Gavai, Indian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor of Kerala (born 1929) Ramkrishna Suryabhan Gavai, popularly known as Dadasaheb Gavai, was an Indian politician, social activist, senior leader of the Ambedkarite movement, and founder of the Republican Party of India (Gavai). He was the President of Ambedkar's ideological party Republican Party of India, through this party, he did many works in political and social fields. Gavai also worked with Babasaheb Ambedkar, a polymath. He was the Governor of the three states of Bihar, Sikkim and Kerala, as well as he has served in both houses of the Indian Parliament, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Gavai was a 30-year member (MLC) of the Maharashtra Legislative Council during which he served on the posts of the chairman, the deputy chairman, and the Opposition leader of the council. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2015: Bob Kauffman, American basketball player and coach (born 1946) Robert Kauffman was an American professional basketball player and coach. Kauffman was a three-time NBA All-Star. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2014: Bel Kaufman, German-American author and academic (born 1911) Bella Kaufman was an American teacher and author, well known for writing the bestselling 1964 novel Up the Down Staircase. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2014: Richard Larter, Australian painter and illustrator (born 1929) Richard Larter was an Australian painter, often identified as one of Australia's few highly recognisable pop artists. Larter also frequently painted in a Pointillist style. He took advantage of unusual techniques with painting: using a syringe filled with paint to create his early works, and juxtaposing multiple images on to a canvas. Many of his works are brightly coloured and draw on popular culture for source materials, reproducing news photographs, film stills, and images from pornography. He was married to Pat Larter, an artist who was involved in the Mail art movement, then performance art and finally painting in a brightly coloured style similar to Richard's. The Larters emigrated to Australia in 1962. Richard Larter's pop art was less ironic than his American and English counterparts. In this Larter is similar to other noted Australian pop artists, such as, Mike Brown and Martin Sharp. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2013: Walter De Maria, American sculptor, illustrator, and composer (born 1935) Walter Joseph De Maria was an American artist, sculptor, illustrator and composer, who lived and worked in New York City. Walter de Maria's artistic practice is connected with minimal art, conceptual art, and land art of the 1960s. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2013: William J. Guste, American lawyer and politician (born 1922) William Joseph Guste Jr. was an American attorney and politician from the state of Louisiana. He was Attorney General of Louisiana from 1972 to 1992. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2013: Hugh Huxley, English-American biologist and academic (born 1924) Hugh Esmor Huxley was a British molecular biologist who made important discoveries in the physiology of muscle. He was a graduate in physics from Christ's College, Cambridge. However, his education was interrupted for five years by the Second World War, during which he served in the Royal Air Force. His contribution to development of radar earned him an MBE. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2012: B. R. Ishara, Indian director and screenwriter (born 1934) Babu Ram Ishara was an Indian film director and screenwriter best known for his films of the 1970s. He filmed 35 Bollywood films between 1964 and 1996. He was much popular for his film Chetana, Log Kya Kahenge, Milap, Man Jaiye, Ghar Ki Laaj, Woh Phir Aayegi and Sautela Bhai. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2012: Barry Langford, English director and producer (born 1926) Barry Langford was a British television and music director, producer, and businessman. He directed many television programmes for the BBC in the 1960s and 1970s, and also worked as manager for musical artists including David Bowie and Tom Jones. He helped improve BBC television programming and also helped the development of Israeli television in the 1970s. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2012: Greg Mohns, American-Canadian football player and coach (born 1950) Gregory R. Mohns was an American football coach and executive. He was the head coach of the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1998 to 2000. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2012: Franz West, Austrian painter and sculptor (born 1947) Franz West was an Austrian artist. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2011: Michael Cacoyannis, Cypriot-Greek director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1922) Michael Cacoyannis was a Greek Cypriot director, screenwriter, filmmaker, producer, playwright, actor, and lawyer. He is best known for writing, directing, producing, and editing Zorba the Greek (1964), an adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis' novel of the same name. He also directed the 1983 Broadway revival of the musical based on the film in addition to writing, directing, designing, and translating dozens of stage play and opera productions. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2009: Vernon Forrest, American boxer (born 1971) Vernon Forrest was an American professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC, IBF, Ring magazine and lineal welterweight between 2002 and 2003, and the WBC super welterweight title twice between 2007 and 2009. In 2002, Forrest was named Fighter of the Year by The Ring and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2009: Stanley Middleton, English author (born 1919) Stanley Middleton FRSL was a British novelist. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2009: Harry Patch, English soldier (born 1898) Henry John Patch, dubbed in his later years "the Last Fighting Tommy", was an English supercentenarian, briefly the oldest man in Europe, and the world's last surviving trench combat soldier of the First World War. Patch was not the longest-surviving soldier of the First World War, but he was the fifth-longest-surviving veteran of any sort from the First World War, behind British veterans Claude Choules and Florence Green, Frank Buckles of the United States and John Babcock of Canada. At the time of his death, aged 111 years and 38 days, Patch was the fourth-oldest man in the world, behind Walter Breuning, Horacio Celi Mendoza, and Jiroemon Kimura. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2009: Yasmin Ahmad, Malaysian film director (born 1958) Yasmin binti Ahmad was a Malaysian film director, writer and scriptwriter. She was the executive creative director at Leo Burnett Kuala Lumpur. Her television commercials and films are well known in Malaysia for being humorous and touching. Her work crossed cross-cultural barriers, particularly her ads for Petronas, the national oil and gas company. Her works have won multiple awards both within Malaysia and internationally. In Malaysia, her films were highly controversial due to their depiction of events and relationships, which have been considered 'forbidden' by social conservatives, especially hard-line interpretations of Islam. She was a central figure of the "first" New Wave of Malaysian cinema. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2008: Jeff Fehring, Australian footballer (born 1955) Jeff Fehring was an Australian rules footballer who played for Geelong and St Kilda in the Victorian Football League from 1977 to 1981. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2008: Tracy Hall, American chemist and academic (born 1919) Howard Tracy Hall was an American physical chemist and one of the early pioneers in the research of synthetic diamonds, using a press of his own design. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2008: Randy Pausch, American computer scientist and educator (born 1960) Randolph Frederick Pausch was an American educator, a professor of computer science, human–computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2007: Bernd Jakubowski, German footballer and manager (born 1952) Bernd Jakubowski was an East German footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2006: Ezra Fleischer, Romanian-Israeli poet and philologist (born 1928) Ezra Fleischer was a Romanian-Israeli Hebrew-language poet and philologist known for his pioneering research on early Hebrew piyyut and medieval Jewish liturgy. Fleischer received the Israel Prize for Literature Studies in 1959 for his contributions to Hebrew poetry and philology. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2005: Albert Mangelsdorff, German trombonist (born 1928) Albert Mangelsdorff was a German jazz trombonist. Working mainly in free jazz, he was an innovator in multiphonics. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2004: John Passmore, Australian philosopher and academic (born 1914) John Arthur Passmore was an Australian philosopher. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2003: Ludwig Bölkow, German engineer (born 1912) Ludwig Bölkow was a German aeronautical engineer. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2003: John Schlesinger, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1926) John Richard Schlesinger was an English film, television and theatre director, and actor. He emerged in the early 1960s as a leading light of the British New Wave, before embarking on a successful career in Hollywood, often directing films dealing with provocative subject matter, combined with his status as one of the rare openly gay directors working in mainstream films. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2002: Abdel Rahman Badawi, Egyptian philosopher and poet (born 1917) Abdel Rahman Badawi was an Egyptian existentialist philosopher, professor of philosophy and poet. He has been called the "foremost master of Arab existentialism." He published more than 150 works, mostly rendering of Arabic philosophical manuscripts. Read more
  • 25 Jul 2000: Rudi Faßnacht, German footballer, coach, and manager (born 1934) Rudolf "Rudi" Faßnacht was a German football manager. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1998: Evangelos Papastratos, Greek businessman, co-founded Papastratos (born 1910) Evangelos Papastratos was a Greek businessman born in the city of Agrinio in Aetolia-Acarnania, Greece. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1997: Ben Hogan, American golfer (born 1912) William Ben Hogan was an American professional golfer who is considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He profoundly influenced golf swing theory, and was noted for his ballstriking skill and assiduous practice. Hogan won nine major championships and is one of six men to complete the modern career grand slam. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1995: Charlie Rich, American singer-songwriter (born 1932) Charles Allan Rich was an American country singer. His eclectic style of music also blended influences from rockabilly, jazz, blues, soul, and gospel. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1992: Alfred Drake, American actor and singer (born 1914) Alfred Drake was an American actor and singer. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1991: Lazar Kaganovich, Soviet politician (born 1893) Lazar Moiseyevich Kaganovich was a Soviet politician and one of Joseph Stalin's closest associates. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1989: Steve Rubell, American businessman, co-owner of Studio 54 (born 1943) Steve Rubell was an American entrepreneur and co-owner of the New York City disco Studio 54. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1988: Judith Barsi, American child actress (born 1978) Judith Eva Barsi was an American child actress. She began her career in television, making appearances in commercials and television series, as well as the 1987 film Jaws: The Revenge. She also provided the voices of Ducky in The Land Before Time and Anne-Marie in All Dogs Go to Heaven, both released after her death. She and her mother, Maria, were killed in July 1988 in a double murder–suicide committed in their home by her father, József Barsi. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1986: Vincente Minnelli, American director and screenwriter (born 1903) Vincente Minnelli was an American stage director and film director. From a career spanning over half a century, he is best known for his sophisticated innovation and artistry in musical films. As of 2026, six of his films have been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1984: Bryan Hextall, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1913) Bryan Aldwyn Hextall was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League (NHL). Considered one of the top wingers of the 1940s, he led the NHL in goal scoring twice and in points once. Additionally, he was named a first-team All-Star three times, and a second-team All-Star once. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1984: Big Mama Thornton, American singer-songwriter (born 1926) Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, was an American singer and songwriter of blues and R&B. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1982: Hal Foster, Canadian-American author and illustrator (born 1892) Harold Rudolf Foster was a Canadian-American comic strip artist and writer best known as the creator of the comic strip Prince Valiant. His drawing style is noted for its high level of draftsmanship and attention to detail. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1981: Rosa A. González, Puerto Rican nurse, author, feminist, and activist (born 1889) Rosa A. González, RN, was a nurse, author, feminist and activist. She established various health clinics throughout Puerto Rico and was the founder of The Association of Registered Nurses of Puerto Rico. In 1929, Gonzalez wrote a book titled Los Hechos Desconocidos, in which she denounced the discrimination against women and nurses in Puerto Rico. González’s book convinced James R. Beverley, the Interim Governor of Puerto Rico, to sign Ley 77 in May 1930, which established a Nurses Examining Board. In 1978, she was the first recipient of the Public Health Department of Puerto Rico Garrido Morales Award. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1980: Vladimir Vysotsky, Russian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (born 1938) Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky was a Soviet singer, songwriter, poet and actor who had an immense and enduring effect on Soviet culture. He became widely known for his unique singing style and for his lyrics, which featured social and political commentary in often-humorous street jargon. He was also a prominent stage- and screen-actor. Though the official Soviet cultural establishment largely ignored his work, he was remarkably popular during his lifetime and has exerted significant influence on many of Russia's musicians and actors. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1977: Shivrampant Damle, Indian educationist (born 1900) Captain Shivrampant Damle was an Indian educationist. He is best remembered for founding the Maharashtriya Mandal in 1924. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1973: Amy Jacques Garvey, Jamaican-American journalist and activist (born 1895) Amy Euphemia Jacques Garvey was a Jamaican-born journalist and activist. She was the second wife of Marcus Garvey. She was one of the pioneering female Black journalists and publishers of the 20th century. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1973: Louis St. Laurent, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (born 1882) Louis Stephen St. Laurent was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 12th prime minister of Canada from 1948 to 1957. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1971: John Meyers, American swimmer and water polo player (born 1880) Edward John Meyers was an American freestyle swimmer and water polo player for the Missouri Athletic Club who won a bronze medal for the U.S. in the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1971: Leroy Robertson, American composer and educator (born 1896) Leroy Robertson was an American composer and music educator. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1967: Konstantinos Parthenis, Egyptian-Greek painter (born 1878) Konstantinos Parthenis was a Greek painter. Born in Alexandria, part of the Greek community in Egypt, Parthenis broke with the Greek academic tradition of the 19th century and introduced modern elements together with traditional themes, like the figure of Christ, in his art. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1966: Frank O'Hara, American poet and critic (born 1926) Francis Russell "Frank" O'Hara was an American writer, poet, and art critic. A curator at the Museum of Modern Art, O'Hara became prominent in New York City's art world. O'Hara is regarded as a leading figure in the New York School, an informal group of artists, writers, and musicians who drew inspiration from jazz, surrealism, abstract expressionism, action painting, and contemporary avant-garde art movements. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1963: Ugo Cerletti, Italian neurologist and academic (born 1877) Ugo Cerletti was an Italian neurologist who discovered the method of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) used in psychiatry. Electroconvulsive therapy is a therapy in which electric current is used to provoke a seizure for a short duration. This therapy is used in an attempt to treat certain mental disorders, and may be useful when other possible treatments have not, or cannot, cure the person of their mental disorder. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1962: Thibaudeau Rinfret, Canadian lawyer and jurist, 9th Chief Justice of Canada (born 1879) Thibaudeau Rinfret was a Canadian jurist who served as the ninth Chief Justice of Canada from 1944 to 1954 and briefly as Administrator of Canada from January to February 1952. He also served as a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1924 to 1944. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1959: Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, Polish-born Irish rabbi and author (born 1888) Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, also known as Isaac Herzog or Hertzog, was the first Chief Rabbi of Ireland, his term lasting from 1921 to 1936. From 1936 until his death in 1959, he was Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of the British Mandate of Palestine and of Israel after its creation in 1948. He was the father of Chaim Herzog and grandfather of Isaac Herzog, both presidents of Israel. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1958: Otto Lasanen, Finnish wrestler (born 1891) Otto Abraham Lasanen was a featherweight Greco-Roman wrestler from Finland. He won a bronze medal at the 1912 Summer Olympics and placed fourth at the 1914 unofficial European Championships. In 1917 he won a Russian title, as Finland was part of Russia then. Lasanen was a car driver by profession. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1952: Herbert Murrill, English organist and composer (born 1909) Herbert Henry John Murrill was an English musician, composer, and organist. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1947: Kathleen Scott, English sculptor (born 1878) Edith Agnes Kathleen Young, Baroness Kennet, FRBS was a British sculptor. Trained in London and Paris, Scott was a prolific sculptor, notably of portrait heads and busts and also of several larger public monuments. These included a number of war memorials plus statues of her first husband, the Antarctic explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott. Although the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography describes her as "the most significant and prolific British women sculptor before Barbara Hepworth", her traditional style of sculpture and her hostility to the abstract work of, for example Hepworth and Henry Moore, has led to a lack of recognition for her artistic achievements. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1942: Fred Englehardt, American triple jumper (born 1879) Frederick William Englehardt was an American athlete who competed mainly in the long jump and triple jump. He competed for the United States in the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St Louis, United States in the triple jump where he won the silver medal. He was also 4th in the long jump. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1934: François Coty, French businessman, founded Coty (born 1874) François Coty was a French perfumer, businessman, newspaper publisher, politician and patron of the arts. He was the founder of the Coty perfume company, today a multinational. He is considered the founding father of the modern perfume industry. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1934: Engelbert Dollfuss, Austrian politician, 14th Chancellor of Austria (born 1892) Engelbert Dollfuss was an Austrian politician and dictator who served as chancellor of Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and Agriculture, he ascended to Federal Chancellor in 1932 in the midst of a crisis for the conservative and nationalist government. This crisis culminated in the self-elimination of the Austrian Parliament, a coup sparked by the resignation of the presiding officers of the National Council. Suppressing the Socialist movement in the Austrian Civil War and later banning the Austrian Nazi Party, he cemented his rule through the First of May Constitution in 1934. Later that year, Dollfuss was assassinated as part of a failed coup attempt by Nazi agents. His successor Kurt Schuschnigg maintained the regime until Adolf Hitler's Anschluss in 1938. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1934: Nestor Makhno, Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary (born 1888) Nestor Ivanovych Makhno, also known as Bat'ko Makhno, was a Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary and the commander of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine during the Ukrainian War of Independence. He established the Makhnovshchina, a mass movement by the Ukrainian peasantry to establish anarchist communism in the country between 1918 and 1921. Initially centered around Makhno's home province of Katerynoslav and hometown of Huliaipole, it came to exert a strong influence over large areas of southern Ukraine, specifically in what is now the Zaporizhzhia Oblast of Ukraine. Anarchists have cited him as an inspiration during his life and into today. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1887: John Taylor, American religious leader, 3rd President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (born 1808) John Taylor was an English-born American religious leader who served as the third president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1880 to 1887. He is the first and so far only president of the LDS Church to have been born outside the United States. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1865: James Barry, English soldier and surgeon (born 1799) James Barry was a military surgeon in the British Army. Originally from the city of Cork in Ireland, Barry obtained a medical degree from the University of Edinburgh Medical School, then served first in Cape Town, South Africa, and subsequently in many parts of the British Empire. Before retirement, Barry had risen to the rank of Inspector General in charge of military hospitals, the second-highest medical office in the British Army. He improved conditions not only for wounded soldiers, but also for the native inhabitants. Barry performed the first recorded caesarean section by a European in Africa in which both the mother and child survived the surgery. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1861: Jonas Furrer, Swiss lawyer and politician, President of the Swiss Confederation (born 1805) Jonas Furrer was a Swiss lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Federal Council, from 1848 to 1861, and as the first president of the Swiss Confederation from 1848 to 1849, and again in 1852, 1855 and 1858. He was one of the leading figures in the foundation of Switzerland as a federal state. He was a member of the Radical Party. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1843: Charles Macintosh, Scottish chemist and inventor of waterproof fabric (born 1766) Charles Macintosh FRS was a Scottish chemist and the inventor of the modern waterproof raincoat. The Mackintosh raincoat is named after him. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1842: Dominique Jean Larrey, French physician and surgeon (born 1766) Dominique Jean, Baron Larrey was a French surgeon and soldier best known for his service in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. An important innovator in battlefield medicine and triage, he invented the flying ambulance and is sometimes considered the first modern military surgeon. He has been credited with 24 important surgical advances and is called the "father of modern military medicine" and "the father of emergency medical services". Read more
  • 25 Jul 1834: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English philosopher, poet, and critic (born 1772) Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth. He also shared volumes and collaborated with Charles Lamb, Robert Southey, and Charles Lloyd. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1831: Maria Szymanowska, Polish composer and pianist (born 1789) Maria Szymanowska was a Polish composer and one of the first professional virtuoso pianists of the 19th century. She toured extensively throughout Europe, especially in the 1820s, before settling permanently in Saint Petersburg. In the Russian imperial capital, she composed for the court, gave concerts, taught music, and ran an influential salon. The salons in 18th-century France were intellectual gatherings held at home by educated women. In 1837, the composer and music critic Robert Schumann defined salon music as elegant light music and stated that this type of social music should sound beautiful, delicate, and fashionable. Szymanowska was highly praised by Schumann for her salon music works, especially her etudes. Read more
  • 25 Jul 1826: Kondraty Ryleyev, Russian poet and publisher (born 1795) Kondraty Fyodorovich Ryleyev was a Russian poet, publisher, and a leader of the Decembrist revolt, which attempted to overthrow the Russian monarchy in 1825. Read more

Why is 25 July Important in History?

25 July is important because many political, cultural, scientific, educational and social events took place on this date. These facts are useful for students, exam aspirants and readers interested in daily history and general knowledge.

History of Today 25 July for Competitive Exams

Questions based on today in history, famous personalities, historical events and important dates are often asked in UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway, Defence and State PSC examinations.

👉 View complete History of Today archive

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on 25 July in history?

On 25 July, many important historical events, famous births and notable deaths occurred across the world.

Why is History of Today important for exams?

History of Today helps students remember important dates, events and personalities for competitive exams like UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway and PSC.

Where can I read daily history facts?

You can read daily history facts on this History of Today section, updated regularly with important events, births and deaths.