Major historical anniversaries and events for this day in history and this week for 2025.
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Historical Anniversaries this Week
February 23
Events (300 years ago today): 1725 – J. S. Bach leads his Tafel-Music Shepherd Cantata for the birthday of Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels.[6]
Births (100 years ago today): 1925 – Louis Stokes, American lawyer and politician (d. 2015)
Births (50 years ago today): 1975 – Michael Cornacchia, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
Births (50 years ago today): 1975 – Robert Lopez, American songwriter and playwright[36]
February 24
Events (500 years ago today): 1525 – A Spanish-Austrian army defeats a French army at the Battle of Pavia.[4]
Events (150 years ago today): 1875 – The SS Gothenburg hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high-profile civil servants and dignitaries.[21]
Births (100 years ago today): 1925 – Bud Day, American colonel and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2013)
Births (50 years ago today): 1975 – Ashley MacIsaac, Canadian singer-songwriter and fiddler
Deaths (500 years ago today): 1525 – Jacques de La Palice, French nobleman and military officer (b. 1470)
Deaths (500 years ago today): 1525 – Guillaume Gouffier, seigneur de Bonnivet, French soldier (b. c. 1488)
Deaths (500 years ago today): 1525 – Richard de la Pole, last Yorkist claimant to the English throne (b. 1480)
Deaths (200 years ago today): 1825 – Thomas Bowdler, English physician and philanthropist (b. 1754)
Deaths (100 years ago today): 1925 – Hjalmar Branting, Swedish journalist and politician, 16th Prime Minister of Sweden, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1860)
Deaths (50 years ago today): 1975 – Hans Bellmer, German artist (b. 1902)[131]
Deaths (50 years ago today): 1975 – Nikolai Bulganin, Russian marshal and politician, 6th Premier of the Soviet Union (b. 1895)
February 25
Events (150 years ago today): 1875 – Guangxu Emperor of Qing dynasty China begins his reign, under Empress Dowager Cixi's regency.[7]
1901-present
[edit] Births (550 years ago today): 1475 – Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, last male member of the House of York (d. 1499)[32]
Births (100 years ago today): 1925 – Lisa Kirk, American actress and singer (d. 1990)[95]
Births (100 years ago today): 1925 – Shehu Shagari, Nigerian politician, 6th President of Nigeria (d. 2018)[96]
Births (50 years ago today): 1975 – Chelsea Handler, American comedian, actress, author, and television host[139]
Deaths (50 years ago today): 1975 – Elijah Muhammad, American religious leader (b. 1897)[220]
February 26
Events (250 years ago today): 1775 – The British East India Company factory on Balambangan Island is destroyed by Moro pirates.[9]
Births (100 years ago today): 1925 – Everton Weekes, Barbadian cricketer and referee (d. 2020)[38][39]
Births (50 years ago today): 1975 – P. J. Axelsson, Swedish ice hockey player[64]
Deaths (750 years ago today): 1275 – Margaret of England, Queen consort of Scots (b. 1240)[84]
Deaths (400 years ago today): 1625 – Anna Vasa of Sweden, Polish and Swedish princess (b. 1568)
February 27
Events (1600 years ago today): 425 – The University of Constantinople is founded by Emperor Theodosius II at the urging of his wife Aelia Eudocia.[2]
Births (450 years ago today): 1575 – John Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1616)
1601-1900
[edit] Births (150 years ago today): 1875 – Vladimir Filatov, Russian-Ukrainian ophthalmologist and surgeon (d. 1956)
Births (100 years ago today): 1925 – Kenneth Koch, American poet, playwright and professor (d. 2002)
Births (100 years ago today): 1925 – Pia Sebastiani, Argentine pianist and composer (d. 2015)
Births (50 years ago today): 1975 – Aitor González, Spanish racing driver
Births (50 years ago today): 1975 – Prodromos Korkizoglou, Greek decathlete
Deaths (600 years ago today): 1425 – Prince Vasily I of Moscow (b. 1371)
February 28
Events (500 years ago today): 1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the order of conquistador Hernán Cortés.[3]1601-1900
[edit] Events (100 years ago today): 1925 – The Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake strikes northeastern North America.[8]
Events (50 years ago today): 1975 – In London, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.[17]
Births (350 years ago today): 1675 – Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (d. 1726)[37]
Births (100 years ago today): 1925 – Harry H. Corbett, Burmese-English actor (d. 1982)[62]
Births (50 years ago today): 1975 – Mike Rucker, American football player[132]
Deaths (50 years ago today): 1975 – Neville Cardus, English cricket and music writer (b. 1888)[186]
March 1
Deaths (150 years ago today): 1875 – Tristan Corbičre, French poet and educator (b. 1845)
Deaths (100 years ago today): 1925 – Homer Plessy, American political activist (b. 1862 or 1863)[87]
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