May 25

May 25 in recent years

2024 (Saturday)

2023 (Thursday)

2022 (Wednesday)

2021 (Tuesday)

2020 (Monday)

2019 (Saturday)

2018 (Friday)

2017 (Thursday)

2016 (Wednesday)

2015 (Monday)

May 25 is the 145th day of the year (146th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 220 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans.
• 240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.
• 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo, Spain, back from the Moors.
• 1420 – Henry the Navigator is appointed governor of the Order of Christ.
• 1521 – The Diet of Worms ends when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw.
• 1644 – Ming general Wu Sangui forms an alliance with the invading Manchus and opens the gates of the Great Wall of China at Shanhaiguan pass, letting the Manchus through towards the capital Beijing.
• 1659 – Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth of England.
• 1738 – A treaty between Pennsylvania and Maryland ends the Conojocular War with settlement of a boundary dispute and exchange of prisoners.
• 1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion: The Carnew massacre, Dunlavin massacre and Carlow massacre take place.
• 1809 – Chuquisaca Revolution: a group of patriots in Chuquisaca (modern day Sucre) revolt against the Spanish Empire, starting the South American Wars of Independence.
• 1810 – May Revolution: citizens of Buenos Aires expel Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros during the May week, starting the Argentine War of Independence.
• 1819 – The Argentine Constitution of 1819 is promulgated.
• 1833 – The Chilean Constitution of 1833 is promulgated.
• 1837 – The Rebels of Lower Canada (Quebec) rebel against the British for freedom.
• 1865 – In Mobile, Alabama, 300 are killed when an ordnance depot explodes.
• 1878 – Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore opens at the Opera Comique in London.
• 1895 – The playwright, poet, and novelist Oscar Wilde is convicted of "committing acts of gross indecency with other male persons" and sentenced to serve two years in prison.
• 1895 – The Republic of Formosa is formed, with Tang Ching-sung as its president.
• 1914 – The United Kingdom's House of Commons passes the Home Rule Act for devolution in Ireland.
• 1925 – Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is indicted for teaching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution in Tennessee.
• 1926 – Sholom Schwartzbard assassinates Symon Petliura, the head of the government of the Ukrainian People's Republic, which is in government-in-exile in Paris.
• 1935 – Jesse Owens of Ohio State University breaks three world records and ties a fourth at the Big Ten Conference Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
• 1936 – The Remington Rand strike, led by the American Federation of Labor, begins.
• 1938 – Spanish Civil War: The bombing of Alicante takes place, with 313 deaths.
• 1940 – World War II: The German 2nd Panzer Division captures the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer; the surrender of the last French and British troops marks the end of the Battle of Boulogne
• 1946 – The parliament of Transjordan makes Abdullah I of Jordan their Emir.
• 1950 – Public Transport: Green Hornet disaster. A Chicago Surface Lines streetcar crashes into a fuel truck, killing 33.
• 1953 – Nuclear testing: At the Nevada Test Site, the United States conduct their first and only nuclear artillery test.
• 1953 – The first public television station in the United States officially begins broadcasting as KUHT from the campus of the University of Houston.
• 1955 – In the United States, a night-time F5 tornado strikes the small city of Udall, Kansas, killing 80 and injuring 273. It is the deadliest tornado to ever occur in the state and the 23rd deadliest in the U.S.
• 1955 – First ascent of Kangchenjunga (8,586 m.), the third-highest mountain in the world, by a British expedition led by Charles Evans. Joe Brown and George Band reached the summit on May 25, followed by Norman Hardie and Tony Streather the next day.
• 1961 – Apollo program: The U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces before a special joint session of the Congress his goal to initiate a project to put a "man on the Moon" before the end of the decade.
• 1961 – The biggest fire in Singapore history. The Bukit Ho Swee Fire
• 1962 – The Old Bay Line, the last overnight steamboat service in the United States, goes out of business.
• 1963 – In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Organisation of African Unity is established.
• 1966 – Explorer program: Explorer 32 launches.
• 1966 – The first prominent dàzìbào during the Cultural Revolution in China is posted at Peking University.
• 1967 – Celtic F.C. from Glasgow, Scotland, becomes the first ever Northern European team to win the European Cup; with previous winners being from Spain, Italy and Portugal.
• 1968 – Gateway Arch Saint Louis Gateway Arch is dedicated.
• 1973 – HNS Velos (D-16), while participating in a NATO exercise and in order to protest against the dictatorship in Greece, anchored at Fiumicino, Italy, refusing to return to Greece.
• 1977 – Star Wars (retitled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope in 1981) is released in theaters, inspiring the Jediism religion and Geek Pride Day holiday.
• 1977 – Chinese government removes a decade old ban on William Shakespeare's work, effectively ending the Cultural Revolution started in 1966.
• 1979 – American Airlines Flight 191: In Chicago, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashes during takeoff at O'Hare International Airport killing all 271 on board and two people on the ground.
• 1979 – Etan Patz, who is six years old, disappears from the street just two blocks away from his home in New York City, prompting an international search for the child, and causing the U.S. President Ronald Reagan to designate May 25 as National Missing Children's Day (in 1983).
• 1981 – In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
• 1982 – HMS Coventry is sunk during the Falklands War.
• 1985 – Bangladesh is hit by a tropical cyclone and storm surge, which kills approximately 10,000 people.
• 1986 – Hands Across America takes place.
• 1990 – Back to the Future Part III was released.
• 1997 – A military coup in Sierra Leone replaces President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah with Major Johnny Paul Koromah.
• 1999 – The United States House of Representatives releases the Cox Report which details the People's Republic of China's nuclear espionage against the U.S. over the prior two decades.
• 2000 – Liberation Day of Lebanon. Israel withdraws its army from most of the Lebanese territory after 22 years of its first invasion in 1978.
• 2001 – Erik Weihenmayer, 32 years old, of Boulder, Colorado, becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
• 2002 – China Airlines Flight 611 disintegrates in mid-air and crashes into the Taiwan Strait. All 225 people on board are killed.
• 2008 – NASA's Phoenix lander lands in Green Valley region of Mars to search for environments suitable for water and microbial life.
• 2009 – North Korea allegedly tests its second nuclear device. Following the nuclear test, Pyongyang also conducted several missile tests building tensions in the international community.
• 2011 – Oprah Winfrey airs her last show, ending her twenty-five-year run of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
• 2012 – The Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous with the International Space Station.
• 2013 – Suspected Maoist rebels kill at least 28 people and injure 32 others in an attack on a convoy of Indian National Congress politicians in Chhattisgarh, India.

Births

• 1048 – Emperor Shenzong of Song (d. 1085)
• 1334 – Emperor Sukō of Japan (d. 1398)
• 1458 – Mahmud Begada Indian sultan (d. 1511)
• 1572 – Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1632)
• 1606 – Charles Garnier, French missionary and saint (d. 1649)
• 1661 – Claude Buffier, Polish-French historian and philosopher (d. 1737)
• 1713 – John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1792)
• 1725 – Samuel Ward, American politician, 31st Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island (d. 1776)
• 1749 – Gregorio Funes, Argentinian clergyman and academic (d. 1829)
• 1783 – Philip Pendleton Barbour, American politician, 12th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1841)
• 1791 – Minh Mạng, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1841)
• 1803 – Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, English author, playwright, and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1873)
• 1803 – Ralph Waldo Emerson, American poet and philosopher (d. 1882)
• 1818 – Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss historian and academic (d. 1897)
• 1845 – Lip Pike, American baseball player and manager (d. 1893)
• 1846 – Naim Frashëri, Albanian poet (d. 1900)
• 1846 – Princess Helena of the United Kingdom (d. 1923)
• 1848 – Johann Baptist Singenberger, Swiss composer, educator, and publisher (d. 1924)
• 1852 – William Muldoon, American wrestler (d. 1933)
• 1856 – Louis Franchet d'Espèrey, French general (d. 1942)
• 1860 – James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist and academic (d. 1944)
• 1865 – John Mott, American evangelist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1955)
• 1865 – Pieter Zeeman, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1943)
• 1867 – Anders Peter Nielsen, Danish target shooter (d. 1950)
• 1877 – Billy Murray, American singer and actor (d. 1954)
• 1878 – Bill Robinson, American actor and dancer (d. 1949)
• 1879 – Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, Canadian-English businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (d. 1964)
• 1879 – Andrew Kennaway Henderson, English-New Zealand illustrator (d. 1960)
• 1879 – William Stickney, American golfer (d. 1944)
• 1880 – Jean Alexandre Barré, French neurologist (d. 1967)
• 1882 – Marie Doro, American actress (d. 1956)
• 1883 – Carl Johan Lind, Swedish hammer thrower (d. 1965)
• 1886 – Rash Behari Bose, Indian activist (d. 1945)
• 1886 – Philip Murray, Scottish-American miner and labor leader (d. 1952)
• 1887 – Pio of Pietrelcina, Italian priest and saint (d. 1968)
• 1888 – Miles Malleson, English actor and screenwriter (d. 1969)
• 1889 – Günther Lütjens, German admiral (d. 1941)
• 1889 – Igor Sikorsky, Russian-American aircraft designer, founded Sikorsky Aircraft (d. 1972)
• 1897 – Gene Tunney, American boxer (d. 1978)
• 1898 – Bennett Cerf, American publisher, co-founded Random House (d. 1971)
• 1899 – Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bengali poet, author, and flute player (d. 1976)
• 1900 – Alain Grandbois, Canadian poet (d. 1975)
• 1903 – Binnie Barnes, English-American actress and singer (d. 1998)
• 1907 – U Nu, Burmese politician, 1st Prime Minister of Burma (d. 1995)
• 1908 – Theodore Roethke, American poet and academic (d. 1963)
• 1909 – Alfred Kubel, German politician (d. 1999)
• 1909 – Marie Menken, American actress, director, and painter (d. 1970)
• 1912 – Princess Deokhye of Korea (d. 1989)
• 1912 – Dean Rockwell, American commander, wrestler, and coach (d. 2005)
• 1913 – Heinrich Bär, German colonel and pilot (d. 1957)
• 1913 – Richard Dimbleby, English journalist (d. 1965)
• 1916 – Brian Dickson, Canadian politician, 15th Chief Justice of Canada (d. 1998)
• 1916 – Giuseppe Tosi, Italian discus thrower (d. 1981)
• 1917 – Steve Cochran, American actor (d. 1965)
• 1917 – Theodore Hesburgh, American priest, theologian, and academic
• 1920 – Arthur Wint, Jamaican runner (d. 1992)
• 1921 – Hal David, American songwriter and composer (d. 2012)
• 1921 – Jack Steinberger, German-Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1922 – Enrico Berlinguer, Italian politician (d. 1984)
• 1922 – Kitty Kallen, American singer
• 1924 – István Nyers, French-Hungarian footballer (d. 2005)
• 1925 – Rosario Castellanos, Mexican poet and author (d. 1974)
• 1925 – Jeanne Crain, American actress and singer (d. 2003)
• 1925 – Eldon Griffiths, English journalist and politician
• 1925 – Don Liddle, American baseball player (d. 2000)
• 1926 – Claude Akins, American actor (d. 1994)
• 1926 – William Bowyer, English painter
• 1926 – Phyllis Gotlieb, Canadian author and poet (d. 2009)
• 1926 – David Wynne, English sculptor
• 1927 – Robert Ludlum, American author (d. 2001)
• 1927 – Norman Petty, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 1984)
• 1929 – Warren Frost, American actor
• 1929 – Ann Robinson, American actress
• 1929 – Beverly Sills, American soprano (d. 2007)
• 1931 – Herb Gray, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (d. 2014)
• 1931 – Georgy Grechko, Russian engineer and astronaut
• 1931 – Aili Jõgi, Estonian activist
• 1931 – Irwin Winkler, American director and producer
• 1932 – Roger Bowen, American actor and author (d. 1996)
• 1932 – John Gregory Dunne, American author, screenwriter, and critic (d. 2003)
• 1932 – K. C. Jones, American basketball player and coach
• 1932 – Steve Rossi, American comedian and actor (d. 2014)
• 1933 – Romuald Klim, Belarusian hammer thrower (d. 2011)
• 1933 – Sarah Marshall, English-American actress (d. 2014)
• 1933 – Basdeo Panday, Trinidadian politician, 5th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
• 1933 – Ray Spencer, English footballer
• 1933 – Jógvan Sundstein, Faroese politician, 7th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands
• 1935 – John Ffowcs Williams, Welsh engineer and academic
• 1935 – Cookie Gilchrist, American football player (d. 2011)
• 1935 – W. P. Kinsella, Canadian author
• 1935 – Victoria Shaw, Australian-American actress (d. 1988)
• 1936 – Tom T. Hall, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1936 – Rusi Surti, Indian cricketer (d. 2013)
• 1937 – Tom Phillips, English painter
• 1938 – Raymond Carver, American author and poet (d. 1988)
• 1938 – Margaret Forster, English author
• 1938 – Malcolm Innes of Edingight
• 1938 – Geoffrey Robinson, English politician
• 1939 – Dixie Carter, American actress (d. 2010)
• 1939 – Ian McKellen, English actor
• 1940 – Nobuyoshi Araki, Japanese photographer
• 1941 – Vladimir Voronin, Moldovan economist and politician, 3rd President of Moldova
• 1942 – Ron Davies, Welsh footballer (d. 2013)
• 1943 – Jessi Colter, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1943 – John Palmer, English keyboard player (Family, Eclection, and Blossom Toes)
• 1943 – Leslie Uggams, American actress and singer
• 1944 – Digby Anderson, English journalist and philosopher
• 1944 – Pierre Bachelet, French singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
• 1944 – John Bunnell, American police officer, television host, and actor
• 1944 – Charlie Harper, English singer-songwriter, (U.K. Subs)
• 1944 – Robert MacPherson, American mathematician and academic
• 1944 – Frank Oz, English-American puppeteer, voice actor, and director
• 1946 – Bill Adam, Scottish-Canadian race car driver
• 1946 – David A. Hargrave, American game designer, created Arduin (d. 1988)
• 1947 – Mitch Margo, American singer-songwriter and producer (The Tokens)
• 1947 – Karen Valentine, American actress
• 1948 – Marianne Elliott, Irish historian and academic
• 1948 – Klaus Meine, German singer-songwriter and guitarist (Scorpions)
• 1949 – Jamaica Kincaid, Caribbean-American author
• 1949 – Joe Unger, American actor
• 1949 – Barry Windsor-Smith, English painter and illustrator
• 1951 – Bob Gale, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1952 – Jeffrey Bewkes, American businessman
• 1952 – Nick Fotiu, American ice hockey player and coach
• 1952 – David Jenkins, Trinidadian-Scottish runner
• 1952 – Al Sarrantonio, American author
• 1952 – Gordon H. Smith, American politician
• 1953 – Eve Ensler, American playwright
• 1953 – Daniel Passarella, Argentinian footballer, coach, and manager
• 1953 – Stan Sakai, Japanese-American author and illustrator
• 1954 – Murali, Indian actor (d. 2009)
• 1955 – Alistair Burt, English politician
• 1955 – Connie Sellecca, American actress
• 1956 – Stavros Arnaoutakis, Greek politician
• 1956 – Tatsutoshi Goto, Japanese wrestler
• 1956 – Sugar Minott, Jamaican singer and producer (The African Brothers) (d. 2010)
• 1956 – David P. Sartor, American composer and conductor
• 1957 – Alastair Campbell, English journalist and author
• 1957 – Edward Lee, American author
• 1957 – Robert Picard, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1957 – Hillary B. Smith, American actress
• 1958 – Katerina Batzeli, Greek politician
• 1958 – Zahida Manzoor, English businesswoman
• 1958 – Paul Weller, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Jam and The Style Council)
• 1959 – Julian Clary, English comedian, actor, and author
• 1959 – Manolis Kefalogiannis, Greek politician
• 1959 – Rick Wamsley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1960 – Amy Klobuchar, American lawyer and politician
• 1960 – Anthea Turner, English journalist and television host
• 1962 – Ric Nattress, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
• 1963 – George Hickenlooper, American director and producer (d. 2010)
• 1963 – Mike Myers, Canadian-American actor, singer, screenwriter, and producer
• 1963 – Eha Rünne, Estonian shot putter and discus thrower
• 1964 – Ivan Bella, Slovak colonel, pilot, and astronaut
• 1964 – David Shaw, Canadian-American ice hockey player
• 1964 – Ray Stevenson, Irish-English actor
• 1965 – Yahya Jammeh, Gambian colonel and politician, President of the Gambia
• 1966 – Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands
• 1967 – Poppy Z. Brite, American author
• 1968 – Kendall Gill, American basketball player, boxer, and sportscaster
• 1969 – Glen Drover, Canadian guitarist and songwriter (Megadeth, Eidolon, and King Diamond)
• 1969 – Anne Heche, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1969 – Stacy London, American journalist and author
• 1970 – Sandra Dopfer, Austrian tennis player
• 1970 – Joey Eischen, American baseball player and coach
• 1970 – Lindsay Greenbush, American actress
• 1970 – Sidney Greenbush, American actress
• 1970 – Jamie Kennedy, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1970 – Octavia Spencer, American actress
• 1970 – Satsuki Yukino, Japanese voice actress
• 1971 – Stefano Baldini, Italian runner
• 1971 – Marco Cappato, Italian politician
• 1971 – Justin Henry, American actor
• 1972 – Karan Johar, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1973 – Daz Dillinger, American rapper and producer (Tha Dogg Pound)
• 1973 – Al-Saadi Gaddafi, Libyan footballer
• 1973 – Demetri Martin, American comedian, actor, and singer
• 1973 – Molly Sims, American model and actress
• 1974 – Frank Klepacki, American drummer and composer (Home Cookin' and I Am)
• 1974 – Miguel Tejada, Dominican-American baseball player
• 1974 – Dougie Freedman, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1975 – Blaise Nkufo, Congolese-Swiss footballer
• 1976 – Tarik Glenn, American football player
• 1976 – Stefan Holm, Swedish high jumper
• 1976 – Cillian Murphy, Irish-English actor
• 1976 – Sandra Nasić, German singer (Guano Apes)
• 1976 – Erki Pütsep, Estonian cyclist
• 1976 – Marcelo José da Silva, Brazilian footballer
• 1976 – Ethan Suplee, American actor
• 1976 – Miguel Zepeda, Mexican footballer
• 1977 – Karthi, Indian actor
• 1977 – Andre Anis, Estonian footballer
• 1977 – Alberto Del Rio, Mexican-American mixed martial artist and wrestler
• 1978 – Brian Urlacher, American football player
• 1979 – Carlos Bocanegra, American soccer player
• 1979 – Sayed Moawad, Egyptian footballer
• 1979 – Caroline Ouellette, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1979 – Sam Sodje, English-Nigerian footballer
• 1979 – Jonny Wilkinson, English rugby player
• 1980 – Jae Hee, South Korean actor
• 1980 – Joe King, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Fray)
• 1980 – David Navarro, Spanish footballer
• 1981 – Michalis Pelekanos, Greek basketball player
• 1982 – Adam Boyd, English footballer
• 1982 – Daniel Braaten, Norwegian footballer
• 1982 – Ryan Gallant, American skateboarder
• 1982 – Roger Guerreiro, Polish footballer
• 1982 – Ezekiel Kemboi, Kenyan runner
• 1982 – Jason Kubel, American baseball player
• 1982 – Stacey Pensgen, American figure skater and meteorologist
• 1982 – Luke Webster, Australian footballer
• 1983 – Tiago Cardoso Fonseca Brazilian footballer
• 1983 – Aleksandr Petrov, Estonian ice hockey player
• 1984 – Luke Ball, Australian footballer
• 1984 – Kyle Brodziak, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1984 – A. J. Foyt IV, American race car driver
• 1984 – Kostas Martakis, Greek singer and actor
• 1984 – Shawne Merriman, American football player
• 1984 – Marion Raven, Norwegian singer-songwriter and actress (M2M)
• 1984 – Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir, Icelandic model and actress, Miss World 2005
• 1985 – Luciana Abreu, Portuguese singer and actress (2B)
• 1985 – Demba Ba, French footballer
• 1985 – Gert Kams, Estonian footballer
• 1985 – Roman Reigns, American football player and wrestler
• 1985 – Alexis Texas, American porn actress
• 1986 – Lauren Crace, English actress
• 1986 – Edewin Fanini, Brazilian footballer
• 1986 – Yoan Gouffran, French footballer
• 1986 – Neon Hitch, English singer-songwriter
• 1986 – Geraint Thomas, Welsh cyclist
• 1986 – Juri Ueno, Japanese actress
• 1987 – Timothy Derijck, Belgian footballer
• 1987 – Yves De Winter, Belgian footballer
• 1987 – Moritz Stehling, German footballer
• 1988 – Elle Fowler, American blogger
• 1988 – JJ Hamblett, English singer (Union J)
• 1988 – Cameron van der Burgh, South African swimmer
• 1989 – Karel Tammjärv, Estonian skier
• 1990 – Nikita Filatov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1991 – Jillian Wheeler, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1994 – Aly Raisman, American gymnast
• 1995 – Gabby Soleil, American actress

Deaths

• 615 – Pope Boniface IV (b. 550)
• 675 – Li Hong, Chinese prince (b. 652)
• 709 – Aldhelm, English-Latin bishop, poet, and scholar (b. 639)
• 992 – Mieszko I of Poland (b. 935)
• 1085 – Pope Gregory VII (b. 1020)
• 1261 – Pope Alexander IV (b. 1185)
• 1452 – John Stafford, English archbishop
• 1555 – Gemma Frisius, Dutch physician, mathematician, and cartographer (b. 1508)
• 1555 – Henry II of Navarre (b. 1503)
• 1595 – Valens Acidalius, German poet and critic (b. 1567)
• 1595 – Philip Neri, Italian priest and saint (b. 1515)
• 1632 – Adam Tanner, Austrian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1572)
• 1667 – Gustaf Bonde, Swedish politician, 5th Lord High Treasurer of Sweden (b. 1620)
• 1681 – Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1600)
• 1693 – Madame de La Fayette, French author (b. 1634)
• 1741 – Daniel Ernst Jablonski, German theologian (b. 1660)
• 1786 – Peter III of Portugal (b. 1717)
• 1789 – Anders Dahl, Swedish botanist (b. 1751)
• 1797 – John Griffin, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (b. 1719)
• 1805 – William Paley, English priest and philosopher (b. 1743)
• 1848 – Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, German author and composer (b. 1797)
• 1849 – Benjamin D'Urban, English general and politician, Governor of British Guiana (b. 1777)
• 1899 – Rosa Bonheur, French painter and sculptor (b. 1822)
• 1912 – Austin Lane Crothers, American politician, 46th Governor of Maryland (b. 1860)
• 1917 – Maksim Bahdanovič, Belarusian poet and critic (b. 1891)
• 1919 – Eliza Pollock, American archer (b. 1840)
• 1919 – Madam C. J. Walker, American businesswoman and philanthropist, founded the Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company (b. 1867)
• 1924 – Lyubov Popova, Russian painter (b. 1889)
• 1926 – Symon Petliura, Ukrainian journalist and politician (b. 1879)
• 1927 – Payne Whitney, American businessman (b. 1876)
• 1930 – Randall Davidson, Scottish archbishop (b. 1848)
• 1934 – Gustav Holst, English trombonist, composer, and educator (b. 1874)
• 1939 – Frank Watson Dyson, English astronomer (b. 1868)
• 1940 – Joe De Grasse, Canadian-American actor and director (b. 1873)
• 1942 – Emanuel Feuermann, Austrian-American cellist (b. 1902)
• 1943 – Nils von Dardel, Swedish painter (b. 1888)
• 1946 – Marcel Petiot, French doctor and serial killer (b. 1897)
• 1951 – Paula von Preradović, Croatian poet (b. 1887)
• 1954 – Robert Capa, Hungarian photographer and journalist (b. 1913)
• 1957 – Leo Goodwin, American swimmer, diver, and water polo player (b. 1883)
• 1965 – Sonny Boy Williamson II, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (b. 1908)
• 1968 – Georg von Küchler, German field marshal (b. 1881)
• 1970 – Tom Patey, Scottish mountaineer and author (b. 1932)
• 1977 – Yevgenia Ginzburg, Russian author (b. 1904)
• 1979 – Itzhak Bentov, Czech-Israeli scientist, mystic, and author (b. 1923)
• 1979 – John Spenkelink, American murderer (b. 1949)
• 1981 – Fredric Warburg, English author and publisher (b. 1898)
• 1982 – Larry J. Blake, American actor (b. 1918)
• 1983 – Idris of Libya (b. 1889)
• 1983 – Jean Rougeau, Canadian wrestler (b. 1925)
• 1983 – Black Jack Stewart, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1917)
• 1986 – Chester Bowles, American politician, 22nd Under Secretary of State (b. 1901)
• 1990 – Vic Tayback, American actor (b. 1930)
• 1993 – Buddhadasa, Thai monk and philosopher (b. 1906)
• 1995 – Dany Robin, French actress (b. 1927)
• 1996 – Renzo De Felice, Italian historian and politician (b. 1929)
• 1996 – Bradley Nowell, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Sublime) (b. 1968)
• 2000 – Nicholas Clay, English actor (b. 1946)
• 2002 – Pat Coombs, English actress (b. 1926)
• 2003 – Jeremy Michael Ward, American singer and guitarist (The Mars Volta and De Facto) (b. 1976)
• 2003 – Sloan Wilson, American author (b. 1920)
• 2004 – Roger Williams Straus, Jr., American publisher, co-founded Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publishing Company (b. 1917)
• 2005 – Sunil Dutt, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician (b. 1929)
• 2005 – Robert Jankel, English businessman, founded Panther Westwinds (b. 1938)
• 2005 – Gregory Scott Johnson, American murderer (b. 1965)
• 2005 – Graham Kennedy, Australian actor and game show host (b. 1934)
• 2006 – Desmond Dekker, Jamaican singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
• 2007 – Laurie Bartram, American actress and dancer (b. 1958)
• 2007 – Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor, director, and educator (b. 1931)
• 2008 – J. R. Simplot, American businessman, founded Simplot (b. 1909)
• 2008 – Camu Tao, American rapper and producer (The Weathermen) (b. 1977)
• 2009 – Haakon Lie, Norwegian politician (b. 1905)
• 2010 – Alexander Belostenny, Ukrainian basketball player (b. 1959)
• 2010 – Michael H. Jordan, American businessman (b. 1936)
• 2010 – Alan Hickinbotham, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1925)
• 2010 – Silvius Magnago, Italian politician (b. 1914)
• 2010 – Siphiwo Ntshebe, South African tenor (b. 1975)
• 2010 – Gabriel Vargas, Mexican painter and illustrator (b. 1915)
• 2010 – Jarvis Williams, American football player and coach (b. 1965)
• 2011 – Terry Jenner, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1944)
• 2012 – R. Dilip, Indian actor (b. 1955)
• 2012 – Keith Gardner, Jamaican sprinter (b. 1929)
• 2012 – William Hanley, American author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Edoardo Mangiarotti, Italian fencer (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Peter D. Sieruta, American author and critic (b. 1958)
• 2012 – Beatrice Sparks, American therapist and author (b. 1917)
• 2012 – Lou Watson, American basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Tyrone Brunson, American singer (b. 1956)
• 2013 – Gene Burns, American radio host (b. 1940)
• 2013 – Mahendra Karma, Indian politician (b. 1950)
• 2013 – Marshall Lytle, American bass player and songwriter (Bill Haley & His Comets and The Jodimars) (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Nand Kumar Patel, Indian politician (b. 1953)
• 2013 – T. M. Soundararajan, Indian singer (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Jimmy Wray, Scottish politician (b. 1935)
• 2013 – Lewis Yocum, American surgeon (b. 1947)
• 2014 – David Allen, English cricketer (b. 1935)
• 2014 – Lee Chamberlin, American actress (b. 1938)
• 2014 – Bertha Gilkey, American activist (b. 1949)
• 2014 – Wojciech Jaruzelski, Polish general and politician, 1st President of Poland (b. 1923)
• 2014 – Herb Jeffries, American singer and actor (b. 1913)
• 2014 – Matthew Saad Muhammad, American boxer (b. 1954)
• 2014 – Malcolm Simmons, English motorcycle racer (b. 1946)
• 2014 – Bunny Yeager, American model and photographer (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances

• Africa Day (African Union)
• African Liberation Day (African Union)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Aldhelm
  • Bede
  • Gerard of Lunel
  • Mary Magdalene de Pazzi
  • Pope Gregory VII
  • Pope Urban I
  • May 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Day of Youth, celebrated on Josip Broz Tito's birthday (the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
• Earliest day on which Arbor Day can fall, celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Venezuela)
• Earliest day on which Children's Day can fall, celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Hungary)
• Earliest day on which Memorial Day can fall, celebrated on the last Monday in May. (United States)
• Earliest day on which Mother's Day can fall, celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Algeria, Dominican Republic, France (First Sunday of June, if Pentecost occurs on this day), Haiti, Mauritius, Morocco, Sweden, Tunisia)
• Earliest day on which Turkmen Carpet Day can fall, celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Turkmenistan)
• First National Government / National Day (Argentina)
• Geek Pride Day (geek culture)
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Jordan from the United Kingdom in 1946
• Last bell (Russia, post-Soviet countries)
• Liberation Day (Lebanon)
• National Missing Children's Day (United States)
• National Tap Dance Day (United States)
• Towel Day in honour of the work of the writer Douglas Adams

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada