Today in History: October 25
On This Day in History – October 25
1415 – The Battle of Agincourt is fought during the Hundred Years’ War. King Henry V’s outnumbered English army, relying heavily on longbowmen, decisively defeats a larger French force of armored knights near Azincourt, France. The victory is later dramatized in Shakespeare’s Henry V (St. Crispin’s Day speech).
1760 – George III becomes King of Great Britain and Ireland (and Elector of Hanover) upon the death of his grandfather, George II. He reigns until 1820, a period that includes the American Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.
1764 – Future U.S. President John Adams marries Abigail Smith in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Their 54-year marriage produces extensive correspondence that offers insight into the Revolutionary era; Abigail later becomes an influential First Lady, and they are the parents of President John Quincy Adams.
1854 – During the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War, the British Light Brigade charges Russian artillery positions in a disastrous action caused by a misunderstood order. Roughly one-third of the cavalrymen are killed, wounded, or captured; Alfred, Lord Tennyson later immortalizes the event in his poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade.”
1859 – Abolitionist John Brown goes on trial in Charles Town, Virginia (now West Virginia), for leading the failed raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. He is convicted and later hanged; the raid heightens sectional tensions in the years before the Civil War.
1929 – Former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall is convicted of accepting bribes in the Teapot Dome scandal (involving oil leases). He becomes the first Cabinet member imprisoned for crimes committed while in office.
1944 – The first organized Japanese kamikaze (“divine wind”) suicide attacks of World War II are launched against U.S. ships during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. An escort carrier, the USS St. Lo, is sunk; these attacks mark a new phase of desperate Japanese tactics in the Pacific.
1962 – During the Cuban Missile Crisis, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson confronts Soviet Ambassador Valerian Zorin in the Security Council. Stevenson demands answers about Soviet missile bases in Cuba, presents photographic evidence, and states he is prepared to wait for a reply “until hell freezes over.”
1971 – The United Nations General Assembly adopts Resolution 2758, recognizing the People’s Republic of China as the sole legitimate representative of China and expelling the representatives of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
1983 – U.S. forces, supported by several Caribbean allies, invade the island nation of Grenada in Operation Urgent Fury. Ordered by President Ronald Reagan after a coup and the murder of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, the action aims to protect American medical students and restore order.
1986 – In Game 6 of the World Series at Shea Stadium, the New York Mets rally in the bottom of the 10th inning to defeat the Boston Red Sox 6–5. With the Red Sox one out from a championship, a series of hits, a wild pitch, and Mookie Wilson’s ground ball through Bill Buckner’s legs force a Game 7, which the Mets also win.
Born on October 25
1825 – Johann Strauss Jr., Austrian composer known as the “Waltz King.”
1838 – Georges Bizet, French composer best known for the opera Carmen.
1881 – Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor, co-founder of Cubism and one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.
1912 – Minnie Pearl (Sarah Ophelia Colley), American comedian and Grand Ole Opry star.
1940 – Bob Knight, legendary American college basketball coach (Indiana University and others).
1941 – Anne Tyler, Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist (Breathing Lessons).
1941 – Helen Reddy, Australian-American singer known for the anthem “I Am Woman.”
1944 – James Carville, American political consultant and strategist.
1957 – Nancy Cartwright, American voice actress best known as the voice of Bart Simpson.
1961 – Chad Smith, American drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
1984 – Katy Perry, American singer-songwriter.
1985 – Ciara, American singer, songwriter, and actress.
