Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date
Thursday, June 25, 2026
Today is the 176th day of 2026. There are 189 days left in this year.
Notable Events
1658
Spanish forces fail to retake Jamaica at the Battle of Rio Nuevo during the Anglo-Spanish War.
1678
Venetian Elena Cornaro Piscopia is the first woman awarded a doctorate of philosophy when she graduates from the University of Padua.
1786
Gavriil Pribylov discovers St. George Island of the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea.
1788
Virginia becomes the tenth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
1848
A photograph of the June Days uprising becomes the first known instance of photojournalism.
1868
Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina were readmitted to the Union.
1876
Lt. Col. George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry were wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in the Battle of Little Big Horn in Montana.
1876
At the Battle of the Little Bighorn during the American Indian Wars 300 men of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer are wiped out by 5,000 Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho, led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.
1900
The Taoist monk Wang Yuanlu discovers the Dunhuang manuscripts, a cache of ancient texts that are of great historical and religious significance, in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China.
1906
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania millionaire Harry Thaw shoots and kills prominent architect Stanford White.
1910
The United States Congress passes the Mann Act, which prohibits interstate transport of women or girls for "immoral purposes"; the ambiguous language would be used to selectively prosecute people for years to come.
1910
Igor Stravinsky's ballet <i>The Firebird</i> is premiered in Paris, bringing him to prominence as a composer.
1913
American Civil War veterans begin arriving at the Great Reunion of 1913.
1938
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act, which created the right to a minimum wage, time-and-a-half pay, and severely restricted dangerous child labor.
1938
Dr. Douglas Hyde is inaugurated as the first President of Ireland.
1940
The World War II French armistice with Nazi Germany comes into effect.
1941
The Continuation War during World War II between the Soviet Union and Finland, supported by Nazi Germany, began.
1942
Some 1,000 British Royal Air Force bombers raided Bremen, Germany, during World War II.
1943
The left-wing German Jewish exile Arthur Goldstein is murdered in Auschwitz.
1943
Jews in the Czestochowa Ghetto in Poland during World War II stage an uprising against the Nazis.
1944
The final page of the comic <i>Krazy Kat</i> is published, exactly two months after its author George Herriman died.
1947
<i>The Diary of a Young Girl</i> (better known as <i>The Diary of Anne Frank</i>) is published.
1948
The United States Congress passes the Displaced Persons Act to allow World War II refugees to immigrate to the United States above quota restrictions.
1950
The Korean War began when Soviet-supported North Korea invaded American-supported South Korea. Over 1.7 million Americans would serve in the war, with over 35,000 losing their lives.
1951
The first commercial color telecast took place as CBS transmitted a one-hour special from New York to four other cities.
1960
Two cryptographers working for the United States National Security Agency left for vacation to Mexico, and from there defected to the Soviet Union.
1962
The Supreme Court ruled that the use of an unofficial, nondenominational prayer in New York public schools was unconstitutional.
1967
The Beatles performed a new song, ''All You Need Is Love,'' during a live international telecast.
1973
John Dean, White House counsel for President Richard Nixon, began testifying against the Nixon administration in front of the Watergate committee, leading to Nixon and other top officials eventually being implicated in the scandal.
1975
Mozambique achieves independence from Portugal.
1975
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declares a state of internal emergency in India.
1976
Missouri Governor Kit Bond issues an executive order rescinding the Extermination Order, formally apologizing on behalf of the state of Missouri for the suffering it had caused to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
1978
The rainbow flag representing gay pride is flown for the first time during the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
1981
The Supreme Court decided that male-only draft registration was constitutional.
1981
Microsoft is restructured to become an incorporated business in its home state of Washington.
1987
Pope John Paul II received Austrian President Kurt Waldheim at the Vatican, a meeting fraught with controversy because of allegations that Waldheim had hidden a Nazi past.
1991
Following months of unsuccessful talks among Yugoslavia's six republics about the future of the federation, the western republics of Croatia and Slovenia declared their independence.
1993
Kim Campbell is sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Canada.
1996
A truck bomb killed 19 Americans and injured hundreds at Khobar Towers a U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia.
1997
An unmanned cargo ship crashed into Russia's Mir space station, knocking out half of the station's power and rupturing a pressurized laboratory.
1997
The National Hockey League approved expansion franchises for Nashville (1998), Atlanta (1999), Columbus (2000), and Minneapolis-Saint Paul (2000).
1998
In Clinton v. City of New York, the United States Supreme Court rejected a 1997 line-item veto law as unconstitutional, and ruled that those infected with HIV are protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act.
2022
Two people are killed and 21 more injured after a gunman opens fire at three sites in Oslo in a suspected Islamist anti-LGBTQ+ attack.
2022
The prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina inaugurates the longest bridge of Bangladesh, Padma Bridge.
2022
During the Russo-Ukrainian War, The Battle of Sievierodonetsk ends after weeks of heavy fighting with the Russian capture of the city, leading to the Battle of Lysychansk.
Notable Births
1874
Rose O'Neill was an American cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer. She rose to fame for her creation of the popular comic strip characters, Kewpies, in 1909, and was also the first published female cartoonist in the United States. (d. 1944)
1887
George Abbott was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. (d. 1995)
1900
Georgia Hale, American silent film actress and real estate investor (d. 1985)
1900
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, English admiral and politician, 44th Governor-General of India (d. 1979)
1903
George Orwell was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterized by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitarianism, and support of democratic socialism.(d. 1950)
1922
Johnny Smith, was an American cool jazz and mainstream jazz guitarist and songwriter. He wrote "Walk, Don't Run" in 1954. (d. 2013)
1925
June Lockhart, American actress, beginning a film career in the 1930s and 1940s in such films as A Christmas Carol and Meet Me in St. Louis. She primarily acted in 1950s and 1960s television, and with performances on stage and in film.
1928
Peyo was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best-known works are the comic book series The Smurfs and Johan and Peewit, the latter in which the Smurfs first appeared. (d. 1992)
1929
Eric Carle was an American author, designer and illustrator of children's books. His picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, first published in 1969, has been translated into more than 66 languages and sold more than 50 million copies. (d. 2021)
1935
Larry Kramer, American author, playwright, and activist, co-founded Gay Men's Health Crisis (d. 2020)
1937
Eddie Floyd, an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter, best known for his work on the Stax record label in the 1960s and 1970s, including the No. 1 R&B hit song "Knock on Wood".
1940
Clint Warwick was an English rock musician and the original bassist for the rock band the Moody Blues. (d. 2004)
1943
Carly Simon, an American musician, singer, songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records.
1944
Gary David Goldberg was an American writer and producer for television and film. Goldberg was best known for his work on Family Ties (1982-1989), Spin City (1996-2002), and his semi-autobiographical series Brooklyn Bridge (1991-1993). (d. 2013)
1946
Allen Lanier was an American musician who played keyboards and rhythm guitar. He was an original member of Blue Oyster Cult. (d. 2013)
1946
Ian McDonald was an English musician, composer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founder member of the progressive rock band King Crimson in 1968, as well as the hard rock band Foreigner in 1976. (d. 2022)
1947
Jimmie Walker, American actor and comedian. He portrayed J.J., the older son of Florida and James Evans Sr., on the CBS television series Good Times, which ran from 1974 to 1979, and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 1975.
1952
Tim Finn, New Zealand singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He is best known as a founding member of Split Enz. Finn founded the band in 1972 with Phil Judd and served as lead singer and principal songwriter.
1954
Sonia Sotomayor, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2009.
1954
David Frank Paich, American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist, and secondary vocalist of the rock band Toto since 1977.
1956
Anthony Bourdain, American chef and author. Bourdain died while on location in France, filming for Parts Unknown, of suicide by hanging. (d. 2018)
1961
Ricky Gervais is an English comedian, actor, writer, producer, director and musician. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms The Office (2001-2003), Extras (2005-2007), and Life's Too Short (2011-2013) with Stephen Merchant.
1963
George Michael, English singer-songwriter, record producer and philanthropist. Regarded as a pop culture icon and one of the best-selling musicians of all time, with his sales estimated at between 100 million to 125 million records worldwide.(d. 2016)
1964
John McCrea is an American singer and musician. He is a founding member of the band Cake. He is the vocalist and primary lyricist for the band, in addition to playing acoustic guitar, vibraslap, and piano.
1969
Zim Zum, is an American rock musician-songwriter and former guitarist for Life, Sex & Death and rock band Marilyn Manson (1996-1998).
1970
Ariel Gore is a journalist, memoirist, novelist, nonfiction author, and teacher. Gore has authored more than ten books.
1975
Linda Cardellini is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Lindsay Weir on Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000), Samantha "Sam" Taggart on ER (2003-2009) and Meg Rayburn on Bloodline (2015-2017).
1979
Busy Philipps is an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the television series Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000), Dawson's Creek (2001-2003), and ER (2006-2007).
Notable Deaths
1876
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. (b. 1839)
1876
Thomas Custer was a United States Army officer and two-time recipient of the Medal of Honor for bravery during the American Civil War. A younger brother of George Armstrong Custer, he served as his aide at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
1959
Charles Starkweather was an American spree killer who murdered eleven people in Nebraska and Wyoming between November 1957 and January 1958, when he was nineteen years old. (b. 1938)
1976
Johnny Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallichs. (b. 1909)
1988
American-born Mildred Gillars, better known during World War II as ''Axis Sally'' for her Nazi propaganda broadcasts, died in Columbus, Ohio, at age 87.
1988
Hillel Slovak was an Israeli-American musician, best known as the founding guitarist of the Los Angeles rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he recorded two albums. (b. 1962)
1990
Ronald Gene Simmons was an American mass murderer who killed 16 people over a week-long period in Arkansas in 1987 and wounded several others. A retired military serviceman, Simmons murdered fourteen members of his family. (b. 1940)
1995
Warren E. Burger was an American attorney and jurist who served as the 15th chief justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. He died in Washington, D.C., of congestive heart failure at age 87. (b. 1907)
1997
Jacques-Yves Cousteau, was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful open-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA), called the Aqua-Lung. (b. 1910)
2004
Morton Coutts was a New Zealand inventor who revolutionized the science of brewing beer. He is best known for the continuous fermentation method. (b. 1904)
2009
Legendary pop star Michael Jackson, singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actor died of cardiac arrest at the age of 50. (b. 1958)
2009
Farrah Fawcett, American actress. A four-time Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she played a starring role in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels. (b. 1947)
2011
Annie Easley was an African American computer scientist and mathematician who made critical contributions to NASA's rocket systems and energy technologies. (b. 1933)
2012
George Randolph Hearst Jr., American businessman and member of the wealthy Hearst family. He served as the chairman of the board of the Hearst Corporation from 1996 through to his death in 2012, succeeding his uncle Randolph Apperson Hearst. (b. 1927)
2013
George Burditt was an American television writer and producer who wrote sketches for television variety shows and other programs such as Three's Company, for which he was also an executive producer in its last few seasons. (b. 1923)
2013
Mildred Ladner Thompson was an American journalist, writer and columnist. Her career included tenures at The Wall Street Journal, where she became one of its first female reporters, as well as the Associated Press and Tulsa World. (b. 1918)
2013
Robert E. Gilka was an American photojournalist best known for being an editor and director of photography at National Geographic for 27 years (1958-1985). (b. 1916)
2015
Patrick Macnee was a British-American actor, best known for his breakthrough role as secret agent John Steed in the television series The Avengers (1961-1969). (b. 1922)
2016
Adam Small was a South African writer who was involved in the Black Consciousness Movement and other activism. He was noted as a Colored writer who wrote works in Afrikaans that dealt with racial discrimination and satirized the political situation. (b. 1936)