25 February in history
8 events that happened on 25 February, from 138 to 1986.
✦ Anniversary of the day
138 CE 1,888 years ago
Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his heir
Hadrian made Antoninus his successor on condition that he adopt Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. The arrangement secured more than four decades of stable rule.
628 CE 1,398 years ago
Kavad II overthrows his father Khosrow II
Kavad II overthrew his father, Khosrow II, the last great king of the Sasanian Empire, after the defeat by Heraclius, and had him killed. Kavad made peace with the Byzantines but died within the year, starting a succession crisis.
1570 CE 456 years ago
Pope Pius V excommunicates Elizabeth I
The bull Regnans in Excelsis declared Elizabeth a heretic and released her subjects from obedience. English Catholics came to be seen as potential traitors, and persecution intensified.
1705 CE 321 years ago
Handel's opera Nero opens in Hamburg
George Frideric Handel's opera Nero opened in Hamburg, with Mattheson in the title role. Less successful than his Almira, it ran for only three performances before the theatre closed for Lent, and its music has not survived.
1836 CE 190 years ago
Samuel Colt patents his revolver
Colt received a US patent for a revolving-cylinder pistol. His first company failed, but orders during the Mexican-American War made Colt revolvers famous worldwide.
1870 CE 156 years ago
Hiram Revels becomes the first African American US Senator
The Mississippi minister was sworn in after a fierce debate over his eligibility. He filled the seat Jefferson Davis had left when the South seceded.
1986 CE 40 years ago
People Power Revolution forces Marcos from the Philippines
After days of peaceful mass protest, Ferdinand Marcos fled Manila for Hawaii and Corazon Aquino was sworn in as president. His two decades of rule had included years of martial law.
Born on 25 February 5
Died on 25 February 6
Dates as the sources give them: in the Julian calendar before 1582, and in some countries for longer (Britain until 1752, Russia until 1918). Only people whose day of birth or death the records agree on are listed.