History of 25 May
- 1992 – Jay Leno debuted as the new permanent host of NBC’s “Tonight Show.”
- 1996 – In Nimes, France, Christina Sanchez became the first woman to achieve the rank of matadore in Europe.
- 1997 – In Sierra Leone a military coup overthrew the popularly elected President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. He was replaced with Major Johnny Paul Koromah.
- 1997 – U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond became the longest-serving senator in U.S. history (41 years and 10 months).
- 1997 – Poland adopted a constitution that removed all traces of communism.
- 1999 – A report by the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People’s Republic of China concluded that China had “stolen design information on the U.S. most-advanced thermonuclear weapons” and that China’s penetration of U.S. weapons laboratories “spans at least the past several decades and almost certainly continues today.”
- 2000 – The Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner Inc. signed a long-term deal that ended a dispute over the airing policies of Time Warner. Time Warner had blacked out Disney programs for a 39 hour period the previous month due to the lack of an agreement.
- 2001 – Erik Weihenmayer, 32, of Golden, CO, became the first blind climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
- 2001 – Sherman Bull, 64, of New Canaan, CT, became the oldest climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
- 2006 – In Houston, former Enron Corp. chiefs Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skillinng were convicted of conspiracy and fraud for the downfall of Enron.
- 2008 – NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander landed in the arctic plains of Mars.
- 2009 – North Korea announced that it had conducted a second successful nuclear test in the province of North Hamgyong. The United Nations Security Council condemned the reported test.
- 2011 – Oprah Winfrey airs her last show, ending her twenty-five-year run of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
- 2012 – The SpaceX Dragon 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.
- 2013 – A gas cylinder explodes on a school bus in the Pakistani city of Gujrat, killing at least 18 people.
- 2018 – The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becomes enforceable.
- 2018 – Ireland votes to repeal the Eight Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, prohibiting abortion in all but a few cases, choosing to replace it with the Thirty-Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Michalis Pelekanos, Greek basketball player
- 1981 – Matt Utai, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1982 – Adam Boyd, English footballer
- 1982 – Daniel Braaten, Norwegian footballer
- 1982 – Ryan Gallant, American skateboarder
- 1982 – Roger Guerreiro, Polish footballer
- 1982 – Justin Hodges, Australian rugby league player
- 1982 – Ezekiel Kemboi, Kenyan runner
- 1982 – Jason Kubel, American baseball player
- 1982 – Stacey Poensgen, American figure skater and meteorologist
- 1982 – Luke Webster, Australian footballer
- 1984 – Luke Ball, Australian footballer
- 1984 – Kyle Brodziak, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – A. J. Foyt IV, American race car driver
- 1984 – Shawne Merriman, American football player
- 1985 – Luciana Abreu, Portuguese singer and actress
- 1985 – Demba Ba, French footballer
- 1985 – Gert Kams, Estonian footballer
- 1985 – Roman Reigns, American football player and wrestler
- 1986 – Edewin Fanini, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Yoan Gouffran, French footballer
- 1986 – Takahiro Hōjō, Japanese actor and musician
- 1986 – Geraint Thomas, Welsh cyclist
- 1987 – Timothy Derijck, Belgian footballer
- 1987 – Yves De Winter, Belgian footballer
- 1987 – Moritz Stehling, German footballer
- 1987 – Kamil Stoch, Polish ski jumper
- 1988 – Dávid Škutka, Slovak footballer
- 1988 – Cameron van der Burgh, South African swimmer
- 1990 – Bo Dallas, American wrestler
- 1990 – Nikita Filatov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1993 – James Porter, English cricketer
- 1994 – Matt Murray, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1994 – Aly Raisman, American gymnast
- 1995 – Kagiso Rabada, South African cricketer
- 1996 – David Pastrňák, Czech ice hockey player