Summary of the Day ✨ 25 March (25/03)
On this day, the Syrian Democratic Forces launched an insurgency against Turkish occupation in Afrin following their offensive there, while a gunman killed six people before taking his own life at a Seattle party. In Belarus, protesters demanding new elections after a rigged vote clashed with police, arresting opposition leader Aleksander Kozulin, while the EU banned British beef exports due to mad cow disease and Ward Cunningham made the world’s first wiki public.
Historical Events 📜
- 2018: Syrian civil war: Following the completion of the Afrin offensive, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) initiate an insurgency against the Turkish occupation of the Afrin District.
- 2006: Capitol Hill massacre: A gunman kills six people before taking his own life at a party in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
- 2006: Protesters demanding a new election in Belarus, following the rigged 2006 Belarusian presidential election, clash with riot police. Opposition leader Aleksander Kozulin is among several protesters arrested.
- 1996: The European Union’s Veterinarian Committee bans the export of British beef and its by-products as a result of mad cow disease (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy).
- 1995: WikiWikiWeb, the world’s first wiki, and part of the Portland Pattern Repository, is made public by Ward Cunningham.
- 1988: The Candle demonstration in Bratislava is the first mass demonstration of the 1980s against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
- 1979: The first fully functional Space Shuttle orbiter, Columbia, is delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center to be prepared for its first launch.
- 1975: Faisal of Saudi Arabia is shot and killed by his nephew.
- 1971: The Army of the Republic of Vietnam abandon an attempt to cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos.
- 1965: Civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King Jr. successfully complete their four-day 50-mile (80 km) march from Selma to the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama.
- 1959: Chain Island is sold by the State of California to Russell Gallaway III, a Sacramento businessman who plans to use it as a “hunting and fishing retreat”, for $5,258.20 ($58,072 in 2025).
- 1957: United States Customs seizes copies of Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl” on obscenity grounds.
- 1957: The European Economic Community is established with West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg as the first members.
- 1949: More than 92,000 kulaks are suddenly deported from the Baltic states to Siberia.
- 1948: The first successful tornado forecast predicts that a tornado will strike Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.
Famous Births 👶
- 2000: Ozan Kabak, Turkish footballer
- 1999: Mikey Madison, American actress
- 1994: Justine Dufour-Lapointe, Canadian skier
- 1993: Jacob Gagan, Australian rugby league player
- 1993: Sam Johnstone, English footballer
- 1992: Meg Lanning, Australian cricketer
- 1991: Scott Malone, English footballer
- 1990: Mehmet Ekici, Turkish footballer
- 1990: Alexander Esswein, German footballer
- 1989: Aly Michalka, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1989: Scott Sinclair, English footballer
- 1988: Big Sean, American rapper, singer and songwriter
- 1988: Ryan Lewis, American music producer
- 1988: Mitchell Watt, Australian long jumper
- 1988: Arthur Zeiler, German rugby player
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2026: Dash Crofts, American musician (born 1938)
- 2026: Alexander Kluge, German author, film director and public intellectual (born 1932)
- 2025: Tapani Kansa, Finnish singer (born 1949)
- 2025: Terry Manning, American musician and recording engineer (born 1947)
- 2022: Taylor Hawkins, American drummer and singer (born 1972)
- 2021: Beverly Cleary, American author (born 1916)
- 2020: Floyd Cardoz, Indian-born American chef (born 1960)
- 2019: Barrie Hole, Welsh footballer (born 1942)
- 2017: Cuthbert Sebastian, St. Kitts and Nevis politician (born 1921)
- 2016: Shannon Bolin, American actress and singer (born 1917)
- 2015: George Fischbeck, American journalist and educator (born 1922)
- 2014: Lorna Arnold, English historian and author (born 1915)
- 2014: Hank Lauricella, American football player and politician (born 1930)
- 2014: Jon Lord, Canadian businessman and politician (born 1956)
- 2014: Sonny Ruberto, American baseball player, coach, and manager (born 1946)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Anniversary of the Arengo and the Feast of the Militants (San Marino)
- Christian feast days:
Feast of the Annunciation - Christian feast days:
March 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Christian Saints’ days
Ælfwold II of Sherborne - Christian Saints’ days
Blessed Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas - Christian Saints’ days
Omelyan Kovch (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church) - Christian Saints’ days
Dismas, the “Good Thief” - Christian Saints’ days
Hilary Paweł Januszewski - Christian Saints’ days
Humbert of Maroilles - Christian Saints’ days
Josaphata Hordashevska - Christian Saints’ days
Margaret Clitherow - Christian Saints’ days
Procopius of Sázava - Christian Saints’ days
Quirinus of Tegernsee - Commemoration Day for the Victims of Communist Genocide (Latvia)
- Cultural Workers Day (Russia)