February 25

Pre-1600

 * 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor.
 * 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II.
 * 1336 – Four thousand defenders of Pilenai commit mass suicide rather than be taken captive by the Teutonic Knights.

1601–1900

 * 1705 – George Frideric Handel's opera Nero premiered in Hamburg.
 * 1836 – Samuel Colt is granted a United States patent for his revolver firearm.
 * 1843 – Lord George Paulet occupies the Kingdom of Hawaii in the name of Great Britain in the Paulet affair.
 * 1870 – Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in Congress.
 * 1875 – Guangxu Emperor of Qing dynasty China begins his reign, under Empress Dowager Cixi's regency.

1901–present

 * 1912 – Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
 * 1916 – World War I: In the Battle of Verdun, a German unit captures Fort Douaumont, keystone of the French defences, without a fight.
 * 1918 – World War I: German forces capture Tallinn to virtually complete the occupation of Estonia.
 * 1921 – Georgian capital Tbilisi falls to the invading Russian forces after heavy fighting and the Russians declare the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.
 * 1932 – Adolf Hitler, having been stateless for seven years, obtains German citizenship when he is appointed a Brunswick state official by Dietrich Klagges, a fellow Nazi. As a result, Hitler is able to run for Reichspräsident in the 1932 election.
 * 1933 – Launch of the USS Ranger (CV-4) at Newport News, Virginia. It is the first purpose-built aircraft carrier to be commissioned by the US Navy.
 * 1939 – As part of British air raid precautions, the first of 2.5 million Anderson shelters is constructed in a garden in Islington, north London.
 * 1941 – The outlawed Communist Party of the Netherlands organises a general strike in German-occupied Amsterdam to protest against Nazi persecution of Dutch Jews.
 * 1947 – The formal abolition of Prussia is proclaimed by the Allied Control Council, the Prussian government having already been abolished by the Preußenschlag of 1932.
 * 1947  – Soviet NKVD forces in Hungary abduct Béla Kovács—secretary-general of the majority Independent Smallholders' Party—and deport him to the USSR in defiance of Parliament. His arrest is an important turning point in the Communist takeover of Hungary.
 * 1948 – In a coup d'état led by Klement Gottwald, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia takes control of government in Prague to end the Third Czechoslovak Republic.
 * 1951 – The first Pan American Games are officially opened in Buenos Aires by Argentine President Juan Perón.
 * 1956 – In his speech On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences, Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union, denounces Stalin.
 * 1980 – The government of Suriname is overthrown by a military coup led by Dési Bouterse.
 * 1986 – People Power Revolution: President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos flees the nation after 20 years of rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the Philippines' first female president.
 * 1991 – Disbandment of the Warsaw Pact at a meeting of its members in Budapest.
 * 1994 – American-Israeli extremist Baruch Goldstein commits a mass shooting at the Cave of the Patriarchs mausoleum, leaving 29 dead and over 100 injured before he was disarmed and beaten to death by survivors.
 * 1999 – Alitalia Flight 1553 crashes at Genoa Cristoforo Colombo Airport in Genoa, Italy, killing four.
 * 2009 – Soldiers of the Bangladesh Rifles mutiny at their headquarters in Pilkhana, Dhaka, Bangladesh, resulting in 74 deaths, including 57 army officials.
 * 2009 – Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 crashed during landing at the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Netherlands, primarily due to a faulty radio altimeter, resulting in the death of nine passengers and crew including all three pilots.
 * 2015 – At least 310 people are killed in avalanches in northeastern Afghanistan.
 * 2016 – Three people are killed and fourteen others injured in a series of shootings in the small Kansas cities of Newton and Hesston.

Pre-1600

 * 1259 – Infanta Branca of Portugal, daughter of King Afonso III of Portugal and Urraca of Castile (d. 1321)
 * 1337 – Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg (d. 1383)
 * 1475 – Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, last male member of the House of York (d. 1499)
 * 1540 – Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton, English aristocrat and courtier (d. 1614)
 * 1543 – Sharaf Khan Bidlisi, Emir of Bitlis (d. 1603)
 * 1591 – Friedrich Spee, German poet and author (d. 1635)

1601–1900

 * 1643 – Ahmed II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1695)
 * 1663 – Peter Anthony Motteux, French-English author, playwright and translator (d. 1718)
 * 1670 – Maria Margarethe Kirch, German astronomer and mathematician (d. 1720)
 * 1682 – Giovanni Battista Morgagni, Italian anatomist and pathologist (d. 1771)
 * 1707 – Carlo Goldoni, Italian playwright and composer (d. 1793)
 * 1714 – René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, French lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of France (d. 1792)
 * 1728 – John Wood, the Younger, English architect, designed the Royal Crescent (d. 1782)
 * 1752 – John Graves Simcoe, English-Canadian general and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (d. 1806)
 * 1755 – François René Mallarmé, French lawyer and politician (d. 1835)
 * 1778 – José de San Martín, Argentinian general and politician, 1st President of Peru (d. 1850)
 * 1806 – Emma Catherine Embury, American author and poet (d. 1863)
 * 1809 – John Hart, English-Australian politician, 10th Premier of South Australia (d. 1873)
 * 1812 – Carl Christian Hall, Danish lawyer and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Denmark (d. 1888)
 * 1816 – Giovanni Morelli, Italian historian and critic (d. 1891)
 * 1833 – John St. John, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Kansas (d. 1916)
 * 1841 – Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French painter and sculptor (d. 1919)
 * 1842 – Karl May, German author, poet, and playwright (d. 1912)
 * 1845 – George Reid, Scottish-Australian lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1918)
 * 1855 – Cesário Verde, Portuguese poet and author (d. 1886)
 * 1856 – Karl Gotthard Lamprecht, German historian and academic (d. 1915)
 * 1856  – Mathias Zdarsky, Czech-Austrian skier, painter, and sculptor (d. 1940)
 * 1857 – Robert Bond, Canadian politician; first Prime Minister of Newfoundland (d. 1927)
 * 1860 – William Ashley, English historian and academic (d. 1927)
 * 1865 – Andranik, Armenian general (d. 1927)
 * 1866 – Benedetto Croce, Italian philosopher and politician (d. 1952)
 * 1869 – Phoebus Levene, Russian-American biochemist and physician (d. 1940)
 * 1873 – Enrico Caruso, Italian-American tenor; the most popular operatic tenor of the early 20th century and the first great recording star. (d. 1921)
 * 1877 – Erich von Hornbostel, Austrian musicologist and scholar (d. 1935)
 * 1881 – William Z. Foster, American union leader and politician (d. 1961)
 * 1881  – Alexei Rykov, Russian politician, Premier of Russia (d. 1938)
 * 1883 – Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (d. 1981)
 * 1885 – Princess Alice of Battenberg, mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (d. 1969)
 * 1888 – John Foster Dulles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 52nd United States Secretary of State (d. 1959)
 * 1890 – Myra Hess, English pianist and educator (d. 1965)
 * 1894 – Meher Baba, Indian spiritual master (d. 1969)
 * 1898 – William Astbury, physicist and molecular biologist (d. 1961)

1901–present

 * 1901 – Vince Gair, Australian politician, 27th Premier of Queensland (d. 1980)
 * 1901  – Zeppo Marx, American comedian and theatrical agent (d. 1979)
 * 1903 – King Clancy, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and coach (d. 1986)
 * 1905 – Perry Miller, American historian, author, and academic (d. 1963)
 * 1906 – Mary Coyle Chase, American journalist and playwright (d. 1981)
 * 1907 – Sabahattin Ali, Turkish journalist, author, and poet (d. 1948)
 * 1908 – Mary Locke Petermann, American cellular biochemist (d. 1975)
 * 1908  – Frank G. Slaughter, American physician and author (d. 2001)
 * 1910 – Millicent Fenwick, American journalist and politician (d. 1992)
 * 1913 – Jim Backus, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1989)
 * 1913  – Gert Fröbe, German actor (d. 1988)
 * 1915 – S. Rajaratnam, Singaporean politician, 1st Senior Minister of Singapore (d. 2006)
 * 1917 – Anthony Burgess, English author, playwright, and critic (d. 1993)
 * 1918 – Bobby Riggs, American tennis player (d. 1995)
 * 1919 – Monte Irvin, American baseball player and executive (d. 2016)
 * 1920 – Philip Habib, American academic and diplomat, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (d. 1992)
 * 1921 – Pierre Laporte, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec (d. 1970)
 * 1921  – Andy Pafko, American baseball player and manager (d. 2013)
 * 1922 – Molly Reilly, Canadian aviator (d. 1980)
 * 1924 – Hugh Huxley, English-American biologist and academic (d. 2013)
 * 1925 – Lisa Kirk, American actress and singer (d. 1990)
 * 1925  – Shehu Shagari, Nigerian politician, 6th President of Nigeria (d. 2018)
 * 1926 – Masatoshi Gündüz Ikeda, Japanese-Turkish mathematician and academic (d. 2003)
 * 1927 – Ralph Stanley, American singer and banjo player (d. 2016)
 * 1928 – Paul Elvstrøm, Danish yachtsman (d. 2016)
 * 1928  – Larry Gelbart, American author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
 * 1928  – A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., American civil rights advocate, historian, and judge (d. 1998)
 * 1928  – Richard G. Stern, American author and academic (d. 2013)
 * 1930 – Wendy Beckett, British nun and art critic (d. 2018)
 * 1932 – Tony Brooks, English racing driver (d. 2022)
 * 1932  – Faron Young, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
 * 1934 – Tony Lema, American golfer (d. 1966)
 * 1935 – Oktay Sinanoglu, Turkish physical chemist and molecular biophysicist (d. 2015)
 * 1937 – Tom Courtenay, English actor
 * 1937  – Bob Schieffer, American political author, journalist and TV interviewer
 * 1938 – Diane Baker, American actress and producer
 * 1938  – Herb Elliott, Australian athlete
 * 1938  – Farokh Engineer, Indian cricketer
 * 1940 – Ron Santo, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2010)
 * 1941 – David Puttnam, English film producer and academic
 * 1942 – Karen Grassle, American actress
 * 1943 – George Harrison, English singer-songwriter, guitarist and film producer (d. 2001)
 * 1944 – François Cevert, French racing driver (d. 1973)
 * 1946 – Jean Todt, French racing driver and team manager
 * 1947 – Lee Evans, American sprinter and athletics coach (d. 2021)
 * 1949 – Ric Flair, American professional wrestler
 * 1949  – Amin Maalouf, Lebanese-French journalist and author
 * 1950 – Francisco Fernández Ochoa, Spanish skier (d. 2006)
 * 1950  – Neil Jordan, Irish film director, screenwriter and author
 * 1950  – Néstor Kirchner, Argentine politician; 51st President of Argentina (d. 2010)
 * 1951 – Don Quarrie, Jamaican sprinter and coach
 * 1952 – Joey Dunlop, Northern Irish motorcyclist (d. 2000)
 * 1953 – José María Aznar, Spanish politician; Prime Minister of Spain, 1996–2004
 * 1953  – John Doe, American musician, singer-songwriter, actor, and poet
 * 1957 – Raymond McCreesh, Irish Republican, hunger striker (d. 1981)
 * 1957 – Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singaporean economist and politician; 5th Senior Minister and 9th President of Singapore
 * 1958 – Kurt Rambis, Greek-American basketball player, coach, and executive
 * 1962 – Birgit Fischer, German kayaker
 * 1963 – Paul O'Neill, American baseball player and sportscaster
 * 1965 – Carrot Top, American comedian
 * 1965  – Veronica Webb, American model, actress, and writer
 * 1966 – Alexis Denisof, American actor
 * 1966  – Téa Leoni, American actress
 * 1967 – Ed Balls, English politician; Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
 * 1968 – Lesley Boone, American actress and producer
 * 1968  – Oumou Sangaré, Malian musician
 * 1971 – Sean Astin, American actor, director and producer
 * 1971  – Daniel Powter, Canadian singer-songwriter and musician
 * 1973 – Anson Mount, American actor
 * 1974 – Dominic Raab, English politician; First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
 * 1975 – Chelsea Handler, American comedian, actress, author, and television host
 * 1976 – Rashida Jones, American actress and writer
 * 1976  – Samaki Walker, American basketball player
 * 1979 – Napoleon Harris, American football player and politician
 * 1981 – Park Ji-sung, South Korean footballer
 * 1982 – Maria Kanellis, American professional wrestler, actress, and model
 * 1982  – Flavia Pennetta, Italian tennis player
 * 1982  – Anton Volchenkov, Russian ice hockey player
 * 1985 – Joakim Noah, French-American basketball player
 * 1986 – Justin Berfield, American actor, writer, and producer
 * 1986  – Jameela Jamil, English actress and presenter
 * 1986  – James Phelps, English actor
 * 1986  – Oliver Phelps, English actor
 * 1987 – Justin Abdelkader, American ice hockey player
 * 1988 – Tom Marshall, English photo colouriser and artist
 * 1988  – Gerald McCoy, American football player
 * 1989 – Jimmer Fredette, American basketball player
 * 1989  – Kana Hanazawa, Japanese voice actress and singer
 * 1989  – E'Twaun Moore, American basketball player
 * 1990 – Félix Peña, Dominican baseball player
 * 1992 – Joakim Nordström, Swedish ice hockey player
 * 1992  – Jorge Soler, Cuban baseball player
 * 1993 – Erick Fedde, American baseball player
 * 1993  – Lukáš Sedlák, Czech ice hockey player
 * 1994 – Fred VanVleet, American basketball player
 * 1995 – Mario Hezonja, Croatian basketball player
 * 1995  – Viktoriya Tomova, Bulgarian tennis player
 * 1997 – Isabelle Fuhrman, American actress
 * 1997  – Thon Maker, South Sudanese-Australian basketball player
 * 1999 – Gianluigi Donnarumma, Italian footballer
 * 1999  – Rocky, South Korean singer, dancer and songwriter
 * 2001 – Vernon Carey Jr., American basketball player
 * 2003 – Brandin Podziemski, American basketball player
 * 2005 – Noah Jupe, English actor

Pre-1600

 * 806 – Tarasios, patriarch of Constantinople
 * 891 – Fujiwara no Mototsune, Japanese regent (b. 836)
 * 1099 – Anselm of Ribemont, Frankish nobleman and participant of the First Crusade
 * 1522 – William Lily, English scholar and educator (b. 1468)
 * 1536 – Berchtold Haller, German-Swiss theologian and reformer (b. 1492)
 * 1547 – Vittoria Colonna, marchioness of Pescara (b. 1490)

1601–1900

 * 1601 – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1566)
 * 1634 – Albrecht von Wallenstein, Austrian general and politician (b. 1583)
 * 1636 – Santorio Santorio, Italian biologist (b. 1561)
 * 1655 – Daniël Heinsius, Flemish poet and scholar (b. 1580)
 * 1682 – Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer (b. 1639)
 * 1710 – Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, French soldier and explorer (b. 1639)
 * 1713 – Frederick I of Prussia (b. 1657)
 * 1723 – Christopher Wren, English architect, designed St Paul's Cathedral (b. 1632)
 * 1756 – Eliza Haywood, English actress and poet (b. 1693)
 * 1796 – Samuel Seabury, American bishop (b. 1729)
 * 1805 – Thomas Pownall, English politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (b. 1722)
 * 1819 – Francisco Manoel de Nascimento, Portuguese-French poet and educator (b. 1734)
 * 1822 – William Pinkney, American politician and diplomat, 7th United States Attorney General (b. 1764)
 * 1841 – Philip P. Barbour, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 12th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1783)
 * 1850 – Daoguang Emperor of China (b. 1782)
 * 1852 – Thomas Moore, Irish poet and lyricist (b. 1779)
 * 1865 – Otto Ludwig, German author, playwright, and critic (b. 1813)
 * 1870 – Henrik Hertz, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1797)
 * 1877 – Jung Bahadur Rana, Nepalese ruler (b. 1816)
 * 1878 – Townsend Harris, American merchant, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Japan (b. 1804)
 * 1899 – Paul Reuter, German-English journalist and businessman, founded Reuters (b. 1816)

1901–present

 * 1906 – Anton Arensky, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1861)
 * 1910 – Worthington Whittredge, American painter and educator (b. 1820)
 * 1911 – Friedrich Spielhagen, German author, theorist, and translator (b. 1829)
 * 1912 – William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (b. 1852)
 * 1914 – John Tenniel, English illustrator (b. 1820)
 * 1915 – Charles Edwin Bessey, American botanist, author, and academic (b. 1845)
 * 1920 – Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy, French archaeologist and engineer (b. 1844)
 * 1928 – William O'Brien, Irish journalist and politician (b. 1852)
 * 1934 – Elizabeth Gertrude Britton, American botanist and academic (b. 1857)
 * 1934  – John McGraw, American baseball player and manager (b. 1873)
 * 1945 – Mário de Andrade, Brazilian author, poet, and photographer (b. 1893)
 * 1950 – George Minot, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
 * 1953 – Sergei Winogradsky, Ukrainian-Russian microbiologist and ecologist (b. 1856)
 * 1954 – Joseph Beech, American Methodist missionary and educator (b. 1867)
 * 1957 – Mark Aldanov, Russian author and critic (b. 1888)
 * 1957  – Bugs Moran, American mob boss (b. 1893)
 * 1963 – Melville J. Herskovits, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1895)
 * 1964 – Alexander Archipenko, Ukrainian sculptor and illustrator (b. 1887)
 * 1964  – Grace Metalious, American author (b. 1924)
 * 1970 – Mark Rothko, Latvian-American painter and academic (b. 1903)
 * 1971 – Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1884)
 * 1972 – Gottfried Fuchs, German-Canadian Olympic soccer player (b. 1889)
 * 1975 – Elijah Muhammad, American religious leader (b. 1897)
 * 1978 – Daniel James, Jr., American general and pilot (b. 1920)
 * 1980 – Robert Hayden, American poet and academic (b. 1913)
 * 1983 – Tennessee Williams, American playwright, and poet (b. 1911)
 * 1996 – Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian-American physician and author (b. 1940)
 * 1997 – Andrei Sinyavsky, Russian journalist and publisher (b. 1925)
 * 1998 – W. O. Mitchell, Canadian author and playwright (b. 1914)
 * 1999 – Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1912)
 * 2001 – A. R. Ammons, American poet and critic (b. 1926)
 * 2001  – Don Bradman, Australian international cricketer; holder of world record batting average (b. 1908)
 * 2005 – Peter Benenson, English lawyer, founded Amnesty International (b. 1921)
 * 2008 – Hans Raj Khanna, Indian judge and advocate; upholder of civil liberties (b. 1912)
 * 2010 – Ihsan Dogramaci, Turkish pediatrician and academic (b. 1915)
 * 2012 – Louisiana Red, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1932)
 * 2015 – Harve Bennett, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1930)
 * 2015 – Ariel Camacho, Mexican musician and singer-songwriter; (b. 1992)
 * 2015 – Eugenie Clark, American biologist and academic; noted ichthyologist (b. 1922)
 * 2017 – Bill Paxton, American actor and filmmaker (b. 1955)
 * 2020 – Dmitry Yazov, last Marshal of the Soviet Union (b. 1924)
 * 2022 – Farrah Forke, American actress (b. 1968)
 * 2022  – Shirley Hughes, English author and illustrator (b. 1927)
 * 2023 – Gordon Pinsent, Canadian actor, director and screenwriter (b. 1930)

Holidays and observances

 * Christian feast days:
 * Æthelberht of Kent
 * Blessed Ciriaco María Sancha y Hervás
 * Gerland of Agrigento
 * John Roberts, writer and missionary (Anglican Communion)
 * Hamburg Matthiae-mahl, feast of Hanseatic League cities on the mediaeval first day of spring
 * Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani
 * Blessed Robert of Arbrissel, founder of Fontevraud Abbey
 * Saint Walpurga (she was canonised on 1 May c. 870 and Walpurgis Night is celebrated 30 April)
 * February 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * Kitano Baika-sai or "Plum Blossom Festival" (Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine, Kyoto, Japan)
 * Memorial Day for the Victims of the Communist Dictatorships (Hungary)
 * National Day (Kuwait)
 * People Power Day (Philippines)
 * Revolution Day in Suriname
 * Soviet Occupation Day (Georgia)