November 25th in History

Honor guard folds the US flag over JFK’s coffin

On This Day in History

  • The White Ship (la Blanche-Nef) sinks near the Normandy coast, drowning William Adelin, son and heir of English monarch Henry I, leading to a succession crisis and civil war. (1120)
  • American Civil War: At the Battle of Missionary Ridge, 18-year old lieutenant Arthur MacArthur, Jr., plants the regimental flag on the crest, shouting “On Wisconsin!” He receives the Medal of Honor and is promoted to colonel the following year. Known as the “Boy Colonel,” he will later be better known as the father of Douglas MacArthur. (1863)
  • American Civil War: The “Confederate Army of Manhattan” sets over 20 fires in an unsuccessful attempt to burn down New York City. (1864)
  • World War II: The de Havilland Mosquito and the Martin B-26 Marauder fly for the first time. (1940)
  • Red Scare: After being cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions from the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), the “Hollywood Ten” are blacklisted. (1947)
  • Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap opens in London. It will become the longest continuously-running play in history. (1952)
  • President John F. Kennedy is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. (1963)
  • Japanese author 三島 由紀夫  (Yukio Mishima) commits 切腹 (seppuku) following a failed coup d’état. (1970)
  • The US establishes a maximum 55 mph speed limit, which will last until 1987. (1973)

Natural Disasters

  •  An earthquake in the Tyrrhenian Sea causes a tsunami that devastates Naples and Amalfi (1343)
  • An earthquake hits Şamaxı in modern Azerbaijan, killing 80,000 (1667)
  • An earthquake destroys Beirut and Damascus, killing 30-40,000 (1759)
  • An earthquake of magnitude 8.7-9.2 hits Sumatra and produces a massive tsunami along the Indonesian coast (1833)
  • A cyclone strikes India, destroying Coringa, and triggering a 40-foot storm surge that destroys 20,000 ships and causes an estimated 300,000 deaths (1839)
  • A tornado outbreak strikes the midwestern US, killing 76 and injuring 400, primarily in Arkansas (1926)
  • The Great Appalachian Storm strikes New England, killing 353 (1950)
  • Typhoon Nina hits the Philippines with winds up to 165 mph, destroying entire villages and killing at least 1,036 people (1987)
  • An ice storm in the central US kills 26; a related windstorm hits Florida with gusts over 90 mph (1996)
  • The 7.0 Baku Earthquake hits Azerbaijan, killing 26 (2000)
  • Cyclone Nisha hits Sri Lanka, killing 15 and displacing 90,000 (2008)
  • Rains swamp Jeddah, Saudia Arabia, triggering floods that sweep away 3,000 cars, kill 122, and result in 350 missing people (2009)

Birthdays

  • Andrew Carnegie, industrialist (1835)
  • Karl Benz, car designer and founder of Mercedes-Benz (1844)
  • Carrie Nation, temperance advocate (1846)
  • John Flynn, Australian minister, founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (1880)
  • John XXIII, Roman Catholic pontiff (1881)
  • Eddie Shore, hockey player (1902)
  • P. D. Eastman, children’s book writer and illustrator (1909)
  • Joe DiMaggio, baseball player (1914)
  • Augusto Pinochet, Chilean dictator (1915)
  • Ricardo Montalbán, actor (1920)
  • Noel Neill, actress, played Lois Lane (1920)
  • Paul Desmond, jazz saxophonist (1924)
  • Poul Anderson, science fiction writer (1926)
  • Joe Gibbs, football coach (1940)
  • Percy Sledge, singer (1941)
  • Ben Stein, actor and Presidential speechwriter (1944)
  • Patrick Nagel, artist (1945)
  • George Webster, football player (1945)
  • Marc Brown, children’s book author (Arthur) (1946)
  • John Larroquette, actor (1947)
  • Chris Claremont, comic book writer (1950)
  • Bucky Dent, baseball player (1951)
  • Charlaine Harris, vampire mystery writer (1951)
  • Amy Grant, singer (1960)
  • John F. Kennedy, Jr., lawyer (1960)
  • Christina Applegate, actress (1971)

Deaths

  • Andrea Doria, Italian admiral (1560)
  • Gaston Chevrolet, race car driver (1920)
  • Kenesaw Mountain Landis, judge (1944)
  • Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, actor and dancer (1949)
  • Upton Sinclair, author and politician (1968)
  •  ဦးသန (U Thant), UN Secretary-General (1974)
  • Harold Washington, Chicago mayor (1987)
  • Flip Wilson, comedian (1998)
  • Coco Robicheaux, singer-songwriter (2011)
  • Jim Temp, football player (2012)

Holidays

  • Blasé Day, Wellcat Holidays and Herbs
  • Dan Državnosti (Statehood Day), Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Evacuation Day, 19th century New York City
  • Hari Guru (Teacher’s Day), Indonesia
  • Independence Day, Suriname
  • International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (United Nations)
  • National Parfait Day, US food holidays
  • Saint Catherine’s Day, patron of maidens, mechanics, philosophers, and all those who work with wheels, Roman Catholicism
  • Shopping Reminder Day, US retailers
  • วันวชิราวุธ (Vajiravudh Day), Thailand

November 25 is the 329th day of the year (330th in leap years), with 36 days remaining until year’s end.