May 25 in history — What Happened Today in History

The Hands Across America event takes place.

Bangladesh is hit by a tropical cyclone and storm surge, which kills approximately 10,000 people.

Falklands War: HMS Coventry is sunk by Argentine Air Force A-4 Skyhawks.

In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

John Spenkelink, a convicted murderer, is executed in Florida; he is the first person to be executed in the state after the reintroduction of capital punishment in 1976.

American Airlines Flight 191: A McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashes during takeoff at O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, killing all 271 on board and two people on the ground.

The first of a series of bombings orchestrated by the Unabomber detonates at Northwestern University resulting in minor injuries.

Star Wars (retroactively titled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) is released in US theaters.

The Chinese government removes a decade-old ban on William Shakespeare's work, effectively ending the Cultural Revolution started in 1966.

In protest against the dictatorship in Greece, the captain and crew on Greek naval destroyer Velos mutiny and refuse to return to Greece, instead anchoring at Fiumicino, Italy.

Joetha Collier, a recent high school graduate, is killed in a shooting in Drew, Mississippi, attracting extensive attention from the media and civil rights activists.

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, is dedicated.

Explorer program: Explorer 32 launches.

The Organisation of African Unity is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Apollo program: U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces, before a special joint session of the U.S. Congress, that the United States "should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

In the United States, a night-time F5 tornado strikes the small city of Udall, Kansas as part of a larger outbreak across the Great Plains, killing 80 and injuring 273. It is the deadliest tornado ever to occur in the state and the 23rd deadliest in the U.S.

First ascent of Mount Kangchenjunga: On the British Kangchenjunga expedition led by Charles Evans, Joe Brown and George Band reach the summit of the third-highest mountain in the world (8,586 meters); Norman Hardie and Tony Streather join them the following day.

Nuclear weapons testing: At the Nevada Test Site, the United States conducts its first and only nuclear artillery test.

The first public television station in the United States officially begins broadcasting as KUHT from the campus of the University of Houston.

The Emirate of Transjordan becomes independent from the United Kingdom as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan after ratifying the Treaty of London and making their Amir, Abdullah I, their King.

World War II: The German 2nd Panzer Division captures the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer; the surrender of the last French and British troops marks the end of the Battle of Boulogne.

Spanish Civil War: The bombing of Alicante kills 313 people.

Jesse Owens of Ohio State University breaks three world records and ties a fourth at the Big Ten Conference Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Walt Disney Company cartoon Three Little Pigs premieres at Radio City Music Hall, featuring the hit song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?"

Sholom Schwartzbard assassinates Symon Petliura, the head of the government of the Ukrainian People's Republic, which is in government-in-exile in Paris.

Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is indicted for teaching human evolution in Tennessee.

The House of Commons of the United Kingdom passes the Home Rule Bill for devolution in Ireland.

Playwright, poet and novelist Oscar Wilde is convicted of "committing acts of gross indecency with other male persons" and sentenced to serve two years in prison.

Nikita Filatov, Russian ice hockey player

Dávid Škutka, Slovak footballer

Cameron van der Burgh, South African swimmer

Timothy Derijck, Belgian footballer

Yves De Winter, Belgian footballer

Moritz Stehling, German footballer

Kamil Stoch, Polish ski jumper

Edewin Fanini, Brazilian footballer

Yoan Gouffran, French footballer

Takahiro Hōjō, Japanese actor and musician

Geraint Thomas, Welsh cyclist

Luciana Abreu, Portuguese singer and actress

Demba Ba, Senegalese footballer

George Braden, Canadian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of the Northwest Territories (born 1949)

Robert Lebel, Canadian bishop (born 1924)

David Allen, English cricketer (born 1935)

Marcel Côté, Canadian economist and politician (born 1942)

Wojciech Jaruzelski, Polish general and politician, 1st President of Poland (born 1923)

Herb Jeffries, American singer and actor (born 1913)

Toaripi Lauti, Tuvaluan educator and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Tuvalu (born 1928)

Matthew Saad Muhammad, American boxer and trainer (born 1954)

Mahendra Karma, Indian politician (born 1950)

Nand Kumar Patel, Indian politician (born 1953)

William Hanley, American author and screenwriter (born 1931)

Peter D. Sieruta, American author and critic (born 1958)

Lou Watson, American basketball player and coach (born 1924)