May 25

Events

567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans.

240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.

1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo, Spain, back from the Moors.

1420 – Henry the Navigator is appointed governor of the Order of Christ.

1521 – The Diet of Worms ends when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw.

1644 – Ming general Wu Sangui forms an alliance with the invading Manchus and opens the gates of the Great Wall of China at Shanhaiguan pass, letting the Manchus through towards the capital Beijing.

1659 – Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth of England.

1660 – Charles II lands at Dover at the invitation of the Convention Parliament (England), which marks the end of the Cromwell-proclaimed Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and begins the Restoration (1660) of the British monarchy.

1738 – A treaty between Pennsylvania and Maryland ends the Conojocular War with settlement of a boundary dispute and exchange of prisoners.

1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion: Battle of Carlow begins; executions of suspected rebels at Carnew and at Dunlavin Green take place.

1809 – Chuquisaca Revolution: Patriot revolt in Chuquisaca (modern day Sucre) against the Spanish Empire, sparking the Latin American wars of independence.

1810 – May Revolution: citizens of Buenos Aires expel Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros during the May week, starting the Argentine War of Independence.

1819 – The Argentine Constitution of 1819 is promulgated.

1833 – The Chilean Constitution of 1833 is promulgated.

1837 – The Rebels of Lower Canada (Quebec) rebel against the British for governmental reforms.

1865 – In Mobile, Alabama, 300 are killed when an ordnance depot explodes.

1878 – Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore opens at the Opera Comique in London.

1895 – The 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.

1895 – The Republic of Formosa is formed, with Tang Ching-sung as its president.

1914 – The House of Commons of the United Kingdom passes the Home Rule Bill for devolution in Ireland.

1925 – Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is indicted for teaching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution in Tennessee.

1926 – Sholom Schwartzbard assassinates Symon Petliura, the head of the government of the Ukrainian People's Republic, which is in government-in-exile in Paris.

1935 – 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.

1938 – Spanish Civil War: The bombing of Alicante kills 313 people.

1940 – 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.

1946 – The parliament of Transjordan makes Abdullah I of Jordan their Emir.

1950 – Public transport: Green Hornet disaster. A Chicago Surface Lines streetcar crashes into a fuel truck, killing 33.

1953 – At the Nevada Test Site, the United States conducts its first and only nuclear artillery test.

1953 – The first public television station in the United States officially begins broadcasting as KUHT from the campus of the University of Houston.

1955 – In the United States, a night-time F5 tornado strikes the small city of Udall, Kansas, killing 80 and injuring 273. It is the deadliest tornado to ever occur in the state and the 23rd deadliest in the U.S.

1955 – First ascent of Kangchenjunga (8,586 m.), the third-highest mountain in the world, by a British expedition led by Charles Evans. Joe Brown and George Band reached the summit on May 25, followed by Norman Hardie and Tony Streather the next day.

1961 – Apollo program: U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces before a special joint session of the Congress his goal to initiate a project to put a "man on the Moon" before the end of the decade.

1963 – In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Organisation of African Unity is established.

1966 – Explorer program: Explorer 32 launches.

1966 – The first prominent dàzìbào during the Cultural Revolution in China is posted at Peking University.

1968 – The Gateway Arch in Saint Louis is dedicated.

1973 – HNS Velos, while participating in a NATO exercise and in order to protest against the dictatorship in Greece, anchored at Fiumicino, Italy, refusing to return to Greece.

1977 – Star Wars is released in theaters.

1977 – Chinese government removes a decade old ban on William Shakespeare's work, effectively ending the Cultural Revolution started in 1966.

1979 – American Airlines Flight 191: In Chicago, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashes during takeoff at O'Hare International Airport killing all 271 on board and two people on the ground.

1981 – In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

1982 – HMS Coventry is sunk during the Falklands War.

1985 – Bangladesh is hit by a tropical cyclone and storm surge, which kills approximately 10,000 people.

1986 – Hands Across America takes place.

1993 – International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is founded.

1997 – A military coup in Sierra Leone replaces President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah with Major Johnny Paul Koromah.

1999 – The United States House of Representatives releases the Cox Report which details the People's Republic of China's nuclear espionage against the U.S. over the prior two decades.

2000 – Liberation Day of Lebanon. Israel withdraws its army from Lebanese territory (except for the disputed Shebaa farms zone) 22 years after its invasion in 1978.

2002 – China Airlines Flight 611 disintegrates in mid-air and crashes into the Taiwan Strait. All 225 people on board are killed.

2008 – NASA's Phoenix lander lands in Green Valley region of Mars to search for environments suitable for water and microbial life.

2009 – North Korea allegedly tests its second nuclear device. Following the nuclear test, Pyongyang also conducted several missile tests building tensions in the international community.

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.

Births

1048 – Emperor Shenzong of Song (d. 1085)

1334 – Emperor Sukō of Japan (d. 1398)

1458 – Mahmud Begada, Indian sultan (d. 1511)

1606 – Charles Garnier, French missionary and saint (d. 1649)

1661 – Claude Buffier, Polish-French historian and philosopher (d. 1737)

1713 – John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1792)

1725 – Samuel Ward, American politician, 31st Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island (d. 1776)

1783 – Philip Pendleton Barbour, American farmer and politician, 12th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1841)

1791 – Minh Mạng, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1841)

1803 – Edward Bulwer-Lytton, English author, playwright, and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1873)

1803 – Ralph Waldo Emerson, American poet and philosopher (d. 1882)

1818 – Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss historian and academic (d. 1897)

1818 – Louise de Broglie, Countess d'Haussonville, French essayist and biographer (d. 1882)

1830 – Trebor Mai (né Robert Williams), Welsh poet (d. 1877)

1845 – Lip Pike, American baseball player and manager (d. 1893)

1846 – Naim Frashëri, Albanian-Turkish poet and translator (d. 1900)

1846 – Princess Helena of the United Kingdom (d. 1923)

1848 – Johann Baptist Singenberger, Swiss composer, educator, and publisher (d. 1924)

1852 – William Muldoon, American wrestler and trainer (d. 1933)

1856 – Louis Franchet d'Espèrey, Algerian-French general (d. 1942)

1860 – James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist and academic (d. 1944)

1865 – John Mott, American evangelist and saint, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1955)

1865 – Pieter Zeeman, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1943)

1867 – Anders Peter Nielsen, Danish target shooter (d. 1950)

1869 – Robbie Ross, Canadian journalist and art critic (d. 1918)

1869 – Mathilde Verne, English pianist and educator (d. 1936)

1878 – Bill Robinson, American actor and dancer (d. 1949)

1879 – Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, Canadian-English businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (d. 1964)

1879 – William Stickney, American golfer (d. 1944)

1880 – Jean Alexandre Barré, French neurologist and academic (d. 1967)

1882 – Marie Doro, American actress (d. 1956)

1883 – Carl Johan Lind, Swedish hammer thrower (d. 1965)

1886 – Rash Behari Bose, Indian soldier and activist (d. 1945)

1886 – Philip Murray, Scottish-American miner and labor leader (d. 1952)

1887 – Pio of Pietrelcina, Italian priest and saint (d. 1968)

1888 – Miles Malleson, English actor and screenwriter (d. 1969)

1889 – Günther Lütjens, German admiral (d. 1941)

1889 – Igor Sikorsky, Russian-American aircraft designer, founded Sikorsky Aircraft (d. 1972)

1897 – Alan Kippax, Australian cricketer (d. 1972)

1897 – Gene Tunney, American boxer and soldier (d. 1978)

1898 – Bennett Cerf, American publisher and television game show panelist; co-founded Random House (d. 1971)

1899 – Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bengali poet, author, and flute player (d. 1976)

1900 – Alain Grandbois, Canadian poet and author (d. 1975)

1903 – Binnie Barnes, English-American actress and singer (d. 1998)

1907 – U Nu, Burmese politician, 1st Prime Minister of Burma (d. 1995)

1908 – Theodore Roethke, American poet (d. 1963)

1909 – Alfred Kubel, German politician, 5th Prime Minister of Lower Saxony (d. 1999)

1912 – Dean Rockwell, American commander, wrestler, and coach (d. 2005)

1913 – Heinrich Bär, German colonel and pilot (d. 1957)

1913 – Richard Dimbleby, English journalist and producer (d. 1965)

1916 – Brian Dickson, Canadian captain, lawyer, and politician, 15th Chief Justice of Canada (d. 1998)

1916 – Giuseppe Tosi, Italian discus thrower (d. 1981)

1917 – Theodore Hesburgh, American priest, theologian, and academic (d. 2015)

1920 – Arthur Wint, Jamaican runner and diplomat (d. 1992)

1921 – Hal David, American songwriter and composer (d. 2012)

1921 – Kitty Kallen, American singer (d. 2016)

1921 – Jack Steinberger, German-Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

1922 – Enrico Berlinguer, Italian politician (d. 1984)

1924 – István Nyers, French-Hungarian footballer (d. 2005)

1925 – Rosario Castellanos, Mexican poet and author (d. 1974)

1925 – Jeanne Crain, American actress (d. 2003)

1925 – Eldon Griffiths, English journalist and politician (d. 2014)

1925 – Don Liddle, American baseball player (d. 2000)

1926 – Claude Akins, American actor (d. 1994)

1926 – William Bowyer, English painter and academic (d. 2015)

1926 – Phyllis Gotlieb, Canadian author and poet (d. 2009)

1926 – David Wynne, English sculptor and painter (d. 2014)

1927 – Robert Ludlum, American soldier and author (d. 2001)

1927 – Norman Petty, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 1984)

1929 – Beverly Sills, American soprano and actress (d. 2007)

1931 – Herb Gray, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (d. 2014)

1931 – Georgy Grechko, Russian engineer and astronaut

1931 – Irwin Winkler, American director and producer

1932 – John Gregory Dunne, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic (d. 2003)

1932 – K. C. Jones, American basketball player and coach

1933 – Sarah Marshall, English-American actress (d. 2014)

1933 – Basdeo Panday, Trinidadian lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago

1933 – Ray Spencer, English footballer

1933 – Jógvan Sundstein, Faroese accountant and politician, 7th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands

1935 – John Ffowcs Williams, Welsh engineer and academic

1935 – Cookie Gilchrist, American football player (d. 2011)

1935 – W. P. Kinsella, Canadian novelist and short story writer

1936 – Tom T. Hall, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1936 – Rusi Surti, Indian cricketer (d. 2013)

1937 – Tom Phillips, English painter and academic

1938 – Raymond Carver, American short story writer and poet(d. 1988)

1938 – Margaret Forster, English historian, author, and critic (d. 2016)

1938 – Geoffrey Robinson, English businessman and politician

1939 – Dixie Carter, American actress and singer (d. 2010)

1939 – Ian McKellen, English actor

1940 – Nobuyoshi Araki, Japanese photographer

1941 – Vladimir Voronin, Moldovan economist and politician, 3rd President of Moldova

1943 – Jessi Colter, American singer-songwriter and pianist

1943 – John Palmer, English keyboard player

1943 – Leslie Uggams, American actress and singer

1944 – Digby Anderson, English journalist and philosopher

1944 – Pierre Bachelet, French singer-songwriter (d. 2005)

1944 – Charlie Harper, English singer-songwriter and producer

1944 – Robert MacPherson, American mathematician and academic

1944 – Frank Oz, English-born American puppeteer, filmmaker, and actor

1944 – Chris Ralston, English rugby player

1946 – Bill Adam, Scottish-Canadian race car driver

1946 – David A. Hargrave, American game designer, created Arduin (d. 1988)

1947 – Karen Valentine, American actress

1947 – Catherine G. Wolf, American psychologist and computer scientist

1948 – Bülent Arınç, Turkish lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey

1948 – Marianne Elliott, Northern Irish historian, author, and academic

1949 – Jamaica Kincaid, Antiguan-American novelist, short story writer, and essayist

1949 – Barry Windsor-Smith, English painter and illustrator

1950 – Robby Steinhardt, American rock violinist and singer

1951 – Bob Gale, American director, producer, and screenwriter

1952 – Jeffrey Bewkes, American businessman

1952 – Nick Fotiu, American ice hockey player and coach

1952 – David Jenkins, Trinidadian-Scottish runner

1952 – Al Sarrantonio, American author and publisher

1952 – Gordon H. Smith, American businessman and politician

1953 – Eve Ensler, American playwright and producer

1953 – Daniel Passarella, Argentinian footballer, coach, and manager

1953 – Stan Sakai, Japanese-American author and illustrator

1954 – Murali, Indian actor, producer, and politician (d. 2009)

1955 – Alistair Burt, English lawyer and politician

1956 – Stavros Arnaoutakis, Greek politician

1956 – Tatsutoshi Goto, Japanese wrestler

1956 – David P. Sartor, American composer and conductor

1957 – Alastair Campbell, English journalist and author

1957 – Edward Lee, American author

1957 – Robert Picard, Canadian ice hockey player

1958 – Dorothy Straight, American children's author

1958 – Paul Weller, English singer, songwriter and musician

1959 – Julian Clary, English comedian, actor, and author

1959 – Manolis Kefalogiannis, Greek politician

1959 – Rick Wamsley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

1960 – Amy Klobuchar, American lawyer and politician

1960 – Anthea Turner, English journalist and television host

1962 – Ric Nattress, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager

1963 – George Hickenlooper, American director and producer (d. 2010)

1963 – Mike Myers, Canadian-American actor, singer, producer, and screenwriter

1964 – Ivan Bella, Slovak colonel, pilot, and astronaut

1964 – David Shaw, Canadian-American ice hockey player

1965 – Yahya Jammeh, Gambian colonel and politician, President of the Gambia

1967 – Mark Rosewater, American screenwriter and illustrator

1968 – Kendall Gill, American basketball player, boxer, and sportscaster

1969 – Glen Drover, Canadian guitarist and songwriter

1969 – Anne Heche, American actress

1969 – Stacy London, American journalist and author

1970 – Robert Croft, Welsh-English cricketer and sportscaster

1970 – Sandra Dopfer, Austrian tennis player

1970 – Joey Eischen, American baseball player and coach

1970 – Jamie Kennedy, American actor, producer, and screenwriter

1970 – Octavia Spencer, American actress

1971 – Stefano Baldini, Italian runner

1971 – Marco Cappato, Italian politician

1972 – Karan Johar, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

1973 – Daz Dillinger, American rapper and producer

1973 – Molly Sims, American model and actress

1974 – Dougie Freedman, Scottish footballer and manager

1974 – Frank Klepacki, American drummer and composer

1974 – Miguel Tejada, Dominican-American baseball player

1975 – Blaise Nkufo, Congolese-Swiss footballer

1976 – Tarik Glenn, American football player

1976 – Erinn Hayes, American actress

1976 – Stefan Holm, Swedish high jumper

1976 – Cillian Murphy, Irish actor

1976 – Erki Pütsep, Estonian cyclist

1976 – Marcelo José da Silva, Brazilian footballer

1976 – Miguel Zepeda, Mexican footballer

1977 – Andre Anis, Estonian footballer

1977 – Alberto Del Rio, Mexican-American mixed martial artist and wrestler

1978 – Brian Urlacher, American football player

1979 – Carlos Bocanegra, American soccer player

1979 – Sayed Moawad, Egyptian footballer

1979 – Caroline Ouellette, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

1979 – Sam Sodje, English-Nigerian footballer

1979 – Jonny Wilkinson, English rugby player

1980 – Joe King, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1980 – David Navarro, Spanish footballer

1981 – Michalis Pelekanos, Greek basketball 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 Pensgen, American figure skater and meteorologist

1982 – Luke Webster, Australian footballer

1983 – Tiago Cardoso Fonseca Brazilian footballer

1983 – Aleksandr Petrov, Estonian ice hockey player

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

1984 – Marion Raven, Norwegian singer-songwriter and actress

1984 – Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir, Icelandic model and actress, Miss World 2005

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 – Neon Hitch, English singer-songwriter

1986 – Takahiro Hōjō, Japanese actor and musician

1986 – Geraint Thomas, Welsh cyclist

1986 – Juri Ueno, Japanese actress

1987 – Timothy Derijck, Belgian footballer

1987 – Yves De Winter, Belgian footballer

1987 – Moritz Stehling, German footballer

1988 – Dávid Škutka, Slovak footballer

1988 – Cameron van der Burgh, South African swimmer

1989 – Karel Tammjärv, Estonian skier

1990 – Bo Dallas, American wrestler

1990 – Nikita Filatov, Russian ice hockey player

1991 – Jillian Wheeler, American singer-songwriter and actress

1993 – James Porter, English cricketer

1994 – Aly Raisman, American gymnast

Deaths

615 – Pope Boniface IV (b. 550)

675 – Li Hong, Chinese prince (b. 652)

709 – Aldhelm, English-Latin bishop, poet, and scholar (b. 639)

986 – Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, Muslim astronomer (b. 903)

992 – Mieszko I of Poland (b. 935)

1085 – Pope Gregory VII (b. 1020)

1261 – Pope Alexander IV (b. 1185)

1452 – John Stafford, English archbishop and politician

1463 – King Stephen Tomašević of Bosnia (beheaded)

1555 – Gemma Frisius, Dutch physician, mathematician, and cartographer (b. 1508)

1555 – Henry II of Navarre (b. 1503)

1595 – Valens Acidalius, German poet and critic (b. 1567)

1595 – Philip Neri, Italian priest and saint (b. 1515)

1632 – Adam Tanner, Austrian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1572)

1667 – Gustaf Bonde, Finnish-Swedish politician, 5th Lord High Treasurer of Sweden (b. 1620)

1681 – Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1600)

1741 – Daniel Ernst Jablonski, German bishop and theologian (b. 1660)

1786 – Peter III of Portugal (b. 1717)

1789 – Anders Dahl, Swedish botanist and physician (b. 1751)

1797 – John Griffin, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (b. 1719)

1805 – William Paley, English priest and philosopher (b. 1743)

1848 – Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, German author and composer (b. 1797)

1849 – Benjamin D'Urban, English general and politician, Governor of British Guiana (b. 1777)

1895 – Ahmed Cevdet Pasha, Ottoman sociologist, historian, and jurist (b. 1822)

1899 – Rosa Bonheur, French painter and sculptor (b. 1822)

1912 – Austin Lane Crothers, American educator and politician, 46th Governor of Maryland (b. 1860)

1917 – Maksim Bahdanovič, Belarusian poet and critic (b. 1891)

1919 – Eliza Pollock, American archer (b. 1840)

1919 – Madam C. J. Walker, American businesswoman and philanthropist, founded the Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company (b. 1867)

1924 – Lyubov Popova, Russian painter and illustrator (b. 1889)

1926 – Symon Petliura, Ukrainian journalist and politician (b. 1879)

1927 – Payne Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1876)

1930 – Randall Davidson, Scottish-English archbishop (b. 1848)

1934 – Gustav Holst, English trombonist, composer, and educator (b. 1874)

1937 – Henry Ossawa Tanner, American-French painter and illustrator (b. 1859)

1939 – Frank Watson Dyson, English astronomer and academic (b. 1868)

1942 – Emanuel Feuermann, Ukrainian-American cellist and educator (b. 1902)

1943 – Nils von Dardel, Swedish painter (b. 1888)

1948 – Witold Pilecki, Polish officer and Resistance leader (b. 1901)

1951 – Paula von Preradović, Croatian poet and author (b. 1887)

1954 – Robert Capa, Hungarian photographer and journalist (b. 1913)

1957 – Leo Goodwin, American swimmer, diver, and water polo player (b. 1883)

1968 – Georg von Küchler, German field marshal (b. 1881)

1970 – Tom Patey, Scottish mountaineer and author (b. 1932)

1977 – Yevgenia Ginzburg, Russian author (b. 1904)

1979 – Itzhak Bentov, Czech-Israeli engineer, mystic, and author (b. 1923)

1979 – Amédée Gordini, Italian-born French racing driver and sports car manufacturer (b. 1899)

1981 – Ruby Payne-Scott, Australian physicist and astronomer (b. 1912)

1981 – Fredric Warburg, English author and publisher (b. 1898)

1983 – Necip Fazıl Kısakürek, Turkish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1904)

1983 – Idris of Libya (b. 1889)

1983 – Jean Rougeau, Canadian wrestler and manager (b. 1925)

1983 – Jack Stewart, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1917)

1986 – Chester Bowles, American journalist and politician, 22nd Under Secretary of State (b. 1901)

1990 – Vic Tayback, American actor (b. 1930)

1993 – Buddhadasa, Thai monk and philosopher (b. 1906)

1995 – Élie Bayol, French race car driver (b. 1914)

1995 – Krešimir Ćosić, Croatian basketball player and coach, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer 1996 (b. 1948)

1996 – Renzo De Felice, Italian historian and author (b. 1929)

2003 – Sloan Wilson, American author and poet (b. 1920)

2004 – Roger Williams Straus, Jr., American publisher, co-founded Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publishing Company (b. 1917)

2005 – Sunil Dutt, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician (b. 1929)

2005 – Robert Jankel, English businessman, founded Panther Westwinds (b. 1938)

2005 – Zoran Mušič, Slovene painter and illustrator (b. 1909)

2006 – Desmond Dekker, Jamaican-English singer-songwriter (b. 1941)

2007 – Laurie Bartram, American actress and dancer (b. 1958)

2007 – Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor, comedian, and director (b. 1931)

2008 – J. R. Simplot, American businessman, founded Simplot (b. 1909)

2008 – Camu Tao, American rapper and producer (b. 1977)

2009 – Haakon Lie, Norwegian politician (b. 1905)

2010 – Alexander Belostenny, Ukrainian basketball player (b. 1959)

2010 – Michael H. Jordan, American businessman (b. 1936)

2010 – Alan Hickinbotham, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1925)

2010 – Gabriel Vargas, Mexican painter and illustrator (b. 1915)

2010 – Jarvis Williams, American football player and coach (b. 1965)

2011 – Terry Jenner, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1944)

2012 – William Hanley, American author and screenwriter (b. 1931)

2012 – Peter D. Sieruta, American author and critic (b. 1958)

2012 – Beatrice Sparks, American therapist and author (b. 1917)

2012 – Lou Watson, American basketball player and coach (b. 1924)

2013 – Mahendra Karma, Indian politician (b. 1950)

2013 – Marshall Lytle, American bass player and songwriter (b. 1933)

2013 – Nand Kumar Patel, Indian politician (b. 1953)

2014 – David Allen, English cricketer (b. 1935)

2014 – Bertha Gilkey, American activist (b. 1949)

2014 – Wojciech Jaruzelski, Polish general and politician, 1st President of Poland (b. 1923)

2014 – Herb Jeffries, American singer and actor (b. 1913)

2014 – Toaripi Lauti, Tuvaluan educator and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Tuvalu (b. 1928)

2014 – Matthew Saad Muhammad, American boxer and trainer (b. 1954)

2014 – Malcolm Simmons, English motorcycle racer (b. 1946)

2014 – Bunny Yeager, American model and photographer (b. 1929)

2015 – George Braden, Canadian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of the Northwest Territories (b. 1949)

2015 – Mary Ellen Mark, American photographer and journalist (b. 1940)

2015 – John M. Murphy, American soldier and politician (b. 1926)

Holidays and observances

Africa Day (African Union)

African Liberation Day (African Union, Rastafari)

Christian feast day:

Aldhelm

Bede

Gerard of Lunel

Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

Pope Gregory VII

Pope Urban I

May 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Day of Youth, celebrated on Josip Broz Tito's birthday (the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)

Earliest day on which Arbor Day can fall, celebrated on the last Sunday in May (Venezuela)

Earliest day on which Children's Day can fall, celebrated on the last Sunday in May (Hungary)

Earliest day on which Memorial Day can fall, celebrated on the last Monday in May (United States)

Earliest day on which Mother's Day can fall, celebrated on the last Sunday in May (Algeria, Dominican Republic, France (First Sunday of June, if Pentecost occurs on this day), Haiti, Mauritius, Morocco, Sweden, Tunisia)

Earliest day on which Turkmen Carpet Day can fall, celebrated on the last Sunday in May (Turkmenistan)

First National Government / National Day (Argentina)

Geek Pride Day (geek culture)

Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Jordan from the United Kingdom in 1946.

Last bell (Russia, post-Soviet countries)

Liberation Day (Lebanon)

National Missing Children's Day (United States), and its related observances:

International Missing Children's Day

National Tap Dance Day (United States)

Towel Day in honour of the work of the writer Douglas Adams