Browse Historical Events by Day: What Happened on May 25th?

The ship "Le Grand St Antoine" arrives in Marseille, France, carrying the last major plague outbreak to affect Europe. The bubonic plague is estimated to have killed around 100,000 people. This event is often referred to as the Great Plague of Marseille.

The Constitutional Convention, a pivotal event in American history, begins in Philadelphia. It had  as its primary goal the creation of a stronger, more unified nation by revising or replacing the Articles of Confederation, which had proven insufficient. The convention, ended on September 17, 1987 and resulted in the drafting of the United States Constitution, which established a new federal government and laid the groundwork for the nation's future. More

Legendary American athlete Jesse Owens sets five world records and tied a sixth in just 45 minutes while competing at the Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This achievement is often called "the greatest 45 minutes in sport," included breaking the world record in the long jump, the 220-yard dash, and the 220-yard low hurdles, and tying the world record in the 100-yard dash. More

Standard Oil (New Jersey), later known as Exxon, begins production utilizing the first commercial fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) facility. The technology was developed by the research team composed of Donald Campbell, Homer Martin, Eger Murphree, and Charles Tyson, known as the "Four Horsemen". More

Jordan's Independence Day from The United Kingdom and officially becoming the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan, with Emir Abdullah I as its King. Transjordan officially changed its name to Jordan on June 2, 1949. More

United States President John F. Kennedy, announces before a special joint session of Congress the dramatic and ambitious goal for the nation, of sending an American safely to the Moon and back, before the end of the decade. More

American Airlines Flight 191 - a Douglas DC-10 aircraft crashed as it was taking off from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago when its left engine detached from the wing, causing a loss of control. The aircraft crashed about 4,600 feet (1,400 m) from the end of runway. All 258 passengers and 13 crew on board and two people on the ground were killed. The total of 273 fatalities, makes it the deadliest aviation accident to have occurred in the United States. More

George Floyd, an unarmed African American man, was killed during an arrest, by white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin who knelt on his neck for almost 10 minutes. He was unresponsive when the paramedics arrived. The arrest and killing was filmed by bystanders and ignited the largest protest movement in the U.S. history, setting off massive protests around the country and generating greater support for the Black Lives Matter movement. The police officer, Derek Chauvin was later convicted of his murder. More