April 25

April 25

1590		The Sultan of Morocco launches a successful attack to capture Timbuktu.
1719		Daniel Defoe’s novel Robinson Crusoe is published in London.
1792		The guillotine is first used to execute highwayman Nicolas J. Pelletier.
1859		Work begins on the Suez Canal in Egypt.
1926		In Iran, Reza Khan is crowned Shah and chooses the name “Pahlavi.”
1926		Puccini’s opera Turandot premiers at La Scala in Milan with Arturo Toscanini conducting.
1938		A seeing eye dog is used for the first time.
1953		The magazine Nature publishes an article by biologists Francis Crick and James Watson, describing the “double helix” of DNA.
1956		Elvis Presley‘s “Heartbreak Hotel” goes to number one on the charts.
1959		The St. Lawrence Seaway–linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes–opens to shipping.
1971		The country of Bangladesh is established.
1980		President Jimmy Carter tells the American people about the hostage rescue disaster in Iran.
1982		In accordance with the Camp David agreements, Israel completes a withdrawal from the Sinai peninsula.
1990		Violeta Barrios de Chamorro begins a six year term as Nicaragua’s president.
Born on April 25
1214		Louis IX, king of France (1226-1270).
1284		Edward II, king of England (1307-1327).
1599		Oliver Cromwell, lord protector of England (1653-1658).
1873		Walther de la Mare, poet and novelist (Memoir of a Midget, Come Hither).
1874		Guglielmo Marconi, Italian physicist, inventor of the radio.
1908		Edward R. Murrow, war correspondent and newscaster.
1912		Gladys L. Presley, mother of Elvis Presley.
1917		Ella Fitzgerald, American singer.